Case studies

Families Thriving Together is a charity founded in Southeast England in 2022 by CEO Michelle Tucker, which brings parenting support to hundreds of families each year – most of them through referrals from the local authority. Michelle has years of experience delivering local authority settings and has a unique understanding of how local authorities and local charities can work well together.

Lincolnshire has implemented a co-located speech and language drop-in model across Family Hubs to support prevention, early identification and intervention for children’s communication needs.

North East Lincolnshire developed a volunteer programme to strengthen Best Start Family Hubs through peer support and community capacity. Building on Sure Start learning, the aim was to increase engagement, support early intervention, and create pathways into employment for local residents.

Halton Family Hubs introduced monthly Baby Showers towards the end of 2023 as an innovative approach to supporting families during pregnancy and early parenthood. The initiative aims to simplify how families access information, advice, and support at a time that can often feel overwhelming.

Best Start Family Hub – Tudor Way is a key part of Worcestershire’s Best Start in Life Family Hubs programme, providing accessible, coordinated support for families with children aged 0–19 (or up to 25 for young people with SEND). Located in the Dines Green area of Worcester, the hub offers a welcoming, non stigmatising space where families can access help early, develop skills and confidence, and connect with services in their local community.

Wigan Council has implemented a multi channel, highly visual engagement strategy to increase awareness and take up of Family Hub services. This includes large scale distribution of QR coded information cards, a new digital booking system, and community engagement with branding development.

Dudley Council, in partnership with BookTrust, is embedding the Bookstart programme across its Family Hub network to strengthen early language, literacy and school readiness. The programme is coordinated by Dudley Libraries, who have built networks across the region to identify the most effective routes to reach families most in need.

This case study outlines how Leicester City Council – including the Library Service and Family Hubs teams – are working together using BookTrust resources to promote early reading among families facing barriers to support.

All Family Hubs previously known as Start Well Family Centres have worked hard to ensure that families are made to feel comfortable and welcome when visiting our venues. All venues have key information display boards which link to the provision of services and knowledge for our families to access.

The Best Start Family Hubs transformation is building on successful outreach efforts, including funding for voluntary organisations, targeted home learning, and community development programmes. These programmes aim to reach families in need, by providing services closer to their communities. The transformation is also focusing on capturing improvements in outcomes through family feedback surveys, case studies, and data tracking, with the goal of better connecting families with hub services and measuring the impact on individual children and families.