After hearing feedback from the community for three months, we're making some changes to our Family Centre Service.
Right now, some of our buildings aren't ideal for providing services because of their size or location. Instead, they're used for storage, training our staff, or as office space. So, we're moving our Family Centre Service to different places across our 46 sites.
We'll still run things from our 10 local district bases, but we'll also use 36 other buildings as Family Centres. This change will help our staff focus more on using existing community spaces, making it easier for families to access our services.
We'll also repurpose another 25 buildings that aren't really used for delivering services right now. These buildings will be put to good use in schools or by the local community in other ways over the next few months. Don't worry though, these changes won't affect the fun activities and support we offer to children and families in Hertfordshire.
Find out what’s on in your area.
Latest changes
Below you can find information about the latest changes to the Family Centre Service. We will update this page as more information becomes available.
Repurposing of Park Street and St Stephens Family Centre
- Location - St Albans, West Herts
- Date of change - 27 August 2024
- Further information - This space was a small meeting space and not suitable for families and was therefore predominantly unused by the service. As the premises are not owned by HCC they will return to the landlord who will determine the future use of the premises.
Previous changes
- Repurposing of Bushey Mill Family Centre
- Location - Bushey, South Herts
- Date of change - 6 August 2024
- Further information - This is a very small space and not suitable to run sessions for families and was therefore predominantly unused by the service. The space is being repurposed to Highwood Primary School to support the increasing number of children needing more specialised care, using the space for inclusion and welfare.
- Repurposing of Bluebell Family Centre
- Location - Hitchin, North Herts
- Date of change - 7 August 2024
- Further information - This space was unused due to its remote location making it less accessible to families. The space is being repurposed to Highbury School who will be able to use the space for additional school needs.
- Repurposing of Lime Tree Family Centre
- Location - Letchworth Garden City, North Herts
- Date of change - 12 August 2024
- Further information - This space was unused due to being small and not fit for running sessions for families. The site will be repurposed to Early Birds Pre-School who will use the space to support with additional childcare places.
- Repurposing of Strawberry Fields Family Centre
- Location - Stevenage, North Herts
- Date of change - 12 August 2024
- Further information - This is a very small space and not suitable to run sessions for families and was therefore predominantly unused by the service. The space is being repurposed to the onsite school academy who will use the premises for additional school space.
- Repurposing of Fleetville Family Centre
- Location - St Albans, West Herts
- Date of change - 13 August 2024
- Further information - This is a very small space and not suitable to run sessions for families due to poor access and parking meaning it was predominantly unused by the service. As this is not a HCC owned site the space will return to the landlords to determine its future use.
- Repurposing of Birchwood Family Centre
- Location - Hatfield, East Herts
- Date of change - 24 July 2024
- Further information - This space is unused by the service and will be repurposed by Birchwood Nursery who will be able to increase their 2 year old childcare spaces to support more families in Hatfield needing childcare.
- Repurposing of The Runway Family Centre
- Location - Hatfield, East Herts
- Date of change - 18 July 2024
- Further information - This space is unused by the service and will be repurposed by Howe Dell Primary School to support with extra space at the school.
- Repurposing of Rickmansworth Family Centre
- Location - Rickmansworth, South Herts
- Date of change - 19 July 2024
- Further information - This space is unused by the service and will be repurposed by Shepherds Primary School who will be able to utilise the space to expand their wraparound childcare offer.
- Repurposing of York Road Family Centre
- Location - Hitchin, North Herts
- Date of change - 8 July 2024
- Further information - This space is unused by the service and will be repurposed by York Road Nursery School who will be able to utilise the space to increase their early years childcare places.
- Repurposing of Tenterfield Family Centre
- Location - Welwyn, East Herts
- Date of change - 8 July 2024
- Further information - This space is unused by the service and will be repurposed by Tenterfield Nursery School who will be able to utilise the space to continue offering nurture groups to support children’s personal, social and emotional development.
- Repurposing of Three Parks Family Centre
- Location - Broxbourne, East Herts
- Date of change - 3 July 2024
- Further information - This space is unused by the service and will be repurposed by Rye Park Nursery School who will be able to utilise the space to increase their early years childcare places.
- Repurposing of Batford Family Centre
- Location - St Albans, West Herts
- Date of change - 3 July 2024
- Further information - This space is unused by the service and will be repurposed by Batford Nursery School who will be able to utilise the space to increase their early years childcare places.
- Repurposing of Arlesdene Family Centre
- Location – Cheshunt, East Herts
- Date of change – 28 June 2024
- Further information – This space is unused by the service so will be repurposed by Arlesdene Nursery and Pre-School, who work collaboratively with Amwell.
View School to support SEND families, providing essential space for these families whilst they are waiting for a place at Amwell View School to support children with Severe Learning Difficulties (SLD).
- Repurposing of Chorleywood and Loudwater Family Centre
- Location – Chorleywood
- Date of change – 11 June 2024
- Further information – This is small office space in the library which has not been used by the Family Centre for some time so will be repurposed by the library who were keen to take back the space for internal needs.
- Repurposing of Shenley Family Centre
- Location – Shenley
- Date of change – 31 May 2024
- Further information – These premises were not used by the Family Centre Service to run sessions or services from. It is very small and used only for office space. It is located on the grounds of Shenley Primary School and moving forward will be used directly by the school to support with additional space.
- Repurposing of The Lanes Family Centre
- Location – Chipperfield, Watford
- Date of change – 31 March 2024
- Further information – These premises were not used by the Family Centre Service to run sessions or services from. It is very small and used only for office space. It is located on the grounds of St Paul's Church of England Voluntary Aided Primary School and moving forward will be used directly by the school to support with additional space.