CTM Staff Support Royal Foundation's Centre for Early Childhood to launch new film series

CTM’s Martha Sercombe (Specialist Perinatal Mental Health - Health Visitor) and Dr Nicola Canale (Principal Practitioner Psychologist - Neonatal Therapy Service) have worked with the Royal Foundation of the Prince and Princess of Wales' Centre for Early Childhood to support the design and launch of a new series of animations to support practitioners working with babies, young children and families across all sectors.

The Centre for Early Childhood (CEC) aims to increase awareness of the extraordinary impact of early childhood and help everyone recognise the importance of these earliest years to ensure future generations are equipped with the vital life skills they need to thrive.

To support this understanding the CEC has launched a series of animated films that illustrates the science of social and emotional development in early childhood, exploring how experiences from pregnancy to age five shape wellbeing, and how loving, responsive relationships lay the foundation for the social and emotional skills that help us in adulthood.

Martha and Nicola were part of a team supporting the development of these films. In June they attended a creative workshop with HRH Princess of Wales to explore how these resources could be used in a variety of practice areas; including health visiting and neonatal follow-up care.

Martha Sercombe (Specialist Perinatal Mental Health - Health Visitor) said: “These new resources not only highlight the essential building blocks of babies’ social and emotional development, but offer practitioners a beautifully designed, practical tool to support how they share these key messages. I look forward to sharing and encouraging our health visiting teams and the First 1000 Days workforce across the region use these in their practice with families. I’m deeply grateful to have contributed, even in a small way, to the creation of these films, and I’m hopeful that this work will continue to make a lasting impact on the lives of future generations.”

Dr Nicola Canale (Principal Practitioner Psychologist - Neonatal Therapy Service) said: “It has been an honour to work with The Royal Foundation Centre for Early Childhood, and other early years colleagues, over the past few months to help develop and launch these beautiful animations. These short films will no doubt be a helpful addition to the toolkit of any practitioner working with babies, children and families during early childhood across the CTM region and beyond.”

The animations (which have been translated into Welsh and British Sign Language), and practitioner guidance on how they can be used effectively with families, are now available for free on the CEC’s website: The Explainer Series

07/10/2025