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Giving children the best start in life

Giving children the best start in life

Our pledge: We will give children the best start in life and work to make sure they are not held back by where they live or their background and are free from fear or discrimination.


Delivering effective maternity services: Some children start life with greater disadvantages - for instance having less access to open spaces, growing up in poverty. We want to work to change this.

We are committed to improving outcomes and experience for families using our maternity and neonatal (newborn) services. We will continue to work towards the NHS Long Term Plan, including our perinatal action plan and addressing health inequalities for our diverse communities.

We want to use learning from the independent inquiry into East Kent maternity services, known as the Kirkup Report, to help us hear the voices of families who use services and involve them in helping us make positive changes.


Supporting families to start well: Services need to evolve to meet the needs of the population, be evidence-based and co-produced with our partners and users that have lived experiences. We need to change our services by listening to people and working in partnership.

Integrated support for families must include a wide offer that spans housing, communities, health, education, social care and the voluntary sector.

Health inequalities begin early in life. These differences include smoking in pregnancy, breastfeeding and childhood obesity, which can affect health and wellbeing in later life. Other factors also come into play; these include the places where we live and work and how much access we have to open green spaces. They contribute to families being healthy and well. For example, if fewer children experience child poverty, adult health outcomes and healthy life expectancy will improve.

We will also work as a system to improve the support we provide to children with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) in Kent and Medway, including those who are neurodiverse.


Working with the whole family to prevent problems rather than response to crises: This means working more closely with families, with early help and a focus on preventing rather than responding to crises. It is essential to reducing inequalities.

Taking an approach like this across Kent and Medway Integrated Care System (ICS) will better enable families to have confidence to take ownership of their health and care journey. It will make sure of improved outcomes by addressing issues, such as families who suffer from issues connected to living in poverty which affect many generations, housing challenges and other factors that inhibit families from thriving.

We are committed to developing a family hub model, including access to Start for Life services; midwifery, health visiting, mental health, infant feeding, safeguarding and special educational needs and disabilities services.


Safeguarding our most vulnerable children: Protecting vulnerable children and young people is one of our most important responsibilities. As partners, we need use our collective information, skills and resources to join up support for children and families.

We will strengthen the way teams work so children and young people grow up in safe, strong communities free from situations that could harm them.

We will listen and involve children and young people. We will safeguard and promote the welfare of children in care and care leavers, supporting them to live a positive and fulfilled life and transition into independence with confidence and ambition for the future.

We will work closely with the Government to support the national transfer system for unaccompanied asylum-seeking children, so they are cared for fairly and safely, without disproportionate impact on our area.



We asked people to share their views between February and August 2023. We have now closed our ideas boards. Thank you for your contributions!

Giving children the best start in life

Our pledge: We will give children the best start in life and work to make sure they are not held back by where they live or their background and are free from fear or discrimination.


Delivering effective maternity services: Some children start life with greater disadvantages - for instance having less access to open spaces, growing up in poverty. We want to work to change this.

We are committed to improving outcomes and experience for families using our maternity and neonatal (newborn) services. We will continue to work towards the NHS Long Term Plan, including our perinatal action plan and addressing health inequalities for our diverse communities.

We want to use learning from the independent inquiry into East Kent maternity services, known as the Kirkup Report, to help us hear the voices of families who use services and involve them in helping us make positive changes.


Supporting families to start well: Services need to evolve to meet the needs of the population, be evidence-based and co-produced with our partners and users that have lived experiences. We need to change our services by listening to people and working in partnership.

Integrated support for families must include a wide offer that spans housing, communities, health, education, social care and the voluntary sector.

Health inequalities begin early in life. These differences include smoking in pregnancy, breastfeeding and childhood obesity, which can affect health and wellbeing in later life. Other factors also come into play; these include the places where we live and work and how much access we have to open green spaces. They contribute to families being healthy and well. For example, if fewer children experience child poverty, adult health outcomes and healthy life expectancy will improve.

We will also work as a system to improve the support we provide to children with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) in Kent and Medway, including those who are neurodiverse.


Working with the whole family to prevent problems rather than response to crises: This means working more closely with families, with early help and a focus on preventing rather than responding to crises. It is essential to reducing inequalities.

Taking an approach like this across Kent and Medway Integrated Care System (ICS) will better enable families to have confidence to take ownership of their health and care journey. It will make sure of improved outcomes by addressing issues, such as families who suffer from issues connected to living in poverty which affect many generations, housing challenges and other factors that inhibit families from thriving.

We are committed to developing a family hub model, including access to Start for Life services; midwifery, health visiting, mental health, infant feeding, safeguarding and special educational needs and disabilities services.


Safeguarding our most vulnerable children: Protecting vulnerable children and young people is one of our most important responsibilities. As partners, we need use our collective information, skills and resources to join up support for children and families.

We will strengthen the way teams work so children and young people grow up in safe, strong communities free from situations that could harm them.

We will listen and involve children and young people. We will safeguard and promote the welfare of children in care and care leavers, supporting them to live a positive and fulfilled life and transition into independence with confidence and ambition for the future.

We will work closely with the Government to support the national transfer system for unaccompanied asylum-seeking children, so they are cared for fairly and safely, without disproportionate impact on our area.



We asked people to share their views between February and August 2023. We have now closed our ideas boards. Thank you for your contributions!