Our work
Current work, and examples of what we have each led over the last two decades.
A track record built over two decades
From national programme design and RCT-backed evaluation to regional leadership on Best Start in Life, our work spans the full width of the early years system.
Childhood is Now’s current work and examples of our individual previous work
Better Start Associate
Bringing early years and system leadership expertise to help places turn Better Start’s learning, evidence and experience into meaningful, lasting change.
National Literacy Trust Associate
Supporting place-based systems change.
Families First Regional Adviser
Supporting the DfE rollout of the Dingley's Promise Early Educator Inclusion Training.
National Centre for Family Hubs Regional Adviser
Contributing to national support on Best Start in Life and LA Inclusion Toolkit (Local Government Association).
Award-winning programme development
Programme recognised as a finalist for a Health Service Journal Award for Reducing Inequalities and Improving Outcomes for Children and Young People, and winner of the 2025 Excellence in Health Creation Award for Best Health-Creating Grassroots Approach to Reducing the Impact of Long-Term Conditions.
Reducing health inequalities
Led strategic programme development for babies, children and young people in a London borough, with asthma prevention and care recognised as good practice across North West London through the Getting It Right First Time (GIRFT) assessment.
Transforming perinatal mental health support
Led the redevelopment, evaluation and adaptation to virtual delivery during COVID-19 of NSPCC’s Pregnancy in Mind (PiM) programme.
Strengthening parent–infant relationships
Programme development leadership for NSPCC’s Infant and Family Teams (IFT), adapting a US evidence-based approach to the UK to improve parent–infant relationships and inform permanency decisions for children under five in care proceedings due to maltreatment, with evaluation supported by an NIHR-funded randomised controlled trial.
Development, training and national rollout of recognised evidence-informed Home Learning Environment programmes
Including NCB’s Making it REAL (Raising Early Achievement in Literacy) and Save the Children UK’s Families Connect programme supported by RCT evidence of impact on children’s social and emotional development and parental self-efficacy.
C4EO
(Centre for Excellence and Outcomes in Children and Young People’s Services): Programme and project management.
Sure Start national evaluation
Served as an Evaluation Advisor to Sure Start Local Programmes through the National Evaluation of Sure Start (NESS).
Research, evaluation and consultancy
Led a research, evaluation and training consultancy for eight years, working with Sure Start Children’s Centres, schools, local authorities, NHS and VCFSE organisations to demonstrate the impact of their work on babies, children, families and communities.
Advisory group memberships
Current / Recent
Advisory Group member, The Rise Study (NIHR-funded), Bristol University
A systems approach to improving young people's mental health and pathways into adulthood.
Policy and Practice Advisory Group member, Prudence Trust Research Fellowship, King's College London
How to shift the dial for depression and anxiety prevention in young people, re-imagining risk, personalised interventions and scalability.
Advisory Panel member, Industry Implementation Council, The Children's Digital Wellbeing Framework for Children
FUNdamentally Children.
Previous
Expert Reference Group member, Parent Infant Foundation
Steering Committee Member, ADVANCE Study (NIHR-funded), King's College London
Advancing interventions for men in substance misuse treatment who perpetrate intimate partner violence.
Advisory Group Member, Early Years Funders Group, Collective Futures
Advisory Group Member, Stronger Practice Hubs, NCB
Publications
Williams, L. (2024/25)
Director and editor of Save the Children's Early Years Knowledge Bank.
View source →Williams, L. (2025)
Commissioner and editor of Save the Children's Listening as a Way of Life leaflets updated in partnership with NCB: Supporting parents to listen to their baby and young child and Listening to babies and very young children.
King, J. & Williams, L. (2022)
Co-author of chapter: Adapting the Families Connect programme for three-year-olds; a case study, The theory and practice of voice in early childhood, An International Exploration, Routledge.
View source →Harrington, L., McElearney, A. & Hyde-Dryden, G. (2021)
Adapting the Pregnancy in Mind (PiM) support service to virtual delivery. International Journal of Birth and Parent Education, Vol. 8, Issue 3.
View source →Williams, L. (2021)
Families Connect Facilitator Delivery Manual, The Save the Children Fund. Author of the updated programmes for 3–6-year-olds and a Blended Learning version for online delivery to families during COVID-19.
View source →Paula Gow, Louise Harrington, Theresa Park and Lindsay Rautman (2020)
Using strengths-based video-feedback techniques to build parent-child attunement: Research In Practice, June 2020.
View source →Williams, L. (2016)
Contributor to Ready to listen: Why, when and how to involve young children and their families in local decisions about health and wellbeing.
View source →Stevenson, F., Lloyd, N., Harrington, L & Wallace, P. (2013)
Use of electronic patient records for research: views of patients and staff in general practice, Family Practice, Volume 30, Issue 2, Pages 227-232.
View source →Lloyd, N. & Harrington, L. (2012)
The challenges to effective outcome evaluation of a national, multi-agency initiative: the experience of Sure Start Evaluation, 18(1), pp. 93–109.
View source →Moran, N. & Harrington, L. (2006)
Smoking cessation services in Sure Start Local Programmes: findings from local evaluations. National Evaluation of Sure Start (NESS), Birkbeck.
View source →Harrington, L., Lloyd, N. & Ellison, S. (2005)
Implementing and Managing your Sure Start Local Programme Evaluation, National Evaluation of Sure Start (NESS), Birkbeck.
View source →
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