Case study 1: Leicester City
www.nesta.org.uk/feature/case-studies-early-years-practice-england/case-study-1-leicester-city/
www.nesta.org.uk/feature/case-studies-early-years-practice-england/case-study-1-leicester-city/
Number of children under five: 27,081 (data from 2021 census).
Index of Multiple Deprivation: out of 317 local authorities (LAs) in England, Leicester was ranked 22nd (average rank) and 32nd (average score) (based on English indices of deprivation 2019, where rank first = most deprived), with more than 40% of children in Leicester City living in poverty.
Ethnic diversity: according to Leicester Council 2023, 43% of Leicester’s population is Asian, of whom the majority are of Indian heritage. Leicester also has large Eastern European (Polish, Romanian), Black African (Somali, Nigerian) and Caribbean populations; 41% of Leicester residents were born outside of the UK.
Proportion of children eligible for free school meals (FSM) reaching a good level of development (GLD) measured by the Early Years Foundation Stage Profile: in 2022-2023, Leicester City had 54.4% of children on FSM reaching a GLD, which was among the highest quintile (20%) in all LAs in Cluster 1 based on Nesta’s previous work (on average, 53.4% of children eligible for FSM reached a GLD in this cluster). LAs in Cluster 1 were bigger cities outside London, characterised by a cardiovascular disease prevalence and more children in low-income families than average.
In this case study, we have highlighted some key elements of practice that staff in Leicester City reported as contributing to good early-years outcomes. These include tackling poverty and encouraging families to take up benefits, empowering parents and facilitating peer support, and enhancing digital platforms to help families access support in the context of staff shortages.
This case study is based on interviews in November 2022 with Leicester City Council's Project Officer, Family Hubs Team; the Senior Project Manager, Social Care and Education; the Children’s Commissioner in Public Health; and the SEN Support Services Officer, as well as an online survey completed by representatives from Leicester City Council before the interview.
We have selected this case study because Leicester City had higher percentages of children eligible for FSM reaching a GLD compared to other LAs in the same cluster identified by Nesta’s previous work (please see figures above).
The interviewees emphasised the socioeconomic challenges faced by families and the important role that tackling poverty plays in supporting families. They said the council aimed to tackle these challenges by recognising the complexities of family life and taking a comprehensive approach in supporting children’s development. As one interviewee explained:
"So we know that there's a link between living in deprivation, growing up in deprivation now and early language support, and we also know that families with children with special educational needs were often living in poverty and often experiencing intersectional discrimination. Class, gender, race, sexuality, nationality, so we know this is complex and it's not an easy solution, but I think what we do really well in our authority was recognise that complexity. If you tackle poverty, you're dealing with the root causes of early language delay."
Interviewee
To encourage families to take up the benefits they are entitled to, Leicester City launched a website called BetterOff Leicester to help families understand which benefits they are eligible for and apply for them online. The website also provides information on how to find and apply for jobs. As one interviewee described:
“I think more than 40% of our children are living in poverty… So lots of our work around supporting families with young children is linked to our anti-poverty strategy. We've launched more grants for our voluntary sector and we have a micro site on our website called BetterOff Leicester, which is encouraging families to be aware of the benefits they might have access to, the public support they might have access to; welfare rights advice basically.”
Interviewee
Between 2019 and 2022, Leicester City Council provided five parenting programmes for families with children under age five: Family Nurse Partnership, Solihull Approach, Triple P, PEEP (Learn Together Programme) and EasyPeasy.
The council also provided targeted interventions for children with complex special educational needs (SEN). The SEN team provided home support, including modelling effective interaction for children with significant needs, and initiated specialised courses such as Living With Autism, adapting to the unique needs of families navigating the autism pathway.
The interviewees noted that if a problem with the child’s language was identified by the Healthy Child programme at age two and a half, it was not helpful to wait until they start in a setting or school; they should be intervening earlier to support families and home learning environments. The focus shifted to “from conception onwards” when it came to commissioning services, and children were much more supported as a result. As an interviewee explained:
“Not that, of course, we should not be supporting them in reception class, but if we look at what's going on in families’ lives, it is much earlier on in their family life that we can make a difference for that child. And I think that's what our strategic approach in the authority has been. It's been to say, ‘how can we support from conception onwards, and how can we think about the wider circumstance?’”
Interviewee
The council offered training programmes to help early years practitioners identify and make a speech, language and communication referral. One example was Get Going with Communication, a universal course on language and communication offered to early years practitioners in Leicester City. The council also trained teachers to deliver accredited courses provided by Elklan on speech, language and communication at different stages.
The council focused on empowering parents by acknowledging their capabilities and recognising their potential contributions to the child’s learning. As an interviewee pointed out:
"Those points that people had raised about parents getting together, feeling supported themselves, and feeling they've got some agency and insight about what early learning might be and what their support needs and their mental health needs might be, therefore supporting their relationship with their children in the same way."
Interviewee
Many families in Leicester City speak multiple languages, and the council developed strategies to foster a sense of community and empower parents in navigating the challenges posed by diverse linguistic backgrounds. An interviewee explained:
“... all of us across the authority are really aware of the challenges facing our communities. So when we talk about community-led/peer-led approaches, it's about supporting those in an ongoing dialogue and engagement.”
Interviewee
As an example of supporting peer-led approaches, the council subcontracted Leicester Mammas to provide peer support on breastfeeding. These were mothers who had breastfed their own babies and completed training to help other mothers achieve their own goals for feeding their baby. Working alongside midwives and health visitors, these mother supporters offered one-to-one peer support through phone calls, home visits, or local groups across Leicester – and they spoke a variety of languages, including Gujarati, Urdu, Arabic, Punjabi, Polish, French, Portuguese and Cantonese.
Staff shortages and a high turnover of health visitors was reported by the interviewees as a challenge. One strategy Leicester City used to help parents access advice in the context of these challenges was to develop an enhanced digital platform Healthy Together, which encompasses Health for Kids and Health for Teens, to create connections and networks with families and provide families with health information and advice. The website also has a chat health text message function. The interviewees acknowledged there were challenges in accessibility, and said they were also working on providing more face-to-face support for families.
