£215m awarded to UK charities including Lambeth children's centre

Community organisations hope to improve the lives of 60,000 babies and children after receiving £215 million from the Big Lottery Fund.

Five groups in Lambeth, Southend, Nottingham, Blackpool and Bradford have been awarded a share of the funding via the Better Start programme.

The 10-year scheme aims to boost the social and emotional wellbeing of children under the age of three.

Dharmendra Kanani, Big Lottery Fund England director, said: "Parents want the best for their children and as a society we know that what happens in the first three years of life profoundly affects a child's future life chances. A poor start in life can affect your health, wellbeing, outlook on life and how you form relationships.

"Prevention matters more in the early years as we have a much greater understanding of what can and might improve the life chances of a future generation. That is why this investment is focusing on the three key areas of social and emotional development, nutrition, and language and communication development."

The largest grant went to Bradford Trident, which received £49 million to help children in Bowling and Barkerend, Bradford Moor and Little Horton.

All three wards have high rates of infant mortality and child poverty, along with low school readiness, high rates of domestic violence and child protection orders. Bradford Trident will lead a new partnership to improve these statistics.

The NSPCC was awarded £45 million for a new partnership in Blackpool. Services will help to address low breastfeeding rates, limited prenatal care, family conflict and domestic abuse, obesity, child poverty and poor social cohesion.

A Centre for Early Child Development will also be opened in the town.

Nottingham CityCare Partnership secured £45 million which will be used to prevent family conflict and domestic abuse, parental substance misuse and parental health problems.

A new workforce of family mentors will be recruited to work alongside professionals.

In Southend, the Pre-School Learning Alliance received £40 million to improve maternity care and parental support. It aims to help 13,000 children through a range of initiatives over the next 10 years, including a new Centre of Excellence, Innovation and Best Practice