Families to get free advice and support as 200 ‘Best Start’ hubs open across England
The Government is launching more than 200 hubs offering free advice, childcare support and early help services, with plans to expand to 1,000 sites by 2028
More than 200 family hubs are set to open this week as the Government seeks to provide more support for parents.
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Known as "Best Start" hubs, they will offer free parenting advice, play sessions for infants, debt and welfare guidance for adults and early support for children with special educational needs and disabilities.
Ministers have pledged to open 1,000 of the hubs by the end of 2028, and say they will save families up to £200 a year.
Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson said: "Children growing up in our country deserve the best start in life, but for too long, too many families have been navigating the pressures of parenthood without the support they need.
"Best Start Family Hubs will revitalise family services, bringing together health, parenting support and practical advice in one place, free and close to home, so that parents can get the help they need, when they need it."
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The Best Start hubs are intended to "reimagine" the Sure Start programme introduced by the last Labour government. They were credited with improving health and education for disadvantaged children before they were largely dismantled under the Conservatives.
Ms Phillipson added, "I've seen the difference Sure Start made in my community, and why it's so important that we bring that support back today, reimagined for a new generation of families."
Paul Whiteman, general secretary of school leaders' union NAHT, said the Best Start hubs could offer "vital early support" to parents but needed "long-term investment, resources and staffing".
Shadow education minister Saqib Bhatti said: "In opposition, the Education Secretary was quick to criticise our childcare plans, but she is now presenting them as her own success. It is right that they have continued this work, including the extension of the Conservative Family Hubs programme.
"The problem is Labour's sums simply don't add up, and it is parents and children who are paying the price. We still have no clear answer on how they intend to close the £2 billion gap in the Send budget, or what that will mean for those who rely on support.
"If Labour were serious about giving every child the best start, they would reassure parents that they won't be balancing the books on the backs of our children."