Project Information

My Baby’s Brain is an evidence-informed, a low-dosage, low-cost training interventiondeveloped by a specialist consultant for Hertfordshire County Council. It is designed tosupport parents to optimise infant attachment and early learning by means of simple, ‘five a-day’ style messaging (‘Five to Thrive’). It is offered as part of the county’s universalparenting support strategy, whereby antenatal and early years practitioners across healthand social care agencies are trained to incorporate the MBB messages into their routinedaily practice. It also uses a ‘cascade’ model, such that those who are trained are expectedto share learning with other practitioners within their agency.

In Phase One My Baby’s Brain (MBB) was well-received. The pilot evaluation suggested that participating in the programme had positively enhanced practitioners’ knowledge and confidence, and that parents they subsequently worked with also benefitted across a range of dimensions.

Publications

• Division of Mental Health & Wellbeing Publications

Links

Division of Mental Health & Wellbeing

Research aims and objectives

Phase Two is intended to extend beyond the pilot research to assess five key areas:
1. The on-going impact of the project on professional practice, across a range of
disciplines, and agencies
2. The on-going impact of MBB on parents’ knowledge, confidence and attachment
behaviours in the home learning environment
3. The cost-benefits of the programme
4. The implementation of MBB within the wider children’s services context and within
the wider systemic strategy for parenting support, early help, early intervention and
prevention within the county, and any implications for improvement of these
5. Recommendations for future effectiveness, sustainability and scaling up the
programme