Children's Centre Practitioner Consultation
Contents
- What's changing?
- Why are we carrying out a consultation?
- What is the model for Family Hubs?
- Maps
- How to have your say
Children's centres in Plymouth will continue their important work supporting families while plans to grow the services they offer in the future are developed thanks to an innovative new programme.
Following agreement at a Cabinet meeting on February 9th 2023, Barnardo's, Action for Children and LARK who currently run the children's centres in Plymouth will have their contracts renewed from 1 April 2023 for an additional two years. The new contracts will see a change to the way services are delivered over time as the city moves towards developing the new multi-agency Family Hubs.
What's changing?
Plymouth City Council has recently been announced as part of the government's new Start for Life programme which will see the development of Family Hubs across the country with access to additional funding. The aim of the hubs is to provide a joined-up service that's easy to access for families with children of all ages, where they can access the information, advice and guidance they need. Family Hubs will bring more services together and expand this offer to support those with children aged 0 to 19, or up to 25 years old for young people with special educational needs or disabilities.
Family Hubs aim to offer early support to families to help them overcome difficulties and build strong relationships. Services include help with infant feeding and perinatal mental health support as well as make it easier to access wider support such as smoking cessation and debt and welfare advice. This announcement builds on our ambition to put strong families at the heart of communities, in recognition of how important they are for people's life chances.
Why are we carrying out a consultation?
The programme will change the way services are delivered over time as the city develops the multi-agency network of support available through Family Hubs. Some buildings used by the Children's Centres are already shared with partners, such as midwives and health visitors, so options to bring more services together are being considered, while still making sure we meet the needs of local families.
This statutory consultation will gain views from families' and practitioners on the changes, which aims to make sure that spaces are used efficiently and that the help available from the centres is easily accessible to those who need it. The consultation will open on 21 February 2023 and close at midnight on 15 March 2023.
What is the model for Family Hubs?
Children's Centres currently support families with children aged 0 to 5, whereas Family Hubs will bring more services together and expand this offer to support those with children aged 0 to 19, or up to 25 years old for young people with special educational needs or disabilities.
The Family Hub model framework includes criteria for two stages of family hub transformation: Level 1: Basic model. This describes a Family Hub model at the early stages of development and Level 2: Developed model. This describes a more mature Family Hub model.
The developed model criteria incorporate and build on the basic model criteria. These criteria have been developed nationally based on learning from local authority areas with existing Family Hub models, and evidence about effective integrated service delivery.
Read more about the Family Hubs Model Framework
The Start for Life and Family Hubs programme will focus on the following areas:
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Family Hubs are also expected to offer these services to families:
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The first Family Hubs will open by the end of June 2023 and the remaining hubs opening by March 2025 in a phased way to ensure we take account of locality knowledge and understanding of need. We would like your thoughts on which Children's Centres you think would be most suitable to become a Family Hub. Please see a summary of the proposals in the table below.
Children's Centre (CC) | No. of people accessing* | Proposal for Children's Centre (CC) | Reasons for decision | What this means for professionals |
Crownlands (Austin Farm Primary School) | 369
| Re-locate CC registration to Efford Youth Centre (Blandford Road) to become a Family Hub in 2024 (Phase 2). Building to be handed back to the school. | School will benefit from being able to use the CC facilities to enhance their local school community. Crownlands is not a suitable site for a Family Hub due to size, potential for co-location and is not frequently accessed by parents. Efford Youth Centre has capacity for Family Hub staff to be co-located with Youth Workers and provides opportunities for support for a wider range of children. | Staff office and delivery space to move to Efford Youth Centre. |
DELL (Blandford Road / High View School) | 144 | Re-locate CC registration to Efford Youth Centre (Blandford Road) to become a Family Hub in 2024 (Phase 2). DELL (Blandford Road) is currently not occupied with staff located between in Efford Youth Centre and Crownlands. DELL High View site to be handed back to the school, this is not a registered CC. | The Family Hub located in Efford Youth Centre would provide an access point on the same road as the previous DELL Children's Centre which has been closed due to repairs needed to the building. The Children's Centre building on the school site is not suitable for a Family Hub due to size, potential for co-location and is not frequently accessed by parents. The school will benefit from being able to use the facilities to enhance their local school community. | Staff delivery and office space to move to Efford Youth Centre. |
Fourwoods | 1,249 | CC registration to remain at same site to become a Family Hub in 2025 (Phase 3). | The site is co-located with a nursery and midwifery service and has capacity to expand to a wider age range for delivery and further co-location. This Family Hub could provide outreach activities in nearby Honicknowle Youth Centre. | No change to office and delivery space. |
Green Ark | 952 | CC registration to remain at same site with CC staff working remotely with some presence in the building alongside midwifery and space offered to other partners. To become a Family Hub in 2024 (phase 2). | The site is utilised frequently by families and is co-located with a nursery, midwifery service and has capacity to expand to a wider age range for delivery. | Staff to re-locate to remote working and in-reach into Family Hub. |
LARK (The Beacon) | 778 | CC registration to remain at same site to become a Family Hub in 2025 (Phase 3). | The site is utilised frequently by families and is co-located with a library and has capacity to expand to a wider age range for delivery and further co-location. | No change to office and delivery space. |
