Sunderland, along with 74 other local authorities have received a share of £300 million investment from the Government to establish a Family Hubs and Start for Life programme.
Family Hubs will:
Bring services together to improve access to services
Improve the connections between families, professionals, services and providers
Put relationships at the heart of family support
At the core of every Family Hub network is a great Start for Life for babies, from conception through to 2 years old. Support is also available to families of children aged up to 19, or to children with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) aged up to 25.
Our ambition is to ensure that local families can access the right support, at the right time, in the right place, with the right people.
There is lots of useful information, advice and support available for Sunderland families, but we know how important it is for the information to be clear to understand and easily available to those who need it, so we are taking the following steps:
We will continue to update, develop and promote the current Family Hub through Links for Life Sunderland, our Facebook page or our Instagram Page to ensure families and services have access to the latest news and get updates about what is happening across the Family Hubs
We will continue to refresh our printed timetables which are available for families to take away from each hub as well as other key buildings and services in Sunderland
We will be working closely with our wider workforce and partner services to ensure they understand our offer and share with those they work with
Our friendly reception team at each hub will also happily provide you with any information you need about services, sessions and more
Making sure our offer allows families to better manage challenges and provide their babies with the best possible start in life is important to us.
We will further develop this as well as our online offer that will outline all the programmes, activities and sessions available across all of our Family Hubs including the Start for Life offer.
How can I get involved?
Volunteering at our Family Hubs is a brilliant way to support local families and make a real difference in your community. Each of our five hubs offers free, welcoming activities and support for parents, carers and children—from pregnancy through to age 18, or 25 for those with SEND. We have a range of volunteer roles available, including helping with food distribution, becoming a Family Champion, welcoming families as a Play Space Friendly Face, supporting breastfeeding as a Milky Advocate, leading buggy walks, or helping shape services through Family Voice. Full training is provided, and opportunities are flexible to fit around you—it's a great way to meet people, build skills and support families to thrive. You could also be part of our Parent Carer Panel - offering your expertise and guidance on how we run our services. Learn more on our Volunteering page or email [email protected]
