How can we effectively capture and use the baby’s voice within planning, provision and care?
Ely and Caerau Integrated Children's Centre is undertaking an action research project on listening to babies, involving observations, research, reflection and training.
Project leads, based at Ely and Caerau Integrated Children's Centre, will observe the babies and adults in the setting's baby room to elicit ways in which babies attempt to have their ‘voice’ heard and how the adults respond.
Quantitative data will be retrieved based on number of ways and times in a set period that babies attempt to communicate and the number of times adults respond appropriately.
Information gathered and analysed will be used to tailor training and changes in the room. This may be a slower pedagogy, changes to care routines or the environment - and changes to how practitioners respond to the voice of babies in the moment.
The project will be shared during open days for staff, practitioners, partners of the Centre (parenting team, health teams, psychology led parenting services and early help) and families. The hope is that this can influence practice in other settings.
The researchers plan to report on their findings Winter 2026.
About Ely and Cearau Children's Centre
Ely and Caerau Children’s Centre is Cardiff’s only Integrated Children's Centre. The centre welcomes babies from eight weeks old, has a toddler room for daycare (open from 8am till 6pm), has two nursery school classes on site for three and four year olds - and offers a wealth of services and groups for local families. The centre aims to improve the health, education and emotional development of young children through an integrated approach. The centre is located on the edge of one of Europe's largest council estates and is in an area which is listed within the 10% most deprived in terms of Income, Education and Community Safety (Welsh Index of Multiple Deprivation 2019).
