Sarah Champion MP welcomes Government’s announcement of dedicated SEND support target in Rotherham.
Best Start Family Hubs to act as one-stop-shop for parents as Labour confirms SEND professional and SEND-specific services like toddler groups for all 1,000 hubs
New guidance sets out how joined up services across health, education and wellbeing will build on the legacy of Sure Start as Labour prepares to drive plan towards national renewal through its Child Poverty Strategy
Families of children with SEND will soon receive faster, earlier support as Labour confirms new community-based early intervention is to roll out in every Best Start Family Hub from April.
As part of Labour’s pledge to roll out Best Start Hubs in every local authority next year, councils are being tasked with recruiting an all-new dedicated SEND practitioner in every Hub to provide direct, family-facing support that has been missing for too long.
Labour inherited a SEND system on its knees, and research from the Institute of Fiscal Studies is clear that when early help is missing, more children go on to need higher-level SEND support later in childhood.
To put a stop to this troubling cycle, by 2028, Best Start Family Hubs will act as a one stop shop the whole community – offering parents a range of support, including a menu of proven interventions, from child-focused speech and language sessions to specialist parent and baby groups.
Labour has been clear that the Best Start offer will follow Sure Start in its ambition to give every child the best possible start in life – with research showing that children who lived within a short distance of a Sure Start centre for their first five years were 0.9 percentage points more likely to achieve five good GCSEs at grades age 16.
Education Secretary Bridget Philipson said:
“Giving every child the best start in life means revitalising family support so that parents can rely on it once again.”
“Nowhere is that support more important than for families of children with SEND, where early, expert help can make all the difference not only for parents, but for children’s life chances. “
“And now, local councils will need to work with us to put Best Start Family Hubs in the heart of communities, in service of the families who need them most, and on the frontline of our battle to break the link between background and success."
Commenting, Champion said:
“My Mum worked in the very first Sure Start, an amazing innovation of the last Labour Government’, so I know first-hand just how life changing they can be. Expanding them to include SEND services is a further step in creating a more inclusive world for people with unique needs”
“I watched with horror as the Conservative Government shut these facilities across the country, and I am grateful that RMBC fought to keep some of ours. Children in Rotherham deserve the best start in life and that is what Sure Starts give them.”
It is backed by new local targets set for every area, with councils now required to set out how they will drive progress towards the national goal by 2028. Rotherham Metropolitan Borough Council has been set the target of 73.3%.
ENDS
Notes to editors:
Institute for Fiscal Studies (2023), Short- and medium-term effects of Sure Start children’s centres, S. Cattan, G. Conti, C. Crawford and N. Ridpath.
The guidance sets out government expectations of Best Start Family Hubs at the centre of a new, simpler system of support built around what families actually need:
Getting help early, not waiting for problems to reach crisis point, with support available in the community rather than only once families reach a hospital or specialist service.
One place to go rather than being passed between services, with professionals working together so parents do not have to repeat their story over and over.
Families helping shape the support they receive, with parents and local groups involved in designing what the Hubs offer.
A clear set of trusted programmes available in every area, so families know the support they receive is proven to work.
Best Start Family Hubs will help families with services like:
• Activities for children aged 0-5
• Birth registration
• Debt and welfare advice
• Domestic abuse support
• Early language support
• Health Visiting
• Housing support
• Mental health services
• Midwifery/maternity services
• Nutrition and weight management
• Oral health improvement
• Parenting Support
• Reducing Parental Conflict
• SEND support and services
• Stop smoking support
• Substance (alcohol/drug) misuse support
• Support for separating and separated parents
• Youth services
Funding for the SEND interventions in Best Start Family Hubs will be confirmed in due course. Funding will be in addition to the £500 million confirmed to meet the government’s commitment to roll out a Best Start Family Hub in every Local Authority.