Now that the council’s four Family Support Hubs have completed a second year since their inception, councillors at the recent meeting of the Social Work Resources Committee heard of significant increases in the number of people they are helping and the ways that they are helping them.

The hubs – in Cambuslang, East Kilbride, Hamilton and Lanark – bring together multi-disciplinary teams to provide support to pregnant women, babies, children, young people and parents.

They offer a wide range of community-based assistance on a preventative basis, based on the requirements of children and families when they need it, for as long as they need it.

This includes individual or family support, support during or after pregnancy, peer support, family-group decision-making, parenting support groups and therapeutic interventions.

Also available are groups and activities for children and young people, including group work for teens, summer activities and outdoor learning.

In their second year, the hubs have built upon the success they had generated from the start.

During this most-recent period, 75% of new referrals to Children and Families Social Work were dealt with by the hubs, up 14% from the previous year, and 87% of families referred for social work assessment during the pre-birth stage were supported by the Family Support Hubs rather than statutory social work teams, an increase of 7%.

A notable development this year was the implementation of the Parents’ Plan approach to address concerns for unborn babies and any possible need for child protection procedures at the pre-birth stage.

Also encouraging was that 96% of parents who attended the You and Your Child programme reported an improved understanding of their child’s developmental needs and how to meet them, and that increased numbers of fathers have participated this year both specifically in the Dad’s Group and in general across the other programmes.

Parents have reported that the benefits brought by the hubs have made real and positive changes to their lives.

One said: “I was brought to tears with finally having someone to listen and someone who cared. I felt like I had a lifeline.”

Another added: “This has really made me feel more alive and growing in confidence dealing with my family.”

The Chair of the council’s Social Work Resources Committee, Councillor Margaret Walker, said: “The Family Support Hubs are now well established and it is great to see that they are ensuring that, even more than ever, children, young people and their families are getting the help and support they need in what can be very challenging circumstances.”

Professor Soumen Sengupta, Chief Officer of South Lanarkshire University Health and Social Care Partnership said: “Our Family Support Hubs, and the successes of the staff who run them, are a shining example of what can be achieved when we work together across services and sectors with a shared commitment to improving the lives of children and families.”

Find out more about the Family Support Hubs in this video here.