Manor Street | 70 | To move CC registration to Green Ark and offer vacated space to either onsite nursery or other partners. | Manor Street is not a suitable site for a Family Hub due to size, potential for co-location and is not frequently accessed by parents. The nearby Fredrick Street building houses the Council's Targeted Support Teams and could be utilised for delivery of activities within the local area. The building space would be offered to other partners and could be used as outreach. | Staff to re-locate to remote working and in-reach into Green Ark Family Hub and Frederick Street. |
Morice Town | 751 | CC registration to remain at same site to become a Family Hub in 2024 (Phase 2). | The site is utilised frequently by families and is next door to a nursery and primary school and has capacity to expand to a wider age range for delivery and co-location. | No change to office and delivery space. |
Nomony | 1,358 | CC registration to remain at same site to become a Family Hub in 2023 (Phase 1). | The site is utilised frequently by families and is co-located with a nursery, midwifery service and has capacity to expand to a wider age range for delivery and further co-location. | No change to office and delivery space. |
Plum Tree (Rees Centre) | 2,311 | CC registration to remain at same site to become a Family Hub in 2023 (Phase 1). | The site is utilised frequently by families and is co-located with a Wellbeing Hub, midwifery service and other services that cater for children, young people and adults of all ages. This site has capacity to expand to further co-location. | No change to office and delivery space. |
Plymbridge | 252 | CC registration to move to Southernway. Plymbridge to be become a Stronger Practice Hub for the South West and an outreach site for Family Hubs. | Plymbridge is not a suitable site for a Family Hub due to size, potential for co-location and is not frequently accessed by parents. Early Years setting and South West Stronger Practice Hub location rather than Family Hub due to space available and footfall into the building. | Staff delivery space to move to Southernway CC. |
Plymstock (Rees Centre) | N/A | CC registration to remain at same site to become a Family Hub in 2023 (Phase 1). Plymstock CC registration moved from Dunstone School site when it closed in 2021 to the Rees Centre. | The site is utilised frequently by families and is co-located with a Wellbeing Hub, midwifery service and other services that cater for children, young people and adults of all ages. This site has capacity to expand to further co-location. | No change to office and delivery space. |
Popin (The Beacon) | 268 | CC registration to remain at same site to become a Family Hub in 2025 (Phase 3). | The site is utilised frequently by families and is co-located with a library and has capacity to expand to a wider age range for delivery and further co-location. | No change to office and delivery space. |
Southernway (Southway Youth Centre) | 149 | CC registration to remain at same site to become a Family Hub in 2024 (Phase 2). | The site is not utilised frequently by families with children aged 0-5 but is co-located with the Youth Service, community organisations and has capacity to deliver to a wider age range and further co-location. Any activity that would have taken place in Plymbridge CC could take place here. | No change to office and delivery space. |
Sweet Peas (Compton Church Hall) | 230 | Re-locate CC registration to Efford Youth Centre (Blandford Road) to become a Family Hub in 2024 (Phase 2). Compton Church Hall to become an outreach site for Family Hubs. | Sweet Peas is not a suitable site for a Family Hub due to size, potential for co-location and is not frequently accessed by parents. | Staff delivery space to move to Efford Youth Centre. |
Tamar Folk (Victoria School) | 76 | CC registration to move to The Barn. The office space in Tamar Folk to be offered to other partners. | The site is utilised frequently by families with children aged 0-5 and is co-located with school and CAMHS. However, there is limited access to the building during school holidays and limited opportunities to expand to a wider age range. The re-location to The Barn will allow for delivery and co-location midwives and a range of community organisations with ability to deliver to wider age range. | Staff delivery and office space to move to The Barn. |
Whitleigh (Four Greens Community Trust) | 811 | CC registration to remain at same site to become a Family Hub in 2023 (Phase 1). | The site is utilised frequently by families and is co-located with a Wellbeing Hub, midwifery service and other services that cater for children, young people and adults of all ages. This site has capacity to expand to further co-location. | No change to office and delivery space. |
The Barn** | 1,422 | Tamar Folk CC registration to move to The Barn and become a Family Hub in 2023 (Phase 1). | The re-location of Tamar Folk CC registration to The Barn will allow for greater delivery and co-location midwives and a range of community organisations with ability to deliver to wider age range and further co-location. | No change to office and delivery space. |
Note: *No. of people registered accessing each CC from Apr to Dec 2022 (Source: e-start). **The Barn is not a registered CC but is an outreach site for Tamar Folk CC. Figures from provider not e-start.
Maps
Health Localities with Children's Centre clusters
Children's Centres catchment areas
Registered Children's Centre locations
Proposed Family Hubs locations with Children's Centre locations
Proposed Family Hub phases | North Locality | West Locality | East Locality | South Locality |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Phase 1 Family Hubs (2023) | Whitleigh | The Barn | Plum Tree | Nomony |
Phase 2 Family Hubs (2024) | Southernway | Green Ark & Morice Town | N/A | DELL (Efford Youth Centre) |
Phase 3 Family Hubs (2025) | Fourwoods | LARK | N/A | N/A |
Potential Demand per Family Hub | North Locality | West Locality | East Locality | South Locality |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Total Population | 66,130 | 73,762 | 54,441 | 67,213 |
0-19 Population | 15,816 | 17,669 | 12,369 | 14,424 |
Supporting Families Population | 2,645 | 4,318 | 1,500 | 2,615 |
Vulnerable Families Population | 3,297 | 7,752 | 1,303 | 3,438 |
Local live birth data per locality | 658 | 782 | 475 | 604 |
Total Deprivation score for each health locality | 273 | 449 | 94 | 223 |
How to have your say
If you are interested taking part in the consultation then please complete the Professional and Practitioner Survey (it only takes a few minutes).
The consultation will close at midnight on 15 March 2023.
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