Our Best Start Local Plan 2026-29

Download the Best Start Local Plan as a pdf (PDF, 7 MB)(opens new window)

In Gateshead, we believe that supporting children from the earliest stage in their development journey is everyone's business.  

Ensuring that all children get the right support at the right time is integral to our vision for families across the borough. 

This means providing the best possible start in life, helping our children and young people to reach their full potential and supporting their learning, health and wellbeing in a family and community where they feel included and belong. 

Raising the numbers of children who are ready for school, are able to learn, and go on to achieve a Good Level of Development (GLD) at age 5 years is central to our ambition.  

Our Best Start Local Plan affirms our shared commitment to delivering the aims set out in the UK Government's Giving every child the best start in life strategy and our ambition to: 

• bring services together in a clear, accessible offer for families and to localities where they live 
• more effective, early identification of families requiring extra support
• improving standards of (EYFSP) assessment for Reception-age children
• support more families to access funded childcare
• deliver more targeted, evidence-based support for families with multiple or more complex needs
• strengthen our digital support offer, improving communication with families on the support available

Local Best Start developments will make a key contribution to our strategic planning aimed at improving the wellbeing and safety of Gateshead families, namely: 

• existing alignment with the Gateshead Health and Wellbeing Board priority of giving every child the best start in life
• supporting the Council vision of more services closer to where people live through a strongly-embedded locality offer through the Corporate Community Led Support Review
• integrating our local Best Start approaches with the national Families First reforms driving the integration of early help, child in need and child protection services
• ensuring that NHS Neighbourhood Health Plans inform and complement local Best Start initiatives

We know that collective measures taken across our Best Start Family Hub and early help system in the past 3-4 years will begin to translate into a legacy impact for child development outcomes. 

While a strong universal offer is imperative, we also know that many of our families face multiple disadvantages and our plan sets out how we can take extra, targeted action to address these inequalities. Supporting parents and carers to feel confident in their parenting role is key to this approach. 

We also believe that real family experiences should be at the heart of this vision and should shape our priorities. Co-production with parents and carers is already well-embedded in existing services and will continue to be prioritised within this plan.  

This will be an evolving, iterative plan, based on the following key approaches. 

We will: 

• lead a full system, partnership approach around common, shared goals which focus on improving child development outcomes
• build on the strong foundations of our Best Start in Life model and develop an improved Best Start Family Hubs and Healthy Babies offer
• develop a clear focus on improving the numbers achieving the GLD, but set this within a holistic approach to address the wider determinants impacting school readiness
• recognise that universal provision is not enough - many of our families require more targeted and personalised support
• ensure that our work promotes inclusion and belonging and supports our ambition to transform local systems for children with additional needs
• deliver a clear commitment to continuously consult with children, young people, families and stakeholders 

We will also work closely with our partners across the Best Start in Life (BSiL) system, including: 

• parents, carers and families 
• Gateshead NHS Foundation Trust 
• Harrogate and District Foundation Trust 
• NHS North-East and North Cumbria Integrated Care Board 
• local voluntary and community sector organisations  
• school, nursery and early years settings 
• housing and accommodation providers 

Gateshead is a place where every baby, child and young person is supported to thrive and achieve their potential. 

Our Best Start Local Plan aims to take transformative action to ensure that every child gets the safe, healthy and happy beginning they deserve.  

Helen Fergusson
Strategic Director
Children's Social Care and Lifelong Learning