EARLY YEARS CONSULTATION
Aim of Project
At the end of 2023, we were commissioned by Walsall Council to conduct consultation work with the Walsall North Family Hub. The four Walsall Family Hubs offer safe spaces for young people aged 0-19 (up to 25 for those with additional needs) and their families to access advice and support for healthcare, education, and more.
We have been investigating the accessibility of services for various communities and the low uptake of vaccinations for babies and children aged 0-2 years old in the North Borough of Walsall. This consultation involves working alongside GP practices, professionals in the early years sector, and the North Locality Family Hub to capture the lived experiences of families within the Blakenall area. We have been conducting this through a series of:
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Family forums
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Interviews
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Empowerment workshops
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Wider community meetings
The findings from our consultation research has been documented through a series of professionally produced audible and visual educational content episodes and training resources. The research will be used to inform improvements to the local service provisions and to develop more accessible preventative services to prevent the escalation of needs.
Delivery
We commenced our consultation by conducting in-person questionnaires with parents and carers of 0-5 year olds in North Walsall. We visited the Walsall North Family Hub to speak with parents at WHG’s kindness pop-up shop event and also stopped by Palace Play, Shop, Eat in Blakenall to hear the voices of parents in the community.
Following this, we invited parents and carers to a focus group forum that we hosted to better understand the community needs from the perspective of the families. The forum allowed us to get into a conversation with the families about their thoughts on local healthcare offerings, other services and amenities in the area, and the forms of support that they receive from the Council. The forum also served as an empowerment session for the parents and carers.
From our focus group, we interviewed several attendees on a 1-to-1 basis to gain further insight into parents' experiences with early years help, health services, and the Council.
During April, we brought together professionals working across the early years sector in Walsall to share their experiences in a Community Leaders Forum..
Most recently, we conducted 1-to-1 interviews in our studio with some of the professionals to dive deeper into their experiences working in their sectors.
