Achieving GLD: A Family Hubs toolkit for strengthening school readiness

This document highlights what supports children’s development and helps them achieve a Good Level of Development (GLD). It sets the national context for Family Hubs, outlining why integrated support, strong parental relationships and joined‑up systems are essential for improving school readiness and long‑term outcomes.

This document provides tools and materials to help practitioners strengthen early years development and support children’s progress toward GLD and school readiness. It offers quick access to high‑quality resources that enhance work with families across Family Hubs.

Artists are working in libraries and children’s centres to develop their creative practice for babies and their families.

The BookTrust’s Storytime Prize aims to build confidence and enjoyment in sharing books with children and encourage visits to the library, by inviting families to explore and vote for their national Storytime prizewinning book.

Ensuring children and families have access to support to enhance SLC development when a concern is raised is important. However, access to therapy services in Torbay is currently lengthy for families. Early timely support can enable children to ‘catch up’ with peers. A pathway of support has therefore been developed alongside Early Years Settings, Health Visitors and Children’s Centres.

The Hackney Early Interaction Project is a pilot project which has gathered and applied learning on how local services can best facilitate children’s early language development. The project has taken a deep dive in to one neighbourhood in the London Borough of Hackney, by mapping and building on the strengths of current local systems to enhance the universal and early language offer in the community. The Hackney Early Interaction project has been funded through the North-East London Integrated Commissioning Board (NEL ICB) Place Based Partnership from September 2022-March 2024.

Healthy Movers is for children aged two to five years old. Through a range of physical play and activities, the programme aims to improve children’s physical literacy and development, and support their social and emotional wellbeing, which helps children gain a better start in life.

Hull City Council Healthy Lifestyles Team have designed and created a programme of early years provision to promote physical activity and movement at the earliest opportunity. The programme is designed to increase access to physical activity, provide opportunities to meet Chief Medical Officer guidelines and develop physical literacy with school readiness in mind.