Innovation in local government is about improving the lives of the people in our communities. Browse through our case studies to see the many inspiring family hub programmes councils are involved in.
Recent case studies
Kirklees Parent Led Change This case study describes how Parent champions were recruited by the LA through a range of services working with families. These parents worked alongside Dingley's and the LA and led their own activities to drive training engagement and develop parent on parent support locally.
Dingley's Promise: Driving an Inclusion Movement in Partnership with Parent Carers This case study describes how the charity Dingley’s Promise worked in partnership with parents carers to ensure a successful inclusion project reached as many families and early years practitioners as possible. It describes the strategic approach taken and practical tips gained from working closely with local authorities (LAs) as well as the parent carers involved.
Best Start Collaborative: Co-producing Nottingham City’s Best Start Strategy Nottingham City Council developed its first Best Start Strategy (2025–2035) through co production with partners, parents, caregivers and children to tackle inequalities and improve outcomes from pre conception to age five, using data and lived experience to shape a child centred, preventative approach.
Strengthening Partnership Working to support Improvements in 3 year old GLD Lancashire County Council identified improving school readiness and the proportion of children achieving a Good Level of Development (GLD) as a key strategic priority. System intelligence showed that too many children were reaching school age without the core developmental foundations needed to thrive.
Leicester Mammas: Peer-led, Community driven support Leicester Mammas is a long running, community based breastfeeding and infant feeding support programme operating across Leicester. Established in 2008, the service has evolved into a comprehensive model of wraparound support for families experiencing vulnerability, food insecurity, or barriers to accessing statutory services
Community Fridges – supporting families and reducing waste in Leicestershire Since June 2018, Leicestershire County Council has developed a network of five community fridges located in family hubs across Coalville, South Wigston, Hinckley, Loughborough and Lutterworth. The initiative aims to reduce food waste by redistributing edible surplus food while offering practical support to families and vulnerable adults.
Building resilience through integrated community support in Tower Hamlets Tower Hamlets has developed a coordinated, multi agency approach to supporting families experiencing financial hardship. By aligning community partnerships, welfare advice, and health based financial pathways, the local authority provides practical, accessible support embedded within everyday family services.
National Literacy Trust – Broadening Families’ Experiences The National Literacy Trust (NLT) works to ensure that all families—particularly those living in financial hardship—can engage in meaningful early learning experiences. Their approach emphasises no cost or low cost activities, inclusive practice, and reducing the mental load on parents.
Tackling Poverty and Building Community Resilience in Portsmouth Portsmouth City Council, led by Tackling Poverty Strategic Coordinator Katy Ricks, has adopted a multi layered, partnership driven approach to reducing poverty and strengthening resilience across the city. This case study outlines the council’s key interventions, collaborative structures, and the challenges they are actively working to overcome.
People, places and nature thrive in a fairer future Accessible outdoor programmes run in partnership with voluntary, community, faith and social enterprises can build confidence, strengthen families, enhance early childhood development, and foster a fairer, greener future where people and nature thrive together
Exploring Liverpool & Manchester City Councils’ Delivery of Talking Teens This case study brings together practice examples from Manchester City Council and Liverpool City Council on the delivery of Talking Teens from The Centre for Emotional Health. It is based on insights shared during a webinar hosted by the National Centre for Family Hubs.
Sandwell is in love…… with Making it REAL: Sandwell Local Authority This inspirational programme is an award-winning research-based family literacy programme developed by the Early Childhood Unit (ECU) at the National Children’s Bureau in partnership with the University of Sheffield.
Reducing Parental Conflict interventions delivered in HMP Peterborough: Peterborough City Council Peterborough has a strong strategic focus on reducing parental conflict. The dedicated Parental Conflict Lead, based within Children’s Social Care Targeted Support, oversees the local offer, promotes courses with partners, and supports referrals from anyone working with families. Families can also self‑refer, supported by wider marketing.
BookTrust programmes supporting Speech and Language in Derby Family Hubs Derby Family Hubs are passionate about the work they do to promote early literacy for children in Derby city. They embed Bookstart programme resources in the work they do across this area. Derby Hubs also work very closely with the library service, delivering some of their evidence-based sessions in the library to encourage library usage.
