I was very pleased to finally be able to visit Larchwood Family Hub in Pilgrims Hatch last week for a very informative meeting with the team which provides access to support and services to help children and families achieve the best start in life.
The Government recognises the importance of helping families who have a new baby, or who are struggling with the health, education and social needs of their children, and has this year put £20million into the Family Hubs network to enable health visitors, midwives and school nurses to develop their work with those who are most in need. This includes a wide range of policies to improve child health, including the transformation of children’s mental health services.
Having previously worked for Barnardo’s, which provides the services at the Children’s Centre in partnership with Virgin Care, I am extremely interested in the work the team are doing to reach out to families who need support the most when their children are aged from 0-19. The pandemic has prevented me from visiting before now, so it was good to hear how the team has managed to continue supporting local families despite the restrictions imposed by Covid-19.
Despite Brentwood being considered an affluent area, there are places where household incomes are very restricted. These are families which need additional tailored support to ensure their children are safe and cared for.
The team at Larchwood do amazing work with local families, and have developed a cross-organisation strategy to ensure health and social care teams are working together for the benefit of families, enabling parents and children to avoid having to retell their stories to multiple agencies to access help. It was good to meet them at last and I look forward to hearing more about the work they do for the community.
