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Director of Public Health Annual Report

Prioritising the first 1,001 days of a child’s life

“Healthy trees grow from well-nurtured seeds and saplings.”

Professor Mark Mon-Williams

For this year’s Director of Public Health Annual Report we’ve taken a more illustrative approach and created Billy – Our Barnsley Baby. We wanted to focus on the first 1,001 days of a child’s life and we've used a storybook format which still delves deeply into this important health issue whilst weaving in rich insights into this health challenge.

This critical time in a child's early development, from conception to age two, presents unparalleled opportunities; laying foundations for lifelong health, wellbeing and success. It’s also a priority area in our new Healthy Life Expectancy Strategy, setting out how we'll build on what’s already working locally to continue improving health outcomes.

This year’s report highlights some of the different factors that can help infants go on to live life in good health and the local services that are here to support families. It also highlights some of the initiatives and programmes that support our communities, including:

At the end of the report, you'll also find a series of recommendations designed to strengthen our commitment to making sure that all children in Barnsley can enjoy the best possible start in life.

By placing a rigorous focus on the first 1,001 days, we hope to give our children the best possible start in life. To reinforce this, a copy of Billy – Our Barnsley Baby will be offered to all families of newborn Barnsley babies during their new birth visit with a health visitor over the next 12 months.

We hope this report inspires communities to take meaningful action to nurture children’s development in their early years and create a healthier Barnsley for everyone.

Read the full DPH annual report 2025 - Billy – Our Barnsley Baby.

You can also read our full Best Start in Life plan which highlights what we can offer to make sure families have the right support throughout their child’s early years.

More about Billy – Our Barnsley Baby

Billy’s insightful, heartwarming tale captures the journey and joys of parenthood and the first two years of a child’s life. The story of Billy and his family combines personal anecdotes and evidence-based health information about early years development.

Throughout his story, you'll find valuable insights and resources designed to support families during this critical development period, including:

  • How babies can hear anyone talking or singing to them during pregnancy, helping them to start recognising voices and feel safe.

  • How colostrum in breast milk is packed with useful antibodies and immune-boosting substances, acting like a natural vaccine and protecting newborns from infections.

  • How babies naturally reach out for interaction, and how caregivers responding in kind with sounds and gestures supports their brains development.

  • How play helps children make sense of the world.

Mapping Billy’s journey through exciting milestones, from his first moments and weeks of life to joining playgroups and nursery, we hope you will find his story useful and inspiring.

We invite parents, caregivers and anyone interested in the wellbeing of children, including professionals working with families in Barnsley, to read Billy – Our Barnsley Baby.

Our recommendations

Alongside our partner organisations, we recognise the vital role we must play in making the first 1,001 days of a child’s life a strategic priority.

By making this a focus, we can profoundly influence the health, wellbeing and life chances of local children and families across our communities.

These recommendations provide a roadmap for creating the conditions for every child to thrive and enjoy the best possible start in life, both now and for generations to come.

Integrate the first 1,001 days into all policies and strategies

We'll embed the importance of early childhood development into our strategic plans, commissioning frameworks and policy reviews.

By reflecting on the impact of policies on infants, parents and families in early years, we can make sure their needs are listened to and considered at every level.

Support parents and infants through business and community partnerships

We'll encourage local businesses to sign up to local breastfeeding-friendly initiatives and become Breastfeeding Friendly Employers.

We'll also make sure partnership programmes provide practical support for working parents.

Foster strong parent-child connections

We'll promote the importance of presence, responsive care and spending quality time together, highlighting the fundamental role nurturing relationships play in early development.

We'll also make sure parenting programmes and resources are available to support emotional bonding and attachment.

Maximise impact of Family Hubs and Start for Life services

We'll ensure our Family Hubs and Start for Life initiatives offer coordinated, accessible and sustained support for families throughout the first 1,001 days.

We'll also create mechanisms to make these services sustainable for years to come, ensuring their legacy for future generations.

Co-design services with families

We'll actively involve families in developing and continuous improving Start for Life and early years services, making sure they reflect local needs.

We'll also actively involve fathers and non-birthing parents in designing maternity and early childhood services, recognising their vital role in a child’s development.

Equip staff with essential skills and confidence

We'll provide ongoing training for all maternity and early childhood staff around key topics like infant feeding, emotional wellbeing and family support.

We'll also help staff confidently support families from all backgrounds, armed with up-to-date knowledge of local services and referral pathways.

Enhance accessibility and equity of support

We'll develop targeted outreach programmes and communications to make sure all families know how and where to access the support they may need.

We'll also work to remove any barriers to accessing support, such as language, location and stigma, to make sure every family feels able to seek help.

Engage the wider community

We'll develop community-wide campaigns and events to bring families and different generations together, building stronger support networks.

We'll also support local groups, such as community playgroups and voluntary organisations, to provide inclusive family activities and safe spaces for connections.

Conclusion

Billy’s first 1,001 days were filled with lots of little experiences and interactions, laying the foundations for his cognitive, emotional and physical development.

We believe that every child deserves these opportunities, which will shape the rest of their life.

We recognise that raising a child is a shared journey that brings together the whole community. This includes families, support networks, NHS and CVS colleagues and council services.

Together, we can create a borough where every child can thrive. By nurturing children in the important first two years of life, we can not only build amazing brains but create a fairer, more prosperous future for Barnsley, improving opportunities for everyone.

References

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  • Eliott Winton (2022). When are brains fully developed? Brain maturation according to science.

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  • Jenny Leach (2024). Fetal development: Your baby’s brain and nervous system.

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  • Leslie Morrison Gutman and John Brown (2008). The importance of social worlds: An investigation of peer relations. Department of Children, Schools and Families, Sheffield.

  • Madeleine O’Higgins, Ian St James Roberts, Vivette Glover and Alyx Taylor (2013). Mother-child bonding at one year; associations with symptoms of postnatal depression and bonding in the first few weeks. Archives of Women’s Mental Health, 16(5), pp.381-389.

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  • Mylène Lachance-Grzela and Geneviève Bouchard (2009). The well-being of cohabiting and married couples during pregnancy: Does pregnancy planning matter? Journal of Social and Personal Relationships, 26 (2-3), 141-159.

  • National Centre for Social Research (2024). Predictors of wellbeing.

  • National Literacy Trust (2024). Ten reasons why play is important.

  • NHS England (2018). Quick guide: Guidance for health services for children and young people with Special Educational Needs and Disability (SEND).

  • NHS Inform Scotland (2025). Attachment and bonding during pregnancy.

  • Paul G Ramchandani, Thomas G O’Connor, Jonathan Evans, Jon Heron, Lynne Murray and Alan Stein (2008). The effects of pre- and postnatal depression in fathers: A natural experiment comparing the effects of exposure to depression on offspring. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 49 (10), 1069-1078.

  • Toby L Parcel (2007). Capital at home and at school as determinants of child adjustment. In Olivia Saracho and Bernard Spodek’s Contemporary perspectives on social learning in early childhood education (2007). IAP: Charlotte, NC. pp.109-131.

  • Unicef Baby Friendly Initiative (2024). Building a happy baby: A guide for parents.

  • Unicef Baby Friendly Initiative (2024). Building babies’ brains through play.

  • Vanessa Lancaster (2022). Stress and pregnancy: How it affects an unborn child’s brain.