‘Great news for families’: Hull named a ‘trailbazer’ city with £3.5m boost for Family Hubs
Picture credit: Thiago Cerqueira
By Simon Bristow
Hull is to benefit from £3.5m of funding to support the city’s families.
One-stop Family Hubs will offer support from conception through to age 19, or up to 25 for young people with special education needs and disabilities, in local communities.
The hubs will expand what’s on offer in Hull's children’s centres, and provide help with infant feeding, speech, language and communication, parent or carer and infant relationships, as well as enabling parents and carers to access social activities and peer support, and enable young children to make new friends.
Local support workers will help with issues such as perinatal mental health, as well as wider support around things such as smoking cessation and job advice.
Although 75 areas across the country have benefited from funding, Hull is one of only 14 areas given additional money to become a Trailblazer area. Hull will be sharing with other local authority areas the practice and approaches in place to support local families. The city already has in place a strong network of support for families, with the additional money enabling the existing work to be built on further.
‘We know how important early years are for children and their families’
Councillor Linda Tock
Councillor Linda Tock, portfolio holder for children’s services at Hull City Council, said: “This is great news for Hull and our families. We know how important those early years are for children and their families; for children’s development, early language, communication skills, and for parents to secure lifelong bonds with their babies.
“Family Hubs bring services together all in one place, helping parents, carers, children and young people to access the support they need more easily, and helping to give babies the best start in life.
“We have been working with families in Hull to develop the offer, and we look forward to launching the new Family Hubs in the Spring.”