Important speech from @GavinWilliamson on the importance of family, the expansion of family hubs & those crucial early years:
So today I want to update you on what we are doing at the Department for Education and what my colleagues are doing in other Government Departments to help parents, support families and give children the best start in life.
I can announce today that we are pushing ahead with plans to support the growth of Family Hubs England. I have instructed officials in the Department to draw up plans to increase the number of Family Hubs currently in operation.
A Family Hub is a place for parents to go, with their children and access help that might otherwise be too hard to find. They could meet health visitors, get access to classes on parenting and receive wider support.
I can report that we are already investing £14 million to champion family hubs, including launching a National Centre for Family Hubs, whose role will be to champion family hubs and spread best practice and evidence on integrated family service models.
I am pleased to announce today that the Anna Freud Centre for Children and Families will run this national centre, and we expect it to be up and running shortly.
As well as making progress on Family Hubs, I have recently launched the Independent Review into Children’s Social Care, appointing Josh MacAlister to Chair it.
Despite the incredible dedication of Social Workers, our care system too often breaks families up, splits parents from children and doesn’t deliver the outcomes children deserve. Josh and his team will report back to the Government with plans to fix this.
GavinWilliamson
Read the speech in full: HERE
niromp.org 