UPDATED 4th July 2025.

Since April, HENRY has been working in partnership with A Better Start Southend, a 10-year, Big Lottery-funded initiative launched in 2015 to improve outcomes for young children. Through collaboration with local services and communities, the initiative is reshaping support for families during the crucial early years.

Over the next three years, HENRY will work closely with local partners to strengthen health and wellbeing in early childhood. This includes:

• Delivering Healthy Families: Right from the Start programmes in local venues
• Rolling out the Starting Solids workshop for parents and carers of new babies
• Providing training for health and early years practitioners
• Developing a new universal antenatal healthy lifestyle intervention
• Supporting local volunteers to build community capacity

About A Better Start Southend

A Better Start is a national ‘test and learn’ programme investing £215 million from 2015 to 2025 across five pioneering local areas: Bradford, Blackpool, Lambeth, Nottingham and Southend-on-Sea.

Each area was chosen for its commitment to innovation and prevention in early childhood development. The programme is working to shift local systems, encouraging joined-up, community-led support that reaches families early and effectively.

HENRY’s Role in the Diet and Nutrition Strand

HENRY is contributing to one of three key development areas in Southend: diet and nutrition. Our work aims to support families with babies and young children through:

• Promoting breastfeeding and healthy eating habits
• Offering practical support around meal planning, portion sizes and nutritious meals
• Giving parents and carers the confidence to make healthy choices for the whole family

This strand complements two others in the initiative:

• Social and emotional development, supporting stronger relationships and secure attachment
• Communication and language development, encouraging parents and carers to talk, sing and read with their children and ensuring local services prioritise early language

Working Together for Long-Term Change

A Better Start Southend brings together health services, early years providers, the voluntary and community sector, and families themselves to co-produce more joined-up, less bureaucratic services. It focuses on pregnancy through the first three years of life, recognising this critical window to improve outcomes and reduce inequalities.

At HENRY, we’re proud to be part of this collaborative work, supporting families to build healthy foundations that last a lifetime.

Together, we can give every child the healthiest possible start in life.

Want to get involved or find out more?

If you’d like to learn more about our programmes and services, explore partnership opportunities, or support our work to give more children a healthier start in life, we’d love to hear from you.

Visit our contact page to get in touch with the team.