As part of its Fairer Start mission, Nesta collaborated with Frame Collective and Cardiff Flying Start to explore families’ journeys through early years services and identify opportunities for innovation.
Between July and August 2023 we undertook qualitative research with 13 parents across two Flying Start sites in Cardiff to understand the dynamics of parent engagement with the service. This report presents the findings from the research. It sheds light on how, why and when families engage with Flying Start services, what motivates, helps and hinders their journeys, and highlights the benefits experienced by children and parents.
Flying Start is a Welsh Government initiative providing a comprehensive and targeted early intervention programme for families with babies and young children (0-4 years) living in economically disadvantaged communities needing support.
The research focused on several key areas to understand the dynamics of family engagement with Flying Start:
- when, why and how parents engage with Flying Start
- factors that enable and hinder family engagement
- barriers faced by families in accessing the programme
- families’ experiences of using Flying Start
- how families perceive and value Flying Start.
