A Better Start and the Royal College of Midwives - A Knowledge Exchange event
11 March 2026
Rachel Kent-Horwood, Research and Development Assistant at the National Children’s Bureau (NCB), writes about a shared learning event, facilitated by NCB, between A Better Start Partnerships and the Royal College of Midwives (RCM).
During the event, attendees heard about the breadth of work that has been happening across the A Better Start (ABS) sites in the fields of maternity, antenatal care, and midwifery. RCM focused on the broader context and current challenges within the sector.
The presentations shared at the event highlighted the need for innovative ways of working and greater investment in the workforce. These changes are essential in ensuring that midwives and those working in antenatal care can safely and consistently support pregnant people and their birth partners and address the inequalities that currently exist.
Nottingham shared insight into how they are ‘thinking dads’ by developing training & practical tools to better support and engage dads in antenatal services.
LEAP has developed a Maternity Vulnerability Assessment Tool (MATVAT) to support more consistent identification of pregnant people with social risk factors.
Bradford co-commissions a Midwifery Led Continuity of Carer (CoC) model, aimed at the most vulnerable and disadvantaged women and families.
Blackpool’s Early Parenthood Service is providing additional support in pregnancy and the postnatal period for families with additional needs (e.g. where parents are at risk of having their baby ‘born into care’).
Southend use Infant Mental Health Week to help services come together, collaborate and strengthen referral pathways, promoting holistic support for new families.
The shared learning event provided a valuable opportunity for RCM and ABS representatives to discuss how they could work together in the future to improve systems and utilise ABS evidence to demonstrate the effectiveness of tried and tested models of care.
For more information about ABS work around maternity, midwifery and antenatal care, read our Programme Insight 9: A Better Start through maternity and antenatal care.
About A Better Start
A Better Start is a 10-year project set up by The National Lottery Community Fund, the largest community funder in the UK.
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The National Children’s Bureau is coordinating an ambitious programme of shared learning for A Better Start, sharing the partnerships’ experiences in creating innovative services so that others working in early childhood development or place-based systems change can benefit.
Find out more on The National Children's Bureau - A Better Start.