Early Years Development

The earliest years—from conception to Reception, especially the first 1,001 days—are vital in shaping lifelong health, education, and wellbeing. Prioritising this period is essential to reducing inequalities and improving long-term outcomes (Source: Harvard University, 2025).

During this time:

• Brain development is rapid, with up to 1 million neural connections formed every second (Source: PIF, 2025).
• Nurturing relationships with caregivers shape emotional, cognitive, and physical development (Source: PIF, 2025).
• Adverse experiences such as poverty or trauma can have lasting negative effects (Source: EIF, 2016). https://committees.parliament.uk/writtenevidence/84699/html/
• Early intervention enhances school readiness, life chances, and community wellbeing (Source: EIF, 2016).

The Giving Every Child the Best Start in Life strategy (Source: DfE, 2025) sets a national goal for 75% of five-year-olds to achieve a Good Level of Development (GLD) by 2028, recognising that gaps in school readiness emerge early and drive later inequalities.

Pregnancy and early parenthood offer a key window of opportunity when families are most receptive to support. Children thrive in predictable, responsive environments, and the wellbeing of parents and carers is central to improving outcomes (Source: PIF, 2021)

Language development is a strong predictor of future attainment (Source: DfE, 2011). Evidence-based programmes and a rich home learning environment (HLE) help close gaps, especially for disadvantaged children (Source: DfE, 2025a). High-quality early education supports both short-term behavioural development and long-term outcomes, including improved social mobility (Source: EEF, 2025). These settings demonstrate that prevention is better than cure, helping children start school ready to thrive (Sources: EEF, 2023; NLT, 2022).

New Early Years Entitlement funding makes childcare more affordable and accessible, enabling parents to work, train, or increase their hours—supporting both family wellbeing and school readiness (Source: DfE, 2025b).

• Giving Every Child the Best Start in Life (DfE, 2025) – national target 75% GLD by 2028; pillars: family support, accessible childcare, quality. This strategy is part of the government’s broader ‘Plan for Change’ and focuses on improving accessibility, affordability, and quality of early education and childcare.
• EYFS Statutory Framework– strengthened safeguarding and workforce routes; defines GLD and standards for 0–5.
• Best Start for Life: a vision for the 1,001 critical days (DHSC, 2021) – The government’s vision to ensure the best start in life. It details a Start for Life offer, Family Hubs, and the design of digital/virtual offers.
• Family Hubs & Start for Life Programme Guide 2025–26 – scope and funding for parenting, perinatal mental health, infant feeding, HLE.
• 10‑Year NHS Plan (2025) prioritises maternity care and aids the groundwork for integrated Children and Young People (CYP) services making CYP Neighbourhood Teams the delivery model of choice. They are designed to bring care closer to home, reduce inequalities, and improve school readiness and long‑term outcomes for children and young people.
• Healthy Child Programme 0-19. Details the commissioning of health visitors and school nursing services, for the delivery of public health interventions to 0–19-year-olds.
• Families First Partnership Programme – The focus is on earlier help, stronger family networks, expert child protection teams, and clearer safeguarding arrangements — all designed to keep more children safe at home and improve long‑term outcomes.

Breastfeeding, pregnancy and maternal health are discussed in more detail in associated JSNA topics.

Available data for 2024/25 shows:

 Maternal and Child Health (Source: OHID, 2025).

• Infant mortality: Lincolnshire has remained consistently lower than the national average for over a decade, reflecting strong maternity and neonatal care.
• Low birth weight at term: Around 2.4% of babies are born with low birth weight — significantly better than the England average (3%).
• Breastfeeding rates: These remain lower than the England average, with limited improvement over the past five years which led to a key focus on infant feeding through family hubs.

Wider Child Health Indicators

Lincolnshire continues to face challenges compared to national benchmarks:

• Emergency admissions (0–4 years): With respiratory infections and injuries the most common causes.
• Immunisations: While MMR coverage hasn’t yet reached the 95% target, Lincolnshire maintains high uptake across most childhood immunisations (88–89%), protecting the majority of children from preventable diseases and this drives renewed approaches to delivery through family hubs and early years settings.
• Dental health: Around 1 in 4 five-year-olds experience dental decay, with Boston showing the highest prevalence across the county, which led to the roll-out of free toothbrushing packs through family hubs and settings.
• Excess weight: The proportion of children with overweight or obesity remains above the national average, which led to a range of approaches through family hubs e.g. First Bites and Baby Life: 3 to 6 months programme.

Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) Outcomes:

Lincolnshire’s 2025 data shows:

• Good Level of Development (GLD) overall: 66.4% (↓1.3% from 2024), below the national average of 68.3%. A 10.3% increase is needed to meet the 2028 target of 76.7%.
• Free School Meals (FSM) GLD: 50.0% (↓2.4% from 2024), 1.4% below national (51.4%), requiring an 11.2% rise to meet the 2028 target of 61.2%.

Performance highlights (Source: EYFS Local Data, 2025):

• Lincolnshire children exceeded national and regional averages in six Prime Area Goals but underperformed in self-regulation.
• COVID-19 impacts remain evident, particularly in communication & language, personal/social/emotional development, and physical development.
• Reading outcomes (comprehension and word reading) are above national averages, indicating strong literacy foundations. However, writing and numeracy need further focus.
• The gender gap in GLD is narrower locally than nationally, suggesting more equitable outcomes between boys and girls.
• Children eligible for FSM and those with English as an Additional Language (EAL) show wider outcome gaps than national figures.

Child Development at Age 2–2½ (ASQ-3, 2024–25) (Source: OHIDb, 2025)

• Lincolnshire data shows that fewer children meet expected levels in communication and problem-solving skills compared to the England average.
• Performance in gross and fine motor skills is broadly in line with national levels.

Access to Early Education and Childcare (Source: LCC, 2025; LCC, 2024)

Rurality, transport, and workforce pressures continue to affect access to affordable, inclusive, high-quality childcare.
Take-up of funded entitlements:

• Disadvantaged 2year olds: Take up is very strong among disadvantaged 2-year-olds, ensuring more children access early education earlier in life.
• 3–4‑year‑olds: Close to national averages, though sufficiency and staffing remain constraints in some areas.
• 30 hours childcare has been rolled out nationally for children from the term after 9 months until they reach school age for all qualifying working families.
• Lincolnshire receives funding annually through the Early Years National Funding Formula (EYNFF). This is used to determine the hourly rates the DfE provides to local authorities for the early years entitlements. Local authorities are provided with 3 separate hourly funding rates for children aged 9 months, 2-years and 3 and 4-years.

Lincolnshire is committed to improving children’s GLD through a whole-system approach that brings together health, education, early years, and community partners. This integrated model is designed not only to raise overall outcomes but also to reduce inequalities – ensuring that children from disadvantaged backgrounds, rural communities, and underrepresented groups receive the support they need to thrive.

Lincolnshire is renewing its focus on school readiness, especially for children who haven’t accessed Early Years Entitlements (EYE). With targeted support, these children can thrive in developing speech, language, and motor skills—giving them the best chance of long-term success.

By aligning services, data, and resources across sectors, Lincolnshire aims to close gaps in school readiness, promote equity from the earliest stages, and deliver consistent, joined-up support for families.

 Trailblazer programme:

• Family hubs: Lincolnshire is already a Family Hubs trailblazer and expected to align the Start for Life programme with the new strategy. Lincolnshire’s Best Start in Life offer is a joined‑up package of support from pregnancy through the early years, delivered through Family Hubs and children’s centres. Families receive a hard copy of this offer antenatally.
• Universal evidence-based programmes: Families continue to benefit from support across key themes (Source: HM Gov, 2025): Parenting Support (0-2 years), Infant Feeding; Parent-Infant Relationships and Perinatal Mental Health; Early Language and Home Learning Environments (2-4 years). This includes delivery through the early years sector.
• Multi agency collaboration: Health, education, and voluntary sector partners work together through children’s centres and family hubs, ensuring parents and carers can access the right support at the right time (Source: LCC, 2025b).

