A council team that dedicates itself to supporting families and giving children the best start in life has received a Gold Award from the UNICEF UK Baby Friendly Initiative (BFI).
Assessors praised Best Start, Community Health and Wellbeing Cornwall for its ‘pride, enthusiasm and commitment’.
The scheme aims to help maternity, neonatal, health visiting and family hub services offer the best support to families with a focus on infant feeding and forming close and loving relationships with their babies.
The Cornwall service - which includes health visitors, school nurses and other specialists - had already secured a UNICEF Baby Friendly mark for the past 12 years before being assessed for the prestigious Gold Award.
It was commended for championing a ‘Child’s Rights approach’ which ensures ‘the baby is at the heart of their ethos when ensuring quality of service’.
In their report, BFI assessors said:
“Led by an inspirational Baby Friendly project lead and Infant Feeding team, Best Start, Community Health and Wellbeing Cornwall provides compelling evidence of how the UNICEF Baby Friendly Initiative is embedded and sustained across the service.
“The pride, enthusiasm, and commitment to drive improvements, increase quality and innovate was apparent during the assessment. The collaborative working with partners; acute and community services is clearly visible, with Best Start, Community Health and Wellbeing Cornwall driving many of the agenda items to ensure the quality and consistency for babies, their mothers, and families.”
The team was commended for using its Start for Life funding to expand and enhance what’s on offer in Cornwall’s Family Hubs.
Its dedication to infant feeding was also highlighted at several points in the report. It states:
“The team at Best Start, Community Health and Wellbeing Cornwall continue to build and progress on good practice. Introducing education and guidance around infant feeding to colleagues in GP surgeries, holding a breastfeeding conference, supporting members of the Infant Feeding team to access specialist training, Breastfeeding Welcome scheme and looking to share knowledge within local education is changing hearts and minds. These are to name but just a few.”
Cllr Barbara Ellenbroek, cabinet member for children and families at Cornwall Council, said:
“Securing a BFI Gold Award is a huge achievement and I’m delighted that the hard work and dedication of the Best Start, Community Health and Wellbeing Cornwall team has been recognised.
“I am incredibly proud of the work they do in our communities to help families with things like infant feeding, breastfeeding and building loving and positive relationships with their babies.
“This plays a crucial role in one of the council’s key priorities to make sure Cornwall is a brilliant place to be a child and grow up.”
Kate Evan-Hughes, the council’s strategic director for Together for Families and a Baby Friendly Guardian, said:
“It is a child’s right to have the best start in life, which is something our Best Start, Community Health and Wellbeing Cornwall team wholeheartedly embraces in everything they do.
“Their dedication, passion and commitment make me hugely proud and I am delighted their hard work has been recognised with this award.”
For more information visit the council’s Start for Life web pages: Start for Life - Cornwall Council.
Press release issued on December 2, 2024.