Reports

One local area in England described their aspiration to create integrated locality plans, including early years, for each of their Family Hubs.

Family Hubs present one of the most promising avenues for strengthening early identification and safeguarding. When delivered well, they create spaces where families can build trusting relationships with practitioners, where professionals can work side by side, and where information can flow more effectively between services. Yet the picture across the country remains varied. Differences in local models and practice mean families do not always experience the same level of integrated support, and staff do not always have access to the same clarity of pathways or expectations. The rollout of Best Start Family Hubs represents a timely and valuable opportunity to address this variation and embed consistent foundations for safeguarding from pregnancy through the first years of life.

Best Start Family Hubs (BSFHs) should act as a gateway to wider local services beyond their core offer, ensuring families experience joined up seamless services. This document provides non-statutory guidance for local authorities on the services BSFHs should connect to beyond their core offer and sets out the minimum expectations of the services which are not receiving additional investment through this programme, and optional good practice. The services listed in this document do not represent an exhaustive list and you can choose to deliver other services outside of these, according to local need. This document also sets out options to go further in the delivery of these services.

The UK Government has issued guidance for Family Hubs. The guidance is designed to help local authorities provide Best Start Family Hubs and Healthy Babies services from April 2026.

We welcome the Government’s announced expansion of the Family Hub network to one in each local authority. The Government must go further and ensure there is access to Family Hubs in every community, backed by long-term funding. This expansion must prioritise equity, with clear targets for reaching families with the greatest need and roles dedicated to supporting parents of children with additional needs.

Best Start Family Hubs (BSFHs) will offer welcoming, inclusive, environments where every family feels valued and confident to ask for support. BSFHs will be open to all families with children aged 0–19 (or up to 25 for young people with SEND). While universally accessible, they will prioritise support for families with babies and young children – recognising this critical window for cognitive, physical and emotional development. For families facing more complex challenges, BSFHs will help identify emerging problems early and provide access to support – ensuring families receive the right help at the right time.