Five years ago, our research revealed that parents and carers in the areas of Bentilee and Abbey Hulton in Stoke-on-Trent felt isolated. Parents and professionals described a fragmented, disconnected system that wasn’t providing the best possible support for families from pregnancy to five. More than half of parents and carers said they had never, or rarely, met other parents of babies and toddlers.
Thrive at Five determined to change that.
We worked with parents, carers and partners to make sure support was personalised to the needs, preferences, and lived realities of local communities.
We invested in joining-up services, supporting the provision of free activities for parents and babies and connecting with families.
In 2026 we ran a follow-up survey of more than 226 parents in Stoke–on-Trent.
HEADLINE FINDINGS:
Do families notice the difference?
We wanted to know if parents and carers in Bentilee and Abbey Hulton had noticed the results of the extra capacity Thrive at Five has brought to local services.
- Respondents in Thrive at Five areas were almost twice as likely to report that services worked well together, compared to areas we don’t work in (35% vs 18%).
Has our approach led to parents feeling an increased confidence in seeking help?
Improving families’ awareness of, and confidence in, navigating local support is a key part of the Thrive at Five approach. If parents and carers feel confident in knowing where to go for advice and support, it can influence their ability to access help early before challenges become more difficult to address.
- Parents in Thrive at Five areas were more likely to report feeling quite confident to seek help than parents in areas we don’t work in (50% vs 35%).
How do the parent, baby, toddler groups we support make a difference?
Thrive at Five works with local community centres, schools and Family Hubs to support free parent, baby, toddler groups. Our Parent Connectors and early years teams attend the groups enabling them to get to know families and their individual needs, supporting them and signposting them to services.
The Parent Survey showed:
- Families in Thrive at Five areas were more likely to attend parent, baby and toddler groups – with around two thirds in Thrive at Five areas attending (67%) compared with around half (49%) in areas we don’t work in.
- Twice as many parents and carers attending parent, baby, toddler groups in Thrive at Five areas were likely to report receiving helpful information about other services – 43% compared with 21% in areas we don’t work in.
- 43% of parents and carers attending parent, baby, toddler groups in Thrive at Five areas said they received information to support their child’s development, as opposed to only 18% in areas we don’t work in.
- The largest difference was seen in meeting professionals and making connections. 39% of parents in Thrive at Five areas reported positively on this versus 7% in areas we don’t work in
Our findings suggest Thrive at Five supported parent, baby, toddler groups play a key role in helping parents and carers access information and meet professionals.
What impact are Parent Connectors having?
Parent Connectors are trusted community-based workers employed by Thrive at Five to build relationships with families in everyday places. They provide informal, practical support, connect families with local services and activities and support parents with ideas to help their child’s development. They also work with local partners to strengthen connections between families and the wider early years system.
Parents told us that Parent Connectors help connect them with wider support and influence their parenting behaviours and practices.
- Three-quarters of parents (74%) said Parent Connectors gave them helpful advice
- Almost three in ten parents (29%) said that Parent Connectors positively impacted the way they do things with their child.
- More than half (55%) said Parent Connectors helped them find places to go with their child.
Are parents able to access the information they need to prepare their child for school?
We asked parents and carers about finding information at different stages of their child’s development. Overall, the findings suggest that information challenges appear greater as children become older. Parents living in Thrive at Five areas generally report more useful information being available across all stages of development
- Around 45% of respondents felt that enough information was available and helpful during pregnancy, rising to 57% for information relating to babies. This reduced to 36% for toddler information and 41% for information relating to starting school, suggesting that information may become more difficult for parents to navigate as children move beyond infancy.
- Compared to our 2025 survey, information available on school readiness showed the largest improvement – increasing from 32% to 41%.
Using the research
These insights strengthen the case for Thrive at Five’s investment in parent baby and toddler groups in Stoke-on-Trent, helping more parents and carers to connect and build supportive relationships in their community. The survey has also helped us understand what we need to do to reach parents and support them to attend these groups.
We are acting on these findings by making sure our Parent Connectors have a presence in community spaces where they can meet parents, build relationships and ensure they have the information and access to services that they need.
The survey identified a gap in information for children preparing to go to school. We are addressing this by providinge appealing ways to access school readiness information through groups such as Mouse Club where children and parents, guided by early years professionals, prepare a toy mouse for school as a way to build confidence for their own transition. In addition, our successful ‘Ready, Steady, Stoke’ school readiness initiative is being rolled out by the local authority, reflecting its successful integration into local systems and long-term sustainability.
In conclusion
Parents, carers and communities are at the heart of everything we do.
We know that the quality of relationships between families and services makes a significant difference to whether support is accessed and whether it works. That’s why we focus not just on what support is available, but on how it is designed, delivered and experienced by the people it’s meant to reach.
We will continue to listen to parents and carers as our approach and model evolves.
We thank everyone who took the time to contribute to the research, helping us shape services to meet the needs of parents and carers.
Developing the survey
We developed the survey with parents, consulting them on questions and testing their responses prior to more widely publicising. It was shared digitally (via our newsletter, Facebook and through our partners) and face to face. Our Parent Connectors visited community spaces to make sure the survey reached as wide a range of people as possible.
We are pleased that 184 parents who responded to this survey signed up to help us with further consultations which we will use to understand more about some of the issues raised and provide a targeted, community appropriate approach.