In Sandwell, this need is being met through Welcome to Parenthood: Triple P for Baby, an evidence-based programme funded by NHS England and offered through the Sandwell Best Start Family Hubs to support parents from pregnancy through their baby’s first year. The programme has led to parents in the West Midlands feeling supported, capable and connected at a time when reassurance and practical guidance matter most.

The Sandwell Best Start Family Hubs were officially launched on 17 July 2023, with the local authority among the first to open a hub as part of the national Best Start Family Hubs and Start for Life programme, delivered by the children’s charity Barnardo’s.

One of the standout strengths of this approach is its strong connection to the community. Alongside six main Best Start Family Hub buildings, the local authority works closely with a wide range of local partners - including schools, community organisations and faith groups - to create familiar and accessible places where families can get support. By keeping services visible, trusted and close to home, parents are more likely to feel comfortable reaching out early, rather than waiting until challenges become more serious.

Within the wider Best Start Family Hub network, Triple P for Baby plays a key role in supporting families during the early stages of parenthood. The eight-week programme is designed for expectant parents and those with babies up to one year old, promoting sensitive and responsive care in the perinatal period. Parents actively participate in a range of exercises to learn strategies to develop a positive relationship with their baby, promote their baby’s development and help teach their baby new skills and behaviours. The programme is mainly delivered face to face, with parents encouraged to bring their babies along to each session. This gives parents the chance to practise new strategies in the moment, responding to feeding, settling and soothing challenges as they happen, with reassurance and guidance from trained practitioners. Sessions blend the core programme content with open discussion and practical, hands-on activities, helping parents reflect on their own experiences and grow more confident in understanding and responding to their baby’s cues. By seeing changes in their baby’s responses straight away, parents can see the impact of what they’re learning, building confidence week by week. For parents like Sarah, the programme’s practical focus has been central to its impact, helping them feel more confident in understanding and responding to their child. Sarah said, I found the course very useful to engage with my child, to understand how she could communicate with me without talking. I found it very helpful that it was free of charge and I could take my child with me on the course.

Parents also highlighted how the programme supports emotional wellbeing, helping them feel more confident not just in what they do, but in how they feel as a parent. For some, this includes learning to manage stress and anxiety alongside the demands of caring for a young child.

Reflecting on how the programme supported her whole family, Sarah shared: The one thing that I have taken away from this course is not to take on all the load, to relax myself as much as look after the child … having my anxiety, it is not easy with three children, but going on this course has helped me and enlightened me in different ways, where I could manage my anxiety and still be a parent and enjoy being a parent.

Research at Triple P shows that while most parents see parenting as the most important role they will ever have, 75 per cent feel a stigma around asking for help. At Sandwell, they combat this stigma by referring to services as programmes for parents rather than parenting programmes. This helps reinforce that seeking support is a positive and proactive step, not a sign that something is wrong, encouraging parents to engage earlier and more openly.

Practitioners at the Best Start Family Hub work to break down barriers to access by adapting sessions to meet different learning needs. For parents who may find written materials challenging, support is provided through discussion, demonstration and shared problem-solving. Where families need additional flexibility, online or one-to-one delivery can complement face-to-face sessions, helping parents stay engaged in ways that feel manageable for them.

For Rachel, this flexibility made a significant difference, she said, One of things that really helped was it being free and being able to access it quite locally to where I lived that really helped me out. I also found it being very beneficial, the scheduling of it all and it being flexible around my personal life. I have been suffering with anxiety so doing that one to one course has been really beneficial to me as I do struggle around new people.

Parents frequently report that this personalised approach helps them feel more capable and confident in their parenting. Reflecting on the impact for both herself and her child, Rachel added: I would definitely recommend the course. It has really helped me, especially with my confidence with parenting and helping my daughter be the best that she can be.

Dads are also actively encouraged to take part, whether attending regularly or joining when possible, and in some cases grandparents and wider family members participate alongside parents. This shared learning helps strengthen support networks around babies and ensures consistency beyond the sessions themselves.

Sandwell’s approach is underpinned by strong evidence of impact for both families and the wider system. Economic analysis by Barnardo’s shows that for every £1 invested in Triple P for Baby in Sandwell, £2.44 is saved, equating to £3,624 in benefits per participant. These benefits reflect improved parental mental health, stronger early relationships and a reduced likelihood of families requiring more intensive services later on.

Parents’ experiences are also tracked using the Mother-Infant Relationship Scale (MoRS), which helps show how connected and confident parents feel in their relationship with their baby, as well as levels of stress or feeling overwhelmed. The scale looks at parents’ sense of warmth in the relationship alongside any feelings of pressure or intrusion.

Pre- and post-programme data collected over a 12-month period from 30 parents and carers showed that most parents either stayed within, or moved into, the normal range after completing the programme. Importantly, those who initially recorded scores that suggested concern or possible concern often showed clear improvement following support. These findings reflect what parents themselves describe - feeling calmer, more confident and more connected to their child.

Last year, a further 52 parents in Sandwell completed Triple P for Baby.

By embedding Triple P for Baby within a strong Best Start Family Hub offer, Sandwell is helping to make early support feel accessible and ensuring families don’t slip through the cracks. This approach shows how Best Start Family Hubs can successfully combine evidence-based programmes with warm, relational delivery to create positive early experiences for babies, meaningful outcomes for parents, and lasting value for local systems.

To learn more about Triple P for Baby, or to discuss how it could support families in your area, please contact one of our team members here.