About the Project
The My First 1000 Days project focuses on giving children in the Leeds area the best possible start in life. This ambition aligns with both national guidance and the local priorities of the Leeds Health and Wellbeing Strategy and the Leeds Children and Young People’s Plan.
The project brings together experts from across the University of Leeds with expertise in children’s health and development, working in partnership with regional organisations including Leeds City Council, Leeds Community Healthcare NHS Trust, Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust, and voluntary, community and social enterprise (VCSE) partners. The team also works closely with TNO (Netherlands Organisation for Applied Scientific Research).
Centering based group care In leeds
The centering-based group care approach was developed by TNO and has been successfully implemented within healthcare systems in the Netherlands. The approach integrates medical and social care by bringing families together in facilitated group settings, combining health assessment, learning and peer support.
The My First 1000 Days programme builds on this model and includes content across four interconnected workstreams:
- Language and cognitive development
- Physical activity
- Food and nutrition
- Co-producing a disability-inclusive model of group care
Disability inclusion runs as a core principle throughout all aspects of the programme design.
Current phase of the project
The My First 1000 Days project has completed the design of the full programme. The current phase focuses on pretotyping and testing elements of the approach, working with families and practitioners to understand what works best in the Leeds context and how the model can be refined before wider implementation.
The project aims to:
- Understand existing services, policies and provision across Leeds
- Identify suitable settings and contexts for centering-based group care
- Explore the evidence base for group-based approaches during the first 1000 days
- Engage families, practitioners and stakeholders in shaping the programme
- Test and refine elements of the centering-based group care model
- Understand acceptability, feasibility and implementation considerations
- Develop practical learning to support future adaptation and scale-up
Earlier phases of the project focused on programme design and evidence development. Learning from these phases continues to inform current work.
