Issue details

Proposed decision

1)   Approve the service development and activity increases for Parenting Support as part of ongoing development and improvement work, making use of Family Hub Grant funding where this aligns to KCC’s existing Start for Life commitments (details in the Report).

2).  Approve the required expenditure to deliver this activity via Family Hub Grant Funding up to £2,032,065 for the period ending April 2025.

3). Delegate authority to the Corporate Director of Children, Young People and Education, in consultation with the Cabinet Member for Integrated Children’s Services and the Director of Public Health, to take necessary actions, including but not limited to allocating resources, expenditure, entering into contracts and other legal agreements, as required to implement the decision.

Reason for the decision

KCC (Kent County Council) is seeking to implement a Family Hubs model in line with the standards set by the Department for Education (DfE). The funding has been granted with a provision that a certain allocation as outlined by the DfE will be spent on Parenting Support. This decision is to approve the service development and activity increases for Parenting Support as part of ongoing development and improvement work, making use of Family Hub Grant funding where this aligns to KCC’s existing Start for Life commitments and note the agreed allocation and expenditure of £1,189,946 for financial year 23 - 24 (including year 1 rollover) and £821,800 for year 24 - 25.

Background

The Family Hub model is committed to delivering high quality services for babies, children, young people, and families by ensuring an extensive range of partner and community services working collaboratively to deliver the best outcomes in person, virtually or through outreach. KCC is an agreed “trailblazer” in this nationwide change.

Key developments of Parenting Support include the expansion of staffing to support the parenting offer to fathers, increased joint working with midwifery and health visiting to deliver an antenatal offer, and a greater balance of evidenced programmes with a strength-based approach to parenting.

The Family Hub funding for Parenting Supporting will be used to:

·       Offer focused parenting support from antenatal to 2 years to support the transition into parenthood and beyond.

·       Train practitioners within Triple P baby, Solihull, and other evidence-based programmes, with skills to support behaviours of primary aged children.

·       Enhance knowledge, skills and joint working of targeted parenting support within Open Access once the funding ends

Options (other options considered but discarded)

Additional options have not been considered at this stage as the fund amount allocated above has been determined by DfE to be spent on Parenting Support, previous Key Decisions were taken to agree to the funding for the Family Hubs programme and this is the next stage of development for that agreement.

We were bound by the DfE to use evidence-based interventions. We considered the options and are going to move forward with Triple P baby and Solihull.

·     How the proposed decision supports the Interim Strategic Plan:

The DfE Family Hub model fits perfectly into KCC’s ‘Framing Kent’s Future’ strategic vison for children, young people, and families. It also supports the wider national and community challenges following the pandemic.

Data Protection implications

None.

Financial Implications

A total of £368,156 for Parenting Support has been agreed to be carried over into financial year 2023/24. This is in agreement with the DfE with the assurance it will be spent in the current financial year.