Baby Talk

While I was at the Labour Party conference last week, I listened to Maya Ellis MP talk about why it was important to establish an APPG for Babies (Pregnancy to Under 2s). This resonated with me as I strongly believe that the provision of high-quality accessible and sustainable services for babies is a social justice issue.

Social justice in the Early Years is about fairness, access, equity, children’s voices and sustainability and right now this is not guaranteed for many of our babies. Although disadvantage is concentrated among very young families with 36% of children in poverty living in households whose youngest child is under five (Lords Library, 2024), the childcare expansion risks missing those who need it most. Take-up of formal childcare is much lower among poorer families, and settings in deprived areas often have fewer places and lower-quality provision (IPPR & Save the Children, 2024; House of Commons Library, 2023).

Family support and early learning programmes, which are known to strengthen home-learning environments and improve outcomes, remain patchy and under-funded and access to wider parenting support services is uneven (National Audit Office, 2023; Nuffield Foundation, 2023). Nurseries in disadvantaged communities are also financially fragile, closing more frequently than in wealthier areas and the early years pupil premium is small compared with school-age investment (Local Government Association & Isos Partnership, 2023; National Day Nurseries Association, 2024).

At the same time, the sector faces acute workforce shortages, with too few qualified specialised staff to lead baby rooms, undermining the guarantee of consistent, high-quality provision for babies who cannot advocate for themselves (Department for Education, 2023; NDNA, 2024). The recent Quality in the Baby Room: Actionable Findings from a Global Evidence Review (Sakr, Bonetti & Halls, 2024/25) supports the importance of well-designed baby rooms led by specialist trained baby staff and smaller ratios to ensure higher-quality outcomes. This is a battle yet to be won, especially when considering other reviews taking place such as the DfE consultation on space where larger numbers of children are being considered by including the space outside.

Remember this most powerful statistic: 80% of a child’s brain is formed by the time they are 2 years old

How can an APPG help?

An APPG is an All-Party Parliamentary Group made up of members of both Houses of Parliament (MPs and Lords) who share a common interest in a policy area or issue. APPGs have no official legislative power but serve as forums for discussion, bringing together parliamentarians, experts, charities, and stakeholders to influence policy, hold inquiries, and engage with government around a shared purpose. In this case, to help the government make informed decisions about Early Years policy, grounded in evidence and lived experience including influencing investment and equity in provision like Start for Life across the UK.

Who Are the Key MPs & Officers of the APPG?

Chair: Maya Ellis MP for Ribble Valley, (Labour)

Vice-Chairs / Officers: Elsie Blundell MP for Heywood and Middleton North (Labour), Freddie van Mierlo MP for Henley and Thames (Liberal Democrat), Patrick Spencer MP for Central Suffolk and North Ipswich (Independent)

The Secretariat is the Parent-Infant Foundation which provides administrative support for the APPG. The Parent-Infant Foundation is an organisation which supports the development of parent-infant relationship services across the UK to support shared learning and quality improvement in the whole sector.

As an Early Years Professional, you can get involved in an APPG by:

1. Contacting the APPG secretariat (via the Parent-Infant Foundation) to express interest, share evidence or suggest topics.
2. Writing to or meeting with MPs / officers (e.g. Maya Ellis, Elsie Blundell) to present your work or concerns on baby / Early Years policy.
3. Submitting evidence or participate in inquiries — APPGs often conduct consultations or calls for evidence from practitioners, researchers and public bodies.
4. Attending APPG meetings or events when open to stakeholders. They may host parliamentary sessions, launch reports, or organise roundtables.
5. Staying updated and networking with stakeholders via the APPG’s communications, news letters, or via the Parent-Infant Foundation.

You can find more information about upcoming APPG’s on the UK Parliament website (parliament.uk)