Special family hubs start being rolled out across Leicestershire

The first Leicestershire family hub launched at Coalville - Melton's will open in June

The first of these ‘one-stop-shops’ is now up and running in Coalville, with a further 19 due to be opened soon, including one at the Venture House Children and Family Wellbeing Centre, on Asfordby Road in Melton.

Families with children aged up to 19 – or 25 for young people with special educational needs or disabilities – can receive information on a range of issues.

Staff will help them with a variety of topics, including health, relationships, education, employment, finance and housing, as well as directing them to help from other local agencies and organisations.

Venture House Children and Family Wellbeing Centre, where Melton's new family hub will be based

Leicestershire County Council is running the hubs, with Loughborough’s opening on Thursday, followed by Melton and Hinckley later in June and Market Harborough and Wigston Magna in August.

Councillor Deborah Taylor, County Hall cabinet member for children and families, said: “It’s exciting to see our first ever family hub open and up and running.

“Our growing network of family hubs mark an important milestone in our ongoing commitment to our supporting families and strengthening our communities here in Leicestershire.

“We recognise the challenges that parents and carers face on a daily basis, and it is vital that we provide readily accessible support networks.”

Leicestershire is one of 12 local authorities to secure a slice of a £12M pot of grant funding to transform the way services are delivered for families.

As well as creating the physical hubs, there are plans in the county to carry out outreach work and create a new website containing helpful family information and advice.

This will mean that the hubs, whether in a building or accessed digitally, will be where information, advice and support will be found easily in one place.

The idea is that parents and carers can easily receive support right from conception, helping them to navigate parenting through the early years, right into adulthood.

The full network of physical hubs, which will make use of existing spaces such as Children and Family Wellbeing Centres and libraries, is expected to be fully open by spring 2024.

Email [email protected] for more information on family hubs in Leicestershire.