Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to increase awareness among parents of safe sleeping practices for babies.

Advice on safe sleeping is provided to parents through health visitors, midwives and early years professionals at key points during pregnancy and a child’s early months, in line with nationally recognised guidance. Best Start Family Hubs act as a front door to this support, bringing together health, early years and family services so parents can easily access trusted, in-person advice on infant care, including safe sleeping.

Alongside this, the Best Start in Life website, which launched on 1 September 2025, brings together information and support from across government in one place, making it easier for parents to find clear, reliable guidance on topics such as safe sleeping when they need it.

The department is continuing to invest in Best Start Family Hubs, strengthening their role as a universal access point for families and ensuring parents can benefit from both high-quality local support and joined-up digital services. These hubs are part of a wider Best Start in Life strategy, backed by over £900 million over the next three years, to expand family services, bring support together in one place, and make it easier for parents to get the help they need. Hundreds of Best Start Family Hubs are now open across England, with more on the way as we work towards having hubs in every local authority by 2028.

We are also updating the wording in the Early Years Foundation stage statutory framework to make the safe sleep requirements clearer. This new wording will come into force in September 2026, subject to parliamentary procedure. I have sent a letter to early years providers via Ofsted outlining these changes. Additionally, we have published a safer sleep article on the ‘Help for early years providers’ platform to help early years settings understand how to ensure babies and children are kept safe whilst sleeping.