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Gloucestershire Children’s Centre visited by Government Minister

Published
The work of Gloucestershire County Council’s children’s services has been recognised by a Government minister during a visit to the county.

Andrea Leadsom MP, Minister for Public Health, Start for Life and Primary Care, met babies, parents and carers and staff from GCC and NHS Gloucestershire Integrated Commissioning Board (ICB), public health and other providers during a tour of one of Gloucestershire’s children and family centres.

It provided an opportunity to showcase the work done at the county’s children and family centres and across communities, making sure that families receive the right support, in the right place, at the right time, to give all children the best start in life.

The Family Hub model aims to provide a network of support and services for all families with children and young people aged 0 to 19, and up to 25 if young people have Special Educational Needs and Disabilities. In Gloucestershire Children and Family Centres are the first stage in our development of the broader Family Hub model. Our centres provide and host a range of support for children aged 0-11 years.

During the visit, the Minister saw a variety of services in action at Bartongate Children and Family Centre and talked to a range of children’s services partners to hear about Best Start support available for families across the county. This included: 

  • Midwifery and neonatal services
  • Health visiting
  • Perinatal Mental health support
  • Infant feeding support
  • Family support
  • Parent/baby groups
  • Early education, childcare and SEN

The three-hour visit also allowed Cllr Stephen Davies and Sarah Hylton, the Head of Early Years’ Services to talk about their work with the Minister and raise specific issues to help improve services to children in the future.

Cllr Stephen Davies Cabinet member responsible for children’s services, said: “I am delighted that Dame Leadsom was able to visit Gloucestershire and see one of our Children and Family Centres.

“It provided an opportunity to showcase the hard work of staff across children’s services and to hear Dame Andrea's input from her experience of best practice nationally."

“We are committed to improving outcomes, reducing inequalities and making sure that families receive the right support, in the right place, at the right time, to give all children the best start in life.”

Minister for Public Health, Start for Life and Primary Care, Dame Andrea Leadsom said: “Bartongate Children and Family Centre is doing fantastic work providing vital services to families, including health visiting and infant feeding support.

“It is from conception to the age of two that the building blocks for good lifelong physical and emotional health are laid. Our ‘Best Start for Life: Vision for the 1001 critical days’ report set out our plan to support every family to give their baby the best start for life and we will continue to work with all local authorities in England to help them establish their family hubs.”