Why Toddler Groups Matter: The Research and Background

Family Hubs are uniquely placed to bring together local services, community organisations, and early years settings to ensure that families receive the right support at the right time. Toddler groups, often run at the heart of local communities, provide an invaluable opportunity to connect with parents and carers in a relaxed, trusted environment. This toolkit offers practical guidance on how Family Hubs can build strong partnerships with toddler groups—enhancing early identification of need, widening access to information and support, and creating warm, inclusive spaces where families feel confident to engage. By working together, Family Hubs and toddler groups can strengthen the local support network and help all children thrive.

Outreach is a key component of the Family Hubs model and this is clearly outlined in the Family Hubs and Start for Life programme guide published August 2022.

‘A welcoming hub for families: family hubs as a place for families to access Start for Life services. Services available physically, virtually and via outreach’. 

‘Facilitating peer-to-peer networks and community outreach activity, such as parent and baby groups and dads and toddler sessions, should be an integral part of the parenting offer in your family hub network.’

Olivia Bailey MP, minister for Early Years, shared at the National Centre for Family Hubs Conference in February 2026:

“Best Start Family Hubs are not stand-alone buildings, set apart from the communities they serve, hoping to entice them in. They pull communities together, with networks that reach into family spaces, referring parents back into a joined-up system of family support. This might include a nursery that runs weekly coffee mornings for parents and carers, with staff on hand to signpost families to other services. 

Or a library hosting infant feeding groups, where healthcare staff can meet mums and dads in an informal setting to discuss tips and tricks for getting their children to eat better.

Best Start Hubs are not another addition to a complex web of services. They will be places that force connections between local services, that build bridges with Early Years settings as entry points for other family support.”

“Baby and toddler groups are a lifeline for so many families and parents, and they are one of the hidden gems of the charitable and voluntary sector. They provide support, comfort, warmth, friendship and solidarity for all parents whether they are struggling or not, and often go further to help those facing additional challenges.” 

Hidden Gems Report June 2023.

Toddler Groups are very much part of most local communities, run through a church/ faith organisation or other community group or even a primary school. A 2018 report from Faith In Kids estimated that around 27,000 churches run early years projects, with 52 percent  of children in England accessing some form of parent and toddler group through churches. Their research found that:

• 66 percent of parents feel less stressed as a result of being part of the group.
• 88 percent of groups reported that parents / carers get a friendship support network.
• 88 percent  reported that children build friendships. 
• 86 percent that they acquire social skills.

• Community-based and trusted – Parent and toddler groups are often run by local volunteers or community organisations, not the Local Authority. It’s often seen as a community-driven space rather than a professional service.
• No perceived stigma – Attending a toddler group feels informal and inclusive, without the sense of being labelled.
• Misconceptions about Family Hubs – Some parents still believe they need a referral or that Family Hubs are only for families in need.
• Concerns about observation – Parents may worry that visiting a Family Hub could lead to scrutiny and potential referral to social care.
• Location-related barriers – If the Family Hub is based on school grounds, parents who had negative school experiences may feel uncomfortable attending. Toddler Groups are often in the heart of the communities that they serve and therefore easily accessible.
• Informal and Relaxed Atmosphere- Toddler groups tend to be less structured and more casual than family hubs. Parents may feel more comfortable in a setting that feels like a playdate rather than a formal service.  Parents have expressed that having to pre-book and spaces being limited can also be a barrier to engagement.

In a recent study, parents identified two clear reasons for using playgroups. First, they felt lonely at home and were actively seeking company and friendship. Second, they wanted to bring a sense of routine or ‘normality’ to the feeling of limbo that maternity leave can bring — to get out of the house and give the day purpose. (Thrive at Five, Creating A Village )

Identify the toddler groups in your area

Children’s Services Directory: Check your own council’s childcare and early years directory (often linked to Family Information Service).

Ask on local community social media groups for details of groups in the area as not all will be registered with the council.

Commission The Gather Movement to undertake a  Faith-Based Mapping Project. This was initially piloted in Oldham, mapping 384 services supporting children and families and aligned with Annex F Family Hub service guidelines. It has now extended across 28 local authorities. A webinar on this was held in November 2025 and  the recording of this session is available to view on our Knowledge Hub.

Establishing a Family Hub Link Person

Appoint a staff member to be the lead responsible for working with toddler groups in your reach area. They can work to develop and maintain relationships with the different groups, through regular visits to the sessions and via email updates. It is really important that contact is meaningful and not seen as the Family Hub engaging purely to increase their data reach. 

