Rural Family Hub

Buckland Newton Village Hall to become a Rural Family Hub

Some of you may remember Sure Start Centres? These were set up across the country under the Labour Government in the early 2000s to provide families with young children a range of support and activities. After the financial crash in 2009 when the cuts to public services started, Sure Start Centres began to close only for the Conservative Government to find that there has been an increasing need for a range of support from children, young people and families in the last 10 years. To combat this, and following an investigation and report by Andrea Leadsom MP, the Government has decided to roll-out “Family Hubs” across the country, with the aim of providing early help to children, young people and families. Dorset Council has recognised that there is a need to provide Family Hubs not just in its towns but also in rural areas and has agreed to fund Buckland Newton Village Hall to serve as a Family Hub to the local community on a Wednesday between 0800 – 1700, 50 weeks each year initially between April 2024 – March 2026. Key to the success of the Family Hubs is that the local communities themselves identify what should be provided in order to meet the needs of the local population. To do this, Buckland Newton School, Youth Club and Toddler Group, and the Gryphon School (as the main secondary school to which most of the young people in the area attend) have come together to form a Family Hub Community Partnership. This partnership, which is open to other interested parties to join, had its first meeting on Friday 19 April 2024 and has agreed to make a start by planning a range of creative and sporting activities for children and their families over the coming year. Our hope is that a Family Hub Day will look something like as follows: If you would like to get involved with the work of the Community Partnership or have a skill that you would like to share with the community, please contact Kate Parish by email – parishkate0@googlemail.com . Kate Parish