The 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
What we have achieved in 2025 across the flywheel
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 experts say about Babyzone
Babyzone is a great example of community organisation that's making a real difference. It's wonderful to see how the centre is helping parents. Akshata and I loved learning about their Everyday Maths program that's giving little ones new confidence and skills with numbers Rishi Sunak, MP
That's why initiatives like Babyzone are so crucial. We're not actually waiting for a piece of policy. We're going out there and we're making this happen. Joe Lane, Deputy Director from the Children's Commissioner's Office
There is an enormous opportunity for all of us right now. This is our time to take this agenda from something that is often seen as a 'nice to have', to something that's seen as an urgent necessity and mission critical to our society Christian Guy, Executive Director of The Royal Foundation’s Centre for Early Childhood
I tell our families that from the first time they come [to Babyzone], they will want to come back every week because it is such an amazing, beautiful space. Anita, Happy Baby community
I was introduced to Babyzone recently. But in a very short period, I've looked at the videos and spoken to people who've used it, and I'm really excited. This sector faces the most appalling challenges: lack of skilled staff, lack of money, people having to close nurseries. But here we can see that creativity, innovation, and determination allows us a way forward. Sir Alan Wood, Director of Children’s Services, London Borough of Hackney
Babyzone is a safe place for families - it’s access to services they wouldn’t otherwise have. Gemma Edwards, Department for Work and Pensions