The Babyzone Model
The Babyzone Flywheel
Our model works like a flywheel; a self-reinforcing system where every element strengthens the next. Each turn builds momentum for confident parents, skilled practitioners and thriving children.
At the centre sits our north star: Confident, knowledgeable parents and practitioners → thriving children.
As the flywheel turns, the engine gathers speed. Families grow in confidence and knowledge, partners become more effective, and data and insight strengthen early years systems for all.
How the Babyzone Flywheel Works
1. High-quality Hubs: our Living Labs
Babyzone Hubs form the heart of our system and are our “proving ground.” These exemplary, capital-light spaces are free and designed to remove barriers to access for families in the most practical and welcoming way. Each Hub is a joyful, stigma-free environment where parents and children come to play, learn and connect, and where local health teams, councils, and charity partners deliver services together under one roof. Every Hub operates as a living laboratory, using evidence and data to guide everything we do: a real-world testbed where programmes are co-developed with families, evaluated rigorously, and continually improved to achieve lasting impact.
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 evidence-based.
3. 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.
4. 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.
5. 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 every early years setting, creating a self-sustaining network of skilled, motivated professionals who help families thrive.
6. Building proven parent confidence, agency and impact
As parents and practitioners learn and develop new skills, they build confidence and agency, creating 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, where parents and practitioners share Babyzone tools with friends, schools, nurseries and online networks, multiplying reach and credibility. We measure this through our co-designed evaluation framework, Parent Confidence Index and Hub-to-Home data. We collaborate with other charities, health teams, local authorities and funders, sharing data and insight to reach more families.
7. Policy and systems change
Insights from Babyzone’s reach, data and partnerships are helping to shape a smarter early years system. By sharing evidence from tens of thousands of family interactions, we are highlighting what works - and where support systems fall short. We collaborate with researchers, funders and policymakers to influence early childhood priorities, strengthen local delivery and ensure that family voice and practical experience guide future policy decisions.
"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
- 8 hubs across the UK (new sites in Blackburn and Wigan. Grimsby opening soon).
- 61,737 visits by parents, carers, toddlers and babies.
- 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.
- Spotlight visit: Rishi Sunak MP and Akshata Murty came to see Everyday Maths in action
- 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.
- Partner ecosystem strengthens the engine
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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 Community Wellbeing Days united 80+ partners to celebrate play, health, and learning.
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- Share freely: digital and open access
- 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 impressions globally.
- The Babyzone Academy: powering practice through shared learning
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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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6. Building proven parent confidence, agency and impact
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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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Parents and practitioners alike report growing confidence, capability and connection.
7. Policy and systems change- 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 guidance.
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Our Research
Babyzone shares research and partners with top universities to improve early childhood development.
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