What we do?

HCRG Care Group deliver a ‘Family Hub’ service in partnership with Barnardo’s across Essex. It is named locally as the Essex Child and Family Wellbeing Service (ECFWS) and it is commissioned by Essex County Council (ECC).

The services provided by the Essex Child and Family Wellbeing Service began on 01 April 2017.

Pre-Birth to 19 Years (up to 25 for those with SEND)

A large part of the ECFWS service that we operate includes the delivery of integrated child and family services across Essex for pre-birth to 19 years (PB19)

These are made up of services historically referred to as:

• 0-5 Healthy Child Programme
• Healthy Schools Programme
• 5-19 Healthy Child Programme
• Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) support up to 25 years
• Children in Care
• Safeguarding Services
• Management of Family Hubs and satellite Healthy Family Delivery Sites (previously known as Children’s Centres).

All of these activities have been gathered under a single family hub service offer and are now collectively known as the ‘Essex Child & Family Wellbeing Service.’ We deliver them across Essex (excluding Southend-on-Sea and Thurrock, which are separate unitary authorities).

The services are delivered and managed within four geographical Essex quadrants that mirror the
local government districts:

• Mid (Braintree, Chelmsford, Maldon)
• North (Colchester, Tendring)
• South (Basildon, Brentwood, Rochford, Castle Point)
• West (Epping Forest, Harlow, Uttlesford)

Children and young people can access services up to the age of 19 years or for SEND families up to
the age of 25 years.

All face-to-face services are provided by 29 integrated, geographically based multidisciplinary teams (HFTs) which include colleagues from both HCRG Care Group and Barnardo’s.

All services and activities are outcome focused and are designed to meet one or more of the 27
outcome measures that have been commissioned to us.

As part of our delivery of this service, we have four sub-contracts in place with Essex-based charities. These are:

• Youth Enquiry Service (YES)
• Home-Start North Essex (Colchester and Harwich)
• Home-Start Essex
• Community 360

Additional community services in West Essex

HCRG Care Group provide specialist children’s community health services in West Essex. These services were commissioned alongside the PB19 services that we run across Essex, and therefore also commenced on 01 April 2017.

The specialist services in West Essex are commissioned to us by Hertfordshire and West Essex Integrated Care Board. The services are as follows:

• Developmental Medical Services
• Designated Medical Officer for SEND
• Paediatrics
• Occupational Therapy
• Physiotherapy
• Speech and Language Therapy and Dysphagia
• Children’s Community Nursing
• Specialist School Nursing
• Specialist Neurodevelopmental Nursing
• Children’s Community Dietetics
• Allergy Clinic
• Continence Service

Neurodevelopmental pathway service in North East Essex

HCRG Care Group started running the Neurodevelopmental pathway service in North East Essex on 01 September 2021. It is a brand new service for children and young people up to the age of 25 and their families who are living with a neurodevelopment disorder.

SET Keyworker Service

The SET Keyworker Service has been run by HCRG Care Group across Essex since 01 Feb 2023. SET stands for Southend, Essex and Thurrock. The service has been devised in line with the NHS Long Term Plan which includes a commitment that ‘by 2023/24 children and young people (C&YP) with a learning disability and/or who are autistic with the most complex needs, will have a designated keyworker’

The primary goal of the service is to reduce the number of C&YP in an inpatient setting, reduce unnecessary or avoidable admissions and support step-down transition for C&YP into the community as early as suitable.

SET Affinity Programme

The Affinity Programme commenced under HCRG Care Group on 01 September 2021. It runs across Southend, Essex and Thurrock (SET). This is an NHS England Vanguard service commissioned through Essex County Council.

The service is a targeted early intervention project working across all of Essex, including the unitary authorities of Southend and Thurrock, for children who are at risk of exclusion from education due to their behaviour. The programme provides support to children and young people from age five up to their 16th birthday along with providing support to the family and the school.