Reports Archive - Page 3 of 5 - The Family Hubs Network

Applying behavioural science to promoting uptake of family hubs services: Research report summary

The Publisher:

Department for Education

Publication Date:

December 2022

Summary:

This brief report synthesises and summarises the “Applying behavioural science to promoting uptake of family hubs services” report.

(This report was no. 3 in a series of 5)

The body of work reported represents a ground-breaking application of behavioural science to the uptake of family hubs services. All four projects have generated valuable insights for the individual local authorities about the requirements, barriers and facilitators of their target groups and the specific contexts in which they are developing and testing interventions. This work has yielded some important learnings for local authorities more broadly, both regarding common barriers and facilitators to engagement of parents in family hubs services and relating to the implementation of behavioural science for intervention development and evaluation. Importantly, as a first attempt to apply behavioural science to family hubs, this work offers multiple exemplars of utilising different research methods in these complex settings.

Applying behavioural science to promoting uptake of family hubs services

The Publisher:

Department for Education

Publication Date:

December 2022

Summary:

This report synthesises the findings from four research projects that were delivered by the Centre for Behavioural Science and Applied Psychology (CeBSAP) and Sheffield Institute of Education Research and Knowledge Exchange (SIRKE) at Sheffield Hallam University (SHU).

The four projects were:

Durham: Developing and evaluating more father-inclusive messaging to promote father engagement in parenting support, for fathers of young people aged 11-16 years.
Sheffield: Developing and evaluating effective messaging to promote a New Fathers Support Group for fathers of infants aged 0-6 months.
Wolverhampton: Evaluating a community outreach programme to promote family hubs services to families of minority ethnic groups with children aged 0-6 years for whom English is a second language.
Wakefield: Evaluating a communication strategy delivered by schools to promote family hubs and ‘team around the school’ services to families of primary school aged children.

This report documents the findings from the four behavioural science projects, the learnings from the work and recommendations for those working to enhance engagement with Family Hubs services in other local authorities.

(This report was no. 2 in a series of 5)

In 2019 the government made a manifesto commitment to champion family hubs (FH) to ensure vulnerable children and families have the right support at the right time. Subsequently the government have invested in expanding the network of family hubs. However, the success of family hubs in improving outcomes for families and children hinges on their ability to successfully engage and reach families in need of support. The aim of this research is to evaluate initiatives designed to promote uptake of family hub services, particularly by families most in need, with the purpose of sharing this learning with local authorities to support them to successfully engage and reach families in their area.

Leading and delivering early childhood services: 10 insights from 20 places across England and Wales

The Publisher:

Early Intervention Foundation

Publication Date:

February 2022

Summary:

The EIF’s new report consists of ten insights on early childhood services, using evidence gathered in twenty places across England and Wales. Among these insights are the importance of multi-agency working, the challenge of data sharing, and the role communities can have in co-designing and driving change. In each of these areas Family Hubs have an important role to play, particularly now they are a statutory service with government funding – some of which is ringfenced for data-sharing improvements. The report also recommends certain features of effective local multi-agency planning, relevant to local authorities in the early stages of Family Hub implementation.

[Family Hubs] improve access to help and support for families, strengthen the connection between different services, and prioritise relationships and family strengths.

Behavioural Insights: Increasing uptake of family hub services

The Publisher:

Department for Education

Publication Date:

March 2022

Summary:

This report details the preparatory work underpinning 4 behavioural science research projects to be conducted by Sheffield Hallam University in collaboration with 4 Local Authorities selected by the Department for Education (Sheffield, Wakefield, Wolverhampton, and Durham).

The aim was evaluate initiatives and interventions designed to increase the uptake of Family Hub services.

(This report was no. 1 in a series of 5)

Children in crisis: the role of public services in overcoming child vulnerability

The Publisher:

Lords Public Services Committee

Publication Date:

19th November 2021

Summary:

The UK is facing a crisis of child vulnerability- children who, without the intervention of public services, are likely to face significant harm and diminished life chances. Covid-19 has put immense pressure on social care services and created ever-widening gaps through which some children are slipping. Central to a national strategy in combating child vulnerability is the urgent roll-out of Family Hubs, starting with the most deprived communities. Family Hubs ‘help families build independence and resilience’, supporting children from birth to adulthood and acting as a central hub for various family services.

This report puts a national roll-out of Family Hubs at the core of a national strategy on child vulnerability… The best outcome for children is that their parents look after them well, and the aim of public services should be to help them to do that

State of the Nation 2021: Social Mobility and the Pandemic

The Publisher:

Social Mobility Commission

Publication Date:

20th July 2021

Summary:

The Social Mobility Commission charts the growing attainment gap between advantaged and disadvantaged children, suggesting seven key pillars for post-pandemic recovery. Indicators of low social mobility, already concerning, have only been entrenched by the pandemic. Almost a third of children in the UK live in poverty, which in turn translates to lower social mobility, but this attainment gap begins in the earliest years. Thus one central pillar in solving low social mobility is to focus on early-years education: making childcare accessible and expanding Family Hubs to provide early intervention for struggling families.

Many of these approaches [from Family Hubs] could mean a strong and thriving offer for disadvantaged families if they are supported and expanded across the country.