Babyzone Model
The Babyzone Flywheel
How the Babyzone Flywheel Works
1. High-quality Hubs: our Living Labs
Exemplary, capital-light Babyzone Hubs across the UK form the heart of our system and are our “proving ground.” They are joyful, stigma-free places where families come to play, participate in our programmes for both children and parents, learn and connect - and where local health teams, local 5 authority and other charity partners deliver services under one roof.
Each hub is a living laboratory: a real-world test bed where both our programmes, and those of all of our partners, are tested and improved, where new approaches are tried, measured and refined with families.
2. Test and refine programmes
Inside these hubs, Babyzone develops and iterates its own curricula - such as Babyzone Everyday Maths and Babyzone NEST - together with parents, practitioners and researchers. (NEST - Name, Empathise, Self-regulate, Team- up - is our evidence-informed programme to build social and emotional skills.)
Families’ feedback, observational data and evaluation cycles drive constant improvement, ensuring everything we do is practical, inclusive and 6 evidence-based.
3. Share freely: digital and open access
We then share our programmes widely and freely - through our website, social media, Baby Buddy app, WhatsApp communities and open-source materials. Parents, practitioners and other early years settings can access Babyzone curricula and content for free.
Proven content can become open-source micro-curricula with short, do-it- today guidance for every parent.
4. The Babyzone Academy: powering practice through shared learning
The Babyzone Academy is our digital engine for practitioner development. Built with Hive Learning, it turns proven Babyzone curricula, like Everyday Maths and NEST, into interactive learning experiences for early years practitioners everywhere. Through short, practical modules and a buzzing online community, practitioners share ideas, reflect on real-world practice, and build confidence together. This collective learning will strengthen everyearly years setting, creating a self-sustaining network of skilled, motivated professionals who help families thrive.
5. Parents and practitioners build confidence and agency
As parents discover what to do at home - talking, reading, counting, naming feelings, co-regulating - confidence grows. Practitioners who use Babyzone resources see the same results: consistent routines that nurture language, maths, play and emotional connection. Together they mirror best practice and create the conditions where children thrive.
Families become more knowledgeable and confident about how to support their child’s learning, emotions and routines at home. Confidence and connection compound, creating peer-to-peer advocacy. Parents and practitioners share Babyzone tools with friends, schools, nurseries and online networks, multiplying reach and credibility.
Their lived experience is our most powerful form of communication.
6. Partner ecosystem strengthens the engine
Every Babyzone hub also hosts a network of partners - health teams, local authority services, parenting workshops and programmes, and a great many others - who can test and refine their own interventions in Babyzone’s high quality environment. Babyzone as an organisation is driven, methodical, systematic and can support a whole-system improvement engine where health, social care and education meet families early and collaboratively.
Our partners’ programmes are tested, refined and scaled within Babyzone’s high-quality environment - feeding new learning back into the system.
7. Policy and systems change
Continuous learning from physical hubs, digital analytics and partnerships fuels insights and advocacy. Babyzone contributes to early-years policy, nationally and internationally - shaping what “good” looks like for parent confidence, parent engagement, Family Hubs, early learning, local service integration and early years policy.
Our Research
Babyzone shares research and partners with top universities to improve early childhood development.
"The only way to really change [early years], is to show it can be done. That's why initiatives like Babyzone are so crucial. They're not waiting for a piece of policy or a budget. They're going out there and making this happen." Joe Lane, Deputy Director from the Children's Commissioner's Office
Joe Lane, Deputy Director from the Children's Commissioner's Office
We’ve built an ecosystem for transformation in the early years – a continuous loop of practice, learning, and policy improvement:
- High-quality Hubs Our hubs
act as living labs – joyful, stigma-free spaces where families learn, play and connect, and where partners test and improve early years programmes.- 8 hubs now open across the UK (with new sites in Blackburn and Wigan, and Grimsby opening soon).
- 61,737 visits recorded in 2025; families visit on average eight times each.
- 70% of families come from the most disadvantaged areas
- Test and Refine Programmes
- Launch of Babyzone Everyday Maths – a 40-week pathway embedding numeracy into daily life.
- Development of Babyzone NEST – building emotional literacy and co-regulation.
- Over 4,400 evidence-informed sessions delivered, with 84% of parents using ideas at home.
- Share Freely
- Integration with the Baby Buddy app: 2.5 million content views and 41,000+ new registrations.
- WhatsApp communities now include 2,000 members, driving 300,000 interactions.
- Open-access micro-curricula and online resources reach 1.5 million people globally
- The Babyzone Academy
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Developed with Hive Learning, the Academy transforms our evidence-based programmes into interactive, digital training.
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On track to train hundreds of practitioners by 2026, scaling Everyday Maths and NEST to early years professionals nationwide.
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- Parents and Practitioners Build Confidence and Agency
Parents and practitioners alike report growing confidence, capability and connection.
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88% of parents report new skills and stronger peer networks.
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Parents most often describe Babyzone as “fun, safe, friendly and educational.”
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- Partner Ecosystem
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Collaboration with 260+ partners, including NHS teams, Home-Start, Mind, and local authorities.
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New co-located services include infant feeding clinics, Early Help checks, and Dad Matters groups.
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Nationwide Summer Wellbeing Days united 80+ partners to celebrate play, health, and learning.
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- Policy and Systems Change
- Cited as a model in the Government’s Best Start in Life and Family Hubs agenda.
- Ministerial and MP visits highlight Babyzone as “a lifeline for families with children aged 0–5.”
- Four Babyzone Insights Papers bridge practice and policy, influencing national guidanc
What families say about our classes
Babyzone has been the best thing for us. My child has learned to share, play and be more independent and even started building confidence and learning English. At home we now do activities like building blocks and football that were inspired by Babyzone. As a Romanian family, the support has been vital. We’ve loved the sensory classes, making friends and seeing other mums in the same boat. Parent, Babyzone Barnet
My child loved Mini Professors and even started recognising words. I’ve also appreciated meeting other parents and how welcoming it is for non-English speakers. I just wish Babyzone could run more than once a week – it’s so popular. Parent, Babyzone Barnet
We started going to Reading Fairy because one of the Babyzone staff said it was a good class for making reading fun… Now J is saying the first sounds in words, asking me to read him books at home and making up his own stories. J's mother, Babyzone Hammersmith & Fulham
Maths opened a life‑changing opportunity for me. For my son, I want the same, so he can have a brighter future. Parent, Babyzone Hammersmith & Fulham
I’m excited about Everyday Maths - you need maths in everything. This helps children become more confident and familiar with numbers. Mother, Babyzone Hammersmith & Fulham
Reading Fairy has had a massive impact on her reading journey. Babyzone is, and always will be, our Wednesday routine, our favourite day of the week. Carly, Babyzone Barking & Dagenham