Old Kent Road Family Zone: A Community-Led Approach to Tackling Health Inequalities: London Borough of Southwark The Old Kent Road Family Zone (OKRFZ) is a groundbreaking community-led initiative transforming how local government addresses health inequalities in one of London's most under resourced areas. Facilitated by Surrey Square Primary School (part of the Big Education Trust) and funded by Impact on Urban Health, the zone operates on a radical principle: working 'with' communities rather than 'for' or 'to' them. By placing children, families and residents at the heart of decision-making, OKRFZ is creating sustainable, systemic change that tackles the root causes of poor health and wellbeing.
Cornwall Education Learning Trust (CELT) Civic Work This case study details how CELT’s civic strategy aims to foster a community response and approach to improving outcomes for children in the mid Cornwall area. To capture this learning an interview took place with Claire Bunting Director of Reach for CELT.
Building a Father Friendly Borough: Listening to Fathers, Changing the System: Hackney Council Hackney is taking a system-wide approach to becoming a Father Friendly Borough, embedding father inclusion across Children and Family Hubs rather than treating it as a specialist add-on. The Needs Assessment provided a clear mandate: if we want better outcomes for children and families, fathers must be actively welcomed, engaged and supported.
Understanding Bradford’s Family Hub and Parenting Service Model: Oxfordshire County Council This case study summarises a learning exchange between Bradford Children and Families Trust and Oxfordshire County Council . The discussion was initiated by Oxfordshire County Council, who were keen to learn from Bradford’s approach as they reflect on the future development of their own Best Start Family Hubs and parenting offer.
Bristol City Council working with their local VCFSE sector Bristol City Council is keen for there to be ‘no wrong front door’ for families seeking to access support and provision. To increase accessibility to Family Hubs and the breadth of support available, their Family Hub Programme has sought to partner with the local VCFSE sector, who are already supporting families in the city through sustainable, trusted relationships and grassroots projects.
Babyzone and Family Hubs Partnerships Babyzone works in partnership with Family Hubs across multiple local authorities to provide integrated, preventative early years support for families with babies. By embedding Family Hub practitioners and programmes within trusted Babyzone community settings, families are able to access early help, parenting support, health advice and wellbeing services in one welcoming space.
Tower Hamlets – A borough - wide approach to Starting Reception This case study details the implementation of the Starting Reception resource throughout Tower Hamlets Family Hubs as part of the School Readiness Programme. It emphasises the comprehensive distribution across the borough, collaborative partnerships with local schools, and a focus on multilingual accessibility to ensure that all families are well-prepared to support their children’s transition into Nursery or Reception.
From Recognition to Response: Strengthening the GP-Family Hub Link in Brent A GP recognized a young, struggling single mother's deeper family crises during a routine appointment but had no time to address them. By referring her to a local Family Wellbeing Centre, the mother received holistic support for her child's needs, finances, and wellbeing, which also helped her manage her own health. This case highlights the powerful, necessary partnership between time-pressed GPs, who identify hidden needs, and community hubs, which provide the sustained, practical support families require.
See us- Hear us: Listening to babies: Learning from Start for Life and Family Hubs Transformation Babies have a voice – that is, they have a right to have their views taken seriously in decisions affecting their lives. This voice is best interpreted through warm relationships with those who know them well. This resource covers the importance of listening to babies’ views to understand their experiences and give them the best start in life.
The Mandarin Mums session at the Isle of Dogs Family Hub is an innovative, culturally tailored initiative designed to support Mandarin-speaking families in the Southeast Locality of Tower Hamlets. This case study outlines the pressing need identified within the local community and details how the session effectively addressed these challenges, fostering inclusion, wellbeing, and empowerment.
Best Start in Life Antenatal offer: IOW Family Hubs Parenting Support The Isle of Wight Family Hubs enhanced antenatal support by integrating maternity services with Family Hub programmes, notably the evidence-based “Welcome to the World.” This initiative improved early engagement, increased parental confidence, and strengthened pathways to postnatal services.
Torbay Council’s Family Hubs Data Sharing Case Study This case study details how Torbay Council and its partners developed and implemented effective data sharing to support Family Hub delivery. It highlights the context, key actions, challenges, outcomes, and lessons learned, offering practical recommendations for other local authorities and family hubs embarking on similar journeys.
Barnsley’s Integrated Family Hub Parenting Offer Barnsley’s Family Hub network works across the borough to ensure families receive the right support in the right place at the right time. A central part of the Family Hubs offer is support for parents. The approach is rooted in the belief that stronger parent–child relationships lead to better outcomes for children, and that early support should be available in familiar, local settings, without judgement.