Regular contact enables the two way sharing of information with the toddler group and Family Hub:

• Timetables
• New classes/Courses
• Updates in research in the Early Years 
• Leaflets and publications
• Special Events
• Resources
• Training Opportunities
• Introduce families 

Invite the toddler group leader and  volunteers into the Family Hubs. It is much easier to promote a service if you have a fuller understanding of it.

“The local children’s centre signpost to us and we have visits from them about once per term. They come and chat informally with parents on different topics, for example dental care, child safety and vaccinations.” 

Aliya, Toddler Group Leader Manchester

“Our local family hub visits once a term (they go round all the local Toddler groups in the area ) and they have been coming for a couple of years now. They have a small stand with information with them and parents can go over and have a chat about any concerns they might have, they can then arrange further help or appointments as required. The family hub say they find the visits really helpful and I like them coming as they are very knowledgeable. I have learned so much about their services and now feel I could signpost parents to them if I felt appropriate. The Family Hubs team are really friendly and enthusiastic.” 

Su Toddler Group Leader. West Sussex

“We list our toddler group on the family hubs website and they usually send us posters and leaflets by post that are relevant to our parents.”

Astha  Toddler Group Leader

Training

Invite local toddler group leaders and their volunteers to attend any training that you are providing to your teams. Not only will this provide the opportunity to gain knowledge and skills but it will help them to feel part of the Family Hubs system, build relationships and greater inclusion. 

“The aim of our new Community Outreach Service is to collaboratively support and develop the skills of parents of children from birth to five years, and those leading community groups for families with children from birth to five years.

We will be visiting parent and toddler groups across Cambridgeshire to chat with parents and carers about simple, effective ways to support their child’s early communication, language, and literacy development. This includes fun, practical activities that promote communication and language skills – and engaging training sessions tailored just for parents and carers.

We will also be providing free training opportunities for community groups working with families with children from birth to five. This training will build on their existing knowledge and boost their confidence in sharing key messages with families in their communities.” -  Talking Together in Cambridgeshire

Inviting a Toddler Group lead to be part of your committee/board

 

Faith‑based and community toddler groups are often the closest early‑years touchpoint for families. Involving them in governance and co‑design makes your Family Hub model more grounded, inclusive, and community‑led.

They can provide:

• Direct insight into family needs, especially for 0–3s. 
• Access to families who don’t engage with statutory services. 
• Cultural and community knowledge essential for place‑based working. 
• Real‑time feedback on what’s working on the ground.

You will need to identify who would be best to invite. You can use existing mapping of Early Years community groups. Consider:

• Faith‑based toddler groups
• Community centre stay‑and‑plays
• Volunteer‑run baby groups
• Parks‑based outdoor toddler groups
• Specialist groups (SEND, dads, twins, young mums, Neo-natal)

In the invite to join include:

• Purpose of the committee 
• What influence they will have 
• Expected time commitment 
• Support available (e.g. travel, refreshments, briefing pack)

You might like to prepare a welcome pack with:

• Overview of the Family Hub model 
• Key priorities (e.g. perinatal, SEND, early language) 
• Local data on families 
• Summary of what the committee does 
• Contact details for support

Provide Space within your Family Hub 

Some organisations struggle to find community spaces that are available and reasonably priced for toddler groups to deliver their sessions, for example church and faith groups which have no buildings. Offering them a regular space within your family hub to run their toddler group can be really helpful; bringing in new families to the hub that may have been hard to reach, utilising a space without having to provide staff or volunteers, building relationships with the community .

Quality of toddler group sessions will vary depending on who is running them and their level of experience and support. There are several online guides available that can provide support for new and existing groups:

Early Years Alliance Baby and toddler groups

https://www.annafreud.org/resources/under-fives-wellbeing/running-a-group-for-babies-or-toddlers-and-their-parents-and-carers/

https://playtime2.s3.eu-west-2.amazonaws.com/resources/Parent-and-Toddler-Guide-v10.pdf

Babyzone have kindly offered to share some of their curriculum planning for sessions with groups. These can be accessed by contacting Claire:

[email protected]

Another good resource to share is the CBeebies Tiny Happy People 

https://www.bbc.co.uk/tiny-happy-people/articles/zftwvk7

We have a recording of their Tiny Happy People Champion Training which would be ideal for staff and volunteers in groups to access.

Please click here to watch the recording for this webinar. 