Good practice: Lincolnshire have been identified as an area of good practice, attracting regional and national attention for our Family Hubs and Holiday Activities and Food (HAF) delivery. Examples include:

• National Case Study: We have been outlined as a case study within the national Giving Every Child the Best Start in Life Strategy through the delivery of our Making it REAL and PEEP programmes (Source: DfE, 2025a, p.17). We have also been selected as a Case Study by the LGA due to the Family and Baby workers, who offer non-clinical support to families on our neonatal units (Source: LGA, 2025).
• Speech Language and Communication support: Continue to implement and monitor Speech and Language pilot through Family hubs, to understand the best approaches to supporting families through our local one-stop shop (Source: LCHS, 2025). We have also been evaluated as part of our Making It REAL and PEEP programmes, through the ‘Family Hub Transformation Fund 2 Evaluation (part of the Family Hubs and Start for Life Programme, May 2025)’, led by Ecorys UK, and in partnership with Ipsos, Sheffield Hallam University, and expert inputs from Oxford University and University College London (Awaiting publication).
• Holiday Activities and Food (HAF) programme award: Awarded the Golf Foundation’s prestigious President’s Award 2025 for Community Project of the Year. HAF provides free holiday-time activities and nutritious meals for children eligible for Free School Meals (FSM). Delivered during Easter, Summer, and Christmas breaks, it supports children’s physical health, emotional wellbeing, and social development (Source: LCC, 2025c).

Maternity and Neonatal Care: The Lincolnshire Better Births Strategy, led by the Local Maternity & Neonatal System (LMNS), provides a joined up‑ antenatal and postnatal offer. It brings professionals together at the earliest opportunity to support families.

• Health equity from the start: Reducing inequalities in maternal and neonatal outcomes is expected to narrow early developmental gaps before school.
• Prevention focus: Tackling risk factors such as smoking in pregnancy, maternal mental health, and low birth weight reduces the likelihood of developmental delays and strengthens school readiness.

Integrated Local Delivery:

• CYP Neighbourhood Teams: Built around Primary Care Networks (PCNs), Family Hubs, and SEND priorities, these teams focus on school readiness, tackling inequalities, and improving access in rural areas. They provide families with a joined up offer rather than fragmented services.
• Integrated two-year review: The mandated assessment at age two is now delivered jointly by the 0–19 Children’s Health Service and Early Years settings, demonstrating strong partnership working.
• Early Years Locality Teams: Provide support and challenge to ensure vulnerable children can access early years and education services, narrowing the attainment gap and joining up early help services.
  • Children in Care: The Virtual School, Early Years Locality Teams, and the Specialist Teaching Team collaborate to monitor progress and ensure timely interventions.
  • Children with a Social Worker: The Virtual School, Early Years Locality Teams, collaborate to ensure timely interventions, remove barriers to access learning and support with transition.
  • Pupil Re‑integration Team: Supports children at risk of exclusion, helping them transition smoothly into school, particularly those with delays in managing feelings and behaviours.
  • Children with English as an Additional language and Traveller children: Early Years teams and the Ethnic minority and traveller education team (EMTET) collaborate to ensure joined up approaches, remove barriers to access learning and support with transition.
  • Children with SEND: Health have a duty to inform the LA of children who have or may have an additional need aged 0-5, there is a digital Section 23 process in place which health professionals use to inform the Early Years and Childcare Team (EYCC).  Early Years Special Educational Needs and Disability (SEND) trained colleagues are co-located within the Family Hubs to provide advice and guidance to families and to connect them to services and remove barriers. For children starting school there is a transition offer, and schools can request a support visit from an Early Years Specialist Teacher (EYST) in the child’s first term in school.
  • Children eligible for Free School Meals (FSM): Deprivation funding data from the Early Years Entitlements (EYE) team is used alongside School’s Early Years Foundation Stage Profile (EYFSP) data to identify schools with lower outcomes for this cohort and their feeder settings are then given advice and guidance through face-to-face support on providing an aspirational curriculum for this cohort. From September 2025 schools with these lower outcomes are invited to training focussed on the prime areas of learning.
  • Summer Born Boys: School’s EYFSP Data informs which schools have lower outcomes for these cohorts and from 2025 in schools is offered to focus on child development for this cohort. Training is offered to schools for the prime areas of learning with a focus on summer born boys, which will support teachers to ensure this group are ready to learn. This data is being shared with School Leaders so they can monitor it going forward. There will be a focus on summer born boys in the termly agreement trialling with schools. This cohort will also be highlighted for extra support during Early Years and Child Care (EYCC) training to the Early Years (EY) sector. There is a process in place with the Children Missing Education (CME) team to identify children who defer their school start date until later in the academic year to enable EYSTs to connect with these families to provide advice and guidance on the benefits of starting school and what being school ready looks like.

