Agenda item

Alex Hawley, Consultant in Public Health, to present an update on Family Hubs.

 

 

Alex Hawley, Consultant in Public Health (Best Start and Beyond) and Kirsty Woodhead, Head of Service Family Help, gave the following powerpoint presentation on the successful delivery of the 3 year transformation project, the embedding of the Family Hub model (extended for a fourth year) and the expectations and focus of the Programme until the end of the next funding period (2028):-

 

Infrastructure

Over the first 4 years the Programme has transitioned to a system-wide offer for children and families.  There was a strong and sustainable infrastructure in place:-

 

-        A clear programme management structure supported by workstream leads

-        Regular communication and engagement were supported through the Best Start in Life Guide and the monthly Family Hub newsletter

-        Governance and performance were embedded through a monthly operational group with separate quarterly performance and communication meetings

-        Early engagement initiatives, such as Baby Packs, continued to strengthen registration rates with 93% of families choosing to register

-        Regular reporting mechanisms established to Department of Health and Social Care and Department of Education

 

What’s in a Family Hub

The Family Hub Programme in Rotherham operated through a strong partnership approach with services delivered for children and families 0-10 (25 with SEND).  A range of services were typically delivered from Family Hubs including but not limited to:

-        Parenting support e.g. parenting groups and discussion groups

-        Peep learning together groups

-        Midwife appointments

-        Health Visitor and Nursery Nurse appointments

-        Infant feeding support

-        Breast pump loan scheme

-        Ante-natal classes and sessions for expectant parents

-        Groups and activities for children under 5 and their families e.g. stay and play, baby massage and sensory sessions

-        Groups for young people such as targeted youth groups

-        Groups for parents of children with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities

-        Employment support from DWP Family Community Work Coaches

-        Peer support for families affected by perinatal mental health

 

Outreach Services

To reduce barriers, a range of services were delivered in community venues across the Borough including

-        Community-led infant feeding sessions, parenting support, Peep learning together groups, Midwife/Health Visitor and Nursery Nurse appointments, infant feeding support, ante-natal classes/sessions for expectant parents, groups and activities for children under 5 and their families, groups for young people such as targeted youth groups, groups for parents of children with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities

 

Parenting Support

-        Togetherness

The Programme continued to see an increase in the Togetherness (previously named Solihull) online course registration and active learners

As of November 2015, there were 681 registered learners

-        Volunteers

The Programme had introduced a peer support and volunteer offer with 29 active volunteers (as of end of September 2025)

-        Evidence based interventions that were offered and delivered to parents and carers – face-to-face and online

Triple P Baby, 0-12 years, Teen, Stepping Stones, Transitions

Family Links

Caring Dads

Sleep Tight

Fear-Less

Togetherness – understanding your child’s behaviour

PEEP (Learning Together Programme)

Journey to Parenthood Programme (health)

One Plus One, Arguing Better, Me, You and Baby Too, Getting it right for children

Teen Life

 

Infant Feeding

The Family Hubs Programme had continued to expand its infant feeding offer

-        Since quarter 2 of 2023/34, 51 infant feeding peer supports had been trained

-        6 Children’s Centre sites (part of the Family Hubs network) had achieved UNICEF Baby Friendly accreditation stage 1

-        39 staff had completed UNICEF Baby Friendly Initiative Managers Training

 

Home Learning Environment

-        The Programme had continued to invest in the Peep Learning Together Programme

-        The Programme covered personal, social and emotional development, communication and language, early literacy, early maths, health and physical development

-        219 families had completed Peep to date (as of November 2025)

-        Children from the ages of 2-4 had been supported

-        There had been a wide range of delivery locations including Family Hub sites, one-to-one in the home, libraries, schools and VCS sites

 

Perinatal Mental Health and Parent-Infant Relationship

-        Over 300 practitioners had completed perinatal mental health training

-        The Programme worked in partnership with Light Peer Support delivering peer-led perinatal mental health groups within Family Hubs

-        Maternal Mood questionnaire completion with 8 weeks had increased from 70.4% to 86.9% demonstrating improved early intervention

 

Parent Carer Panel and Start for Life

Panel

-        24 sessions (as of December 2025) hosted at venues throughout the network

-        Met monthly and some parents/carer now attended the Family Hubs Operational Group

-        Online surveys and monthly newsletter polls

-        Helped shape the Perinatal Mental Health Pathway

Giving your child the best start in life

-        Co-designed by and launched with the Panel

-        Available for all families both digitally and physically

-        Now provided within the baby packs and across the system

-        Imagery was Rotherham-based

-        Format was intended to fit with the Red Book

 

Update on the future of the Programme

-        Best Start Family Hubs and Healthy Babies Programme

In December 2025 it was announced that there would be a further 3 years of funding extending to every local authority in England

Continued investment in Start for Life services (now known as “Healthy Babies Programme”)

Awaiting detailed programme guidance to inform Rotherham’s approach beyond March 2026

-        Good level of development

There was a new expectation to deliver a national target for achieving Good Level of Development for reception age students by the end of the 2028 academic year

Rotherham’s Best Start Local Plan to be published on Council website by 31^st March 2026 setting out its approach to Good Level of Development

 

Discussion ensued with the following issues raised/clarified:-

 

-        There had been no additional funding to create new buildings; existing building were utilised.  If there was a community building that Ward Members were aware of that could be used, they should make it known and the possible use would be explored

 

-        The Programme had worked hard to ensure that families were connected to the services they would benefit from regardless of the location of the Family Hubs.  The Outreach Service was really important  and continued to deliver services in all the communities whether there was a physical building or not.  The Service was sufficiently responsive to connect to the community so that it did not impact on children and families’ ability to access services

 

-        The Family First Partnership Programme had undertaken a robust needs analysis that would be submitted to the new Families First Partnership Board.  If the needs analysis demonstrated that parts of the Borough needed more support to engage with services or there was a level of need, further discussions would take place

 

-        There was a need, and more work required, to ensure that everyone understood that the provision was now Family Hubs with a much broader offer than Children’s Centres.  There were parenting support for teens within the Programme but it required more promotion as well as resources within the voluntary sector aimed at older children

 

-        The whole range of services available at Family Hubs needed to be illustrated

 

-        The new SEND Hub would shortly be launched/opened which the Family Hubs would work closely with.  The new guidance around Family Hubs suggested that there were SEND leads in each of the Hubs; work was taking place on how to deliver such

 

-        Work had taken place with the 0-19 Service to identify additional support for children who were not achieving their developmental milestones ensuring that parents could access support and targeted intervention without the child being labelled as “SEND”.  Work would take place ascertaining how older children would like to access services and support

 

-        Consideration had been given as to how to engage with dads/male carers as part of the Programme.  It was understood that one size did not fit all and that approach did not work

 

-        Commitment to continue to work and ensure services offered were flexible and delivered

 

Resolved:-  (1)  that the progress made in the last 4 years and the continuation of the Programme with Best Start Family Hubs 2026-29 be noted.

 

(2)  That the next update include details of what was being done at Family Hubs to support all the children and families.