At A Better Start Southend we want to do things differently: helping people create great services that make a real difference to parents and children.
We want to find new ways to think about services for families; testing approaches that have worked well in other areas or may never have been tried before.
We’re focusing on projects that are either:
- based on ideas that have worked elsewhere, so we can see if they work in Southend
- based on the newest scientific thinking, so we can see if they work in practice
- driven by creative new ideas that deserve an opportunity to prove themselves
Sign up to our newsletter for information about how to get involved with new projects as they come on stream.
Our current projects are:
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Families Growing Together: enjoy family time and get a boost through gardening activities at community gardening centres in Shoeburyness and Westcliff.
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1-2-1 Breastfeeding Support: one-on-one breastfeeding support by Infant Feeding Support Workers for mothers identified as requiring support.
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3-4 Month Health Visitor Contact: aiming to contribute to an increase in the number of children entering Reception at a healthy weight.
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‘Bump to Breast’ Group-based Breastfeeding Support: offering both ante-natal and post-natal support for mothers who wish to breastfeed.
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Co-production: actively involving parents and professionals equally in identifying needs, solutions and how these are developed.
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Crèche services: helping crèche service workers to support the children they look after in the best way possible.
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Family Nurse Partnership: supporting first time parents aged under 21 and their children.
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Family Support Workers for Social Communication Needs: innovative, community-based peer-support speech, language and communication intervention
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HENRY: helping the whole family develop a healthier and more active lifestyle.
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Joint Paediatric Clinic: providing more effective care and care closer to home for children and their families in the community.
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Let’s Talk: fun-packed communication courses helping parents, carers and young people develop their communication skills.
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Preparation for Parenthood: parenting support offer to expectant parents
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Specialist Health Visitors for Perinatal Mental Health: Managing caseload of mothers and support for professionals.
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Talking Transitions: An innovative Speech, Language and Communication (SLC) pilot project focusing on transition for children into primary school.
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Umbilical Chords: free music-making sessions for Southend parents and their babies
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Volunteer Home Visiting service: be matched with a volunteer to help support your wellbeing, your little one’s play time and much more.
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Work Skills: practical opportunities for parents of children aged under 4 who are looking to get back into work.
Funding Opportunities
Previous A Better Start Southend Projects:
Buggy Active/Activise /Active Families (end date: 2016)
Building Bridges (end date: 2016)
Community Parents Programme (end date: 2016)
Connecting Parents (end date: 2016)
Five to Thrive (end date: 2016)
Incredible Years (end date: 2015)
Mellow Parenting (end date: 2015)
Sunshine & Stories (end date: 2016)
Fathers Reading Every Day (FRED) (end date: June 2019)
Being a Parent (January 2020)
