As a teenager in the late sixties, stepping into a community hub transformed my future. It was there I met people who believed in me, gave me a sense of belonging, and helped me uncover purpose. Their support sparked a lifelong mission to tackle poverty and injustice — a mission that has shaped every day of my life ever since.
For parents, hubs can serve a different, equally vital, purpose. They can be a lifeline. A place to breathe, to be reminded they’re doing a good job, and crucially — to know they’re not alone.
For parents of children with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND), a sense of community, belonging and tailored support can be transformative. That’s why I welcome the Government’s ambition to provide dedicated SEND support through the new Best Start Family Hubs. It’s good news. A positive step. But let’s remember that siloed initiatives will never fix a system that’s broken and still reeling from COVID and the cost-of-living crisis. What we need is a less bureaucratic system — one that connects SEND reform with the newly released Child Poverty Strategy to deliver a more collaborative, integrated and therefore holistic approach to community transformation.
The scale of the crisis is heart-breaking. The number of children with Education, Health and Care Plans (EHCPs) has hit a record 638,745 — up more than 10% in a year. Thousands more — particularly from poorer homes and communities — are still waiting for recognition of, let alone the assessment and care they desperately need. Meanwhile, councils are forced to spend £2 billion each year on private school places largely because local provision has not kept pace with the rising complexity of need. And extraordinarily, the Institute for Fiscal Studies warns high-needs spending will climb by another £2–3 billion by 2028, much of it swallowed by deficits unless we act.
Worse of all, behind these numbers are families, many of whom we serve every day, who feel unseen and unheard, and left to navigate a fragmented system that only adds complexity rather than clarity.
The early care, identification and intervention available through the promised Best Start Family Hubs will help — if they are delivered well. But their success will not simply come via recruiting professionals, though — of course — they are needed. In the end it will be down to harnessing the dynamism, innovation and reach of civil society in a genuine partnership between statutory services and local grassroots charities, social enterprises and faith groups; who intuitively understand, like no one else, the challenges, strengthens, relationships and opportunities on the ground. Afterall, the community ‘hub’ that transformed my life was a local church already imbedded in my neighbourhood!
So, to succeed, the new Family Hubs must be joined up, properly funded, but also co-designed with families. Otherwise, they risk becoming yet another layer of local authority bureaucracy instead a meaningful and transformative resource.
At Oasis four decades of experience has taught us that real change happens when we do things with communities, not to them or for them; when schools, health services and community organisations collaborate; and when families are truly heard. Oasis has never just run schools — they’ve always been part of our wider vision of community development.
Across the communities we work in around the country, our goal is always to be joined up, and integrated, rather than simply co-located. The work of our academies sits alongside that of our community, youth and housing teams. Only this, we believe, can create the relational, restorative, trauma-responsive support that every child and family needs.
For instance, we lead community projects such as Oasis St Martin’s Village, working in partnership with eighteen local charities and social enterprises. We provide wrap-around support for children and young people at risk of school exclusion through initiatives like Oasis Nurture, which offers therapeutic, play-based interventions for those facing emotional and developmental challenges, and Oasis Encounter, our innovative non-violent resistance programme that empowers parents through compassion and relationship-building. Most recently, we’ve invested in housing for families living in temporary accommodation — a situation that often causes children to miss school, arrive late, and struggle with tiredness, anxiety, and stress. This instability has a devastating impact on their concentration, friendships, educational outcomes, and both physical and mental health.
The results of these amalgamated interventions, both in terms of education and life opportunities speak for themselves.
Only these kinds of partnerships will change the lives of children and their families for the better. If this is not a principle at the heart of this new initiative much of the funding involved will end up being wasted unnecessarily with little impact.
If the Government is serious about genuine SEND reform, every commitment must be joined up. Each initiative must be tested locally and shared widely. Every pound of funding must build capacity, not bureaucracy. And local communities must be involved rather than by-passed because it takes a village to raise a child.
Caring for the whole child means caring for their family and their wider community. That principle must run through every reform, from the forthcoming Schools White Paper to the Children’s Wellbeing Bill.
SEND support in the family hubs is a welcome start. Now let’s make sure it’s part of a properly funded, fair, integrated strategy — one that aligns with the Child Poverty Strategy and puts children and families at the heart of policy. Because when we work together, hope becomes more than a word — it becomes reality.
