A school-led model bringing together education, health, housing and family support across Westminster

Queen’s Park Family Hub is one of three family hubs in the City of Westminster. Each hub has different leadership arrangements, which reflect the communities they each serve whilst the underpinning governance arrangements are the same. The integration of services at place are seen as vital in all of the hubs and this is strengthened by a local integrated leadership team around each hub.

Queen’s Park Family Hub sits at the heart of a community where many families face real challenges — overcrowded housing, financial pressures, serious youth violence and health inequalities that all affect children’s wellbeing and school attendance.

As a federation of maintained nursery and primary schools, the London Community Education Federation (LCEF) saw these pressures every day. We recognised that families often turned first to schools when things became difficult, yet the help they needed sat across different systems. The Family Hub has grown to bridge that gap — bringing early help, health, housing and community support into one place, built on the trusted relationships schools already have with families.

Because the hub is led through our federation, the same leadership, values and safeguarding culture run through each setting. This means families experience consistent support from nursery right through to primary school, rather than starting over each time a child moves on.

Queen’s Park Family Hub is a genuinely joined-up offer. Families can drop in for stay-and-play sessions, health visitor clinics or parenting groups, but they can also access practical support with housing, benefits, mental health and attendance. Everything is designed to feel informal and welcoming — no wrong door, no stigma, and no need to keep retelling your story.

The hub is underpinned by a strong network of Navigators who link everything together:

• School Navigators are based in our schools and spot early signs when a family might need extra help — whether that’s attendance, housing or wellbeing.
• Family Navigators stay alongside families for longer, coordinating support between agencies and keeping communication flowing.
• Health Navigators connect midwifery, health visiting and school staff, making sure families can access advice quickly and consistently.

This team approach means families are supported before things escalate. For example, if a child’s attendance drops and the family is struggling with overcrowded housing, our Navigators work directly with Westminster Housing to support. We have also ensured parents have had a voice through bringing consultations to them on school and family hub site. We are excited to see the redesigned housing front door which has had input from all our stakeholders.

We have also built close links with young carers’ services, helping identify children taking on caring roles and connecting them with tailored support. Teachers are better equipped to recognise and respond, and families feel less isolated. The Young Carer’s service has tailored their training and approach in consultation with our nurseries, understanding that often the nursery setting is the one who does home visits and in turn has access to early identification.

Co-production with parents sits at the centre of everything we do. Our Parent Panel shapes the direction of the hub, highlighting what works and where change is needed. When parents told us how hard it was to get mental health advice while waiting for CAMHS, we worked together to facilitate coproduction of a CAMHS Parent Offer. Parents are helping to plan and deliver workshops on managing anxiety, routines, and emotional regulation, supported by CAMHS practitioners. The sessions will built confidence, reduced waiting anxiety and, most importantly, created a community of parents supporting one another.

Families now access support earlier, and attendance and wellbeing have been supported through family hub partnerships. Parents describe feeling more listened to, more confident, and more connected to their community. Professionals work more closely together — sharing information, holding joint meetings, and preventing duplication. The partnership with housing services has had a direct impact on school stability, while the collaboration with CAMHS and young carers’ services has strengthened emotional support for families who might otherwise fall through the gaps.

What makes Queen’s Park Family Hub work is that it starts with trust. Families trust schools — they know us, they see us every day — so it makes sense for early help, health and housing to meet them there. Having Family, School and Health Navigators has created a single, human point of contact that makes navigating services simpler.

Working through a federation gives the model real strength and sustainability. It means we share resources, professional learning and leadership — but most importantly, a shared belief that education is about more than the classroom. The hub shows what’s possible when schools, families and services work side by side to make sure every child has the best start in life.