Childcare
The question
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment the Government has made of the impact of baby groups on children's educational outcomes.
Answered by Department for Education
The government recognises that experiences during the critical 1,001 days from conception to age two lay important foundations for children’s health, development and future learning.
Best Start Family Hubs and ‘Healthy Babies’ provide a community-based, prevention-led model that brings together health, parenting and early years support, helping families access services earlier and supporting early identification and intervention.
They help parents and carers build confidence and strengthen the home learning environment through chatting, playing and reading, supporting children’s language, communication and readiness to learn. These universal activities complement evidence-based parenting and home learning interventions, evaluations of which show positive impacts. The department does not currently hold a separate assessment of the educational impact of baby groups alone.
The department will monitor and evaluate delivery to strengthen the evidence on its longer-term impact. Baby groups, including stay-and-play, story and rhyme sessions and play-based early language activities, form part of the wider Best Start Family Hub offer.
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