Tim Shakespeare

Spending on the new childcare entitlements next year could be £1bn higher than initially forecast in March 2023 - a 25% increase.

So what's going on? I break down the numbers that @pjtheeconomist.bsky.social and @maxwarner.bsky.social set out in @theifs.bsky.social post-Spending Review briefing.

May 2025 Hi everyone! Each month, I usually put together a list of interesting research I stumble upon, that seems relevant for the Fairer Start team at Nesta. After a few colleagues suggested I share it more ...

May research update!
Each month, I put together a list of new research about early childhood and policy, including benefits policy, ECEC, parenting support and services. After being told many times to share it beyond the Nesta team, I've finally gotten around to it. First edition here:

Using data in the early years Nesta is hosting an all-day event for professionals to come together and share ideas on how data can improve services for children and families

My colleague @rachelwilcock.bsky.social is organising an excellent event for anyone interested in how we use data to improve services for children and families in the early years. Sign up now! www.nesta.org.uk/event/using-...

YouTube video by Nesta - The UK's Innovation Agency A Fairer Start Local: how to support early years innovation in local authorities

A few weeks ago 250 people join us for our online event - sharing learning on 'how to support early years innovation in local authorities'. Catch up now with the recording on youtube to hear from leaders from local authorities, DfE and funders! www.youtube.com/watch?v=H_Np...

A Fairer Start Local: how to support early years innovation in local authorities YouTube video by Nesta - The UK's Innovation Agency

More than 250 people joined our launch event for the A Fairer Start Local report last week. Watch on youtube to hear what we learned by working with three local authorities to support innovation in early years services. www.youtube.com/live/H_Np9ET...

Quantitative Analyst (A Fairer Start) We are seeking a Quantitative Analyst to work in Nesta’s A Fairer Start mission.

🚨 We’re hiring! My team at @nestauk.bsky.social are looking for a Quantitative Analyst 📊

If you’re interested in generating data-led insights which can have a real world impact, this may be the role for you.

More information in the job advert, but happy to answer any queries about the role!

The result was an enhanced maternity pathway with closer working between health visitors and midwives, and renewed focus on support for families in the antenatal period, building stronger more positive relationships and a 45% increase in health visitor antenatal assessments

Our approach evolved from explorative workshops with service leaders and practitioners (including empathy mapping and storyboarding), through to iterative low-stakes testing (including role play) to improve the ideas, and a formal process evaluation as the new way of working was rolled out.

Our innovation in the early years report shares what we've learned about how to innovate effectively in early years services www.nesta.org.uk/report/innov.... Read the report to see how we used a 'test and learn' approach to increase integration of health visiting and midwifery teams in Stockport

Tom Symons: Six lessons for early years innovation | Local Government Chronicle (LGC) True partnership between families, communities, professionals, policy makers, funders, researchers and innovators is needed, writes the deputy director of

Today we launched the final report for A Fairer Start Local - innovation partnerships with the brilliant Leeds, York, Stockport & GMCA. I wrote this for the LGC on the lessons we learnt on innovating well, hopefully useful for the emerging Opportunity Mission!
www.lgcplus.com/services/chi...

A Fairer Start Local: how to support early years innovation in local authorities 📅 24 April 2025 🕛 12:00 – 13:00 📍 Online

Want to learn more?

🎟️ Join our lunchtime webinar on 24 April to hear from those who delivered the programme – from Nesta analysts and designers to early years leaders and practitioners in local authorities.

Register to attend: bit.ly/41j24ZN

This report is the culmination of some incredible partnership working between nesta and local authorities. Take a look to see what innovation in the early years can achieve!

A Fairer Start Local: how to support early years innovation in local authorities Join us to discover how Nesta and three local authorities worked together to improve outcomes for children

A highlight of my time at Nesta so far is bringing colleagues from York, Stockport & Leeds councils together to reflect on the difference they've made through 'A Fairer Start Local'. We've distilled all that wisdom into a report launching soon. Sign up to hear more! www.nesta.org.uk/event/a-fair...

Using data to understand and improve book borrowing for children in Leeds Working with Leeds City Council, we analysed library data to explore geographic and demographic differences in children's book borrowing and its correlation with NHS speech and language service referr...

