5 things for churches to know about Family Hubs

Family Hubs - maybe they are something you’ve heard about on the news, walked past in your local community, or seen on a flyer - but what are they? 

At ChurchWorks we believe that Family Hubs, a key government initiative to support children and families, provide a significant opportunity to spotlight the vital role of the local church in service of its community and explore its potential to partner with local government. 

In this blog post, we break down five key things for churches to know about Family Hubs as you explore this opportunity in your context! 

1. Family Hubs are… A universal offer

You may be familiar with previous government initiatives to support children and families, such as SureStart. Family Hubs are unique in that they do not just target a particular demographic - whether low-income families, or under 5s - but they offer support to all families at all stages of their child-raising journey from conception to 18 years of age. In addition, Family Hubs support extends to 25-year olds with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities. 

Family Hubs also aim to provide the full range of holistic support that a family may need during the first 18 (or 25) years of their child’s life. Whether that be specialist medical advice, perhaps on breastfeeding or teenage mental health, clubs and activities for their children to join, parenting classes or even broader debt or accommodation advice that affects the family’s wellbeing, Family Hubs are designed to be a one-stop shop for everything local families are looking for. 

2. Family Hubs are… A flexible offer

Family Hubs are designed to make accessing support as easy as possible for local families. As a result, they aim to embed their provision of support within the places that these families already spend time. Often called a ‘no-wrong-front-door’ philosophy, this means that a family will be able to access the help they need through the toddler group, community centre, faith group, or school with which they are already familiar and have built trusted relationships.

Practically speaking, whilst Family Hubs often involve physical buildings, in many cases ex-children’s centres, where the staff and much of the key provision may be hosted, they prioritise engagement with existing community support networks. The term ‘Family Hub’ may conjure up an image of a big building where everything can be found, but perhaps a better picture is a ‘hub and spoke’ model, highlighting the connections across community-based services and organisations. 

3. Family Hubs are… In your local authority

Now you have a better understanding of the distinct features of a Family Hub, you may be thinking ‘I wonder what’s going on near me?’. In July 2025 it was announced that at least one Family Hub would be opening in every local authority in England by April 2026 - chances are there is one right on your doorstep! Find where your nearest family hub is using this lookup tool: https://www.gov.uk/find-family-hub-local-area

75 local authorities launched their Family Hubs in 2022. In these locations, the provision will have developed over the last few years and there may be existing relationships with faith groups.

4. Family Hubs have an… Appetite to partner 

Whether your nearest Family Hub is brand new or a few years old, all Family Hubs are encouraged to consider a partnership with their local faith sector. Faith groups play a vital role in offering support for children, young people and their parents that families are already accessing and therefore are key community organisations for Family Hubs to partner with! In fact, the official programme guides specify that as a minimum responsibility for Local Authorities they must work in partnership with the voluntary community and faith sector. 

ChurchWorks was greatly encouraged by Dame Andrea Leadsom’s comment, when Family Hubs were first formulated by the Conservative government in 2021, that partnership with faith groups was necessary to the success of the Family Hubs model. Jane Moffatt, the Operational Lead for Early Help at Coventry City Council, also shared that “churches and faith groups are ideally positioned for showing us how to love families well. A huge benefit of partnering with them is that they are where people are already receiving support and have built trusting relationships.” 

5. You already do it!

When churches think about partnering with local services, it can often seem overwhelming - another ask on top of an already stretched volunteer workforce and budget. At ChurchWorks, we are keen to spotlight opportunities for partnership with the government that build on existing action of the church, rather than demanding they do more! Family Hubs is a brilliant example of this because you already do it! 

Most UK churches are already supporting local children, young people and families. Whether this is through direct working, or wider provision of a food bank or debt advice that can support a family’s wellbeing, faith groups nationwide are already doing this kind of work. Partnering with existing church-led activities and initiatives already embedded within local communities will be necessary for the Government as it works to achieve its ambitious target of establishing 1,000 Family Hubs by 2028. For instance, every Family Hub requires a stay-and-play provision, and the Gather Movement found that approximately 27,000 UK churches run early years projects and 52% of children in England access some form of parent and toddler group via churches.

In addition, there is synergy between overarching values of Family Hubs - access, connections, relationships - and the philosophies that underpin church-run CYP provision. Perhaps faith groups might use different terms - hospitality, building community, love for God’s children - but we would equally articulate the Family Hubs mission as part of our own faith-motivated mission. 

Across the UK, churches have begun working with their local Family Hubs in a number of ways, acting as Connected Partners (signposting and referral), Co-hosts (providing space and facilities), or Commissioned Partners (delivering targeted services). Whatever stage of the journey you are at, or whatever mode of partnership might work best in your context, ChurchWorks is here to help through our ready-to-use Family Hubs Toolkit!

The Family Hubs Toolkit is an inspiring and practical web-based guide to help churches and local authorities collaborate and offer life-changing support for families through the Family Hubs model. Created by ChurchWorks, Spurgeons, Gather Movement and Exodus Youth Worx UK, this toolkit will benefit any church or local authority, no matter what stage of partnership they are at! With helpful checklists, templates and case studies, the toolkit equips both Local Authorities and churches with an understanding of one another’s assets, a shared language and vision, and clear next steps for collaboration. The Toolkit is entirely free to access and use, and is endorsed by the members of the ChurchWorks Commission.

We’d also like to highlight the amazing Spurgeons Connect programme that offers bespoke support and coaching to empower churches hoping to deliver church-based Family Hubs. 

To find out more or have a further conversation about this work please get in touch with me using: alisha.palmer@goodfaith.org.uk

Alisha Palmer

‍The ChurchWorks Commission is made up of senior church leaders from major UK church denominations and umbrella bodies, collectively representing a significant number of the c.40,000 churches across the UK. The Commission seeks to strengthen collaboration between churches and the Government to address urgent social challenges within local communities, with a key strategic emphasis on improving outcomes for vulnerable children and families.