Coventry welcomed MP Dame Andrea Leadsom and representatives from the Department for Education and Department of Health and Social Care to show the pioneering work of the city’s Family Hubs.
The eight Family Hubs are based around the city to offer local support to residents, with a focus on helping children, young people and their families.
The Hubs help to join up the planning and delivery of family services. They build connections between families, practitioners, services and providers and put relationships at the heart of family support.
They offer universal support to families with children of all ages up to 19 years, with services including parenting, infant feeding and perinatal mental health and wellbeing services. A range of services are co-located in the family hubs to provide a “one-stop shop” for parents such as midwifery, health visiting, debt and welfare advice and housing-related support.
Coventry has helped to pioneer the use of Family Hubs over the past five years, and has now been selected to take part in the national Family Hub and Start for Life Programme.
The Council is receiving over £4 million over the next three years so it can expand the work and help even more people, in collaboration with a wide range of partners and stakeholders.
The Family Hub and Start for Life Programme was announced by the Government as a way of delivering improvements to support for babies, children, young people, parents, and carers, and Coventry was named as one of its trailblazers for the programme.
Last week, (13 July), Dame Andrea, Early Years Advisor to the Government and author of Best Start in Life, was given a tour of some of the Hubs to see the pioneering work being carried out.
The Government party first visited the Play and Stay session at the Families for All Hub, where they talked to families about the facilities on offer, and parents who are helping to shape our services through the newly formed Parent/Carer Panel. They had lunch at Wood Side Family Hub with representatives from a wide range of agencies supporting the programme including Infant Feeding and Health Visiting alongside senior leaders from the Council, including Cllr Patricia Seaman, Cabinet Member for Children and Young People, and the interim Director of Children services, Neil Macdonald.
They also visited the Pathways Family Hub to see families taking part in a family learning activity and chatted to the Midwifery, and experts by experience to talk about antenatal care and working with fathers.
Cllr Seaman said: “We were delighted to welcome Dame Andrea and the Government teams to show them the amazing work being carried out in the city to give children and families the support they need in those early years.
“Our Family Hubs have been a great success and have helped so many people since they were introduced. They put care right in the heart of our communities and bring services together so families can be supported in the best way possible.
“With the new funding, we have been able to support more people and build on the great work already carried out, and the visit allowed us to show the work we are doing, what our vision is, and how the government can help with the challenges we face.
“Importantly, families were also able to tell what they think of the Hubs and the support on offer and what they need to help in those vital first 1001 days of a child’s life.
“We are looking forward to working with our partners and families as One Coventry to improve the Start for Life offer and the Hubs even further in the coming years, and ensuring children and families are right at the heart of our work.”
Dame Andrea said: “It was a fascinating visit to three of Coventry’s brilliant new Family Hubs: Families for All, Wood Side and Pathways!
"Many thanks to the amazing teams who hosted us - you're doing incredible work helping families give their babies the best start for life."
Health Minister, Neil O’Brien, added: “We know that the 1,001 critical days from pregnancy to the age of two are vital for development and impact a child’s physical and emotional health for the rest of their life.
“Family Hubs like those in Coventry are leading the way to provide more families with the right support for their baby to get the best start in life – which includes mental health, building strong and healthy relationships, and helping parents be the best they can be.”
Find out more about the work of the Family Hubs and how they could help your family.