The Hidden Gems report highlights:

• A significant majority (76%) of respondents stated that the costs associated with running their group have increased in the last year and of those, more than a quarter (26%) noted they were facing significant challenges. 
• On average, groups reported an average running cost increase of 20%. 
• Notably, over one in five (21%) revealed that they had been unable to cover the cost of running their baby and toddler group using the group’s income over the past 12 months.

Sheffield Councils Community Chest

“The Family Hub Community Chest fund aims to further support the creation of a sustainable inclusive Family Hub Network membership, where community partners link together with their local Sheffield Family Hub service. Working together to build better connection, with the aim that all who work with or volunteer, understand what services are available to support families living in Sheffield, and embrace sign posting families to these services, working collaboratively together to successfully meet individual family need at the earliest opportunity. The fund aims to support best practice delivery, for example, organisations may wish to use the fund to purchase age and stage of development appropriate sensory resources, a nursing chair, a screen to support the facilitation of a designated breastfeeding area, resources to support special educational needs and or disabilities, supporting ease of access for all.”

Family Hub Network Grants | Sheffield City Council

Other examples of funding include:

Community Chest Tower Hamlets

Islington Council’s Community Chest – Cripplegate Foundation

Funding Considerations for Toddler Groups

Funding for toddler groups can be challenging. Many rely on small charges or suggested donations from families in order to operate sustainably. Family Hubs can play a key role in supporting these groups—for example, by offering grants to cover venue hire or providing other practical assistance.

It is important that any session promoted through a Family Hub is transparent about the need for a small charge or donation. As long as this is clearly stated, promotion is generally not an issue.

Family Hubs should also work closely with toddler group leaders to identify families who may struggle to pay. Together, they can develop discreet arrangements that allow these families to attend free of charge, without drawing attention or causing embarrassment. This supports inclusion while ensuring groups remain financially viable.

• Often, we are not talking large sums of money to ease the financial pressures of toddler groups and to avoid them significantly increasing their charges to parents, risking making them inaccessible for more deprived families. 
• Some Family Hubs/Local Authorities have provided small grants to local organisations and toddler groups to deliver services. They have drawn up memorandums of understanding – see example template. 

If you are providing funding to a toddler group from your Family Hubs budget then you will need to develop a checklist. This might include:

• Their Safeguarding policy aligns with the Family Hubs
• Staff and volunteers have DBS checks if required
• A member of the team is First Aid Trained
• Insurance is in place

Involving your local toddler groups in Family Hubs events and open days can be really beneficial. They may be able to provide an information stall, face painting or help with refreshments in return for promoting their group. 

Daniel’s Den (a network of toddler groups in Brent)  have recently been funded  by the Brent Family Hubs and Start for Life Community Grant to deliver a project to support expectant parents and babies up to12 months (See full case study).

Toddler Group Road Shows

Using community navigators or connectors to run road shows in the local toddler groups is another excellent way of providing support to families that may not have heard of the family hub or be reluctant to access it. Road shows could be general Best Start In Life themed or focus on a particular area, for example providing information on funded childcare options. 

“We have worked with our family hubs for a number of years. They visit a couple of times a year to meet new parents and promote the support they have on offer. 

They are coming in next week to promote good oral health and the use of dummies. They will have a stall set up and parents can come over and talk to the family hubs staff and ask questions. They are very unobtrusive and the families seem to be happy for the contact. 

We also promote their free parenting courses and any events they are holding. 

They have also provided us with information on local grants that we can apply for.

Sometimes they contact us is they have a vulnerable parent who needs support. A support worker will often attend with the parent, but they wont wear a lanyard so they are inconspicuous.” 

Caroline, Toddler Group Leader Worcestershire 

“We wanted to reach out to all the families attending local toddler groups. We decided to organise a ‘road show’ and came up with the theme of Vitamin D. This was universal and non judgemental and we could use all the Healthy Start resources available on the NHS site. We gathered resources and set up a mobile display. We approached all the local toddler groups and asked if we could have a stand in their session to promote the importance of Vitamin D. Parents were interested and came over, it opened the door to other conversations and signposting back to the Family Hub and other services.”

Family Hub Manager

If Family Hub teams are delivering at a toddler group they will need to undertake a risk assessment. This will need to cover:

• Space layout
• Equipment checks
• Arrival/departure flow
• Volunteer roles
• Lone‑working considerations

See our template 

Some toddler groups have established additional SEND groups. These provide a great

“We had a child who had SEND, his mother had tried childcare for him but the setting had struggled to cope with his needs. Professionals needed a place to undertake observations for his EHCP plan and so it was done at our toddler group as he was used to this environment. This enabled him to get the support he needed.”

