What The Childhood Lottery means for babies in South West Cumbria
Every day in England, around 1,600 babies are born. Soon afterwards, each of them makes a short trip home from hospital. In her new report, The Childhood Lottery, the Children’s Commissioner for England calls this “the most important journey of their lives”, because where it ends shapes so much of what follows.
At Good Enough Start, we meet families right at the beginning of that journey. We are a parent infant relationship service based at The Lighthouse Centre in Haverigg, supporting parents and babies from pregnancy until a child turns two. So when a national report puts the place a baby comes home to at the centre of the story, we wanted to read it closely and ask what it says about babies growing up here in Millom and South West Cumbria.
What is The Childhood Lottery?
Published in October 2026, The Childhood Lottery brings together 162 measures of children’s lives across England, covering health, family life, education, social care, community and play. It uses them to show how much a child’s experiences and opportunities differ depending on where they live.
The differences are large. The report finds that a child’s postcode can affect everything from whether they see a dentist to whether there is a playground nearby. The Commissioner is clear that these are not league tables of council performance: many of the measures, such as child poverty, sit outside any one organisation’s control. Instead, the report describes what it is actually like to be a child in each place.
Its main message is about the future. Power and funding are moving from Westminster to new regional strategic authorities, and the Commissioner wants children to be at the heart of that change. Her recommendations include a “Children’s Test” for every strategic authority, a named Deputy Mayor or lead for children, and better local data, so that decisions are based on what children in each area really need.
What it shows about Cumbria: strengths to build on
Cumbria isn’t mentioned by name in the main report, but the detailed evidence annex shows that our area does well on many of the things that matter most in the early years:
- Vaccinations: Cumberland and Westmorland & Furness are the top two areas in England for MMRV childhood vaccination coverage, at 94.3%.
- Libraries: Westmorland & Furness has more libraries per child than anywhere else in England, and Cumberland is fourth.
- Play and green space: Westmorland & Furness is in England’s top three for parks and play areas per child, and 88% of households there live within 15 minutes of green space.
- Sport and leisure: Westmorland & Furness is first in England for access to public sport and leisure facilities, and Cumberland is sixth.
- Stable homes: Cumberland has one of the lowest rates in England of children living in temporary accommodation.
These are the building blocks of a good enough start: a stable home, places to play outdoors, somewhere to share a story, and a community that looks after its babies’ health. Parents in our groups already know this. Walks on the beach, a trip to the library and a chat with other parents are where much of the early bonding we support actually happens.
The report also notes something hopeful about families everywhere: only 2% of children who answered the Commissioner’s survey disagreed that they felt loved and cared for by the people they live with. Families are a strength in almost every child’s life, and that is where prevention starts.
Where early support could reach further
The data also points to places where families with young children could be reached sooner.
In Cumberland, fewer than half of children (48.4%) receive their health visitor review at 2 to 2½ years, compared with around 81% nationally. Childcare is also harder to find: there are about 16 places for every 100 young children, against a national average of 25.
These figures are not a story of families falling short, or of services not caring. They reflect what many rural parents tell us: appointments can be a long way away, public transport is limited, and it can be hard to get support at the right moment. Strikingly, the report says access to public transport couldn’t be included in its scores because the data isn’t good enough, even though it can decide whether a family reaches a service at all.
The lesson for us is simple. In rural communities, early support works best when it is close to home, welcoming, and there before problems have a chance to grow.
What the report doesn’t measure: the first relationship
For all its 162 measures, there is one thing The Childhood Lottery doesn’t capture: the relationship between a parent and their baby.
That isn’t a criticism. Relationships are hard to put into a dataset. But they sit underneath almost everything the report does measure. School readiness, children’s mental health, attendance, feeling safe and feeling loved all have roots in the first 1001 days, from pregnancy to a child’s second birthday. This is when a baby’s brain grows fastest, and when warm, responsive care helps them learn that the world is safe and that they matter.
The report itself recognises the value of acting early. It calls for early intervention through neighbourhood health teams and Family Hubs, so that problems are met before they escalate. Parent infant relationship support is part of that same picture. It is gentle, preventative and built around the everyday moments parents already share with their babies.
In our experience, parents don’t need fixing. They need time, reassurance and someone to notice what is already going well. Small, realistic changes, such as a moment of eye contact, a song at bathtime or a sling walk, add up to a strong foundation.
Looking ahead: a Children’s Test that starts in pregnancy
The timing of this report matters for Cumbria. The new Cumbria Combined Authority was set up in early 2026, and the county will elect its first Mayor in May 2027. Over the coming years it will take on responsibilities for transport, skills, housing, health and wellbeing, and public service reform. Every one of these affects babies and their families.
The Commissioner wants every strategic authority to adopt a Children’s Test: a shared set of outcomes for children, checked and published every year. We would love Cumbria to lead the way by making sure that test:
- Starts in pregnancy, with the first 1001 days and parent infant relationships named as outcomes.
- Builds on our strengths, so that our libraries, green spaces and strong communities are seen as part of early years support.
- Takes rural access seriously, including transport and support delivered close to home.
- Invests in prevention, so families get help early, not only when things reach crisis point.
Good growth in every community begins with a good start for every baby.
How Good Enough Start can help
We offer free, non-judgemental groups and courses for parents from pregnancy until their baby turns two, including Womb to World, Family Bonding, Together Time, Baby Signing, Time to Talk Together and Little Minds Book Club. We also support professionals through referrals, training and consultation.
If you’re a parent in South West Cumbria, come and say hello. You don’t need a reason or a referral. Becoming a parent can bring up feelings you didn’t expect, and you don’t have to work it out alone.
If you’re a professional, commissioner or decision maker, we’d love to talk about how parent infant relationship support can be part of Cumbria’s plans for children.
Every baby deserves a good enough start.
