Gwent babies and families to receive early communication support through new £189,000 project

Home-Start Cymru has secured more than £189,000 to help babies and families across Gwent build strong foundations for communication, bonding and wellbeing during the earliest years of life.

The £189,129 grant from the 1001 Critical Days Foundation will fund a new three-year project, To and Fro: Supporting Early Communication Through Responsive Parenting, supporting families with babies aged between 6 and 15 months who may be at increased risk of speech, language and communication difficulties.

The project will initially be delivered in Blaenau Gwent and Torfaen, before expanding to families in Newport and Monmouthshire.

Delivered by Home-Start Cymru in partnership with Aneurin Bevan University Health Board, To and Fro will provide practical, relationship-based support to help parents understand and respond to their baby’s early communication.

Supporting babies’ communication from the very beginning

Communication starts long before a baby says their first word.

Looking, smiling, making sounds, singing, playing and taking turns are all important ways babies communicate with the people around them. These everyday interactions help build the foundations for speech and language development, relationships, confidence and emotional wellbeing.

Through To and Fro, Home-Start Cymru will work alongside parents to help them recognise these early communication cues and feel more confident responding to their baby.

Support will include:

• Home visits using strengths-based reflective video feedback to help parents recognise and build on their baby’s communication and interaction skills.
• Parent and baby group sessions delivered through Integrated Children’s Centres.
• Peer support from trained Home-Start volunteers, helping parents feel connected and less isolated.
• Specialist speech and language therapy input, including training, clinical supervision and quality assurance from Aneurin Bevan University Health Board.
• Connections with wider early years services, helping families access further support where needed.

Over three years, the project aims to support 300 babies and their families.

Helping families before difficulties escalate

For some families, accessing early support can be difficult. Parents may be experiencing isolation, low confidence, poor mental wellbeing, financial pressures or other challenges at the same time as navigating the early stages of parenthood.

Babies aged under two can also fall between different areas of support, particularly when they are not yet accessing more structured early years provision.

To and Fro aims to provide support at an important stage in a baby’s development, helping families build confidence and strengthen their relationship with their baby before concerns around communication become more significant.

The approach is based on the understanding that small, everyday interactions can make a big difference.

By helping parents notice what their baby is communicating and respond in ways that encourage interaction, the project aims to strengthen both early communication and the parent-baby relationship.

Giving every baby in Gwent the best start in life

The project forms part of wider work across Gwent to tackle inequalities and improve outcomes for children and families.

Gwent is Wales’ first Marmot region, with public services working together to address the wider factors that influence health and wellbeing and to give every baby and child the best possible start in life.

Home-Start Cymru’s approach complements this work by bringing preventative, family-centred support closer to where families live.

The project will also strengthen connections between families, Health Visitors, speech and language therapy services, Integrated Children’s Centres and other early years services, helping families access the right support at the right time.

Building on promising early results

To and Fro builds on learning from an earlier targeted project delivered by Home-Start Cymru in Gwent.

In that project, Home-Start Cymru found that all parents involved increased their responsiveness, while parents’ confidence in helping their child learn to talk increased from 5.2 to 8.5 out of 10.

The new three-year project will take this approach further by working with families earlier, when babies are aged between 6 and 15 months and their communication, relationships and social development are rapidly developing.

The project will also be evaluated to understand what works and how the model could potentially be shared more widely across Gwent and Wales.

Working together to support families

Jayne Drummond, Chief Executive of Home-Start Cymru, said:

“The earliest interactions between a baby and the adults around them are simple, everyday moments, but they can have a lasting impact.

“This grant will help us work alongside parents across Gwent at a really important stage, helping them feel more confident, less isolated and better able to support their babies’ communication and wellbeing.

“We are excited to work with Aneurin Bevan University Health Board and local families to test a model that could support many more babies across Wales in the future.”

Eryl Powell, Consultant in Public Health at Aneurin Bevan University Health Board, said:

“To and Fro is an exciting collaborative project that will support and empower parents and carers to build responsive communication and connection with their babies.

“All the evidence tells us that communication, speech and language skills are critically important for healthy child development and wellbeing.”

Will Quince, Chief Executive of the 1001 Critical Days Foundation, said:

“The first months of a baby’s life are full of communication, long before a baby can say their first words. When parents and carers are supported to notice, respond and share everyday moments of connection, babies can build the foundations for language, relationships and lifelong wellbeing.”

Supporting families across Wales

Home-Start Cymru supports families across Wales who may be facing challenges including isolation, poverty, mental health difficulties, disability and additional learning needs.

The charity currently works across 19 of Wales’ 22 local authority areas, supporting approximately 1,250 families each year through home visits, community activities and peer support.

The To and Fro project builds on this family-centred approach, combining professional expertise with the trusted, relationship-based support that Home-Start Cymru volunteers and staff provide.

By working with families early, the project aims to help parents feel more confident, strengthen parent-baby relationships and give babies the best possible foundations for communication, learning, development and wellbeing.

About To and Fro

To and Fro: Supporting Early Communication Through Responsive Parenting is a three-year early communication project for families with babies aged 6 to 15 months.

The project is delivered by Home-Start Cymru in partnership with Aneurin Bevan University Health Board, with funding from the 1001 Critical Days Foundation.

It will initially operate in Blaenau Gwent and Torfaen, before expanding into Newport and Monmouthshire, with the aim of supporting 300 babies and families over three years.

About Home-Start Cymru

Home-Start Cymru is a Welsh charity supporting families with young children across Wales. Through trained staff and volunteers, the charity provides practical and emotional support to families facing a range of challenges.

Home-Start Cymru’s aim is to help families build confidence, reduce isolation and give children the best possible start in life.

Find out more about Home-Start Cymru and our family support services.