Town Hall View: Events show there is plenty happening here
Our Family Hubs scheme has been a real success story since launching in 2023, providing vital support for thousands of families across Peterborough, writes Mohammed Jamil, city council deputy leader.
The city’s four hubs are one-stop shops where families can easily access a wide range of services in one place such as parenting courses, play sessions, mental health support and much more.
Family Hubs support families from pregnancy right through until your child turns 19 (or 25 if they have additional needs). Support is open to anyone caring for a child, including grandparents, adoptive parents, carers and foster carers.
This summer the hubs have organised a series of fantastic free events including gaming fun days, outdoor adventures and circus fun. These events have proved extremely popular and it’s lovely to see communities coming together like this.
I often hear people say that nothing happens in the city, but the Family Hubs events are just one example of lots of great things happening here! Peterborough is a brilliant place to live and bring up a family and I’m so proud that we have this fantastic support network of hubs in place.
Our work to support families in Peterborough aligns with this current Labour government’s drive to help young people nationally, having recently announced plans worth over £500 million to roll out up to 1,000 Family Hubs across the country over the next three years.
Following this announcement last month, we welcomed Janet Daby, the government’s minister for Children and Families for a special visit to our First Steps Family Hub in the Welland. She was extremely complimentary about the facility and cited the council’s ‘strong leadership’ with the Family Hubs initiative.
Given the scheme’s success here, we are hoping to announce a fifth Family Hub in Peterborough very soon, so watch this space.
If you’re struggling with any aspect of family life, or just want some friendly advice, get in touch with your nearest Family Hub.
Improving children’s services is a key aim of our administration and I’m delighted that our ongoing work to achieve this has been praised by Ofsted inspectors.
Following a monitoring visit last month, inspectors said that improvements were being made with ‘rigour and pace’, highlighting several key areas of progress.
They focussed on our children in care service, where we have made great strides, becoming the first authority in the East of England to launch its very own House Project earlier this year which is improving the experiences, outcomes, and lives of young people leaving care.
I want to thank all of the children and families, as well as our practitioners and staff for their hard and continued dedicated work for children and their families. There is still much work to be done, but our administration is focussed on working collaboratively to improve outcomes for all children in Peterborough.
Young people across Peterborough will be receiving their GCSE results this week and I would like to wish everyone the best of luck.
Many pupils will be going on to study A-levels and other qualifications or enter the world of work. A few will be disappointed that their results aren’t quite as good as they wanted, but please don’t worry or panic. There are plenty of options and support available – in addition to advice from teachers and families.
Anyone in need of careers advice can visit https://nationalcareers.service.gov.uk or call their helpline on 0800 100 900. Anyone who is anxious or struggling can visit www.keep-your-head.com/cyp
The council will also be promoting advice for young people on our social media accounts, so please look out for this.