5 August 2025

A multi-million pound investment in family centres in Redcar & Cleveland overseen by Luke in 2023 has been hailed a success, following new data showing major increases in numbers of parents and children using services.

Improvements included refurbishing nine buildings, extending existing support, and creating new services in partnership with the NHS and charities. The Family Hubs in Loftus, Skelton, Guisborough, and elsewhere in the borough were launched in September 2023.

Statistics released by the council this week show that the improvements have been a success. They reveal that:

• 1,196 parents and children attended Baby Buddies playgroups for new parents last year – more than quadrupling from 294 in 2022
  in April 2025 a total of 76% of babies and toddlers aged 0 to 3 were registered with the service – up from 62% in 2022
• 167 families attended three weekly Sensory Kidz groups for neurodiverse pre-schoolers – which did not exist prior to 2023
• a new ‘tongue-tie’ clinic established in January 2024 has helped 291 babies who previously would have had to travel to Newcastle after a six to eight week wait
• a special new ‘stay and play’ group for dads and their children has been used by 179 individuals.
  

Luke and local Labour councillors celebrating the new Hubs in 2023.

The successful scheme will now be extended to all areas of the country as the Labour Government recently announced an intention to “give every child the best start in life” through the Best Start Family Hubs programme. This will mean that Redcar & Cleveland Borough Council will receive further funding from April 2026.