Families can now access a wider range of support for babies and young children at Family Centres across Milton Keynes.

The enhanced services come as part of the Government's ‘Best Start in Life’ programme and aims to make it easier for expectant parents and families with children aged five and under to access advice, help and joined-up services close to home.

Extra help will be available around child development, school readiness, and specialist services including Special Educational Needs and Disability (SEND), speech and language, and healthcare from new ‘Best Start in Life’ Practitioners. This team will work across all ten Family Centres.

The number of midwife sessions in Family Centres has doubled over the past four years, and from this month, extra midwifery appointments and postnatal drop-in sessions will be introduced to make sure even more residents can access this expert healthcare.

Families can now access a wider range of support for babies and young children at Family Centres across Milton Keynes. Photo: Milton Keynes City Council

placeholder image — Families can now access a wider range of support for babies and young children at Family Centres across Milton Keynes. Photo: Milton Keynes City Council

NHS midwives monitor the health and wellbeing of both mother and baby, provide advice on pregnancy, birth and newborn care, answer questions, and identify any additional support or healthcare needs.

A record number of families are also being helped to access free early education through the City Council’s Time for Twos scheme.

Eligible families can receive up to 15 hours of fully funded early years education per week for their two-year-old at an approved nursery, pre-school or childminder.

New Government figures show that 84% of eligible two-year-olds in Milton Keynes are taking up their funded place – much higher than the national average of 12%.

Councillor Peter Cannon, Cabinet Member for Children and Young People said: "We want every child in Milton Keynes to have the best possible start in life. By expanding the services available through our Family Centres, we're making it easier for parents to access expert advice, healthcare and early years support in their local community.

“It's also fantastic to see so many families taking up funded childcare through our Time for Twos scheme, helping more children develop the skills and confidence they need before starting school.”

Families can find out more details about their nearest Family Centres at the Milton Keynes City Council website.