Delivering infant feeding services to diverse populations in Coventry Historically, breastfeeding rates in Coventry have been below the national average. The infant feeding team wanted to harness the opportunity presented by the Family Hubs and Start for Life programme to increase engagement with their infant feeding services and encourage more mothers to breastfeed.
System-wide integration to improve ease of access to services for families. Recognising that helping families across the whole of Cambridgeshire could lead to better outcomes, Cambridgeshire County Council and Peterborough City Council began working together on an Early Years Strategy in 2017, in partnership with colleagues across the children’s health system and communities.
Rural delivery of Perinatal Mental Health and Parent-Infant Relationship services: Cornwall We want every family to access the support they need to achieve the best start in life for their babies. For perinatal mental health and parent-infant relationship support, this means access to universal services to help spot and respond to issues before they develop into more complex problems.
Using strategic needs assessments to better meet the mental health and wellbeing needs of families Two years before receiving funding from the Family Hubs and Start for Life programme, the team in Islington completed a joint strategic needs assessment of the 0-5 population and their families. Following the introduction of the Family Hub model, an additional wider needs assessment of the 0-18 population (and 0-25 for special educational needs) was completed in line with Family Hub and Start for Life programme expectations. Together, this helped to identify key areas of focus for Islington’s Start for Life services.
Developing a Parent-Infant Emotional Wellbeing team: North Lincolnshire Council Prior to the Family Hubs and Start for Life Programme, North Lincolnshire’s parent-infant relationship service model primarily targeted families with the most pressing needs, however there was limited support available for those with mild or moderate needs.
Publishing the Start for Life Offer as a one-stop shop for parents, carers and families: Northumberland council Northumberland’s review discovered that there was no centralised source of information available to parents or carers about their child's development during pregnancy and until the age of two. Upon joining the Family Hub and Start for Life programme, Northumberland set about creating a one-stop shop so that every parent and carer can access the support they need when they need it.
Developing a holistic and inclusive parenting support offer: Wolverhampton City Council Supporting new and expectant parents as they make the transition into parenthood is crucial for providing babies with the best start in life. The Family Hub and Start for Life Programme in Wolverhampton includes various workstreams, all focused on providing supportive and inclusive parenting support and community outreach initiatives.
Developing Father-Inclusive Practice in Halton Halton Borough Council has developed a comprehensive strategy to embed father-inclusive practice across its Family Hubs and partner services. Recognising fathers as vital caregivers, the initiative promotes inclusive language, tailored service design, staff training, and community collaboration.
Barnet KidsTime Workshop: London Borough of Barnet The Barnet KidsTime Workshop offers an evidence-based intervention that is aligned with the NHS 10-year plan and strategic objectives relating to Family First for Children, Best Start for Life, and Neighbourhood Health.
Supporting Neonatal Families through the Family and Baby (FAB) Project: Lincolnshire County Council The Family and Baby (FAB) Project, funded through the Family Hubs Programme, supports families with babies in neonatal care across Lincolnshire. Operating from Lincoln and Boston Neonatal Units, the FAB team provides early, relationship-based support to improve attachment, infant development, and parental wellbeing.
Solihull Metropolitan Borough Council: Solihull Family Hub App a digital gateway The Solihull Family Hub App is a digital platform designed to connect families with local services, support, and activities. Currently available in 19 community languages (more can be added), the app ensures accessibility and inclusion for Solihull’s diverse population.
Middlesbrough Family Hubs’ Parenting Offer Middlesbrough’s Family Hubs are shaping a parenting offer that is easy to access, relational, and woven through day-to-day early years practice in the borough.
Stoke-on-Trent City Council: Working with the voluntary and community sector to ensure families can thrive Family Matters is a multi-agency programme in Stoke-on-Trent that gives families access to the advice, tips and opportunities they need to thrive. It is a key part of the city council’s commitment to early support – working with partners, including the voluntary and community sector, to ensure that children have the best start in life.
Accommodation for young parents with dedicated support: Torbay Council Torbay Council Children’s Services commissions Westward Housing to deliver Torbay Young Parents’ Service with the aim of providing support and accommodation for young families aged 16 to 24 to live together successfully in their community.
Warwickshire’s Stepped Approach to Parenting Support Warwickshire’s Family and Relationship Support team serves approximately 600,000 residents across 763 square miles and five districts/boroughs. To make support easy to access at scale, the county runs a universal first line of evidence-based workshops and programmes within a Stepped Approach, facilitated by experienced staff and free to all Warwickshire parents and carers.
