Number of children under five: 23,605 (data from 2021 census).

Index of Multiple Deprivation: out of 317 local authorities (LAs) in England, Bromley was ranked 230th (average rank) and 223rd (average score) (based on English indices of deprivation 2019, where rank first = most deprived). This means that Bromley is slightly less deprived than other LAs, on average.

Ethnic diversity: according to a report published by Bromley City Council, approximately 21.4% of Bromley’s population in 2021 are ethnic minority groups. The largest and fastest growing ethnic minority group in Bromley is Black African.

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 2022-23, Bromley had 48.3% of children on FSM reaching a GLD, which was among the highest quintile (20%) in all LAs in Cluster 2 based on Nesta’s previous work (on average, 46.1% children eligible for FSM reached a GLD in this cluster). LAs in Cluster 2 were characterised by low deprivation and a higher than average life expectancy.

In this case study, we have highlighted some key elements of practice that staff in Bromley reported as contributing to good early-years outcomes. These include supporting families through Bromley Children’s Project, improving communication and data sharing between services, and providing specialist support for infant and perinatal mental health.

This case study is based on an interview in November 2022 with Bromley Council's Early Years Strategy Manager, Early Years Quality Improvement Manager and Safeguarding Lead, as well as an online survey completed by representatives from Bromley Council before the interview.

We have selected this case study because Bromley had higher percentages of children eligible for free school meals (FSM) reaching a Good Level of Development (GLD) compared to other LAs in the same cluster identified by Nesta’s previous work (please see figures above).

A key service highlighted by the interviewees was Bromley Children’s Project (BCP), which was linked to all children and family centres, and worked with private, voluntary and independent early-years providers in the borough. BCP led parenting support within Bromley, and shared all the relevant information with parents. Every month, BCP shared its schedule at each of the children’s centres so parents could find out about what was on offer. The BCP attended meetings with the early-education providers, so their staff were aware of all the services it can offer to parents. 

Bromley also had a health visitor available Monday to Friday in each of the three health visitor teams to answer queries from families. If a parent called up with a concern, they could be booked into a clinic (for example, an infant feeding or weight review clinic). There was regular liaison with local GPs, where each GP had a named health visitor who visited their surgery quarterly to discuss concerns and families they felt may benefit from multidisciplinary work. 

The interviewees described how they offered support to families facing parenting difficulties, for example through referring families to local parenting groups within children’s centres. If the parents needed more structured support, Bromley may refer them to BCP. If the parents had specific needs (such as help with home safety and accident prevention), Bromley could offer support through a package of care, coordinated by a health visitor.

As well as parenting programmes such as Family Nurse Partnership, families in Bromley can access the b-HIVE website, which was created by local health services and the council to pull together the range of therapies that support children’s communication development, physical skills and independence.

The interviewees reported having established integrated working across agencies (including GP, speech and language, physio, and Children’s Community Nursing Team) to provide clearer pathways for families as a priority in their early-years work. For example, Bromley’s health nursing service and speech, language and communication team worked closely and both used the Early Language Identification Measure (ELIMs) tool to assess children’s development. They shared the same recording system and could see what each other was doing with clients. 

The interviewees also shared lessons on data sharing and emphasised they were “heavily reliant on the parents” for consent. Bromley “asked for parental permission earlier on” to enable early-years settings to share information directly with health visitors. 

To support infant and perinatal mental health, the council had employed a specialist health visitor. The role involved running interventions, working with a small caseload of parents with specific mental health issues, and working locally with the Bethlehem Royal Hospital and Bromley’s mother and baby unit. 

The Mindful Mums programme also provided local peer support groups in Bromley to support perinatal mental health, and the specialist health visitor would identify where else these groups may be needed and set them up. The specialist also looked specifically at gaps in the service in relation to mental health support for young parents, who fall between CAMHS and adult mental health services. 

In addition to signposting local mental health support services, such as Mindful Mums and Oxleas, the interviewees reported that Bromley was testing a structured package of support provided by the Institute of Health Visiting to train the infant perinatal health champion, who would identify families to work on with this tool, and use feedback to see if they should roll it out.