It comes following Hampshire County Council’s successful launch of the very first hub in Leigh Park in March, and the announcement of another three hubs to be launched this year in Gosport, Andover and Alton.
The next seven locations will complete the final line-up across Hampshire, bringing the county’s total number of areas served by Best Start Family Hubs to 11.
These will be launched in phases, with the next hubs due to arrive in Aldershot, Basingstoke, and Eastleigh by April 2027. Further hubs will then follow in Farnborough, Winchester, Fareham, and the New Forest (Hythe and Dibden) by October 2027. Venues for each location will be confirmed in due course.
Councillor Roz Chadd, Hampshire County Council’s Cabinet Lead Member for Children’s Services, said: “This is a really exciting development that will bring timely, accessible support closer to even more of our communities where there is the greatest need.
“We know that being proactive and providing support at the earliest possible stage leads to the strongest long-term outcomes for children and families. These hubs will make that support available in the very heart of our local communities, in welcoming, inclusive places that families know and trust.
“A huge thank you and well done to everyone involved for working at pace to ensure that critical support reaches families when and where they need it most.”
The continued rollout of Family Hubs across Hampshire forms part of a wider, Government funded programme to help every child get the best start in life and develop the skills needed to be fully ready for school. Designed to support families from pregnancy and early years through to starting school and beyond, each hub provides a one-stop shop combining friendly, practical support from across health, education, social care, and the community and voluntary sector.
Based in areas with the highest levels of deprivation, the hubs offer a range of targeted services, both in-person and online, to support children’s early development, tackle inequality, and empower families to face life’s challenges with greater resilience. Each hub’s offer is developed alongside Local Children’s Partnerships which bring together representatives of schools, early years settings, and voluntary, community and faith groups. Recognising the needs of their local communities, Family Hubs aim to provide parenting help, early learning advice, health visiting, infant feeding support, and signposting to other services in the wider local area.
Each hub is also staffed by a Hub Connector to help families navigate local services, and an Inclusion Practitioner to help young children who have or may have additional needs to access the right support at the earliest opportunity. Both are supported by Outreach Coordinators to raise awareness of Best Start in Life initiatives and activities amongst more isolated and seldom-heard groups.
Details of the remaining locations come as Andover, Gosport and Alton prepare to open their hubs next month, as well as a series of linked ‘network sites’ which will extend the work of the hubs out to other local areas. Official opening events will take place on the following dates:
Gosport – main hub opening event
- Alver Valley Family Centre in Gosport – Friday 30 October, 9.30am – 2.30pm
- Gosport Discovery Centre – Saturday 24 October, 2pm-4pm
- King’s Academy Gosport Community Hub – Thursday 22 October, 5.30pm-7.30pm
- Bridgemary Library – Tuesday 27 October, 10am-12pm
- Spring Meadow Children’s Centre, joined by the team from the Andover Library network site – Thursday 29 October, 2pm-5pm
- Bushy Leaze Children & Families Centre, joined by the team from the Alton Library network site – Tuesday 24 November, 2pm-5pm