Achieving the Best Start in Life – Supporting the Local Government Association (LGA)

We were commissioned by the Local Government Association (LGA) to deliver a national research project as part of its Achieving the Best Start in Life programme. The work was designed to support local authorities and partners to improve early childhood outcomes and contribute to the national ambition of 75% of children reaching a Good Level of Development (GLD) by age five.

This project built on the LGA–DfE Best Start in Life Taskforce and the government’s Best Start in Life Strategy, focusing on practical, solution-focused learning for local systems

Our role

Working closely with the LGA, we led the design and delivery of a national programme of research and engagement to understand what is genuinely making a difference to early years outcomes.

Our work focused on:

• Identifying effective local strategies and delivery models
• Exploring solutions to system-wide blockers, including workforce capacity, data sharing and fragmented services
• Understanding targeted approaches that improve outcomes for disadvantaged children
• Drawing out lessons to inform both local delivery and national policy
• Clarifying the key enablers that help areas improve GLD outcomes at scale

Our approach

We combined research, sector engagement and lived experience insight to build a rich picture of what works across different local contexts. This included:

• Sector-wide workshops bringing together leaders and practitioners from local government, early years, health and the voluntary and community sector
• Practice mapping and case study development to capture effective local models
• Parent discussion groups to ensure system learning was grounded in real family experience
• Ongoing collaboration with LGA leads to ensure alignment with the Taskforce and emerging national policy

The focus throughout was on moving beyond describing challenges, to identifying practical, transferable solutions that local areas can act on.

What we found

Through engagement with councils and partners across the country, we identified:

• Proven approaches that strengthen early identification and integrated support
• Practical ways to address workforce recruitment, retention and development
• The importance of strong system leadership, shared accountability and data-led decision-making
• Targeted interventions that help close the gap for disadvantaged children
• Conditions that enable local areas to move from strategy to delivery at pace

Impact and next steps

The research has now been completed and is already informing our direct support to local areas. A full national report will be published shortly, and we will be co-hosting a webinar with the LGA to share findings, practical insights and implications for local systems.

We were very pleased to deliver this work. It reflects our wider mission: combining national insight with hands-on delivery expertise to help local areas turn ambition into sustained improvement, and ensure every child gets the best possible start in life.