LAmbeth early action partnership (leap) evaluation

Evaluation

The Dartington team worked with a team of community researchers from Lambeth to undertake a mixed method developmental and then a summative evaluation of LEAP, one of the A Better Start Project in Lambeth. We took a community participatory approach, working with the services that form the LEAP partnership, the LEAP core team and community members to understand what works well, what improvement looks like and what effect LEAP may have had on the lives of families and children in the Early Years.

The need

The Big Lottery Community Fund (BLCF) funded A Better Start programme in Lambeth began in 2015, working with services providing support to children and babies aged 0-3 and their parents and carers. The three main outcomes were to improve speech and language, diet and nutrition and social and emotional development. While there is a whole programme evaluation commissioned by the BLCF looking at lessons, learning and effectiveness across all the five A Better Start areas, LEAP were also keen to understand the impact they may be having in Lambeth.

Our response

LEAP partnered with Dartington Service Design Lab to carry out a comprehensive evaluation from April 2021 to August 2024. The goal was to understand how LEAP contributed to improving the lives of children and families in Lambeth, identifying which children benefited, under what circumstances, and why.

We used a combination of methodologies — such as theory of change, contribution analysis, and realist evaluation — to test assumptions about how programmes drive systems change. By doing this, we could pinpoint not just what worked, but how and why it worked for different families in different contexts. This deeper understanding can have a lasting impact on the design of future programmes, ultimately improving the lives of children and families.

Equally crucial was our commitment to equity. By engaging with communities at the grassroots level and sharing decision-making with those most affected, we ensured the evaluation reflected the real-life experiences of families on the ground. You can learn more about this collaborative approach on our dedicated page on community research.

Our team

We’re delighted to have worked alongside four Community Researchers living and working in Lambeth. This is part of our commitment to integrating approaches to evidence and building in lived experience, both individually and from the community, to build a better picture of the systems supporting families in Lambeth.