'Family hubs are vital to bring community together'

One-stop-shop family hubs are crucial for parents to socialise with people from different backgrounds and to get advice when they need it, a mum-of-two says.

It comes after a new centre opened in Blurton, offering support from toddler groups to parenting classes, and support for struggling families with the likes of foodbanks or benefits.

Sarah has two children, and says her eldest son, aged five, was a child of the pandemic lockdown and, after he displayed challenging behaviour, she's waiting for a diagnosis of possible attention deficit disorder.

Stoke-on-Trent now has five family hubs, after the first one opened in Bentilee in 2023, and the government has pledged £500m to set up to 1,000 hubs across the country by the end of 2028.

Sarah says she's benefitting from parenting classes at the hub, learning ways to cope with her son's behaviour.

"Without this service, life would be very hard," she says. "Unfortunately, you go on social media, and everything is all happy and glamorous, when actually people are struggling."

Stoke-on-Trent city council held an event for the opening of the fifth 'family hub' in the city, in Blurton on August 28.

Back in 2023 when the first hub opened Jane Ashworth, the Labour leader of Stoke-on-Trent City Council, said she hoped their rollout would help reduce the number of city children in care, which at the time had hit a record high of 1,100.

Whilst that number has been decreasing since, the number of children in local authority care rose to 1,085, between April and June.

Councillor Sarah-Jane Colclough, cabinet member for children's services, says continuing to open hubs across the city would help them reach even more families

Sarah-Jane Colclough, cabinet member for children's services, says these hubs are effective, but they need to reach more parents.

"They are helping, we haven't reached all families yet, which is a challenge. Everybody spreading the word will help," she said.

"What's bespoke about the changes we've introduced, is we've put more resource into the hubs."

Stoke-on-Trent City Council hub early life worker Rachel Ndongwe says it's rewarding to see parents' confidence grow through using support groups

These centres run sessions from baby classes, to toddler groups, to support sessions with how to parent teenagers. All the buildings are fitted with softplay equipment and sensory rooms.

Rachel Ndongwe, an early life worker who runs some of the classes, she says it's iincredibly rewardign to see the transformation in parents using the service:

"You can see the change in that parent, they become more confident, they talk to other mums. Some parents have got no family within Stoke-on-Trent, so they come here and they connect with other mothers and help each other out."

Lowrie Jones lives in Blurton, and has a newborn and a toddler

'All in one place'

Lowrie Jones lives in Blurton with her two-year-old daughter and newborn son.

"I'm sure there's many women, like me, stuck at home, on their own, thinking, 'I need someone to talk to, I need some guidance'," she said.

"They can just pop up here and it's all in one place."

She said she feels this centre will be really effective at helping with advice for little things, such as teething in babies, and managing toddler milestones. Importantly, she adds, it gets parents of little ones out of the house.

Another family hub is due to open in Stoke-on-Trent soon.