Events

Recent Event:

Family Hubs Conference: celebrating progress and forging the future

The Reach Centre, Derby, Friday 29th November

This one-day conference in the heart of England was a vibrant and encouraging muster-call for Family Hubs. Many local councils and their partners shared practical, up-to-date examples of great practice across a wide range of service areas and ways of working; reviewed and celebrated progress and spoke into future policy and funding decisions. Speakers also pointed forward to the potential for Family Hubs to deliver priorities for a broader range of departments across Government.

Please see a link to our news article on the Conference.

Click here to find slides and videos, or here to see the Conference brochure.

The day included a good mix of plenary and more interactive breakout sessions, as well as a panel Q&A session in the afternoon.

We heard from a wide range of dynamic speakers and local authority representatives who are leading the way on Family Hubs including:

  • Lord Farmer, Founder of Family Hubs Network
  • Janet Daby MP, Minister for Children and Families
  • Ian Soars, CEO of Spurgeons
  • Emma Bowman, Director Children’s Services SE & London Regions, Barnardo’s
  • Richard Comerford, Chief Commercial Officer at HCRG Care Group
  • Dr Samantha Callan OBE, Co-founder and Director of Family Hubs Network
  • Department for Education
  • Department of Health and Social Care
  • Josh MacAlister, MP for Whitehaven & Workington and author of the 2022 Independent Review of Children’s Social Care
  • Zoe Oddy, Head of Targeted & System Support Services, Essex Child & Family Wellbeing Service
  • Christina Welsh , Education Programme Manager at the Council for Disabled Children
  • Monica Hingorani, Regional Implementation Advisor, East & West Midlands at the National Centre for Family Hubs
  • Cristina Odone, Head of Family Unit, Centre for Social Justice
  • Helen Adam, Chair of the Family Solutions Group
  • Tim Lloyd, Head of Family Services, HMPPS
  • Vicky Baird, Prison Family Services Manager, Spurgeons
  • Sarah Cattan, Fairer Start Mission Director, NESTA

Session topics included:

  • Where do Family Hubs fit into National and Local Family Support?
  • Family Hubs and Reform of Children’s Social Care
  • Building a Family Hubs Network
  • Evaluation and Evidence
  • Start for Life and Early Years Provision
  • Local variability in 0-19 Services
  • Excellence in SEND Provision
  • Support for Relationships in Family Hubs
  • Support for Families Affected by Prison
  • Youth and Youth Justice
  • Mental Health and School Attendance
  • Future Funding of Family Hubs
  • Engaging Dads and Ethnic Minority Communities
  • Partnerships with Faith-based Organisations
  • Partnerships with Health
  • Family Hubs Outcomes Frameworks
  • Different roles for Digital in Family Hubs
  • Developing Family Hubs without Central Government Funding
  • Forging the Future for Family Hubs

There were also exhibitor stalls and opportunities for interactive engagement and networking throughout the day.