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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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 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.”
Health minister, Neil O’Brien, added:
“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 healthy relationships and infant feeding.”
Island MP, Bob Seely was similarly impressed by the hubs.
He 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."
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