Family Hub Online – your free, local and trusted place for all things family in Halton

Friday, 13 September 2024

Family Hub Online is a brand-new service that makes it easy for families to access a wide range of services in Halton.

Available via web, mobile and desktop apps, Family Hub Online (available at haltonfamilyhubs.co.uk) gives instant access to our Halton Family Hub service with free, local and trusted information, services and support on hand 24/7. Currently the most popular information searched for is family hub autumn timetables of what’s on across Runcorn and Widnes Family Hubs.

Family Hub Online is the digital version of our Halton Family Hubs service supporting families with children and young people aged 0-19 or up to 25 years with special educational needs and disabilities. Family hubs bring a wide range of Council, NHS, community and voluntary services together in one place so that all families have access to the information and support they need, when they need it.

Talking on behalf of the Halton Family Hub partner organisations, Halton Borough Council’s Executive Board Member for Children and Young People, Cllr Tom McInerney said: 

Information:

“We wanted to make sure that all families had access to family hubs in Halton in a way that works for them. Family Hub Online is there for all Halton families, offering everything from details of local, free and fun activities for children and young people to online courses on a wide range of subjects including expert advice on challenges your child or family may be facing.”

“Family Hub Online is about giving families the right information in the right place at the right time.” 

Mark Charman, Acting Chief Operating Officer, Bridgewater Community Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust said:

Information:

“Family Hub Online complements our community healthcare services such as health visiting and school nursing. We know that new parents especially will have lots of questions in between appointments and Family Hub Online is a great place to go for advice and support from trusted and reliable sources such as the NHS website and local professional health and community services.

“Our aim is to make our healthcare services as accessible as possible and our friendly and expert staff can also be contacted via the online service for more information and support if needed.”

Family Hub Online has been developed in partnership with Beebot AI, industry leader in digital family hub services and includes a range of clever features:

  • Safe and secure browsing without leaving the Family Hub Online website or app – navigating around the site is safe and easy
  • Content can be tailored to your family such as children’s ages, interests, needs and location
  • You won’t be asked for personal information to access the service unless you choose to receive personalised content or notifications
  • Chat bots make it easy to ask questions and be signposted to relevant content or services.
  • You can give feedback about a service or request information easily which helps us to continuously improve and tailor our content to suit families in Halton.

Family Hub Online is the latest development in the rollout of the Family Hub programme in Halton. The Council was one of 75 local authorities announced on 2 April 2022 as eligible to receive a share of a £301.75 million investment from the Government to establish a Family Hubs and Start for Life programme.

In Halton, the Start for Life offer includes services and sessions supporting:

  • Early language development
  • Infant-feeding advice and specialist breastfeeding support
  • Parent infant relationships and perinatal mental health
  • Parenting support
  • Delivery of the Healthy Child Programme.

These sessions will compliment services like Midwife appointments and Health Visitor drop ins.

Family Hubs will also deliver a range of other services and sessions for Halton families which will over time include:

  • Activities for children aged 0-5
  • Debt and welfare advice
  • Domestic abuse support
  • Midwifery and health visiting
  • Housing advice
  • Family support
  • Mental health services
  • Nutrition and weight management
  • Services for children who have or may have special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) and their families
  • Support parent relationships
  • Youth services (universal and targeted), to name a few.

To access the Family Hub Online service, please visit haltonfamilyhubs.co.uk or contact the team by e-mail – familyhubs@halton.gov.uk

You can find out more about the ‘in-person’ family hub service here.

Runcorn – Brookvale, Halton Lodge and Windmill Hill

Widnes – Ditton, Kingsway, Warrington Road. There is also a children’s centre at All Saints Upton Primary School where you can connect to the Family Hub team.