Best start in life

During the period from conception to age two, babies are especially vulnerable to their environment. What happens in pregnancy and early childhood impacts on physical and emotional health through to adulthood. Supporting good maternal health is important for safe delivery, good birth weight and gives babies the best start in life.

The foundations of the brain are built during the first 1001 days. Emotional health, physical wellbeing, social skills, cognitive skills and verbal abilities develop during this time and form the foundation of an individual’s health and wellbeing in childhood and later life: HM Government, 2021.

We have produced a Best Start in Life plan 2026 to 2029 which sets out our shared commitment to helping children and families to thrive. The plan reflects what families have told us matters most and explains how we will strengthen early support, improve access to childcare and work closely with partners across health and education, and our communities.

Download the Best Start in Life plan

Our services are also informed by the South Gloucestershire Children and Young People’s Needs Assessment 2023 (SGC, 2023) (CYP NA), which covers topics in health, wellbeing and education. It brings together data, evidence, and local insight to help identify the issues that children and young people face and where the greatest inequalities lie. It also gives recommendations so we can support children and young people and their families.

In addition, our public health team commissions an Online Pupil Survey (OPS). The OPS is a snapshot in time of children and young people’s health and wellbeing needs. It ensure pupil voice influences how education settings, the council and partners construct their development plans; update their policies, procedures, and practices; and plan, deliver and evaluate targeted interventions and support.

The latest OPS summary report provides more information about the survey and a summary analysis of a subset of the questions asked – providing trend analysis where possible, and breakdowns by sex and educational phase.

Data dashboard

An in-depth dashboard on this topic area may be developed in the future.

Headline data can be found on the Our population page.

Resources

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