National Childcare Expansion Programme: To make childcare more accessible and affordable for working families, support early childhood development, and enable more parents—especially mothers—to return to work or increase their hours.

• Expanded Early Years Entitlements: From September 2025: Eligible children aged 9 months to school age can access 30 hours per week (1,140 hours per year). A suite of marketing materials informs families about government childcare offers. Outreach programmes ensure professionals encourage parents to access provision early.
• Wraparound Childcare: Lincolnshire supports the expansion of wraparound childcare, offering care before and after school to help working families. Provision is delivered through schools, nurseries, and childminders, with financial support available via national schemes. The council facilitates the ‘Right to Request’ process, enabling parents to ask schools for childcare services and ensuring local coordination to meet demand.
• School-Based Nurseries: Lincolnshire has been approved for seven new school-based nurseries, each offering around 20 places. These nurseries are located on primary school sites and aim to provide accessible, high-quality early education for children under five. Funded through the Government’s Plan for Change, schools received up to £150,000 to repurpose or extend existing spaces. The initiative supports working families by increasing access to 30 hours of funded childcare, helping children become school-ready and reducing inequalities in early years outcomes.

Workforce and Quality Improvement

• Early Years and Childcare (EYCC) Teams:  EY Sector Offer: Lincolnshire’s Early Years and Childcare (EYCC) Teams deliver targeted support and improvement programmes to ensure all children can access their funded hours in high-quality settings. Evidence shows that quality provision has the greatest impact on disadvantaged children (Source: EPPE Project, 2004). Support is prioritised for settings awaiting their first Ofsted inspection, with Lincolnshire outperforming other areas at this stage. Settings rated below ‘good’ receive tailored improvement packages. Since the pandemic, all providers are offered annual ‘Keeping In Touch’ visits to ensure EYFS compliance. EYCC also provides audit tools to help settings monitor and maintain standards.
• School Offer: School support in the Reception Year has been strengthened to broaden the assessment and profile advice and guidance to reception teachers and school leads, to extend PEEP into targeted schools. Schools training by EYCC has been reintroduced focussing on Prime Areas of development and vulnerable groups. The bespoke transition support process for schools has been centralised and reviewed to encompass a wider cohort of vulnerable children.
• Workforce development: Lincolnshire prioritises growing and retaining a highly skilled workforce. Upskilling focuses on early identification and intervention in early communication and language development and strengthening the skills of the Special Educational Needs Coordinator (SENCO) as well as ensuring mandatory learning is in place for all settings. Setting leaders are provided with termly Leadership Briefings, SENCO Networks and Designated Safeguarding Leads briefings. There is an annual Training Brochure which provides external and inhouse training based on analysis of data outcomes and Government focus. EYCC sources local training on child protection related Continual Professional Development (CPD) from the Lincolnshire Safeguarding Children Partnership.
• Inclusion support: Early Years Locality Teams provide guidance and quality assurance through the Area SENCO Role. They deliver the Family Hubs Home Learning Environment Programmes and also provide transition support for children moving up to school. Early Years Specialist Teachers are part of the joint educational assessment route for the Education, Health and Care (EHC) process – they write the educational reports for children in early years. EYCC provides CPD opportunities for SENCOs allowing them discharge duties under the SEND Code of Practice 2014. This includes CPD for SENCOs, including investment in Level 3 SENCO training, and administers the Early Years Inclusion Fund to secure enhanced support for children with SEND, through an application process.

Family Hubs and Start for Life Survey received a total of 1078 responses across 2023/2024. Findings (2024) for families who use (or could use) Children Centre and Family hub services, summarised that families thought Lincolnshire’s offer is:

• Valued for their welcoming spaces and supportive staff.
• Challenged by gaps in awareness, rural access, SEND provision, and digital consistency.
• Strengthened when services feel joined up and family voice is embedded.

