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Confirmation of “Best Start Family Hub” for Newcastle-under-Lyme

  • 1 day ago
  • 2 min read

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 first wave of over 200 hubs rolling out across the country, backed by a landmark £900 million national programme.


A One-Stop-Shop for Families

The designation of the centre as a 'Best Start Hub' is about more than just a name change; it transforms our local hub into a true one-stop-shop for families. By bringing health, education, and social support services together under one roof, we are replacing a fragmented system with a single point of access for parents during those critical 1,001 days from pregnancy to age two.


With Best Start Family Hubs, we are ensuring families, like those across Newcastle-under-Lyme have warm community spaces, trusted relationships, and support that feels local, human, and joined up.


Best Start Hubs provide:

  • Preventative and universal health services, with a focus on babies.

  • Supportive parenting advice and open access activities like stay and play.

  • Help with children’s learning and development at home.

  • Early support for children with additional needs, including a Best Start Inclusion Practitioner backed by £210m.


By officially designating our local hub as a Best Start Family Hub, midwives, health visitors, and specialists are brought together under one roof – with the support to deliver that.


Championing Local Provision

This official confirmation follows my sustained campaign to highlight the need for better-integrated provision in Newcastle-under-Lyme.


Last month, I was proud to welcome Education Minister, Georgia Gould MP, to The Peter Pan Centre to see their specialist SEND support in action. During that visit, we heard directly from parents and practitioners about the vital importance of early intervention and the barriers families often face when trying to access help across different services. That's why I'm particularly pleased to see the £210m backing for Inclusion Practitioners delivered through Best Start.


For too long, the 'Family Hub' name was used by the previous government as a last-ditch attempt to patch over the services they had cut when they failed to support the Sure Start Centres brought in by the last Labour government. We are now seeing a proper commitment to doing things correctly and giving our local services the backing they need to truly deliver.


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