First two Children & Family Hubs open their doors in Hackney
Following consultation, Linden and Woodberry Down Children’s Centres have been chosen as the first two Children & Family Hubs to open in Hackney this year, as part of a programme that aims to offer integrated services to meet a wider range of family needs.
The hubs will be supported by their neighbouring children’s centres and join up with other supporting services and organisations, including partners in the voluntary sector, operating on a hub and spoke model.
The hubs will provide a wide range of services to families, from the first days of pregnancy until their children reach the age of 19, or 25 for young people with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND).
The Children & Family Hubs will work in partnership to offer integrated support services to meet families’ social care, early years education, and health needs.
We know parents, carers, children and families across Hackney's diverse communities are faced with many challenges, especially if we consider the long term impact of the cost of living crisis.
It is our responsibility to offer every child in Hackney the best possible start in life, and this means also providing effective support and opportunities to meet the complex needs of our families.
We are glad to announce that Linden and Woodberry Down Children’s Centres have been designated as the first two Children & Family Hubs in the borough.
The Children & Family Hubs will include a Start for Life programme, funded by the Department for Education and Department for Health and Social Care. Hackney is one of 75 local authorities that has been allocated government funding (the borough has been awarded £3.9 million over 3 years) to complement its existing children’s centres offer with additional services for the first 1001 days, from conception to age 2.
The Start for Life programme will allow new parents, their babies and young children to access a wide range of services, including:
• Perinatal mental health and infant relationships
• Infant feeding
• Parent and carer forums
• Home learning and early language support
• Parenting support.
Hackney’s Children & Family Hubs have partnered with the Solihull Approach to offer free access to expertly designed online courses nurturing emotional health and wellbeing, for parents, carers, grandparents and teens living in the borough. Interested families can find out more about the offer and how to sign up on its webpage.
Earlier this summer, Hackney residents were invited to share their views on the proposed model for the borough’s Children & Family Hubs, to make it easier for parents with children of different ages to access the support and information they need in one place, when they need it.
525 respondents took part in the consultation, with over two thirds of the respondents agreeing with the proposals. Respondents had a wide range of views about the proposals for 0-19 provision, with many questions focused on how Children & Family Hubs will provide a wide range of services for children and young people of different ages, as well as some concerns about shared spaces. Some respondents were very supportive of the extension of services to support older children and young people, whereas others wanted services to focus on services for younger children.
The full consultation report can be accessed online, here.
The feedback gathered during the consultation period will continue to help shape Hackney’s Children & Family Hubs model.
Families across the borough can continue to access Hackney Children’s Centres, and find out more about what they offer by visiting the Hackney Education website.
Two more Children & Family Hubs will be designated in Hackney later this year.