Welcoming Professor McCulloch from the University of Oxford: Exploring Systems Change with Babyzone

We were very pleased to welcome Professor Malcolm McCulloch from the University of Oxford to Babyzone.

With over 30 years as a Professor of Energy Systems, Malcolm brings deep insight into how systems evolve, adapt, and can be reimagined for greater impact. He is passionate about driving meaningful change in communities.  He spent the day immersed in Babyzone, observing our sessions, speaking with staff, volunteers, families, and partners, and experiencing our work firsthand.

We explored the idea of systems change: what it means, how it happens, and how to build it from within communities. We discussed the importance of creating agency - the ability for people and communities to shape their own futures - and how agency grows through two key ingredients: belief and capacity.

Belief is the conviction that change is possible - that families deserve joyful, high-quality support, and that communities can lead the way.

Capacity is what turns that belief into action - the skills, trust, relationships, and resources that make change happen.

At Babyzone, we work to build both belief and capacity together. Our hubs are more than support spaces - they are sites of connection, collaboration, and possibility. Parents gain confidence. Volunteers are trained and empowered. Practitioners form new partnerships. Small charities doing incredible work locally are welcomed and supported. These moments aren’t just helpful – together, they’re transformational.

Professor McCulloch shared his own framework for community transformation - focusing on how communities can move from holding assets to exercising agency.  The CA2ST Framework (Community Assets to Agency for System Transformation) is a framework designed to articulate a community’s theory of change. 

When people are brought into relationship, their individual strengths become shared assets. This is how community agency begins to grow. Over time, that agency becomes visible - in parents speaking up for their children, people accessing more support and opportunities and developing their skills, neighbours supporting each other, and communities shaping how services are delivered.

But systems change also needs structure. Babyzone is becoming a trusted platform through which communities can access wider systems - from health and education to funding and local decision-making - on their own terms, and in line with their own values.

This is the invisible infrastructure of change: built on trust, held together by relationships, and fuelled by belief and capacity. For families, it means support that’s dignified, joyful, and community-led. For the wider system, it signals a shift from fragmented services to collective strength.

His visit reflects our journey, as we continue to reimagine early childhood support and focus on continuous learning.

True transformation comes through curiosity, challenge, and collaboration.  

One small but memorable moment from Professor McCulloch’s visit came when he suggested renaming our Mini Professors class.  In one location parents seem wary and uncertain about this early education class.  He pointed out that the name, whilst well-intentioned, might unintentionally signal that STEM subjects are too formal or advanced for young children, and that perhaps Mini Explorers might be a name that feels more playful, accessible, and aligned with our ethos of joyful learning through discovery.  We loved the fact that “it took a Professor to reimagine the Professor”.