Torbay chosen as trailblazer for Family Hubs

Torbay is one of 14 'trailblazers' awarded additional funding to to lead the way in delivering ambitious service improvements for families.

As one of the next steps on Torbay’s children’s services improvement journey, the council will be a national leader for the Family Hubs and Start for Life programme and will help establish best practice.

With a Family Hub based in each of Torbay’s three towns, they will support families by bringing together services into one place.

The council will use additional funding to support the implementation of family hubs which will be used to extend the Team Around the Family services that already provide Early Help and support to families across the Bay.

The Hubs will provide support to families from conception through to age 19 or up to 25 for those with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND), with a great Start for Life offer at their core.

The services will be developed in partnership with local parents and carers to ensure their needs and those of their children are met.

Councillor Cordelia Law, Cabinet member for children’s services, said: “We want to provide welcoming, safe and secure spaces to help families to access the right services, from the right organisation, at the right time.

“We understand the difficulty some families face in navigating and interacting with what can be a complex mix of services. We will be working with our partners in health and the community and voluntary sector to co-ordinate and simplify access to the support available.”

Councillor Jackie Stockman, Cabinet member for adults and public health, said: “We are fully aware that the Family Hub pilot comes at a time of challenges, when more and more families are being forced to make difficult choices. But collectively we are prepared to think with agility as we focus on early help and continue to work alongside our children, young people and families every step of the way.”

The Family Hubs and Start for Life programme, overseen jointly by the Department for Education (DfE) and the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC), helps meet commitments in the government's Best Start for Life Vision policy.

Family hubs will act as a ‘one stop shop’ to offer guidance and advice on a range of circumstances including, infant feeding, mental health support, health visits and parenting classes.

Hubs will also bring together wider wraparound services that can make a huge difference to people who need extra support – such as advice on getting into work, relationship building and stop smoking services.

To fast-track delivery of these services, Torbay is one of 14 local authority areas that will become trailblazers and receive extra funding. These trailblazers will lead the way and support other local authorities to improve services that are offered to families, so that these can be rolled out more widely across the country.

As a trailblazer local authority, Torbay will more than £180,000 to progress further and faster, and in their role as system leaders.

The package includes funding for:

• bespoke parent-infant mental health and parent infant relationship support
• creating a network of Family Hubs, improving access to a wide range of integrated support services for families with children of all ages
• establishing a multicomponent breastfeeding support services in line with local needs
• evidence-based parenting programmes
• support for local authorities to publish a clear ‘Start for Life offer’ and ensure that parents' and carers’ voices are heard in the design, planning and delivery of services.

Family hubs are a way of joining up locally to improve access to services; improve the connections between families, professionals, services, and providers; and putting relationships at the heart of family support.

Torbay MP Kevin Foster said: “It’s good to hear Torbay will be one of 14 areas trailblazing the new family hubs and start for life programme. This work will help support local families and ensure our Bay’s next generation gets the best start in life.”

The trailblazer announcement is part of a wider Family Hub announcement in which a funding package of £301.75million is being made available towards the Family Hubs and the Start for Life Programme.

The other trailblazer areas are Sheffield, County Durham, Cornwall, Salford, Kent, Sunderland, Manchester, Northumberland, Hull, Coventry, Blackpool, East Sussex and the Isle of Wight.