Parents helped by innovative baby development course

Building Babies’ Brains course co-ordinators came together to look back at success of programme that’s helped parents and carers give under-twos in Devon the best start in life

Community champion volunteers from across Devon came together at Exeter Golf Club on Wednesday (26 April) to celebrate a ground-breaking course they’ve been successfully delivering in the county for over four years.

Funded by Devon County Council and delivered by the charity Action for Children, the Building Babies’ Brains 1001 Champions Course helps those who come into contact with under-twos to improve their knowledge of baby brain development, bonding and resilience.

Trained by the charity to become trusted messengers who pass on evidence-based information in their areas, this network of community champions has grown to nearly 190, and together they have supported over 1,000 parents across Devon. It builds on the work by Action for Children at its nine children’s centres in the county which have delivered targeted early help to nearly 17,000 children since 2018.

England national director at Action for Children, Rhiannon Sawyer, said: ‘Babies’ brains grow at a fantastic rate during the first 1001 days. It’s a period of particularly rapid growth, when the foundations for later development are laid.

‘Yet the pandemic and its restrictions had a significant impact on many babies and their families in Devon as they missed out on vital opportunities for learning - and many are still dealing with the knock-on effects of that today. Our own research last summer showed nearly four in ten (39%) South West parents with children aged 0-5 struggle to access vital ‘lifeline’ parenting support, with almost a quarter (24%) missing out entirely.

‘But thanks to funding from Devon County Council, our fantastic Building Babies’ Brains community champions have been there for families in the county throughout the dark days of 2020/21 and since - and so it was to them both we said thanks and celebrated on Wednesday.’

Rhiannon added: ‘It’s been truly heart-warming to see how through our close community links we’ve been able to bring an innovative and creative approach to getting support to families.’

Councillor Andrew Leadbetter, Devon County Council's Cabinet Member with responsibility for children's services, said: ‘Becoming a parent is particularly challenging time and the first few years of a baby's life is so important to baby's physical and mental development. Training professionals who come into contact with under-two-year-olds about how babies' brains develop, enables them to pass that knowledge on to parents and carers. We're pleased that we've been able to fund this training and that so many children and their families can benefit from it.’

Mum of four and Building Babies’ Brains champion, Verity Memmott, 36 from Dawlish, said: ‘I got involved after hearing about the course through my work leading a breastfeeding support group. As a mum with lots of friends with young children, it felt like there was a real need to share information.

‘It’s really nice to feed back to mums and dads all the messages about babies – the fact you can’t always be the perfect parent all the time, and how you just need to be there for your baby.

‘The biggest thing I took from the course was that you have to trust your instincts as a parent – and that communication as a community is everything.’

To find out more about Action for Children’s Building Babies’ Brains 1001 champions course, email:communityaction@actionforchildren.org.uk