Reports

This Early Help System Guide is intended to guide conversations between local partners, think about the right questions, and develop a common language for the changes we all want to see. It is based on what is working around the country and so is a living tool that will adapt as national transformation develops. It draws on the national vision for early help, defined as the total support that improves a family’s resilience and outcomes, or reduces the chance of a problem getting worse. The vision looks at the early help system from the point of view of families, communities, people in the diverse workforce and leaders.

Families should not only receive support when they reach a crisis point – many children with severe needs have no support as they do not pose an immediate risk. Approximately 829,000 children are facing complex challenges but are not receiving any help. Local family support is vital to support these ‘low risk’ families as part of a preventative strategy to reduce the number who are escalated to ‘high risk’. 

The Education Select Committee published the report of its inquiry on tackling disadvantage in the early years and the Government responded to the committee’s report. The Government’s response reviewed early years provision and recommended that the Department for Education should resurrect their review of children’s centres and develop a wider, comprehensive strategy for provision of high quality and effective early years services. As part of this the Government recommended that the DfE should explore promoting family hubs as a wider model for provision of integrated services.

The report outlines eight case studies of councils across England who are responding to the challenges of reduced local funding and increasing demand. Many of these councils have expanded their support offer to include families with children older than the early years cut off of 5 years. Some children’s centres have rebranded as Family Hubs but even those who haven’t adopted this terminology have moved to a hub like model with a family focus, community and volunteer involvement and support for families beyond the early years.

Consistent evidence demonstrates that one of the major obstacles to children in need florushing lies in their disrupted home life. Interventions need to focus on strengthening family relationships and Family Hubs offer the potential for a new model of delivery of co-ordinated support for children in need and their families. Family Hubs coordinate statutory and voluntary approaches to tackling the root causes of intergenerational poverty, family breakdown and poor outcomes for children.

Children’s Centres have always had an important role in early intervention, particularly in the early years. This inquiry shows that Centres are well placed to provide a wider range of services in the community as Family Hubs. These services include training and employment support, relationship support, parenting support and support for families with complex needs.