🧵 My team @nestauk.bsky.social recently did a really interesting piece of analysis comparing borrowing rates of library books to speech & language therapy referral rates in Leeds, showing that areas with high levels of re-referrals to SLT correspond with low borrowing of books 1/2

Early Childhood Outcomes Report | Better Purpose

This report from Better Purpose was commissioned by a collaborative group of early years funders. It addresses 'what works to improve children's outcomes'. Definitely worth reading! www.betterpurpose.co/early-childh...

Wales has valuable data lessons for England’s Family Hub rollout We can learn from established programmes with data systems that help children, families and professionals.

The government is putting integrated EY support at the top of the policy agenda in England, but getting the infrastructure for data collection and sharing right from the start is crucial.

I wrote a blog for @nestauk.bsky.social on lessons we can learn from Wales' Flying Start programme 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿

I'm a bit late to the party but have finally got a copy of the book and signed up for the next book club event in March! Looking forward to it :)

Our @ihealthvisiting.bsky.social
annual HV survey published‼️
A call to get the basics right, with action to rebuild the HV workforce that has been cut beyond the bone in too many areas🚨
The needs of babies, children & families must lie at the heart of all service transformation👶🏾👶🏼👶🏿👇

Our Manifesto for Childminders sets out 9 actions to address plummeting childminder numbers, ensuring children have the very best start in life.

Let's make 2025 the year for childminding!
www.pacey.org.uk/wp-content/u...

AI Opportunities Action Plan: government response Government response to recommendations set out in the AI Opportunities Action Plan and the steps it will take to implement them.

The UK AI Opportunity Plan and Gov's response is now live...

There's lots to comb through, but a few first thoughts below 🧵(1/8).

www.gov.uk/government/p... @adalovelaceinst.bsky.social

The largest early years program, the "free entitlement" to funded childcare, grew from £1bn in 2001 to £4bn by 2023 (in today’s prices).

Planned spending will double in the next 4 years, marking the fastest and largest expansion on record. [THREAD 1/4]

CES 2025 was full of IRL AI slop | TechCrunch This year's Consumer Electronics Show was full of weird AI products with questionable value propositions — IRL AI slop, if you will.

techcrunch.com/2025/01/08/c...

Unlocking AI’s potential in early years education Three ways AI could empower early years professionals – and why it isn’t already happening

The phrase 'AI slop' describes uses of AI where it adds no value and no-one asked for it. It's exactly what we're trying to avoid in our project exploring AI in the early years. Instead we aim to understand real challenges & see how AI might or might not help www.nesta.org.uk/report/unloc...

Such a huge amount of money going into the early years - with so little going to children from poorer families who stand to benefit the most from high quality early education.

Annual report on education spending in England: 2024–25 | Institute for Fiscal Studies This annual report contains our latest estimates of spending per pupil and resource challenges across different stages of education in England.

To govern is to choose, so what choices face the government in the upcoming 2025 spending review?

A thread based on our new @theifs.bsky.social annual report on education spending in England

ifs.org.uk/publications...

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Thought BlueSky could do with a fatherhood starter pack! Message me if youd like an add!

go.bsky.app/4YTr8om

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Interested in keeping up with research in early years?

This month my free newsletter on LinkedIn covers research into digital media and its impact on early language development, rising rates of SEND, the decline in numbers of childminders and more ⤵️

www.linkedin.com/build-relati...

Play renaissance: this is the year play gets serious After a decade in the wilderness, play is about to rocket up the political and policy agenda in England

I was lucky enough to write one of nesta's 2025 Signals - had a lot of fun writing about how this could/should be the year policymakers in England take heed of the grassroots social movement in children's play and with a policy commitment to good play in childhood www.nesta.org.uk/feature/futu...

Researchers at the NIHR Children Policy Research Unit have published their latest paper “What do parents, professionals and policy colleagues want from a universal assessment of child development in the early years? A qualitative study in England”
https://buff.ly/4gHfGDc
#HealthVisiting

No matter how many times I see it illustrated, I’ll never stop marveling at the miracle of early development.

Think about it…

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