Best Beginnings Transistor (https://transistor.fm) https://feeds.transistor.fm/best-beginnings Best Beginnings is the podcast for everyone working in or caring about the early years. Hosted by George Looker, CEO of Babyzone, each episode brings together leading researchers, clinicians, practitioners, policymakers and parents to explore the evidence, ideas and innovations shaping how we support children and families in the UK. From infant mental health and attachment to workforce challenges and systems change, Best Beginnings goes beyond the headlines to have the conversations that matter most in early childhood. New episodes drop every Tuesday. Best Beginnings is brought to you by Babyzone, a national charity operating free, evidence-based family hubs across England for families with children aged 0–5. Babyzone 5d4ad412-7c9a-50aa-87be-befbedd14fab yes a393f580-3327-11f1-98e4-bfa3c592b61f Introducing Best Beginnings en Thu, 16 Apr 2026 09:27:24 +0100 Thu, 16 Apr 2026 09:28:14 +0100 https://babyzone.org.uk https://img.transistorcdn.com/7RnWctlGVtTw5EO9mppVB_IcAsKf_piJIIyrBTrGWLQ/rs:fill:0:0:1/w:1400/h:1400/q:60/mb:500000/aHR0cHM6Ly9pbWct/dXBsb2FkLXByb2R1/Y3Rpb24udHJhbnNp/c3Rvci5mbS9mZmZl/ZWMyNmY2OTRkNDIw/Y2VhYjA2OTRkYWNk/MDA5Zi5wbmc.jpg Best Beginnings https://babyzone.org.uk episodic Babyzone Best Beginnings is the podcast for everyone working in or caring about the early years. Hosted by George Looker, CEO of Babyzone, each episode brings together leading researchers, clinicians, practitioners, policymakers and parents to explore the evidence, ideas and innovations shaping how we support children and families in the UK. From infant mental health and attachment to workforce challenges and systems change, Best Beginnings goes beyond the headlines to have the conversations that matter most in early childhood. New episodes drop every Tuesday. Best Beginnings is brought to you by Babyzone, a national charity operating free, evidence-based family hubs across England for families with children aged 0–5. Best Beginnings is the podcast for everyone working in or caring about the early years. Early Years, Child Development, Parenting, Early Childhood, Family, Mental Health, Education, Charity, UK Podcast, Policy A Podcast From Babyzone hello@babyzone.org.uk No No Early Autism, Baby Sleep and What Every Parent Needs to Know | Professor Emily Jones 3 3 Early Autism, Baby Sleep and What Every Parent Needs to Know | Professor Emily Jones full 9e69fba9-a2a0-4ba2-85de-c34b4c157f5f https://share.transistor.fm/s/d6cee908 What can we actually know about a child's development in the first year of life? And what should parents do with that information?

Professor Emily Jones is Professor of Neuroscience at King's College London, leads the BOND lab at Birkbeck University and is Principal Investigator of BASIS, the British Autism Study of Infant Siblings, which has followed hundreds of babies from six months through childhood.

In this episode we talk about the biggest myths around autism, what sleep patterns in babies as young as 14 months can tell us, why neurodivergent parents may naturally be creating better environments for their children and what Emily would most want every worried parent to hear.

Best Beginnings is a podcast from Babyzone about the first five years of life and why they shape everything that comes after. Each week George Looker speaks to the researchers, practitioners, parents and policymakers thinking most deeply about early childhood.

Subscribe wherever you listen to podcasts.

]]> What can we actually know about a child's development in the first year of life? And what should parents do with that information?

Professor Emily Jones is Professor of Neuroscience at King's College London, leads the BOND lab at Birkbeck University and is Principal Investigator of BASIS, the British Autism Study of Infant Siblings, which has followed hundreds of babies from six months through childhood.

In this episode we talk about the biggest myths around autism, what sleep patterns in babies as young as 14 months can tell us, why neurodivergent parents may naturally be creating better environments for their children and what Emily would most want every worried parent to hear.

Best Beginnings is a podcast from Babyzone about the first five years of life and why they shape everything that comes after. Each week George Looker speaks to the researchers, practitioners, parents and policymakers thinking most deeply about early childhood.

Subscribe wherever you listen to podcasts.

]]> Tue, 14 Apr 2026 06:00:00 +0100 Babyzone Babyzone 2166 What can we actually know about a child's development in the first year of life? And what should parents do with that information?

Professor Emily Jones is Professor of Neuroscience at King's College London, leads the BOND lab at Birkbeck University and is Principal Investigator of BASIS, the British Autism Study of Infant Siblings, which has followed hundreds of babies from six months through childhood.

In this episode we talk about the biggest myths around autism, what sleep patterns in babies as young as 14 months can tell us, why neurodivergent parents may naturally be creating better environments for their children and what Emily would most want every worried parent to hear.

Best Beginnings is a podcast from Babyzone about the first five years of life and why they shape everything that comes after. Each week George Looker speaks to the researchers, practitioners, parents and policymakers thinking most deeply about early childhood.

Subscribe wherever you listen to podcasts.