The Lincolnshire Childcare Sufficiency Assessment (CSA) is carried out annually by Lincolnshire County Council to understand whether childcare provision meets the needs of local families. From a family perspective in 2024, Lincolnshire’s childcare system is:

• Valued and trusted once accessed.
• Challenged by affordability, flexibility, and rural access.
• Needing clearer communication about entitlements and support.
• Under pressure for SEND provision and wraparound care.

EYCC maintains accurate data to respond to market pressures and ensure sufficiency across the county.

Key partners for Early Years include; parent and carer representatives, Maternity Voices Partnership, Lincolnshire County Council, the Integrated Care Board, local NHS Trusts (e.g. Maternity Services, Paediatrics, Perinatal Mental Health Services, Better Births, Speech and language services), the Voluntary and Community Sector (e.g. Children’s Links), Early Years Providers, and Schools.

In Lincolnshire, a strong culture of collaboration underpins the delivery of early years and family services. Partners are brought together through a range of platforms that ensure strategic oversight, operational delivery, and community voice are all connected:

• Family Hub Governance Board – the strategic decision‑making body that oversees the transformation programme. It includes senior leaders from the local authority, NHS, and voluntary sector, ensuring accountability, resource allocation, and alignment with wider strategies such as the Lincolnshire Health and Wellbeing Strategy and the Children and Young People’s Plan.
• Family Hub Steering Group includes all activity sitting under Early Years and childcare support (EYCC), (such as HAF, (School Based Nurses (SBNs), reforms in childcare and the Wraparound Childcare (WAC))– a countywide forum that provides direction, coordination, and consistency across all Family Hub networks. It ensures alignment with national programmes such as Start for Life, Holiday Activity and Food Programme, Wrap Around Childcare programme and local priorities including school readiness, perinatal mental health, and SEND inclusion.
• Family Hub Networks – localised networks that bring together health, education, early years, and voluntary sector partners. These networks focus on day‑to‑day delivery, sharing data and best practice, and ensuring families can access joined‑up support in their communities.

Lincolnshire’s unmet needs cluster around inequalities within child outcomes, data gaps, access inequalities, workforce pressures, and parent voice. The comprehensive response will be articulated within the development of a Best Start in Life Local Plan: to better data, strengthen outreach, workforce upskilling, and alignment with national reforms — all geared towards achieving the 75% GLD target by 2028 (see also section 7.Next Steps).

Key inequalities Performance inequalities within Good Level of Development (GLD) outcomes (based on Lincolnshire 2025 data) indicate:

• Gender gap: Girls are significantly more likely to achieve a GLD than boys. Around 3 in 4 girls reach this level, compared to just under 3 in 5 boys.
• SEN gap: Children receiving Special Educational Needs (SEN) support are much less likely to achieve a GLD. Only 1 in 5 children with SEN support reach the expected level, compared to about 3 in 4 children without SEN.
• Summer-born gap: Children born in the summer months are less likely to achieve a GLD than those born in other seasons. Around 3 in 5 summer-born children achieve a GLD, compared to more than 3 in 4 children born in autumn, or spring. Summer born boys achieved 49.6% GLD – a targeted offer of support to schools and EY settings is being implemented from September 2025 see above.
• Ethnicity gap: Children from Gypsy/Roma backgrounds are particularly disadvantaged, with only 1 in 4 achieving a GLD, compared to just over 2 in 3 White British children.
• FSM gap: Children eligible for Free School Meals, often linked to lower-income households, are less likely to achieve a GLD. Only 1 in 2 FSM children reach the expected level, compared to 7 in 10 children from more affluent backgrounds.

(Source: EYFS Local Data 2025)

It is important to note that these patterns reflect group-level trends and do not mean that all children within these groups will experience poorer outcomes. Many children from these groups do achieve a GLD, and individual circumstances vary.

