Minister Janet Daby emphasised the importance of Family Hubs to the Government’s Opportunity Mission when she addressed our recent Family Hubs: Celebrating Progress and Forging the Future Conference.
The Minister for Children and Families, Janet Daby MP, opened the Family Hubs: Celebrating Progress and Forging the Future Conference in Derby on 29th November 2024, with a ringing endorsement of Family Hubs’ important role in delivering a ‘new era of opportunity’. There not just for vulnerable families but also for those who need a helping hand at difficult times in their lives, she said she has seen first hand how support in Family Hubs ‘can be a lifeline and make a massive difference to children, parents and carers’.
A former children’s social worker and social services manager, Janet Daby recognised that when Family Hubs enable health visitors, school nurses, police officers, careers advisers and many others to work together for the benefit of families, this has a significant positive impact on their outcomes.
She described continued funding in the recent Budget for Family Hubs as ‘the right thing to do’ as they are part of the Government’s promise to give all children the best start in life. Sarah Cattan from Nesta picked up the theme of funding later in the Conference, and this was probably the most salient issue for attendees awaiting the outcome of the forthcoming Spending Review. Throughout the Conference attendees made clear their hope for significant expansion of the Family Hubs and Start for Life programme.
Josh McAlister OBE, the Government’s Independent Reviewer of Children’s Social Care explained how Family Hubs fit into social care reform and the new category of Family Help. There was also a strong focus on gathering evidence of effectiveness and measuring outcomes; how Family Hubs can support relationships, including when parents separate; the need to join up youth work and go all the way up the age range to 25 for children with SEND; and how prisoners’ families can be better supported.
Image Credits: UK Parliament under CC BY-NC-ND 2.0
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