This month, Starbucks celebrated its one year anniversary with National Childbirth Trust (NCT), the UK’s largest parenting charity. Starbucks became the first of its kind to adopt NCT’s Parent Friendly Places Charter as it pledged to provide a parent-friendly environment in almost 900 stores across the country.

The Charter commits to ensure a supportive environment for parents, particularly when it comes to feeding their child whether by breast, bottle or high chair – or a mix of all three.

“We are delighted to see this partnership continue to go from strength to strength as our local stores bed further into the communities they serve,” said Simon Redfern, Director of Public Affairs, Starbucks EMEA. “NCT is an important partner to Starbucks in the UK and we are looking forward to exploring this partnership further over the coming year.”

Starbucks rolled out the programme to its stores across the country in April 2016. Baristas receive training created by qualified professionals from NCT, obtaining a full understanding of the needs of parents with young children or babies, so parents can feel confident to ask for help where needed. The initiative has met with a positive response from NCT groups who often use the store space for meetings.

“We were very pleased to hear that Starbucks partnered with NCT in this drive to make the high streets more parent friendly and it has been a very easy experience working with them,” said Louise Drew, NCT Flintshire & Wrexham, parent support coordinator. “Since the baristas have been trained, the stores pretty much take the lead and host bi-weekly NCT events in store, providing baby toys and playmats for the children. We are excited to continue our work with Starbucks around the country.”