Purpose

To endorse the Best Start Plan and agree the approach to designating Best Start Family Hubs

PLEASE NOTE: A call-in request was received for this item, this was rejected by the Monitoring Officer on the grounds that it was deemed to be invalid.

Decision

Cabinet received a report which set out Buckinghamshire Council’s proposals to deliver the Government’s Best Start in Life programme through the development of an enhanced Family Hub model, focused on improving outcomes for children in their earliest years and reducing inequalities in child development. The approach recognised that most families were resilient and parent their children without needing additional support from the Council, while ensuring timely and targeted support for those families who did need it.

The Best Start in Life programme required local authorities to strengthen early years and family services to support national ambitions for children’s development, measured through the Good Level of Development (GLD) at the end of the reception year. Buckinghamshire had been set an ambitious statutory target of 80% of children achieving a GLD by 2027/28, alongside a significant improvement for children eligible for free school meals. Achieving this required early, preventative support for families facing greater challenge, rather than universal intervention.

Building on an established network of family centres and a strong system of partnership working, the Council proposed to designate a further two Best Start Family Hubs in areas of higher need and inequality: High Wycombe and Burnham. These hubs would sit within the wider Family Hub Network, providing enhanced, place?based support during pregnancy and the first five years of life for families who needed it most, while maintaining a universal family centre offer which remained open and accessible to all communities across the county.

Elmhurst Family Centre in Aylesbury had been designated as Buckinghamshire’s first Best Start Family Hub from April 2026, acting as an early pathfinder for the programme. Learning from Elmhurst would inform the phased development of Best Start Family Hubs in High Wycombe and Burnham, ensuring a consistent approach which supported family resilience, intervened early where required, and allowed flexibility to respond to local needs.

In High Wycombe, GLD performance data demonstrated a clear case for establishing a Best Start Family Hub to strengthen early support for families experiencing disadvantage. Work was underway to assess which existing family centre site would be most suitable for expansion and co?location, with a recommendation that Cabinet confirmed High Wycombe as a priority location and delegated the final site decision to the Cabinet Member for Education and Children’s Services. Outreach and blended delivery would ensure that support reached families most in need, regardless of the physical hub location.

Burnham had been identified as a priority location due to particularly low GLD outcomes for children from disadvantaged backgrounds, alongside clear constraints within the existing family centre building. The Cabinet report proposed retaining and repurposing the former Day Opportunities Centre in Burnham, rather than proceeding with disposal of the site, to enable relocation and expansion of family services. This would provide a welcoming setting where families could access early help when challenges arose, supporting resilience and preventing escalation, with the aim of establishing the hub by January 2027.

The recommendations in the Cabinet report sought Cabinet agreement to the overall Best Start in Life approach, the designation of new Best Start Family Hub locations, and the strategic use of Council assets to support delivery. Taken together, these proposals would strengthen early intervention while recognising family resilience, ensuring that support would be available when needed and targeted appropriately. This would improve long?term outcomes for children and families and support the Council’s wider ambition to ensure every child in Buckinghamshire had the best possible start in life.

RESOLVED that

a)      the Best Start in Life Programme be endorsed.

b)     following the designation of Elmhurst in Aylesbury, a further two locations for Best Start Family Hubs (BSFH) - High Wycombe and Burnham - be agreed.

c)      authority be delegated to the Cabinet Member for Education and Children’s Services to decide on the site location of the High Wycombe BSFH.

d)     it be agreed to retain the building of the former Adult Day Opportunities centre in Burnham and repurpose, with capital investment, as a BSFH from January 2027 at the earliest (replacing the existing Family Centre in Burnham).

e)      it be agreed to fund a £678,000 Capital Budget to deliver the Best Start Family Hubs, funded from Best Start Grant £338k and Corporate Capital funding £340k from the capital programme contingency. This will be subject to Capital Gateway approval once works costs are confirmed.