The Isle of Wight council’s trailblazing family hubs welcomed the government’s Early Years Advisor Dame Andrea Leadsom MP last week.
The day-long visit provided the opportunity for the Island’s early help teams to highlight the successes and ambitions of the family hub initiative, as well as showcasing the services in action with a trip to the Ryde Family Hub.
Early Years Health Adviser
Dame Andrea was appointed the government’s Early Years Health Adviser in 2020 and oversees the Start for Life elements of the joint Family Hubs and Start for Life programme.
The programme will see 75 areas benefiting from a £300 million investment up to 2025, and thousands of families across England will be offered help and support thanks to family hubs being rolled out in local communities.
£2.6 million for three years
Around £2.6 million will be provided to the Isle of Wight council for a three year programme, until 2025.
The Island was one of the first places in the country to introduce a family hub network in 2015 and is now recognised as having a model of best practice.
What’s on offer
The hubs offer a single access point to a wide range of support services for all families, from parents-to-be and up to 19 aged, or up to 25 for children with special education needs and disabilities.
This means that trusted relationships between families and the professionals who are supporting them can be built right from the start of the process. It also eliminates the need for information to be repeated for each service.
Close partnerships
They are run by the council in close partnership with Barnardo’s, Public Health/Solent 0-19 team, the Hampshire and Isle of Wight Integrated Care Board/midwifery and Aspire Ryde.
Earlier this year, the Isle of Wight was selected as one of only 14 ‘Trailblazer’ local authorities awarded additional funding to fast-track delivery of these services, leading the way and supporting other local authorities.
Leadsom: Innovative trailblazers
Dame Andrea said,
“It was a pleasure to spend time with families and family hub teams in Ryde and to see how the Start for Life work is already starting to make a real difference on the Isle of Wight.
“It was wonderful to see how the hubs are at the heart of their communities and the excellent partnership working taking place.
“It is the innovation of our trailblazers like the Isle of Wight, that will help to shape the development of the programme across the UK, and I will continue to follow their progress with great interest.”
O’Brien: Family hubs, like in Ryde, are leading the way
Health minister, Neil O’Brien said,
“We know the 1,001 critical days from pregnancy to the age of two are vital for development and impact a child’s physical and emotional health for the rest of their life.
“Family hubs, like in Ryde, are leading the way to provide more families with the right support, for their baby to get the best start in life – which includes mental health, building strong and health[y] relationships and infant feeding.”
Andre: Trusted relationships should sit at the heart of this
Councillor Debbie Andre, Cabinet member for children’s services, education and lifelong skills, accompanied the minister for part of her visit.
She said,
“For families to receive the best help, services need to be joined up and integrated in their approaches.
“Trusted relationships should sit at the heart of this, so that family members know who to turn to and all partners collaborate well.
“We are already seeing this happen in numerous family hubs, which are accessible and inclusive — allowing families to thrive. These services include parenting support, services for expectant parents, health and education.”
Helping families to thrive
Helen Figgins, Barnardo’s assistant director of children’s services for Hampshire and the Isle of Wight said,
“We are thrilled that the innovative practice on the Island is being recognised and shared as part of this programme of work.
“Barnardo’s was founded to ensure no child is turned away from the help they need, and our Hubs are providing vital, joined up support to children, young people and their families, helping them to thrive.”
Nicholas: Excited to be involved
Trevor Nicholas, from Aspire Ryde said,
“We are excited to be involved in the family hubs initiative and particularly in helping those most in need to get the support available to them through this innovative partnership.”
Seely: We need to make sure the Island is at the front of the queue
Island MP, Bob Seely, said,
“This scheme is a fantastic initiative providing support to families whenever and wherever they need it.
“I would like to congratulate all the teams who support Island families through the hubs including those at Barnardo’s, the NHS and the Early Years Coordinators.
“Most of all I would like to thank Carly Bain from the Isle of Wight Council who led the project and whose excellent bid secured the funding.
“With everything that we do, we need to make sure the Island is at the front of the queue, especially for new initiatives.
“It’s so important that we support children, and their families, through the early years and I am grateful to the government for funding this scheme.
“I know that those involved on the Island will continue to work to make it a success and I look forward to supporting them.”
News shared by Isle of Wight council press office, in their own words. Ed
