Services are not back to 'normal' in most areas and in some they are stretched, with professionals exhausted, and 'systems hampered by working in silos and funding shortfalls'.
The latest research – a follow up to a report published earlier this year on the impact of Covid and lockdown on babies – finds there is a mixed picture across the country with wide variability in how services are operating.
The report said, ‘There are still many challenges at this time: need for support has increased, and yet services are still not reaching many families. The picture is also highly variable: support for families is not back to “normal” in most places, and there are enormous inconsistencies in access to services. The extent to which the first 1001 days are being prioritised and considered in local long-term recovery planning is highly varied by area.’
While areas with strong leadership and focus on 'the first 1001 days' were poised to meet current challenges, there is a real risk of services failing to respond to growing needs – with devastating consequences for many, the report said.
The Parent-Infant Foundation, which is a member of and secretariat for the movement, commissioned the research.
The initial report, published in January, showed how local professionals had taken significant steps to support families with babies during the first national lockdown.
For the follow-up, in May researchers spoke to local professionals and service leaders from local authorities across England, hosted online by the Local Government Association, to record lessons from the pandemic that could help services in the future.
Sally Hogg, head of policy and campaigns at the Parent-Infant Foundation told Nursery World, ‘It was really insightful following up with local leaders about how they are working for babies. There are still many challenges at this time: the need for support has increased, and yet services are still not reaching many families.
‘The picture is also highly variable: support for families is not back to “normal” in most places, and there are enormous inconsistencies in access to services.'
Impact on childcare
The report also highlights 'a reduction in engagement with childcare and early education. Professionals reported that even beyond the end of lockdown, numbers in childcare settings remain down, and in particular amongst baby and toddler cohorts.'
The report said, 'It seems likely that a growing proportion of families are choosing to opt-out of formal early years provision, making them less visible to professionals when they are at risk, and more likely to miss out on key early development experiences. Some professionals we spoke to suggested that unspent two-year-old childcare funding might be reallocated to support families in their homes and to build relationships that might lead to later enrolment in a formal setting.'
The situation in May 2021
According to the findings, services in the middle of this year were experiencing a greater demand for both practical and emotional help from a larger proportion of families with young children.
Professionals were encountering more needs related to financial hardship, parental mental health issues and difficulties managing the behaviour of babies and toddlers. This reflects wider evidence about the impacts of the pandemic on families with the youngest children.
‘There was also a very widespread (and perhaps unsurprising) sense that many parents of babies and toddlers desperately want to get out and meet other parents in person,’ the report said.
‘Many professionals and service leaders said that much of the appetite for virtual services seen during the pandemic had now diminished and the demand for face-to-face and peer support groups with other families with children in this age bracket was particularly great – outstripping what they can provide, especially given the restrictions still in place in May 2021 and the ongoing challenges beyond that time.'
One provider said, 'Parents are needing a lot of support in terms of being in the normal world with a baby... all the really small things that seem really normal but for new parents are just a whole new world of learning.'
One parent was reported as saying that she had not left her baby with anyone yet 'for more than five minutes'.
However, the report also points out that as restrictions lift, not all families are coming forward and asking for help. In the original Working for Babies survey over half the professionals said that ‘self-isolation’ affected many of the families they worked with during the first lockdown (e.g. where parents of babies were unwilling to attend routine appointments or step outside the home).
While by May few families 'remain fully behind closed doors' many professionals report an increased nervousness and reticence to engage with services.
Delivery
The ‘crisis’ has required local leaders and professionals to think differently about how they support families’ needs, the report said.
The researchers heard of the ‘value of children’s centres – not necessarily as physical spaces, although sometimes this was the case – as a mechanism, a “relationships-based infrastructure” which enabled professionals to come together, develop and deliver support for families in the community.’
The report found ‘There is a good deal of clear thinking on the ground about what a successful hybrid model of online and in-person family support might look like, and the circumstances in which to deploy different online tools.’
While some professionals were more physically separated from each other, for others ‘co-location in physical buildings played a central enabling role during lockdown.’
For example, some midwives and health visitors re-located or re-established themselves in children’s centres because they were unable to use GPs and hospitals.
The report authors also highlight, ‘more positively’, what can be achieved when professionals in local areas work together, listen to communities and respond to their needs. It shows the value of ‘relationships-based infrastructure’ where professionals are enabled and empowered to work together to best meet the needs of the families in their communities.
Ms Hogg added, ‘Despite the challenges, we have been inspired by positive stories of local systems that have learned and developed over the last 18 months. There is an opportunity now to build back better for babies. Government must seize this and provide the resource and leadership required to ensure a good quality offer of support for all families wherever they live.’
Key recommendations from the report
- National and consistent local action is needed to build back better and to ensure all babies can benefit from a responsive and effective local service offer. This includes breaking down silos and agency boundaries that can hamper joined-up local approaches focussed on community needs and outcomes.
- National Government must show leadership in prioritising babies and to ensure there is sufficient resource in the system to deliver the support that families need.
- Money must be invested in system change and service delivery in the first 1001 days. A fraction of the £3.1 billion allocated for 'catch-up' initiatives for school-aged children could support efforts to build back better for babies.
- Download the report here