Growing Together: Lancashire and Beyond Early Years Stronger Practice Hub
Every Second Counts – giving every child the Best Start in Life
Growing Together: Lancashire and Beyond is an Early Years Stronger Practice Hub supporting early years settings and childminders across:
- Lancashire
- Blackburn with Darwen
- Blackpool
- Cumberland
- Westmorland and Furness
Our lead setting is Duke Street Nursery School, a maintained nursery school in Chorley with a long-standing commitment to high-quality, inclusive early education.
The Hub is led by Sue Conron, Hub Lead, and Laura Johnson, Programme Manager, working alongside our partner settings, local authorities and the wider early years workforce.
Our vision
We believe that Every Second Counts in a young child’s life. The quality of children’s earliest experiences can shape their learning, development and wellbeing for years to come.
Our ambition is to work with the early years workforce to ensure that every child receives the Best Start in Life. We are particularly passionate about improving outcomes for disadvantaged children and children with SEND, helping to reduce inequalities before they widen.
Our Hub is rooted in partnership. We will listen to the experiences and priorities of practitioners, build on the excellent practice already taking place and create opportunities for professionals to learn with and from one another.
We will use high-quality, evidence-informed research to help practitioners make confident decisions that improve the quality of provision and lead to better outcomes for young children.
What we offer
Through the Stronger Practice Hub, early years practitioners, leaders, settings and childminders can access:
- Evidence-informed professional development and practical resources
- Training, workshops, conferences and online events
- Professional networks for childminders, SEND and communication and language and more
- Opportunities to share effective practice and learn from others
- Learning walks, demonstrations and practice-focused sessions
- Support to understand and apply research within everyday practice
- Advice and targeted support based on local and individual needs
- Updates, newsletters, blogs and examples of effective practice
- Opportunities to contribute to case studies and improvement projects
- Links with local authorities and other regional and national programmes
- Bespoke advice and guidance for individual settings
What can you expect from getting involved?
By joining our Hub community, you will become part of a supportive professional network committed to improving experiences and outcomes for young children.
You can expect:
- Relevant and practical support shaped by the needs of the workforce
- Opportunities to reflect on your practice and build professional confidence
- Access to evidence-informed approaches that can be applied within your own provision
- A strong focus on inclusion, disadvantage and closing gaps in children’s outcomes
- Opportunities to connect, collaborate and share ideas with other practitioners
- A voice in shaping future Hub training, networks and support
- Respect for your experience, expertise and local knowledge
This is a Hub that works with the early years sector. We want practitioners and leaders to help shape our work so that it responds to real needs, addresses local priorities and makes a meaningful difference for children and families.
Our lead and partner settings
Lead setting:
- Duke Street Nursery School, Chorley [email protected]
Partner settings and practitioners:
- Buckshaw Village Nursery, Chorley [email protected]
- Basnett Street Nursery School, Burnley Head@basnettstreet_nur.lancs.sch.uk
- Michelle Bennett, Childminder Partner and Childminder, Morecambe. [email protected]
- Little Learners, StBee, Cumberland [email protected]
- Christ The King Catholic Academy, Blackpool [email protected]
- Highfield Nursery School, Chorley [email protected]
Together, our partners bring experience from maintained nursery schools, private and voluntary provision, childminding and other parts of the early years sector. This range of knowledge and expertise will help ensure that our work is inclusive, relevant and representative of the diverse communities we serve.
Grow with us
Whether you are a childminder, practitioner, teacher, SENDCo, room leader, manager or setting owner, we would love you to become involved.
Together, we can strengthen practice, raise quality and improve outcomes—giving every child, particularly those facing disadvantage or additional barriers, the opportunities they need to thrive.
Every Second Counts. Every Practitioner Matters. Every Child Deserves the Best Start in Life.