School of Social and Political Science

Description

Two phases of national Family Hubs and early years services reforms in England have sought to restructure and enhance NHS 0-2s, parenting support, family support and early years services. While differing in several respects, both phases of reform have incorporated investment in a core service offer and ‘transformative system change’. The first phase, the Family Hubs and Start for Life programme (DfE & DHSC 2021–2025), adopted a targeted approach to support 75 local authorities to deliver a core Start for Life (0-2s) and Family Hubs service offer, and deliver local system change for more joined-up, locally-accessed, relational, holistic and preventative family services. The second phase, the current Best Start Family Hubs and Healthy Babies Programme (DfE & DHSC 2026-2029), extends and recalibrates this agenda to meet national policy targets to improve school readiness, reduce health inequalities and reduce child poverty. Rolled out across all local authorities in England, phase two extends the core Best Start Family Hubs (0-5s) and Healthy Babies (0-2s) service offer and the reach of local system change for more joined-up, locally-accessed, relational, holistic and preventative family services.

Drawing on family support systems and family policy analysis lens, this seminar will situate and review the logics of system-change that inform national and local Family Hub reforms in the broader family policy context. It will also engage with the findings of an empirical study of local Family Hub services too illuminate dimensions of local delivery and system change. The analysis highlights progressive developments towards more integrated, holistic and preventative family services. However, the analysis also indicates how the logics and realities of transformative system change are constrained by the national policy framework, system continuities and the logics of family policy.

This is a hybrid event (in-person and online).

Registered online attendees will receive the link to the seminar shortly in advance on the day. Please ensure you check your emails!

Our speaker: Dr Harriet Churchill

Harriet joined the university in 2008. Previously she taught on social policy and politics programmes at the University of Manchester (2005-2008) and was a Research Fellow working on an evaluation of Sure Start centres based in the Department of Sociology and Social Policy, University of Leeds.

Harriet’s academic and teaching interests are in the areas of social policy, childhood/family studies, family support and children’s services. Her research and publications in these areas examine national and international reforms in the context of broader features of social change, political debate and welfare state restructuring.

Harriet is committed to promoting progressive, evidence-informed policy and practice in the interests of children’s rights, family welfare, social inclusion and social equality.

Harriet is on the Management Board for the journal Families, Relationships and Societies; is a Higher Education Academy Fellow (FHEA) and a member of the Social Policy Association.