The Family Hubs Transformation Programme in Lincolnshire has been in place to address common local challenges and persistent unmet needs/gaps, despite mitigations these themes will require a longer term strategic focus:

• Access and Inclusion: Certain families and communities — particularly those in rural and coastal areas (e.g. Boston, East Lindsey) — find it harder to access the help they need, when they need it. Families experiencing poverty, language barriers, or digital exclusion are less likely to engage with services. This is why Seldom Heard focus groups were conducted through the family hubs initiation, which led to service level adaptations and outreach approaches.
• Digital and Virtual Offer: A comprehensive virtual service offer was required to complement face‑to‑face support. Families needed easy, flexible access to advice and guidance, including self‑help tools, online parenting programmes, and digital health visiting support. This led to the development our virtual Best Start in Life offer which brings all of this information into one place.
• Evidence and Impact: There were gaps in analysis and understanding of what works, for whom, and why. More robust evaluation was completed to ensure interventions delivered in Lincolnshire are evidence‑based and targeted effectively, particularly for disadvantaged groups. We want to ensure the right support is offered to families, at the right time.
• Perinatal Mental Health and Parent–Infant Relationships: Demand for perinatal mental health support had increased since the Covid‑19 pandemic. Families needed co‑ordinated, accessible services to strengthen parent–infant relationships and reduce the risk of long‑term developmental issues. A number of interventions, offered across LCC and Lincolnshire Partnership NHS Foundation Trust (LPFT) have been evaluated and families are able to access evidence-based approaches, such as Recovery College or Video Interaction Guidance (VIG).
• Parenting Support and Home Learning Environments: Families affected by national lockdowns showed gaps in children’s speech, language, and social development. A number of interventions, offered across Lincolnshire County Council (LCC) and Lincolnshire Community Health Services NHS Trust have been evaluated, and families are able to access evidence-based approaches, such Speech and Language support pilot.

There remain some further gaps and unmet needs which Lincolnshire aim to address within the next steps section, such as:

• School readiness: Some children start school without attending an early years setting, which can influence readiness gaps. Data in Lincolnshire shows that 67% of children that attended early years achieved a Good Level of Development (GLD), compared to 59% that didn’t
• Take up of Childcare Entitlements: There continues to be some children eligible for their Early Years Entitlement that do not access this. Including up to 20% of those eligible for the disadvantaged 2-year-old offer and some children with SEND.
• Workforce Development: Recruitment and retention pressures in early years and childcare can affect the sufficiency duty due to the number of places available.
• Health reviews: Data analysis shows that children are more likely to achieve a GLD where an ASQ-3 (Ages and Stages Questionnaire) was completed
• Access to Early Years Education: Data in Lincolnshire shows that 67% of children that attended an early years setting achieved a Good Level of Development, compared to 59% that didn’t.

Every local authority has been given a specific Good Level of Development (GLD) target to reach by the end of the 2027/28 academic year. The national expectation is set at 75%, and disadvantaged children (e.g. FSM-eligible) should benefit equally from improvements (Source: DfE, 2025).

We will continue to embed and build on the excellent practice and partnership working between health, early years, early help and social care, education, and community/voluntary sector partners, to embed broader system reforms within early years planning to provide a consistent pathway for families.

Lincolnshire are in the process of developing our Best Start Local Plan by March 2026, setting out how we will meet our GLD targets. This plan will:

• Identify local needs and gaps in provision.
• Join up services across health, education, and community sectors.
• Target resources to reduce inequalities in GLD outcomes.

Children’s Centre and Family Hub networks: Our offer will continue to be:

• Be open to all families, with a focus on disadvantaged areas.
• Provide integrated support across health, education, and parenting.
• Include trained professionals to support children with additional needs.

Evidence-Based Interventions: Our offer will continue to provide universal and targeted evidence-based programmes, especially for home learning environments targeting 3- and 4-year-olds. There will be a strong emphasis on increasing uptake and quality of 2–2½ year reviews as outlines within the (Source: DfE, 2025).

Other actions outlined within the national strategy include:

• Incentives for early years teachers in high-need areas.
• Focus on high-quality provision in early years settings.
• Improved Ofsted oversight and inspection frequency.
• Stronger focus on transitions from early years to school.
• Expansion of wraparound Childcare and School-Based Nursery provision.

Monitoring and Evaluation: Progress will be assessed using GLD data published in November. The government are due to announce the Local Government Outcomes Framework approach; implementing a new framework which encourages data sharing, improved early years workforce training, and stronger transitions from nursery to school. Lincolnshire will evolve practices to align to these expectations.