Councillor Maium Talukdar, Deputy Mayor and Cabinet Member for Education, Youth and Lifelong Learning, introduced the first item which reviewed the progress in developing an early help offer for families with partners, including the family hub and ‘Start for Life’ programmes. These are intended to improve families' lives, reduce inequalities, and foster a supportive environment for children to thrive with integrated support services.

Councillor Talukdar focused on three key themes; the service integration, which  offers comprehensive support from birth to two years, Community engagement, which actively involves families to tailor the services to their needs and positive outcomes and significant improvements for family well-being and child development.

Mohammed Jolil, Head of Early Help & Children & Families, gave an update on all Family Hubs located in the borough. These are accessible community spaces where families can receive a range of services.

Mr Jolil then noted that 4,000 families attended the launch of the family hubs and over 80 partners took part in the delivery.  Details on the level of engagement since 2023 were noted including, 43 promotional outreach events, 419 events and articles posted on the website, 161 meetings held to promote the service, 200 staff, partners and volunteers trained on the Shared Behaviours framework and 348 staff were given additional training on subjects such as oral health, substance misuse and young carers awareness.

It was noted that visits by various government departments and dignitaries have taken place, notably Dame Andrea Leadsom, former Minister of Health who launched the hubs, the Office of Health and Health Improvement Disparities, who attended to view the work on perinatal mental health and breastfeeding support. The Secretary of Education, the Foreign Office and Commonwealth who accompanied a delegate from the Ukraine have also visited.

Details of the impact the hubs have had on families were outlined, including the number of early help assessments conducted, staff training updates and the numbers of families who have received parenting support. Sub-committee Members were informed that the Family Hub network includes 37 community partners collaborating across the borough. Regular satisfaction surveys are conducted and findings show that 98% of families who visited felt welcomed, with 78% of those feeling satisfied with the services provided.

Members were told of the next steps and noted the service is on course to meet the government’s recommendations to ensure that minimum requirements are met by March 2025. Details of key milestones for completing and implementations include;

-      A multi-agency Data Sharing Agreement

-      An Outreach Strategy for Community Engagement

-      A Communications Strategy

-      An Outcomes Framework

-      Changes to data gathering

-      Changes required to deliver expectations across all Family Hubs.

Lastly, Mr Jolil presented a video to outline some of the work done in the children and family centres, as well as testimonials from families using the services.

Further to  questions from the sub-committee, Councillor Maium Talukdar, Mohamed Jolil and Susanna Beasley-Murray, Director, Children’s Social Care;

·       Explained that Dame Andrea Leadsom requested the visit to the centres as she was interested in the health and perinatal work undertaken. Similarly the Foreign Office requested a Ukrainian delegate to attend. None of the visitors were asked to attend.

·       Clarified that each of the centres has a universal service running daily. This enables staff to identify children who may require additional assistance or referrals, such as children with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND).

·       Noted that there are 16 Family Hub sites, including the smaller ‘spokes’ where families can access support. This has been achieved by collaborating with voluntary sector partners buildings.

·       Confirmed that Tower Hamlets Council has received funding for the Family Hubs in part from Public Health. Work is ongoing to ensure the website is more user friendly.

·       Explained that work is ongoing within the centres, to assist children who have experienced language difficulties since the pandemic.

·       Clarified that the ‘Positive Change Centre’ primarily support perpetrators, victims and children dealing with domestic abuse. There is also an early intervention programme within the Family Hubs and the children and family centres. Training is available for practitioners and social workers to assist families dealing with this issue. Funding has been set aside for family conflict resolution.

The Chair thanked Officers for the good work undertaken from the Early Help team and for arranging a visit for Members to one of the Family Hub sites.

The Sub-Committee RESOLVED:

1.    That the presentation be noted.