A new family hub has officially opened in Havering to improve the health and development of local children.
St Kilda Children’s Centre has become St Kilda Family Hub and will bring together Health, Education and Family support all under one roof.
It is part of Havering’s ambition to ensure that every child has the best start in life by providing families with access to early support and high-quality early education from birth through to wider support for children, young people and families as they grow.
It comes in response to the Department for Education’s Best Start in Life initiative which stresses the importance of a child’s first 1,001 days and the impact these days have on shaping a child’s lifelong health, wellbeing and educational attainment.
It sits in line with the Council’s own children’s Happy Healthy Lives Strategy which sets out the local priorities to support the wellbeing and development of children and families in Havering.
The hub, based in Eastern Road, Romford, has increased its services in conjunction with local partners in areas such as Education, Health and Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND).
The services are provided free to local families who will have such services as play sessions, baby-feeding advice, wellbeing for mothers and babies and money advice all in the same space.
Children and young people, aged 0-17 make up around 23% (63,777 people) of the Borough’s population, with more than 3,000 children and young people holding an Education, Health and Care Plan (EHCP).
Councillor Kevin Gill, Cabinet Member for Children and Young People, said:
“St Kilda has a long history of supporting local families and this is an exciting new chapter.
“This family hub will build on that strong foundation and marks an important milestone in delivering Havering's Best Start in Life Plan, which sets out our shared ambition to give every child the best possible start in life and to ensure families can access support when and where they need it.”
He added: “By investing in early support and creating welcoming spaces such as this, we can identify needs earlier and provide joined-up services to let parents and carers know that support is available when they need it.
“This is our first family hub with more planned for the Borough which will provide parenting classes, support for home learning for families to improve children's outcomes in early childhood.”