Contents

  1. What are Family Hubs?
  2. Find your nearest Family Hub
  3. Digital offer
  4. Getting support
  5. What we're doing to develop Family Hubs
  6. FAQs and useful links

On this page

Parent and carer engagement through Merton Family Voice (MFV)

Our “Speak Up and Shape It!” approach continues to be delivered through MFV.  We are always keen to welcome new parents and carers who wish to help shape our Family Hub offer and have their voices heard.

We have engaged with parents and carers who signed up to MFV and have engaged with diverse groups through formal and informal activity parents and carers through both formal and informal consultation activity.  Listening to the needs of our local community is so important to the way we will deliver the Merton Family Hub.  We can’t shape it without you, so please come on board!

To sign up to Merton's Family Voice, please click Speak Up and Shape It Merton's Family Voices Parent/Carer Form (office.com) or email: familyhubs@merton.gov.uk. Watch out for engagement events happening over the next few months.

Developing our shared vision and partnerships

We have used feedback from parents, carers and lots of different partners to develop a ‘vision’ for Family Hubs in Merton. We have captured this vision in a picture which reflects the shared expectations and principles that will underpin our work with families and young people through Merton Family Hubs.

We are currently finalising the vision and will be excited to share this in our next Family Hub Bulletin. Watch this space!

Refurbishments and mini makeovers

We have used funding to refresh the welcome areas and outdoor spaces at our Family Hub buildings. Our bright new logo and Family Hub signage will be appearing across our buildings and network locations in coming weeks. Families and young people will be able to easily recognise the spaces and places in their local community and where they can access information and receive Family Hub services.

Work to develop a digital registration system

We are continuing to explore ways that will make it easier to register for and take up Family Hub services. This forms part of our wider digital development activity and we will keep you updated on progress in this area.

Bitesize overview sessions

We are seeking to bring 24 ‘core’ services together through Family Hubs. Programmes of support and intervention are being coordinated across the Family Hub service areas shown below:

  • Activities for children aged 0-5
  • ECEC (Early Childhood Education Care) and financial support
  • Midwifery / Maternity
  • Debt and welfare advice
  • Reducing Parental Conflict
  • Support for separating and separated parents
  • Health Visiting
  • SEND Support
  • Stop smoking support
  • Domestic Abuse Support
  • Intensive targeted family support (SF funded services)
  • Mental health services
  • Housing
  • Youth Services (universal and targeted)
  • Nutrition and weight management
  • Oral health improvement
  • Local authority 0-19 public health services
  • Substance (alcohol/drug) misuse support
  • Youth Justice Service
  • Early Language and Home Learning Environment
  • Parenting Support
  • Parent Infant Relationship/ Perinatal Mental Health
  • Infant Feeding Support
  • Birth Registration

We have developed a suite of ‘bitesize overview modules’ detailing each one of the 24 core service areas. These modules are available via the MSCP website .  They can be accessed by partners and parents/carers who wish to learn more about a particular need or issue.  We hope that partners will use these bitesize modules to support staff induction, to promote ongoing learning and as a tool of reference to support ‘whole family working’.

A series of ‘lunch and learn’ sessions have been scheduled to help the Family Hub workforce become more familiar with service areas and increase confidence in signposting families to the right support at the right time.

(Please note lunch and learn sessions are for Family Hub Partners only and not currently available for families to access).

Lunch and Learn

Over the next year (2024) we will be running monthly Lunch and Learn sessions to help support colleagues in their understanding of services that will be part of Merton Family Hubs.

Lunch and Learn Timetable

MonthService  Presenters

Wednesday 13 March 24

1-2pm  

-Targeted support

-SEND

-Parenting Support

FWBS / Short Breaks / Supporting Families Outcomes (Sam Terry ) and Parenting Team (Paul Collins)

Wednesday 10 April 24

1-2pm  

-Housing

Housing (Elliot Brunton )

Early Help Coordinators (Fiona Perkins and Julie O’Mara)

Wednesday 8 May 24

1-2pm

-Welfare and Debt

-Early Childhood

Wimbledon Foodbank (Tia)

Wimbledon Guild (Vanessa Robinson)

Childhood (Laura Byrnes)

Wednesday 12 June 24

1-2pm  

-Oral Health Improvement

-Mental Health Services

Oral Health (Taiwo Oyegunle)

Education wellbeing Service (Kelly Cole-Lewis/Annika Clark) 

Wednesday 10 July 24

1-2pm  

-Public Health 0-19

Sexual Health (Kate Milsted) 

Healthy School programme / Early Years Awards (Micheal Wood)

Wednesday 11 September 24

1-2pm

-Youth Services

-Youth Justice

Keni Thomas

Youth Justice (Malcom Pacey)

Wednesday 9 October 24

1-2pm

-Health Visiting

-Infant Feeding

-Perinatal Mental Health

HV/Infant Feeding/Perinatal (Hanan El-Aidouni/Iman Hikal/Nicole Ford)

Wednesday 13 November 24

1-2pm

-Domestic Abuse

-Reducing Parental Conflict

-Support for separated parents

DA (Zoe Gallen)

RPC / Support for Separated parents (Jess Harraway) 

Wednesday 11 December 25

1-2pm

 

-Stop Smoking

-Substance misuse

Stop smoking (Jess Cox)

TBC 

Family Hub Bulletin

You can keep up to date on our Family Hub developments through our monthly bulletin. These contain lots of information about local services, national programmes and of course our own transformation journey.  Please take a moment to review what’s been happening.