Support for Sheffield families in children’s crucial early years

Sheffield City Council has been selected as one of 75 local authority areas receiving funding to deliver a national Family Hub and Start for Life programme.

There are currently seven family hubs set up in Sheffield to help support families all over the city. The programme is funded by the government up to 2025.

As part of work to help all children get the best possible start in their first three years, part of the programme looks at learning at home and early language development. The idea is for families to get quick access to advice provided by fully-trained early years practitioners.

The programme also emphasises collaboration with health visitors, speech and language therapists and practitioners, as well as the community, faith, private and voluntary sectors.

The council is looking for an outside supplier to deliver this support to families for a period of six months.

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The advice for what is expected in the contract says: “We know the impact of child developmental delays can be profound and enduring. The Sheffield Joint Health and Wellbeing Strategy highlights children not achieving good development by the age of four who continue to face ongoing developmental challenges are less likely to have the necessary vocational, social and health assets to transition successfully into healthy adulthood.

“We also know typically, a child will spend 1,095 days in the home before commencing nursery at the age of three. Simultaneously, in this period, children will develop cognitively, physically and emotionally more rapidly than at any other time in their lives.

“The quality of creative activities, play, reading and language used by care-givers is crucial; some research suggests family influence accounts for 80% of learning acceleration and achievement.”

The deadline for applications to take on the contract, which is being advertised on the government’s contract finder website, is midday on February 14. The website says the contract will start on March 1 and run to November 30, 2024. It is worth up to £48k.