Babyzone Global

Babyzone Global Babyzone helps parents, carers & practitioners make the early years count. Free hubs, open learning & joyful spaces for families everywhere.

07/08/2026

Babyzone Glasgow is back next Friday!

Join us every Friday, 9.30am to 2.30pm during term time at Easterhouse Sports Centre.

Drop in with your little one (0 to 5s) for soft play, classes, crafts and much more!

No booking, no cost.

Local organisations including health visitors will be on hand too, plus a chance to meet other families for peer support.

See you there!

04/08/2026

Why does the UK still underinvest in the early years? Season one of Best Beginnings put that question to the people who've spent their careers trying to answer it:

Sally Hogg, Founding Director, Start Strong
Jodie Reed, CEO, Home-Start UK
Neil Leitch, Early Years Alliance
Alex Christofias, Aviva Foundation
Anna Heuschkel, Policy Researcher and Early Years Lead, Centre for Young Lives
Ingrid Katz, Director, Yale Institute for Global Health
Lizzie Gaisman, CEO, The Richmond Project
Laura Henry-Allain MBE, creator of Jojo & Gran Gran
Will Quince, CEO, 1001 Critical Days Foundation

Their answer, in short: this was never a parenting problem. It's a policy one.

Catch up on the full season one now:
YouTube: https://lnkd.in/evsjfhqM
Spotify: https://lnkd.in/eyVNAsvm
Apple Podcasts: https://lnkd.in/eyq98Txi

29/07/2026

Sarah Jones MP joined us on the last day of summer term at Babyzone Croydon. Here's what she said: "This is the most extraordinary provision... all the mums here are able to find just a bit of help if they need it."

From September, join us every Friday from 9:30am for a day of early learning and connection: maths, sensory play, movement, and time to meet other local parents.

28/07/2026

When families ask us about school readiness, they often mean: will my child cope?

Camilla Reid, author of I Am Ready for School, says that instinct is right. The conversation around school readiness tends to focus on academic preparation, but the qualities that actually help a child flourish on the first day are different: self-confidence, the ability to manage a new environment, a small toolkit of practical and social skills.

In this clip from the latest Best Beginnings episode, she explains why confidence and connection matter more than letters and numbers and what she set out to give children with her new book.

Watch or listen to the full conversation on Best Beginnings now.
YouTube: https://youtu.be/UaEZ16l3pz0
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/2JtvsUqYfNDBoV5vqM5nzo
Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/best-beginnings/id1891251139

What felt most important to you when your child started school? We'd love to hear.

28/07/2026

We're proud to be working with Babyzone Croydon, to help ensure children have all the essentials they need to thrive. Recently we supplied a wide range of new and pre-loved school uniform, including 75 pairs of brand new school shoes, for families attending their hub. They shared this lovely post about the day:

"Today, a corner of our Babyzone Croydon hub was transformed into a school uniform shop, thanks to the incredible Stripey Stork baby/family bank.
They didn't just donate a few bits and pieces. They delivered a full range of brand new and preloved uniform, including 75 brand new pairs of school shoes, so that families walking through our doors could choose exactly what their child needed, with dignity and choice.
One parent, picking out shoes for her son, said: "Are you sure I can just take these? It doesn't feel right. My sister has given me my nephew's old school shoes, but I can't tell you how much it means to me to send my son into school on his first day with brand new shoes! Thank you, this is special."
For so many families, the start of a new school year comes with quiet pressure. New shoes shouldn't be a luxury. Thanks to Stripey Stork, for families at our hub this September, they aren't.
Huge thanks to the whole Stripey Stork team for their generosity and for trusting us to get this into the hands of families who needed it most."

Thank you, Babyzone Croydon, for your kind words and for the wonderful partnership. Together, we're helping children across Surrey and Croydon start the school year with the essentials they need. Babyzone Global

What does it actually mean to get a child ready for school? And are we measuring the right things?A third of children ar...
27/07/2026

What does it actually mean to get a child ready for school? And are we measuring the right things?

A third of children are said to start reception without the basics, and every year that headline lands with a note of anxiety for families. But Camilla Reid, author of Pip and Posy and co-founder of Nosy Crow, thinks the national conversation has been pointing families in the wrong direction.

In the new episode of Best Beginnings, she talks about her new book I Am Ready for School, why confidence and self-management matter more than letters and numbers, and how five minutes of shared reading a day can give a child nearly 1.5 million more words by the time they start school.

New episode is out tomorrow. Subscribe so you don't miss it.
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLWdOXr15y9mmHM3FDdke7MHWg7zaq9rAf
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/2JtvsUqYfNDBoV5vqM5nzo
Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/best-beginnings/id1891251139

What do you think school readiness really means? We'd love to hear from you.

25/07/2026

What does reading actually do for a child?

In this clip from the new Best Beginnings episode, Camilla Reid, author of Pip and Posy and I Am Ready for School, uses an image that might surprise you.

When she speaks to early years practitioners, she puts a picture of a Swiss Army knife on screen, all its blades out, and writes around the edge: "This is a very useful tool."

That's what a book is, she argues. It develops concentration, memory, language, the ability to predict and follow a sequence. All at the same time. All invisibly. All while the child is simply enjoying the story.

Watch or listen to the full conversation on Best Beginnings on Tuesday.
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLWdOXr15y9mmHM3FDdke7MHWg7zaq9rAf
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/2JtvsUqYfNDBoV5vqM5nzo
Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/best-beginnings/id1891251139

What's the book you remember most from your own childhood?

24/07/2026

What gives Sally Hogg, founding director of Start Strong, hope after decades in early years policy?

Not a new strategy document. Not a funding announcement. Babies and children themselves.

"You can't help but be hopeful and optimistic if you're with a jolly two year old," she says. And then she makes the point that is easy to miss in the complexity of policy discussions: "This is not like some rare disease where we don't know what the cure is. We know exactly what babies and young children and families need."

We know what works. The challenge is building the systems to deliver it consistently.

Watch or listen to the full conversation on Best Beginnings now.
YouTube: https://youtu.be/z1J22PLJuzI
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/2JtvsUqYfNDBoV5vqM5nzo
Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/best-beginnings/id1891251139

What gives you hope when it comes to early childhood? We'd love to hear from you.

23/07/2026

A 20,000-person study across England and Wales has found something uncomfortable: as physical punishment has declined, verbal abuse has risen to become the most common form of childhood maltreatment. Researchers say it can be just as damaging to adult mental health as physical abuse.

We hosted Jessica Bondi, founder of Words Matter, for a webinar on exactly this. Watch the full webinar here: https://youtu.be/jV-oF3qzGb4

Did that stat surprise you?

23/07/2026

What should the Prime Minister know about babies and young children?

Sally Hogg, founding director of Start Strong, has a clear answer. She wants the briefing to start with outcomes: what are we doing well for our babies and children, and where are we failing? And then she wants it to be holistic, not a siloed list of services, but an honest picture that pulls together maternity, health visiting, family hubs, early education and housing. Because the biggest problem at the moment is fragmentation.

Watch or listen to the full conversation on Best Beginnings now.
YouTube: https://youtu.be/z1J22PLJuzI
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/2JtvsUqYfNDBoV5vqM5nzo
Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/best-beginnings/id1891251139

If you were writing that briefing note, what would be your top priority? We'd love to hear your thoughts.

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Wednesday 9:30am - 2:30pm
Thursday 9:30am - 2:30pm
Friday 9:30am - 2:30pm

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