Aliya, Toddler Group Leader Manchester

There is an opportunity for Family Hubs to offer more specialist support for families. This could include ideas such as providing sensory sessions or making specialist resources more accessible, as these can often be costly.

If you are working with a SEND toddler group, you could arrange visits from specialist services, such as a Health Visitor, Occupational Therapist, Speech and Language Therapist, or a representative from your local Information, Advice and Support Service (IASS). These professionals can offer tailored guidance and may also provide information on financial support options, such as applying for Disability Living Allowance.

“We have been running our SEND playgroup for 16 months now. We set it up for children who struggled in our main stay and play playgroups which is fun but noisy. It has really made a big difference to the children and parents/carers that attend. Children that were practically non-verbal before now happily chat and feel really comfortable in their safe space. When we were researching how to go about setting up a SEND group we reached out to our local Family Hub . They gave us valuable advice and what and what not to do. The main advice was not to make the space too overwhelming with too many toys. Have lots of different textures for sensory seekers, a blackout pop up tent, or dark corner with some lights for a calming space and keep the group small, about ten children maximum.”

Debbie, Toddler Group Leader Enfield 

Documentation

You might find it helpful to both the Family Hub and the toddler group to formalise your relationship. This helps if volunteer leaders in the toddler group move on as you have an agreement to continue the work.

You might consider :

• A memorandum of Understanding   (MOU)  (see template)
• Data Sharing Agreement   (see template)
• Shared Privacy Statement   (see template)
• Family Hub Partnership Invite (see template) 
• Risk Assessment template

Safeguarding Agreement                                                                                                 

This can be part of the MOU or a standalone document.

Should include:

• Safeguarding policies each partner follows
• How concerns are reported (including out‑of‑hours)
• Who the Safeguarding Leads are on both sides
• How supervision/volunteer checks are handled
• Escalation routes
• How Family Hub staff interact with children during visits

Challenges 

The Early Years Alliance Hidden Gems report, published in June 2023, highlights the financial challenges faced by toddler groups but also the positive outcomes for children and families of attending them.

• Supporting School Readiness 
• Access to resources to support different areas of development
• Speech and language support 
• Clothes swaps
• Donating books and toys and thereby enhancing the home learning environment 
• Informal parenting support
• Identifying concerns and signposting 

Many toddler groups reported that they had provided support to parents and signposted them onto other specialist services. 53 percent of those in the research group reported that the most common issue was mental health.

From the start you need to ensure that focus in on shared goals, and open to all families. Understanding different groups values, language and messaging will help. Agree with each group what is universal and what is faith specific. 

Agreeing that worship elements are optional and that Family Hubs workers aren’t placed in religious activity within the memorandum of understanding will support both parties.

Some Faith organisations have had issues in the past with safeguarding so ensuring that there is training available, DBS checks are undertaken and volunteers are able to signpost will be essential. Involving local faith groups within local safeguarding networks will support this. 

Sharing suitable information for faith groups to share with their congregations  through their newsletters is a great way of reaching new families.

It may be in more diverse areas to build a multi-faith Early Years Partnership Network and have an annual review and training day for all involved.

“Around Trafford Council we have some great relationships with the hubs and the Trafford Collective. They are very welcoming to the faith groups. I was fortunate to be part of a group of people coming together when the local family hub was in its planning stage. Trafford Family Directory are also great and visit a lot of the playgroups with information.

Rachael, Toddler Group Leader Trafford. 

“We thought our group was well enough know , but we have just discovered our hub has just started a new group at exactly the same time as ours. Thinking I may need to create a relationship with them!

Kathryn Toddler Group Leader

Working in partnership with other local groups will ensure that there are not direct clashes of services. Mapping out what provision is already available in your reach area is a good starting point. Then undertaking some research as to families needs and which families are using which services. If you are undertaking a poll with local families, ask which are their preferred days, time windows and what services they already attend. Use local Facebook groups and QR codes to make it accessible to families.

 It maybe that there are enough families to warrant two sessions at the same time. You may also want to consider if the timetable needs to change for school holidays, does the local toddler group only run a term time only provision?

We would like to thank all the toddler group leaders and volunteers who contributed to the development of this toolkit, in particular Joanna Gordon from Daniel’s Den and to all those on the 1277 Make them Count (Facebook group for Toddler Groups) who shared their insights with us.