Family hubs will level up for every child
If the pandemic has shone a spotlight on one thing, it is the importance of family. Being separated, sometimes for months on end, from the support base that our relatives provide has been incredibly difficult for so many of us. But for some parents and carers, isolation, loneliness and the breakdown of family links were not just new and unpleasant effects of lockdown, but everyday experiences.
During their first 1,001 days, young children develop at a faster rate than at any other time, laying the building blocks of lifelong emotional and physical health. It is a unique period, which has a profound impact on future life chances. The child’s quality of attachment to their principal caregiver proves especially formative. Since babies tend to adapt fully to the environment in which they grow up, for many parents and carers, accessing quality “joined up” support services will be essential to give their children the best start.
Though help is available for some – and I pay tribute to the amazing work of health visitors and all those in the public and voluntary sector who go the extra mile to help new families – it is not always there for the neediest. For more than 25 years I have championed early years support for families, and as chairman of the Early Years Healthy Development Review since July last year, I have been pressing the Government to ensure all parents can access information, support and services when and where they need it.
And – superbly – that is exactly what the Chancellor’s £500 million investment in families and early years will do. With the announcement set for this Wednesday at the Budget, this new funding will realise our “Best Start for Life” vision in 75 local authority areas across England. It will set up family hubs, a welcoming, one-stop shop for parents and carers to seek advice and wide-ranging support. From new parenting programmes to breastfeeding advice and specialist help for building positive relationships, these multidisciplinary hubs will support parents and carers at an especially important time in their lives – and that of their baby.
This package will also provide vital funding for parent-infant mental health support. A recent University College London study found that an alarming 47.5 per cent of women met the threshold for postnatal depression during the first lockdown, more than double the average rates for Europe before the pandemic. New fathers are often overlooked, but they also need support in those critical early days.
The beauty of family hubs will be that they are available to every parent or carer and their baby, offering long opening hours to suit families, with a range of services and the chance to meet other parents in a non-stigmatising environment. It is my hope that birth registration will take place in family hubs, and that new mothers will receive their antenatal checks there too.
Importantly, services won’t just be available in that physical space or in your own home, but also digitally, because families have told us that the flexibility and speed of access to digital and online support is something they really value.
As a new mum, I experienced the mental health challenges many parents face around pregnancy. So I’m truly delighted that there will be new investment in staff training and interventions to strengthen and nurture the relationship between baby and parent. It is critical to improving outcomes for new families.
Secure attachment during the first 1,001 days is vital to ensure that babies grow into happy children who do well at school, then develop into resilient adults who can weather life’s ups and downs. They are also more likely to hold down a job, have better health outcomes and form healthy relationships.
So we should all celebrate the Chancellor’s recognition of the central role of family hubs in helping every baby get the best start for life. It is fundamental to the Prime Minister’s domestic agenda too. As we level up economic opportunity across the country, we must not forget where it all begins – that critical period of life from conception to the age of two.
