Case Study: Children’s Services Commissioning Team at Northumberland County Council

By Hannah Bose | 6th May, 2026 |

Northumberland made the decision to collaborate with DadPad in March 2023, with the aim to develop their Start for Life (now Best Start in Life) offer.  The 1001 Critical Days’ Vision document states the importance of ensuring the wellbeing of both mum and dad during the perinatal period, and notes the impac that this has on the baby (see – e.g. – point 9, p15 of this document).

Before investing in DadPad, their team researched what fathers needed and consulted with fathers in Northumberland.

Feedback from families told them that dads often felt that a lot of the information available during the perinatal period was aimed at mums, and that they were not seen as important during pregnancy and having a young child.

Alongside this research, their Family Hubs team developed a Dads’ Champion model, with 22 members of staff accessing The Fatherhood Institute‘s Fatherhood Champions training, and started meeting to discuss what could be done as a team.

They also talked with people like Mark Williams – who, in 2020 (and with the support of DadPad), published the Fathers Reaching Out – Why Dads Matter report – to better understand the importance of paternal mental health, noting Mark’s conclusion that there are better outcomes for the whole family and child when dads are included.

It was clear that, from conception, fathers are at a real disadvantage and need more support.

Why DadPad?

The Northumberland team selected DadPad because it gave them:

• a resource that has limited impact on staff capacity, and maximum reach to fathers;
• a way to quickly give dads the message that “you matter”;
• a physical resource which Midwives and Health Visitors can use on visits to show to dads at the earliest stage possible;
• a resource that every dad can access, via the app or via a physical hard-copy book;
• a way to bring dads into Family Hubs – to pick up or borrow his copy of the book – and monitor engagement and impact;
• a way to bring services together and shared owned-responsibility;
• a way to interact with fathers and gain more feedback: “What else can we do to help you?”.

They also developed DadTalk sessions to run virtually, using some of the DadPad content.

Northumberland have placed a strong emphasis on father-inclusive practice over the past two years.  DadPad is a key part of their overall offer for dads, and was launched in the county in Oct 2023.  As a result of this offer, they have seen a phenomenal 608.8% increase in fathers and male role models attending Family Hubs in Q2 2024/25 when compared with data from Q1 2022/23.

References:

Fatherhood Institute (2026) Fatherhood Champions in family & children’s services. [online]

HM Government (2021) The Best Start for Life – A Vision for the 1,001 Critical Days: The Early Years Healthy Development Review Report. [online]

HM Government (2025) Men’s Health: a strategic vision for England – Policy Paper. [online]

Northumberland County Council – Family Hubs (2023) Best Start in Life webpage. [online]

Northumberland County Council – Family Hubs (2023) Parent Zone webpage. [online]

Northumberland County Council – Family Hubs (2023) Free ‘DadPad’ app launches to support dads in Northumberland – 31 Oct 2023. [online]

Williams, Mark (2020) Fathers Reaching Out – Why Dads Matter: 10 years of findings on the importance of fathers’ mental health during the perinatal period. [online]

…and using information provided direct to DadPad via: Vicki Collins, (then) Practice and Project Development Officer, Early Intervention and Prevention, Children’s Services, Wellbeing and Community Health Services Group, Northumberland County Council (Nov 2023)