What is a Family Hub?

A family hub is a place where children, young people and their families can go when they need help or support. The people working in the family hub will work in partnership with you and your community. They will help you find and get help from different services in the area and will be able to give you information, advice and practical support including access to support groups and learning activities, for example, parenting courses or activities for you and your child that support your child’s development.

National guidance for family hubs describes them as somewhere that children, young people and families can access:

• seamless support
• a welcoming hub
• the information families need when they need it
• an empowered Start for Life workforce
• continually improving the Start for Life offer
• leadership focused on change and improvements

Family hubs are a way of joining up services locally by bringing existing family help services together to improve access; connections between families, professionals, services, and providers, and putting relationships at the heart of family help. Family hubs bring together services for families with an effective Start for Life offer at their core.

In Rutland, work is underway to create a family hub offer in line with national guidance and the offer will meet the needs of all children and young people 0 – 19 and their families. Where a child or young person has special educational needs or a disability (SEND), support from the family hub will continue to age 25.

Our family hub offer will include:

Buildings

These will be local support centres for all families, young people, parents and carers.  They will be a place to get help, information, advice, guidance, and support that might otherwise be difficult to find. A place to meet a variety of practitioners to get a wide range of advice and support.  Staff working in our Family Hubs will work in partnership with families and other community providers to ensure the right services are available. Our first family hub will be based in the children’s centre building in Oakham and will launch in January 2023.  There are plans to open at least three more permanent hub sites by mid-2024.

Outreach

Family hubs will deliver health and family support services in the community, bringing services to families in their locality because it might be difficult to get to one of the main building-based sites. This might be because you live in a more isolated, rural area or perhaps on one of the military bases in the county. Our outreach programme will bring the support and services you need to you, in community spaces close to where you live.

Services and support

Services and support will be provided which all families can access.  These  services will include face-to-face activities and some digital services and support, including online groups and virtual, interactive learning activities. Staff working in our family hubs will work hard to ensure families receive the right support, at the right time, to help them thrive and in ways that work for them.