Babyzone · Impact Evidence

Who we reach, and the difference we make

Findings from our Parent Survey, with results broken down by location, by how often families attend, and by the level of deprivation in the areas where they live.

Across all our hubs this year we recorded 33,840 family visits, and 29% were by families living in the most deprived fifth of England (rising to 56% in the most deprived third) — so Babyzone is reaching the communities where early-years support is needed most. The survey findings below explore the difference those visits make.

Who we reach — all family visits this year*

Every family visit across all hubs, matched to the English Index of Multiple Deprivation (IMD 2019). This is our full attendance record, not a survey sample.

33,840
family visits this year
29%
of families in the most deprived fifth of England
56%
in the most deprived third of England
78%
in the most deprived half of England
All hubs — family visits by national deprivation decile
Decile 1 = most deprived 10% of England · Decile 10 = least deprived.
3,093
1
6,747
2
8,956
3
4,491
4
3,148
5
1,710
6
1,492
7
1,605
8
1,492
9
1,106
10
← More deprivedLess deprived →
Most deprived 20% (deciles 1–2) Deciles 3–5 Deciles 6–10
Blackburn hub — family visits by deprivation decile
3,906 family visits · 58% in the most deprived 20%, 68% in the most deprived 30% — an even stronger concentration in our most deprived communities.
1,277
1
971
2
426
3
179
4
219
5
124
6
195
7
345
8
105
9
65
10
← More deprivedLess deprived →

About the Parent Survey

The rest of this report draws on our Parent Survey — 170 parent and carer responses collected across 10 Babyzone locations (fielded January 2026). Percentages show those answering positively (e.g. “Agree”/“Strongly Agree”, or a positive impact rating).

Survey respondents reflect the same communities. Of the 170 responses, 162 included a valid postcode we could match to the IMD. Of those, 33% live in the most deprived fifth of England and 80% in the most deprived half — closely mirroring our full attendance data above, so the views below are representative of the families we serve.

Overall, what families experience

Across all 170 responses:

Safe & welcoming space (n=168)
99%
Felt supported by staff (n=168)
94%
Made friends (n=168)
75%
Better understanding of child development (n=170)
90%
More confident as a parent/carer (n=170)
90%
Using what they learned at home (n=169)
76%
Positive impact on child’s development (n=169)
96%

More visits, more impact

Outcomes rise steadily the more often families attend — evidence that Babyzone’s effect grows with sustained engagement, not one-off visits.

“I feel more confident supporting my child’s development”
1st visit (n=11)
73%
2–3 visits (n=19)
84%
4–6 visits (n=24)
92%
7–10 visits (n=18)
94%
10+ visits (n=98)
92%
“I’m using what I learned at home”
1st visit (n=11)
55%
2–3 visits (n=19)
63%
4–6 visits (n=24)
62%
7–10 visits (n=18)
78%
10+ visits (n=98)
85%

Full breakdown by number of visits:

BandSafe & welcoming spaceFelt supported by staffMade friendsBetter understanding of child developmentMore confident as a parent/carerUsing what they learned at homePositive impact on child’s development
1st visit (n=11)100%73%45%73%73%55%73%
2–3 visits (n=19)100%89%63%89%84%63%89%
4–6 visits (n=24)100%96%70%96%92%62%100%
7–10 visits (n=18)100%100%53%89%94%78%94%
10+ visits (n=98)99%96%86%91%92%85%100%

Greater impact for those who need it most

Disaggregating outcomes by the deprivation of each family’s area shows Babyzone delivers most strongly for families in the most deprived communities — positive impact on child development reaches 100% among families in the most deprived fifth of England, the highest of any group.

BandSafe & welcoming spaceFelt supported by staffMade friendsBetter understanding of child developmentMore confident as a parent/carerUsing what they learned at homePositive impact on child’s development
Most deprived 20% (n=54)98%100%70%89%87%81%100%
Deciles 3–4 (n=55)100%89%75%95%95%74%96%
Deciles 5–6 (n=26)100%96%88%85%85%62%96%
Least deprived 40% (n=27)100%93%67%85%89%78%89%

Impact by location

Results for each site with 10 or more responses.

SiteSafe & welcoming spaceFelt supported by staffMade friendsBetter understanding of child developmentMore confident as a parent/carerUsing what they learned at homePositive impact on child’s development
Barnet (n=46)98%96%84%93%93%80%98%
Blackburn (n=35)100%91%69%80%89%76%97%
Wigan (n=29)100%86%76%86%83%69%90%
Barking & Dagenham (n=28)100%100%89%96%89%82%100%
Croydon (n=12)100%92%58%92%83%50%100%
Grimsby (n=10)100%100%50%90%100%80%90%

Smaller sites not shown individually to protect anonymity and avoid over-interpreting small samples: Warrington (3), Swansea (3), Hammersmith & Fulham (3), Glasgow (1). Their responses are included in all overall figures.

About this data & our next steps. This report is based on a self-selecting parent survey, so it reflects the views of families who chose to respond. Deprivation is measured at area level (postcode → IMD 2019, England), not household income. This round of our survey did not capture parent or child ethnicity, gender or age — characteristics we know matter for understanding who we reach and whether outcomes differ between groups. We are adding these questions to our next survey so future reports can disaggregate impact across these dimensions as well.

* Please note: this attendance data and deprivation analysis is for the survey participants only, not the whole of Babyzone.