ESOL Baby Steps - Lets talk about Womens Health
ESOL Baby Steps: Helping mums learn English without leaving their children behind
NHS-funded programme tackling language barriers and maternal health inequalities to be showcased at Liverpool Central Library during Baby Week 2026.
Tuesday 17 November 2026 | 10am–2pm
Liverpool Central Library, William Brown Street, Liverpool
For many migrant mothers, learning English can be an essential step towards accessing healthcare, building confidence and connecting with their communities. But when English classes don't provide childcare or allow babies and young children to attend, the women who need them most can find themselves excluded.
Now, an innovative NHS-funded programme is helping to close that gap.
ESOL Baby Steps, developed through a pioneering cross-sector partnership led by Improving Me, the NHS Cheshire and Merseyside Women's Health and Maternity Programme, offers a simple solution: bring the children and learn together.
The programme will be showcased at Liverpool Central Library on Tuesday 17 November, from 10am to 2pm, as part of Baby Week 2026, taking place from 16–22 November under this year's theme, Closing the Gap.
The initiative responds to a serious and often overlooked challenge in maternity care: the relationship between language barriers, social isolation and unequal health outcomes.
Community midwife Maria Rowntree has highlighted research indicating that women who cannot speak English face a substantially increased risk of maternal death, citing a figure of 25 times greater risk. Her work calls for urgent improvements in communication standards and accountability across NHS maternity services.
Meanwhile, research by Refugee Action found that 77% of English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) providers surveyed in 2017 were unable to offer childcare, or could not provide enough to meet learners' needs. For pregnant women and mothers caring for small children, this can mean missing out on language education precisely when understanding medical advice, expressing concerns and making informed decisions matters most.
Twelve sessions. Practical skills. Babies welcome.
ESOL Baby Steps provides a free-to-access, 12-session English language programme designed specifically for migrant mothers with limited English proficiency who are pregnant or caring for babies and young children.
Unlike many conventional English classes, mothers can attend with their babies and toddlers, removing one of the most significant obstacles to participation.
The sessions are informal, welcoming and rooted in everyday experiences of pregnancy, birth, infant care and family health. They help women develop the language and confidence to communicate with midwives, doctors and other healthcare professionals, ask questions, understand health information and participate more fully in decisions about their care.
The course also encourages mothers to build friendships and peer networks, helping to reduce the isolation that many migrant women experience.
Designed to be delivered in a wide range of community and healthcare settings, ESOL Baby Steps comes with a ready-to-use resource pack, including a course guide, flashcards, a flip book for session leaders and a Mum's Book for each participant.
No specialist English teaching qualification is required to use the materials, making the programme accessible to community groups, family hubs, healthcare partners and other organisations.
A partnership that works both ways
Developed through a collaboration between Improving Me, University of Leicester sociolinguistics doctoral researcher Sharon Freeman, five midwifery students from Liverpool John Moores University and the University of Chester, and adult education specialists, ESOL Baby Steps brings together expertise from health, education and community engagement.
Crucially, learning works in both directions.
While migrant mothers develop language skills and confidence, participating healthcare students and professionals gain valuable experience of communicating across linguistic and cultural differences.
The programme creates opportunities to understand the social determinants of health, challenge assumptions and improve the cultural responsiveness of maternity services.
It also provides an innovative approach to healthcare student placements, creating learning opportunities in community settings while building stronger connections between education, the NHS and underserved populations.
Jo Ward, Improving Me Social Prescribing Lead and ESOL Baby Steps project lead, said:
"Mums with babies are often shut out of ESOL because there's no childcare. We wanted a course they could come to with their children, and one that anyone could run.
"We also wanted to enrich the education of students embarking on healthcare careers, helping them understand how the social determinants of health affect women's experiences, while creating new opportunities for student placements and pathways into the NHS.
"These students tell us that the mums bring as much to the room as we do. That's what makes this programme so valuable. It's not just about teaching English. It's about learning from each other."
Closing the gap in women's health
The programme comes at a time of increasing attention to inequalities in maternity care.
The latest MBRRACE-UK maternal mortality data continues to demonstrate significant inequalities associated with ethnicity and social disadvantage, reinforcing the importance of tackling the wider circumstances that influence women's health.
The Women's Health Strategy for England, published in 2022, committed to improving how health services listen and respond to women and girls. Yet for women who cannot easily communicate in English, meaningful participation in healthcare decisions and feedback processes remains particularly challenging.
ESOL Baby Steps offers a practical model for addressing some of these barriers.
By combining language learning, health literacy, peer support and professional education, the programme recognises that improving women's health requires more than providing information. It also means making sure women have the opportunity, confidence and support to use it.
The initiative is being showcased as Improving Me celebrates its tenth anniversary and seventh annual Baby Week, bringing together families, healthcare professionals, educators and community organisations across Cheshire and Merseyside to champion healthier and more equitable futures.
A small step with wider potential
Although developed in Cheshire and Merseyside, ESOL Baby Steps has been designed as a model that can be adapted and delivered elsewhere.
Its downloadable resources allow community organisations, family hubs, NHS partners and educators across the country to introduce inclusive English language learning without requiring specialist teachers or excluding women with childcare responsibilities.
ESOL Baby Steps is not intended to replace professional interpreting services in maternity care. Instead, it complements accessible healthcare communication by helping mothers build confidence, develop everyday language skills and strengthen relationships with health professionals.
Twelve sessions. Practical resources. No need to leave the little ones behind.
For mothers who are too often unheard, ESOL Baby Steps offers an opportunity to find their voice, build connections and participate more confidently in the healthcare decisions affecting themselves and their children.
Join us at Baby Week 2026
The ESOL Baby Steps programme will be showcased as part of Baby Week's Closing the Gap celebrations.
Date: Tuesday 17 November 2026
Time: 10am–3pm
Venue: Liverpool Central Library, William Brown Street, Liverpool, L3 8EW
Find out more about the programme and access the free learning resources at www.esolbabysteps.org.
For Baby Week information, visit https://www.improvingme.org.uk/community/baby-week-2026/.
Background references
● Maria Rowntree (2025), Prioritising Healthcare Communication in Maternity Care, Open Access Government.
● MBRRACE-UK, Maternal Mortality 2022–2024, University of Oxford.
● Refugee Action (2017), research into barriers to ESOL provision.
● WONDER Foundation (2016), Women Breaking the English Barrier.
● Department of Health and Social Care (2022), Women's Health Strategy for England.
Programme enquiries