]]> Early Years, Child Development, Parenting, Early Childhood, Family, Mental Health, Education, Charity, UK Podcast, Policy No You Only Get One Chance at This | Neil Leitch on Best Beginnings 2 2 You Only Get One Chance at This | Neil Leitch on Best Beginnings full 5bd1163b-e5a8-40d9-a098-096ef2ae3675 https://share.transistor.fm/s/e7165d18 Neil Leitch has spent decades fighting for the early years sector to be taken seriously. As CEO of the Early Years Alliance, the largest early years membership organisation in England, he has seen what happens when families don't get the support they need in the earliest years of life and what changes when they do.

In this episode we talk about a freedom of information request that took two and a half years to win and revealed that in 2021 the Department for Education calculated it would cost £7.49 per hour to properly fund early years provision for three and four year olds. Today providers receive around £5.60. Less than the government's own figure, four years on, after double digit inflation and rising costs.

We also talk about why 77% of early years educators who leave the sector say they feel undervalued by government, what real education actually looks like, why every child has talent but not every child has opportunity and why the earliest years are the single most important period we consistently underinvest in.

Subscribe to Best Beginnings wherever you listen to podcasts and if you know someone who needs to hear this, share it with them.

]]> Neil Leitch has spent decades fighting for the early years sector to be taken seriously. As CEO of the Early Years Alliance, the largest early years membership organisation in England, he has seen what happens when families don't get the support they need in the earliest years of life and what changes when they do.

In this episode we talk about a freedom of information request that took two and a half years to win and revealed that in 2021 the Department for Education calculated it would cost £7.49 per hour to properly fund early years provision for three and four year olds. Today providers receive around £5.60. Less than the government's own figure, four years on, after double digit inflation and rising costs.

We also talk about why 77% of early years educators who leave the sector say they feel undervalued by government, what real education actually looks like, why every child has talent but not every child has opportunity and why the earliest years are the single most important period we consistently underinvest in.

Subscribe to Best Beginnings wherever you listen to podcasts and if you know someone who needs to hear this, share it with them.

]]> Tue, 07 Apr 2026 09:00:00 +0100 Babyzone Babyzone 2470 Neil Leitch has spent decades fighting for the early years sector to be taken seriously. As CEO of the Early Years Alliance, the largest early years membership organisation in England, he has seen what happens when families don't get the support they need in the earliest years of life and what changes when they do.

In this episode we talk about a freedom of information request that took two and a half years to win and revealed that in 2021 the Department for Education calculated it would cost £7.49 per hour to properly fund early years provision for three and four year olds. Today providers receive around £5.60. Less than the government's own figure, four years on, after double digit inflation and rising costs.

We also talk about why 77% of early years educators who leave the sector say they feel undervalued by government, what real education actually looks like, why every child has talent but not every child has opportunity and why the earliest years are the single most important period we consistently underinvest in.

Subscribe to Best Beginnings wherever you listen to podcasts and if you know someone who needs to hear this, share it with them.

]]> Early Years, Child Development, Parenting, Early Childhood, Family, Mental Health, Education, Charity, UK Podcast, Policy, Neil Leitch No Introducing Best Beginnings 1 1 Introducing Best Beginnings trailer 5952f970-e7bc-4704-968f-cfdbf092ce47 https://share.transistor.fm/s/ca557cce 1 million new neural connections form in a child's brain every single second during the first three years of life.

By the time a child turns two, more than 80% of their brain architecture is already in place.

And yet, as a society, we invest the least in the years that matter most.

That's what Best Beginnings is here to change. In this opening monologue, George Looker makes the case for why the earliest years aren't just a social priority, they're an economic one. And why what happens at the kitchen table matters more than any government programme.

Subscribe to Best Beginnings wherever you listen to podcasts and if you know someone that needs to hear this, share it with them.

]]> 1 million new neural connections form in a child's brain every single second during the first three years of life.

By the time a child turns two, more than 80% of their brain architecture is already in place.

And yet, as a society, we invest the least in the years that matter most.

That's what Best Beginnings is here to change. In this opening monologue, George Looker makes the case for why the earliest years aren't just a social priority, they're an economic one. And why what happens at the kitchen table matters more than any government programme.

Subscribe to Best Beginnings wherever you listen to podcasts and if you know someone that needs to hear this, share it with them.

]]> Tue, 07 Apr 2026 06:00:00 +0100 Babyzone Babyzone 1109 1 million new neural connections form in a child's brain every single second during the first three years of life.

By the time a child turns two, more than 80% of their brain architecture is already in place.

And yet, as a society, we invest the least in the years that matter most.

That's what Best Beginnings is here to change. In this opening monologue, George Looker makes the case for why the earliest years aren't just a social priority, they're an economic one. And why what happens at the kitchen table matters more than any government programme.

Subscribe to Best Beginnings wherever you listen to podcasts and if you know someone that needs to hear this, share it with them.

]]> Early Years, Child Development, Parenting, Early Childhood, Family, Mental Health, Education, Charity, UK Podcast, Policy No