Family Hubs in Northumberland

Family Hubs offer universal and targeted services to all families with children and young people.

The Prevention and Intervention Pathway sets out our offer and can be used to identify what support may be needed.

You can find out more about when groups are taking place by contacting your local family hub.


Click here to access the Prevention and Intervention Pathway: A Range of Service Delivery Options PDF

Universal Offer
Across all Family Hubs areas  in Northumberland, there are Learning Together Through Play sessions. These are drop-in fun activity sessions focusing on a number of important subjects, such as speech, communication, importance of play and school readiness. 
 
Learning Together Through Play is offered each week from all our family hubs and outreach bases in Northumberland. Sessions are delivered by qualified Early Years Practitioners who plan a range of high quality play experiences for families to enjoy together.
 
Support for children and families with Additonal Needs and Disabilities (AND)
Early Years Practitioners are on hand to facilitate play activities to suit all children’s needs. Our staff are trained in the use of sensory equipment, portage, speech and language strategies, and much more. We welcome children with additonal needs and disabilites and emerging needs at all our groups and courses, and we will work alongside families to ensure children get the best experience possible.
 
Family Hubs also carry out a range of work in the local community including:
Birth registration, baby weigh clinics, midwifery services, infant feeding support, primary mental health, youth clubs, community events, Facebook campaigns, child safety, smoking cessation, relationship support, check-in calls and community engagement activities, youth and paretn/carer forums and much more...


Prevention Offer
The prevention offer is a range of programmes to target particular areas of development for children, and also delivered by Early Years Practitioners: 
 

• Brilliant Babies  

A 6 week programme assisting parents knowledge in giving their baby the best start in life. Parents and babies will have the opportunity to take part in lots of fun activities focused on very early development 

• Early Explorers

A 6 week programme assisting parents to understand their toddler’s development and needs,  and find out how to support them to learn and grow, with some important tips for this stage.

• Tiny Talkers

A 6 week unique and exciting language programme is designed to enable parents to support their child’s early attempts to communicate. Parents  will enjoy a wide range of themed sessions which their child, developed to promote early communication skills

• Parent Plus

This service is delivered jointly with Early Help Family Workers to assist families who are experiencing challenges which are a little harder to overcome. The content varies across the localities and is adapted to meet the particular needs of individual families referred.

Intervention offer
The Intervention offer is primarily delivered by Early Help Family Worker Teams who complete specialist training to deliver the following evidence based Intervention programmes:

• HENRY

An 8 week course designed to help parents give their children the healthiest start and future. Sessions cover parenting confidence, physical activity, what we eat, lifestyle habits and enjoying life as a family. Parents receive a free toolkit to help them to maintain changes

• Incredible Years

A 12 week evidence based parenting programme aimed at giving parents the tools and knowledge to manage everyday parenting situations. The group provides a supporting and nurturing space for parents to meet other parents and carers, discuss concerns and learn new skills.
 

• Healthier Relationships

Arguments are part of every healthy relationship but when they become frequent, intense and poorly resolved they have a negative impact on you and your family.  A relationship in distress can place children at risk of mental health and behavioural issues and they may have problems with school and learning.

Evidence has shown that when parents, co-parents and carers communicate well and manage stress together,  children do better.

There are two ways you can access support for you and your family:

• Free online resources for parents who want help
• Three digital resources available for different relationships:

Me, You and Baby Too - aimed at expecting and new parents.
Arguing Better - aimed at couples who are together 
Getting it Right for Children - aimed at couples who are seperating or have seperated

You can use these resources on a mobile, tablet or laptop. When prompted, please select Northumberland from the Northern England map and then create yourself an account as per the instructions given.

Click here to access the one plus one parent resources detailed above

Remote / Virtual/Digital options are available for groups and services using a range of options to suit your needs  including: workbooks, handouts, video logs, two-way video calling, one-way video calling and home learning packs.

Anyone who cares for or is expecting a child can register to use our family hubs. You can register online below or visit your nearest family hub or if you are receiving visits from your Health Visitor they can assist with completing the Registration Form.
 
We'll ask for your contact details and your child's details. If you are pregnant, let us know so we can keep you informed of courses or sessions that may be of interest to you.
 
Click here to complete a Registration Form 

• To access Universal groups and services (pre-birth -19 years and 0-25 yrs SEND).
• If you aren't already registered with your local Family Hub, fill in our quick online form above. 
• Anyone who cares for or is expecting a child (pre-birth to 19 yrs and up to 25 years for SEND) can register to use our Family Hubs. 
• You can register online or visit your nearest family hub, or if you are receiving visits from your Health Visitor they can assist you with completing the Registration Form. 

We'll ask for your contact details and your child's details.  If you are pregnant, let us know so we can keep you informed of courses or sessions that may be of interest to you.

Click here to complete a Request for Services Form

Please select which course you need and someone will contact you). 

• Anyone who cares for or is expecting a child (pre-birth to 19 yrs and up to 25 years for SEND) can access our Family Hubs support, free activites, group sessions and parenting packages.
• ​These are available online and in-person to fit in around your busy lives. 

To access the Prevention and Intervention offer, such as targeted prevention and intervention groups (0-19 yrs) a ‘Request for Services’ Form must be completed.  The following is required:

• Families will need to be registered with a family hub
• Families can refer themselves or a professional can refer
• Families must consent to the referral 
• Referrers, in consultation with the family,  should select the most appropriate service to meet the families needs. Individual referrals are to be completed  for each service when more than one service is needed. 

Click here to complete a Multi-Agency Referral Form

To access the support of the Early Help Family Service (0-19 yrs).

Everyone working for the Early Help Team and family hubs service has a legal duty to keep and process information about you in accordance with the law.

We use information about children and families aged 0-19 years to enable us to carry out specific functions for which we are responsible and to provide you with a service.

We have a Privacy Notice which explains why we ask for your personal information, how that information will be used and how you can access your records.

Click here to view our Family Hub Privacy Notice.

Follow us on Facebook for up to date information. Links can be found in the Contact Us section.

Parent Champions
Parent Champions are parent volunteers who give a few hours a week to talk to other parents about the local services available to them. The Parent Champions programme is based on the idea that parents are the best people to support other parents to find out about services. By sharing their own experiences of using a local service for their children, Parent Champions can build trust with other parents, put to ease any worries parents may have and encourage parents to make the best of the help available to them and their children.

Volunteering
Volunteer opportunities are available at some of our family hubs. If you are interested in volunteering, please contact your local family hub to find out more.