What were the findings?

Between October 2022 and January 2023, families, children and young people were invited to participate in workshops and interviews at stay and play sessions and events. At the same time, a wider engagement survey captured the views of parents, carers and professionals who may not have taken part in workshops. The Council also held engagement events with staff and with Voluntary and Community Sector organisations. More than 70 parents participated in preparing the guidance for new parent carer panels to be set up later this year.

Some of the priorities mentioned by the majority of families centred around:

• Access to information about family and children's services via a wider range of channels: digital, emails, text messaging, printed materials, face-to-face meetings with community leaders and other organisations (such as children’s centres, schools, libraries, GPs), word-of-mouth 

• Wider range of support for parents and carers, including professional advice on children’s development, managing challenging behaviour, health, finance, housing and employment advice, access to creches and affordable childcare, peer support, skills training
• Support for families and children with SEND: behavioural support, peer support for parents, additional support for children as they transition to school and in preparation for adulthood, and for families who speak English as a second language
• Additional support for older children and for young people, including practical and physical activities, life skills, counselling and mental health support, parenting guidance, homework clubs, arts

Participants also mentioned some of the challenges families may face in accessing support services, which include:

• Language barriers for non-English speakers and for families who speak English as a second language, and in particular for asylum seekers living in temporary accommodation
• Accessibility challenges for parents with mobility issues
• Financial challenges, such as the impact of the increase in the cost of living, difficulty accessing affordable childcare, and barriers for families with no recourse to public funds 
• The need for a balance between online and offline services
• Mixed experiences and sometimes difficulties in building long term relationships with support workers, mental and physical health practitioners
• Balancing the wider range of services offered as part of Children and Family Hubs with the particular focus on early childhood, early intervention and prevention, and ensuring the safety and wellbeing of children of mixed age groups
• Using hubs as tools for community building, strengthening communication between partners and providers, and not as a replacement for other community services and resources

How will Hackney’s Children and Family Hubs work?

Strengthening relationships and helping families build on their strengths are at the heart of the services that will be delivered in Hackney’s Children and Family Hubs. Families will receive more efficient, tailored and coordinated help from a network of professionals, service providers, health, community and voluntary sector partners. On top of the Start for Life programme, the hubs will also support families with older children. 

In Hackney we already benefit from a wide network of children’s centres that operate on a hub and spoke model. The plans will see the broadening of 4 of our ‘strategic’ children’s centres into 4 new Children and Family hubs, to develop 4 networks of professionals aligned to the primary care neighbourhood networks of Hackney. These hubs will act as a central point for families looking for support from a wide range of specialists, where and when they need it.

The Hackney Children and Family Hubs are expected to open later this year. For more information, and to find answers to frequently asked questions, click here.