How can we understand ‘what works’ for families in increasingly precarious times? Who should be involved in determining what matters – and what helps? These questions are addressed in the context of the National Evaluation of A Better Start (ABS), a ten-year programme in England funded by The National Lottery Community Fund. Aiming to improve the life chances of children aged 0–4 years, partnerships in five geographical areas share common priorities, but each area develops a locally embedded place-based approach with a strong emphasis on partnership with local parents, caregivers and communities. Focusing on one component of the National Evaluation, we consider how a family-centred qualitative longitudinal approach democratises understanding of ‘what works’: scaffolding engagement and foregrounding perspectives that might otherwise be missed, marginalised or problematised. Through interviews with 25 families spanning two years, the analysis illuminates the interdependent causal pathways through which non-standardised support can contribute to family lives.
Boddy et al. (Thu,) studied this question.