Good news & highlights blog
LGBTQ+ Pride Month – and your free ‘PRIDE guide’
June is Pride month in the UK and across the world. Pride brings people together to celebrate and recognise the progress of LGBTQ+ (lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans, queer) rights and the influence LGBTQ+ people have had worldwide.
While the month is about celebration, it’s also about acceptance, equality and support.
Many of Bradford District’s parents, carers, young people and members of the workforce identify as LGBTQ+ and we are showing our support to all our families and colleagues across this month (and always!)
It’s never too early for children to learn about different families
Learning about different family units with children is a great way to embrace differences.
Keep it uncomplicated – answer children’s questions in simple words they can understand.
Story books are a great way to show children that families come in different shapes and sizes - and the most important thing is that they love each other! Try Bradford District’s libraries to see what’s available.
We have also produced a ‘PRIDE guide’ poster, informed by information on the BBC Tiny Happy People website, to help!
How can you get involved in PRIDE?
- Download and print out the free ‘PRIDE guide’ poster and display in family facing areas – the poster is about talking to younger children about LGBTQ families and Pride.
- Take time to look at the support available for LGBTQ+ young people and family members that is featured on the FYI website and other sources such as Yorkshire MESMAC – so that if you need to provide support or signposting you are well equipped with information. On the FYI website head to the Services Directory or What’s On guide, and use the search terms LGBT or LGBTQ to find featured services.
- Go to a PRIDE event to celebrate and show your support – there is a family friendly PRIDE event at Bowling Park on Saturday 14 June, organised by Bradford 2025.
- Please follow the FYI Facebook page to keep in touch with PRIDE posts throughout this month. Other social media accounts such as Bradford Council will also share useful links and information.
Birth registration now available at Bradford District’s Family Hubs
From 6 May, families in the Bradford District have the option of registering their baby’s birth at three of Bradford District’s Family Hubs.
We are now able to share that in the first three weeks, 69 babies' births have been registered across Reevy Hill, Barkerend and Farcliffe Family Hubs.
The birth registration service is available for one day each week at each of the following hubs:
- Reevy Hill Family Hub (Tuesdays)
- Barkerend Family Hub (Wednesdays)
- Farcliffe Family Hub (Thursdays)
Offering birth registration at the Family Hubs brings more choice and convenience to families. The usual birth registration service, at Bradford’s City Hall and Keighley Town Hall, also continues as normal.
This extension of the birth registration service will be trialled until March 2026. Over the coming months, feedback will be gathered from families, and usage analysed, to inform next steps and development of a plan for the future.
Councillor Sue Duffy, Bradford Council's executive member for children and families, said: “Birth registration is an important milestone in every new baby’s life. I am delighted that through offering birth registration at Bradford District’s Family Hubs, we are bringing the service closer to families, while offering more choice.
“I hope that through using this expanded birth registration service, many families will take up the opportunity to visit the family hubs, perhaps for the first time, and find out more about the fantastic programme of free support and activities available to them as they welcome their new baby into the world.”
We would like to say a big thank you to all the workforce involved in making this happen and providing this fantastic service to families.
Read the news announcing the new service on Bradford Council's website: Birth registration now available at Bradford District’s Family Hubs
Reflect, Connect, Expect - partnership event on 21st January 2025
The Family Hubs Start for Life programme held a partnership event on 21st January to reflect on what we have achieved to date, connect with each other, and think about what we can expect for the future.
We welcomed around 100 colleagues to Victoria Hall in Saltaire and heard from a range of presenters.
Over the course of the day, we heard from:
- Marium Haque, Strategic Director for Children's Services at Bradford Council
- Lydia Hutchings, from the Department for Health and Social Care
- Family Hub Start for Life programme team
- FYI website team (Bradford Council)
- Early Help and Family Hub teams (Bradford Children and Families Trust)
- Service providers: Baby Steps (Action for Children), Incredible Years (Barnardos), Little Minds Matter (Bradford District Care Trust), Family Action, Bradford District Care Trust (Infant Feeding) and Health for All
- Parents from the Family Hub Start for Life parent and carer panel
Following the event we shared a feedback survey with colleagues and partners who attended. 31 people took part in the survey and we got some fantastic insights. Thank you to everyone who took the time to feed back.