A Family Hub has been opened in Ferndown – the first one of its kind in Dorset.

The hub is located at The Centre in Trickett’s Cross, and will enable families to access support and services for children and young people.

It is the first of a planned network of Family Hubs across the county, which will offer integrated support to enable families to care for their children from conception, throughout the early years, and into the start of adulthood, with services aimed at young people aged zero to 25.

Families have said that they sometimes experience difficulty dealing with different services and have to ‘re-tell their story’ with various professionals. This is often particularly the case for disadvantaged and vulnerable families, who find there is no single point of access for family services that helps families to navigate and receive the wide-ranging support that they might need.

Dorset Council and its partners are focusing on creating a network of places and spaces (physically and online) for children, young people and their families to easily access a range of services. The physical places will be located in venues such as community centres, public libraries, schools or even retail spaces. Family Hubs are designed to be welcoming places to access support services such as NHS health visitors, midwives, early years practitioners, voluntary, community and faith sector partners without needing an appointment or having to travel too far. There will also be opportunities to make friends in the community through activities and to get online for additional services.

Dorset Council’s portfolio holder for Children, Education and Early Help, Cllr Andrew Parry, said: “We are excited to see the opening of the Ferndown Family Hub, which will strengthen the support and services we deliver for children, young people and their families. This is the first of a trailblazing programme of hubs that we will be rolling out across the county, and there will also be help available online.”

Cllr Cathy Lugg said: “I am very pleased to have been involved with setting up one of the first Family Hubs in Dorset at The Centre, in Trickett’s Cross. It is an opportunity for families to find help and support for a range of issues, in a place they feel comfortable, from a range of partners.”