The University of Leeds, in partnership with TNO, has embarked on an ambitious research project which aspires to have a postive impact on the health and outcomes of children and their families in Leeds. Launched on the 5th of December 2023, the My First 1000 Days project brings together a range of experts across several disciplines and research groups from the University of Leeds, with expertise in children’s health and development, to improve the lives of families in a region of profound inequality. This dedicated project team are currently working in collaboration with TNO, and a range of regional partners, including Leeds City Council, Leeds Community Healthcare NHS Trust, Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust, and representatives from the voluntary, community, and social enterprise (VCSE) sector.
Together with TNO, the My First 1000 Days project team are developing, implementing and evaluation a disability-inclusive centering-based group care programme, which incorporates physical activity, food and nutrition, and cognition and language development components, for primary caregivers and children during the first 1000 days in Leeds, West Yorkshire.
Thank you to those of you who were able to attend our launch event. For those of you who missed the official launch, we were thrilled with the turnout. It was a fantastic gathering of individuals from a range of organisations and representatives from the voluntary, community and social enterprise sector.
My First 1000 Days Project Team. From left to right: Professor Cat Davies, Dr Symone Detmar, Dr Shirley Paul, Dr Marlies Rijnders, Dr Alice Kininmonth, Professor Amanda Waterman, Rachel Heaton, Dr Camilla Nykjaer, Dr Amy Creaser, Professor Marion Hetherington, Professor Marion Hetherington, Professor Linda McGowan, Professor Jason Halford.
We have made the recordings from the launch event available for you to watch below.
Recordings from the Project Launch Event
The opening address was delivered by Professor Nick Plant, Deputy Vice-Chancellor: Research and Innovation. This was shortly followed by Professor Jason Halford and Professor Linda McGowan who provided an overview of the My First 1000 Days project and went into the aims of the project.
Keynote address
Anne Longfield CBE, Chair of the Commission on Young Lives, delivered the keynote address at the launch event held at Nexus, the University’s innovation hub. Anne highlighted the importance looking at the earliest opportunities to help children and families in order to give children the best start in life.
Project website and engagement activities
Following on from the Keynote address, Dr Alice Kininmonth and Dr Amy Creaser, Research Fellows on My First 1000 Days, officially launched the website and provided an overview of the engagement and co-creation activities that are being undertaken. These activities aim to ensure the project is acceptable, feasible and effectively addressing the needs of families in Leeds.
My First 1000 Days: Centering Based Group Care
My First 1000 Days is a three-year project which is developing a systematic and in-depth understanding of acceptable, feasible and sustainable strategies for integrating a centering-based group care model into health systems in Leeds. The centering-based group care model was developed by TNO. The University of Leeds have partnered with TNO to develop it to meet the needs of the local population. The next talk of the day was by Dr Marles Rijnder from TNO. Dr Rijnder provided an overview of the centering-based group care model that has been delivered in the Netherlands.
My First 1000 Days has three key component areas. Food and Nutrition which is led by Professor Janet Cade in the School of Food Science and Nutrition, and Professor Marion Hetherington, in the School of Psychology. Physical Activity in the Early Years which is led by Dr Camilla Nykjaer in the School of Biomedical Sciences. Early Language and Cognitive Development which is led by Leeds Child Development Unit lead Professor Cat Davies and Professor Amanda Waterman in the School of Psychology. These areas are all underpinned by the theme of Co-Producing a Disability-Inclusive Model of Group Care, which is led by Professor Angharad Beckett, from Leeds’ Centre for Disability Studies. The videos below provide an insight into each workstream.
Food and Nutrition Workstream
In this talk Professor Marion Hetherington gave an insight into the Food and Nutrition Workstream. Professor Hetherington discussed the importance of food and nutrition in the first 1000 days for the mother and their infant, and provided insights into the topics that will be covered and approaches that may be used in the group sessions focussing on food and nutrition, such as experiential learning.
Physical Activity Workstream
In this talk Dr Camilla Nykjaer provided an overview of the Physical Activity Workstream. Dr Camilla Nykjaer covered the importance of physical activity in the first 1000 days for both the mother and their infant. She also covered the barriers to engaging in physical activity, particularly amongst families from disadvantaged backgrounds and local support for physical activity that is current available. Camilla provided an insight into the types of topics that will be covered in the Physical Activity Workstream and how we will support families to become more physically active during the first 1000 days.
Early Language & Cognitive Development Workstream
The next talk was delivered by Professor Cat Davies and Professor Amanda Waterman who gave a summary of the Early Language and Cognitive Development Workstream. Professor Amanda Waterman summarised the important of language and cognitive development in the first 1000 days. Professor Cat Davies provided an overview of the local support for language and cogntive development that is currently available in Leeds. She also spoke about the types of topics relating to language and cognitive development that will be covered but emphasised that sessions will be participant led.
Co-Producing a Disability Inclusive Model of Group Care
Each workstreams is underpinned by the theme of Co-Producing a Disability-Inclusive Model of Group Care. This theme is led by Professor Angharad Beckett. In this talk Professor Angharad Beckett provided an insight into how we are ensuring disability-inclusion is at the forefront of the My First 1000 Days project.
Local stakeholder presentations
We also had a range of talks from local stakeholders who provided important insights from the Leeds context. The first talk was from Kathryn Ingold, Public Health Lead for Children & Families at Leeds City Council. Kathryn spoke about reducing health inequalities and promoting the Best Start for families in Leeds.
Next, Councillor Salma Arif, Executive Member for Adult Social Care, Public Health & Active Lifestyles at Leeds City Council spoke about health inequalities for infants and families in Leeds and the local response to promote a best start for all.
Tracey Simpson-Laing gave an insightful talk about Home Start and third sector support for families during the first 1000 days.
Closing Address
Finally, our closing address was from Professor Kate Pickett, Professor of Epidemiology at the University of York. Professor Pickett spoke about child inequalities in the UK and in Leeds and the importance of initiatives, such as the My First 1000 Days project, that aim to make a difference for families’ lives in Leeds.
Further information
For further information or to get involved please contact us.
