Four Key Ingredients for a Best Start in Life Strategy That Works

12th September 2025

The ambition to give babies and children the best start in life is one shared by all local authorities. However, we know staff are operating within fragmented systems, under increasing pressure and with limited capacity to deliver the joined-up support that families need. Against that backdrop, turning ambitions around the national Best Start in Life strategy into meaningful action – at pace and with rigour - is not easy. 

At Dartington, we think that a recipe for a Best Start in Life strategy that is meaningful, responsive to the diverse needs of local communities and sustainable has four key ingredients.

Ingredient 1: A clear focus on equity 

Every child deserves the best start in life, but not every child begins in the same place. When we talk about the challenges holding babies, children and young people back from thriving, we must acknowledge that the burden falls unequally in our society, with the poorest and those from racially and ethnically minoritised backgrounds amongst those bearing the heaviest loads. Inequalities in income, housing, health and structural barriers to accessing services all shape children’s early experiences.

Without a focus on equity, strategies could hit the target proportion of 75% of children achieving a “good” level of development at the end of Reception by 2028, but they would do so by focusing on those closest to the threshold who are likely to be more privileged, and inadvertently therefore widen inequalities.  

 With a clear focus on equity, local authorities can better respond to diverse needs and contribute to dismantling barriers, not reinforcing them. 

Ingredient 2: True co-design 

True co-design means making sure that children, young people and those who care for them are shaping priorities, identifying solutions, and testing plans together from the outset. It’s about moving beyond traditional ways of working so that children and families have the space to contribute in ways that are accessible. It means feeding back to them, crediting their input, and valuing their insight as much as the other evidence and voices shaping your work. 

This approach requires humility from leaders, who must be willing to listen, work differently, and share power. But with it, strategies become more relevant and more engaging. 

Ingredient 3: Evidence-informed 

Any Best Start in Life strategy must be rooted in what we know works and in an awareness of what doesn’t. This doesn’t mean importing solutions wholesale from elsewhere. It’s about drawing on high-quality research, evaluation, and local data and insight to guide decisions, while recognising where evidence is limited and innovation is needed. 

Without evidence to ground it, strategy becomes an exercise in wishful thinking. An evidence-informed approach means your strategy is much more likely to produce fruit and it supports sustainability. When difficult funding choices arise, strategies grounded in robust evidence are more likely to attract support. 

Ingredient 4: Grounded in local context 

Even the best-intentioned plan will fail if it ignores local realities. What works in one community may be inappropriate or irrelevant in another, so taking time to understand the assets, histories and relationships that shape the place you’re in is key. It’s a chance to acknowledge the strengths of local communities and to be realistic about capacity. Looking at the bigger picture in this way helps your strategy both in terms of getting it off the ground and in providing for the long-term by ensuring it’s shaped to deliver specifically for your community.  

Mixing these ingredients for impact 

Individually, these four ingredients matter, but it is in their combination that a Best Start in Life strategy has the chance to inspire, mobilise, and deliver impact for babies, children, young people and families, both now and in the future. 

At Dartington, we understand the practical challenges local authorities face in making this happen. We’ve been instrumental in shaping some of the most meaningful initiatives for children and young people in recent years and we understand how to drive change that sticks by focusing on root causes. 

We’ve teamed up with Ideas Alliance and Collaborate to launch a support offering that will help local authorities to deliver social value and strengthen local partnerships when developing their Best Start in Life strategies. Together, we bring sector leading expertise in embedding equity into complex systems, co-production, systems change and the science of child development and evidence-informed practice. We also have strong alignment with the Common Outcomes Framework our shared values of collaboration, curiosity, equity and impact guide everything we do. 

Whether you’re just starting development of your Best Start in Life strategy, or you’re further along in the journey, we can support you to make sure your approach doesn’t just shine on day one, but still matters and delivers for babies, children, young people and those who care for them years from now. Reach out today and we’ll help you turn the recipe into reality.

Note: A shorter version of this article first appeared on CYP Now on 02/09/2025. See here.