In this month's column, chief executive of Barking and Dagenham's Future Youth Zone Gavin Evans tells us how and why Youth Zone has a dedicated session for babies experiencing the world for the first time.
It is accepted that the first 1,000 days of a child’s development have more significance on their future than during any other time in their life.
We know that babies and toddlers need to develop strong relationships with adults, have positive experiences and be exposed to stimulating environments in order to thrive in their early years.
However, it is incredibly sad that for a number of reasons, not all babies and toddlers will grow up experiencing all of those positive factors.
A range of difficult situations for parents and carers - including low income, poor mental health and other challenging household environments - can have an adverse impact on a child’s development and in turn influence their later life outcomes.
With this in mind, I’ve been really proud that Future Youth Zone has been supporting the development of a new and innovative model of supporting parents, carers and their little ones.
Baby Zone offers a warm, safe and inviting space for parents and carers to bring their babies and toddlers to the Youth Zone every Wednesday during term time.
Our guests have access to two facilitated exploratory, free play areas that change every week to focus on different skills. In addition, we also work in partnership with WOW Baby Sensory, which runs a programme of five evidence-based classes for children and parents throughout the session.
Due to the generosity of our funders, we are able to offer Baby Zone free of charge, which ensures that it is accessible to families that need it the most.
Everyone who attends recieves a warm welcome and we have found that not having a schedule or requirement to prebook means families feel more comfortable to attend and engage with our team.
I have been so happy to see the return of Baby Zone to the Youth Zone in the last couple of weeks after a successful pilot prior to March 2020.
Since we restarted, it’s been great to see some familiar faces returning but wonderful to also welcome new parents and carers with their children.
I’m proud that we can offer this for residents of Barking and Dagenham and I’m sure it has already made a positive impact on the lives of many children and young people so far.
If you’re interested in our work, please feel free to get in touch via enquiries@futureyouthzone.org
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