UK2 Market Engagement Notice - Best Start Digital Parenting Offer

The Department for Education (DfE) is seeking to procure a structured, evidence-based digital parenting programme to support parents and carers of children aged 0-5 through the Best Start Digital Parenting Offer pilot.

This forms part of the Government's commitment in Giving every child the best start in life to introduce digital parenting support.

DfE intends to pilot and evaluate a digital programme supporting parents at scale through regional partnerships before deciding on any future wider rollout. It will complement, not replace, existing local parenting provision, including face-to-face support through Best Start Family Hubs.

The pilot aims to widen access to high-quality parenting support, strengthening parenting skills and confidence, and achieve measurable improvements in outcomes for parents and children. The programme must focus on supporting children's personal, social and emotional development (PSED) and/or speech, language and communication.

Health-focused programmes are outside the scope of this proposed procurement.

The provision should be entirely online. It should be accessible and inclusive, including for disadvantaged families and those facing barriers to accessing support.

This pilot will help DfE understand:

• Whether parents take up, use, value and benefit from digital parenting programmes

• What is required to reach families, sustain participation and implement digital support for parenting successfully at regional scale.

• How this digital programme complements existing family and parenting services.

• Whether digital programmes designed to support parenting can be delivered equitably and at scale in England.

• Whether digital support for parenting represents good value for public money and provide a case for future investment.

Through the Best Start Family Hubs programme, the Department already funds local authorities to procure evidence-based parenting interventions delivered in person and digitally.

The pilot will build an understanding of how a centrally procured digital programme can complement this local offer.