New ‘hubs’ to provide support for Shropshire children and families from next week

Support services for Shropshire families and children will be delivered from six new family hub bases across Shropshire from next Monday (1 April 2019).

The new Early Help Family Hubs will be located at: The Centre, Oswestry; Sunflower House, Shrewsbury; Crowmoor Centre, Shrewsbury; Rockspring Centre, Ludlow; The Youth Centre, Bridgnorth; and Raven House, Market Drayton. A seventh hub is due to open in the Whitchurch area once a suitable location has been found.

These hubs will also be designated Children’s Centres and will co-ordinate early help services, providing children, young people and their families with help and support in times of need.

They will bring together family support services, including early childhood services, targeted youth and parenting support, health and voluntary sector partners and local schools.

Early Help family support workers will operate from the hubs and work directly with families in their homes and at local community venues as agreed with the family. They will assist in finding help from different services and provide information, advice and support.

Although some services will be provided directly in hub buildings, the majority will be delivered through local community venues and home visits.

Nick Bardsley, Shropshire Council’s Cabinet member for children and young people, said:

“There will be a range of services available which are co-ordinated via each hub. Some will be available only to those who have the greatest needs, but there will also be services available to any family, child or young person who need them – for example parenting groups, sessions to support young people’s mental health and employment advice.

“For families that need it the hubs also provide targeted help and support to work through issues that may arise during a child or young person’s life, co-ordinated by one lead professional – the early help family support worker.

“Early Help Family Hubs will provide a base for early help teams, but workers will visit families in their homes or in local community venues that are agreed by and convenient for the family.”

To access support, families can visit an online directory of services, talk to someone they know, such as their children’s nursery, school, school nurse or health visitor, or call Shropshire Council on 0345 678 9021.

Once assessed, a family might receive targeted family support in their home, might be supported to access a group or a clinic provided at their local hub or local community venue, or may receive a combination of appropriate support co-ordinated by their allocated support worker.

Agreed by Shropshire Council’s Cabinet last September 2018, the move means that children’s centre services will be delivered from these six key buildings instead of the previous 26 buildings.

For more information, visit www.shropshire.gov.uk/familyhubs.

To read a series of ‘questions and answers‘ about the new hubs and how to access services, click here.

Further information

In summary, the hubs:

• Provide support for families with children and young people aged 0-19 or up to 25 years of age for young people with special educational needs and/or disabilities
• Work with families as part of a team and deliver specialist interventions when needed in the family’s home or in a local accessible venue agreed by the family
• Link with local education, early years and childcare providers, health and voluntary sector partners and community groups
• Provide information and advice services for parents and prospective parents
• Provide an environment for services to work together and not in isolation
• Offer and coordinate support for cases ‘stepping down’ from children’s social care

Families will not be expected to travel to the hubs to access services; services will be coordinated via the hubs to ensure that families have the right package of support to meet their individual needs.

Shropshire Council will no longer deliver stay and play provision but will continue to support the delivery of stay and play through alternative providers e.g. schools, nurseries and other day care providers.