My Personally Speaking column in The Sentinel (9 April 2026) I hope you had a good and peace­ful Easter break with your friends, fam­ily, and loved ones, and took the oppor­tun­ity to rest and reflect before the busy spring period begins. As we return to our routines this week, April marks a sig­ni­fic­ant turn­ing point for our com­munity. We are see­ing the res­ults of our efforts to invest in the next gen­er­a­tion, from their very first days through to the skills they nee

I am delighted to have received official confirmation from Ministers that the Newcastle Family Hub is formally becoming a Best Start Family Hub. This marks a major step in improving early years and SEND support for people and families across Newcastle-under-Lyme. The news came in a joint letter from the Minister for Early Education, Olivia Bailey MP, and the Minister for Public Health, Sharon Hodgson MP. They confirmed that the Newcastle Family Hub in Knutton is part of the f

In October last year, following the announcement of £262,449 in Government funding for Best Start Family Hubs, I wrote to Staffordshire County Council’s then Leader, Cllr Ian Cooper, to welcome the investment and to seek clarity on how it would be used to support families in Newcastle‑under‑Lyme. After a recent visit to The Peter Pan Centre with Education Minister Georgia Gould MP – seeing strong early years and SEND practice and hearing directly from parents about the barrie