What opportunities exist within child health clinics for
maximising effective working with infants and families?
C.Coe and J. Barlow
The Early Explorers Project: Peers Early Education Partnership (PEEP)and the health
visiting service –innovative child health clinics which provide opportunities to;
• promote early interaction, engage parents in supporting their child’s development
through interaction and non-directed exploratory play
• identify and help vulnerable families , working with a progressive universal approach
whilst working in partnership with the voluntary sector
Why work in this way?
Pregnancy and the first three years of life are key to
promoting the later wellbeing of children (Gerhardt 2004,
Barlow & Underdown 2008, Tierney & Nelson, 2009).
The importance of this period is recognised in the Healthy
Child Programme which designates a lead role for health
visitors in co-ordinating and supporting a range of
practitioners in delivering preventative and promotional
services to parents and young children.
Early Explorer clinics enable a focus on promoting
early interaction, sensitive support and confidence
in parenting.
Working together with partner professionals in the
voluntary sector: limited but positive evidence available;
1
• Early Compromised Parenting
• Disrupted Neurodevelopment
2
• Disrupted Neurodevelopment
• Social, Emotional & Cognitive
Impairment
3
• Adoption of Health-risk Behaviors
• Disease, Disability & Social
Problems
•improvements in terms of the way in which services are
delivered,
•improvements for the professionals/staff delivering them
•Improvements for the families in receipt of such services
Stakeholder views of the Early Explorer clinic
Health Visitor Views:
Initial concerns (data sharing &
confidentiality) quickly overcome
PEEP practitioners welcomed the initiative and
•the opportunity to engage with a range of parents and infants,
•the ability to build trust and relationships and offer further
services to vulnerable families
Service users were very positive:
Clinic described as ‘a much calmer
and less stressful place’ and ‘a ‘more
social and interactive environment’
HV’s say parents ‘love it’ and dialogue
with them is more meaningful
PEEP described as being a ‘real
asset’
•claiming to stay longer at Early
Explorer clinics
•perceiving the clinics to have a ‘better
atmosphere’
•enjoyed playing and learning with
their infants.
• PEEP Practitioners were
valued for their professionalism,
their capacity for remaining non –
judgemental and for being an important
source of information and support.