Lambeth youngsters LEAP towards good health

Children in Lambeth are set to have their lives improved with the help of a £36 million grant awarded by the Big Lottery Fund.

The National Children’s Bureau and the Lambeth Early Action Partnership (LEAP) have been awarded the funds that could improve the lives of up to 10,000 children over the next decade.

Teams from Guy’s and St Thomas’ and King’s College London will be using their share of the money to improve the health of children with three initiatives:

• an obesity, diet and nutrition programme for pregnant women and their families
• a family nurse partnership to support vulnerable mothers
• an increase of dedicated midwives who care for the same pregnant women before, during and after birth.

Dr Eugene Oteng-Ntim, Head of Obstetrics at Guy’s and St Thomas’, says: “We have a vision that Lambeth and its neighbours will one day be the best place in the world for children to be born and grow up.

“We want children to be healthy, happy, confident, safe and able to achieve their aspirations. This funding is an amazing opportunity to transform the lives of children and their families in Lambeth.”

The Big Lottery Fund’s A Better Start investment aims to prevent costly health problems such as heart disease and diabetes, difficult social problems such as neglect or poor mental health and low educational attainment.

Elaine Simpson, Chair of the National Children’s Bureau, says: “We are absolutely delighted to have been awarded funding from the Big Lottery Fund, and incredibly excited to be part of what we believe is one of the most innovative investment programmes in recent years.

“We believe that this support can help to improve the lives of children not only in Lambeth but also across England, and we are committed to sharing learning and helping develop working practices and approaches which will ensure this happens.”

The 10-year initiative aims to see which methods are best to improve the future health, social and educational outcomes of babies and young children.

The Lambeth Early Action Partnership (LEAP) comprises of Lambeth Council, Lambeth Clinical Commissioning Group, King’s Health Partners, as well as local voluntary organisations, community groups and the National Children's Bureau.