Thrive at Five is a UK-based charity whose mission is to help children in their early years develop strong foundations for life and learning in places where families are experiencing poverty and hardship. Founded in 2021, we bring together local communities, families and partners to join up and strengthen the early years system. This means parents and carers are better supported to be the biggest positive influence on their child’s life, so children can thrive from pregnancy to five. Our goal is to achieve long-term, sustained improvements in children’s development outcomes, with progress reflected through robust indicators.
We currently work in Stoke-on-Trent, Redcar & Cleveland and Middlesbrough, and are starting a new programme in Scotland in 2026. Our locally based backbone teams of early years specialists build relationships, strengthen trust and work alongside parents and carers to understand what babies, children and families need and what will make the greatest difference. Working with local partners, they help align efforts, share learning and use evidence to design and embed effective, lasting solutions. Our locally recruited parent connectors build trust and improve engagement with parents, carers and the wider community, ensuring families feel supported and heard.
We are excited to be joining the EFI to explore collaboration on place-based, community-led approaches to tackling inequalities in the early years. We are interested in how to use data and insights to drive improvements in children’s developmental outcomes, and share learning about what effective joint working between charities, the public sector and other local partners can achieve.
