Welcome Carolyn, Strategic Lead for Family Hubs
Hello to you all! I am really excited to have recently joined the team at Merton as Strategic Lead for Family Hubs. I will be working closely alongside my colleagues Sanjana, Beatrice, Tim and Charles to coordinate some of the fantastic work which is already underway to develop Family Hubs here in Merton.
This is a really varied role, working with and through key partners including health, voluntary organisations, community and faith groups, schools and commissioned services to make the universal support offer more accessible to children, young people and their families aged 0-19 years and up to 25 with SEND. Merton has received funding from the Department for Education to transform how we deliver services both physically from Family Hub buildings and local community spaces. Over the next few weeks, I will be working to better understand the range of services which are currently available to families whilst exploring how we can raise the profile of these, particularly through a strong online offer. There is lots to do between now and March 2024 when we formally launch our Family Hub!
I have already made some valuable links with individuals and organisations, and I am keen to widen connections and explore partnership opportunities. Please do get in touch if you are interested in finding out more about how we might work together in developing Family Hubs in Merton.
Thanks and take care for now!
Carolyn
Family Hub participation and engagement
This month, Beatrice wanted to update you on our Speak Up and Shape It Merton’s Family Voices Survey, which was carried out at our Family Fun Day/Introduction to our new Family Hubs on 2 August.
Parents and carers shared their views by filling in post-it notes on flip charts, by talking with a member of the Family Hub team, or via a paper or online survey.
We heard:
- Family Hubs need a warm, friendly, and welcoming environment, with a sense of community, where people feel safe, included, and listened to.
- The cost-of-living crisis has impacted how far families can travel to family services, and how much money they could allocate to children’s activities.
- Timings of groups and sessions, and how these fitted in with existing commitments was a consideration.
- Language barriers were a concern.
- Currently not enough Information available on family services. A bigger presence on social media platforms is needed, as well as posters in community and faith settings, email and post.
- Activities to be offered in the family hubs for all ages, including more family activities.
- Family hubs should also act as community hubs.
- Many parents and carers told us that they were happy with current services.
We will be taking all these insights on board as we move forward in the design of the family hubs and are grateful to all who shared their views, and to everyone who collected them.
Breastfeeding and perinatal mental health e-learning programme
The Start for Life unit has been working with NHSE to develop a new e-learning programme for the early years workforce. The programme aims to raise awareness of the links between breastfeeding and perinatal mental health, and the factors that can influence this relationship. It also provides tools and guidance to support staff to deliver self-reflective, person-centered care. It is aimed at anyone involved in providing support to families during the 1,001 critical days, including midwives, health visitors, infant feeding support workers, perinatal mental health specialists, psychological professionals and early years workers.
The e-learning programme launched last week (to coincide with World Breastfeeding Week), and can be accessed on the NHS Learning Hub at the following link. Please note you will need a NHS email address to access this training.
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