Under 5 Referral Pathways: Supporting Pregnant Women, New Mothers and Children Under 5

Newham’s under 5 Task and Finish Group work in partnership to generate and deliver actions that meet the acute needs of pregnant women, new mothers, and children under 5 years of age living in Home Office contingency hotels. One of the main challenges the group initially identified was that families are not always connected to existing support services across the system, and front line staff do not always know what services offer or how to refer.

To strengthen access to support services, the group developed a suite of referral pathways to statutory and voluntary services, including the Acorn Maternity Team (vulnerable women), Health Visitors, Children’s Centres, Newham’s Multi Agency Safeguarding Hub, Newham Nurture, The Magpie Project, and Sister Circle. The referral pathways include anonymous case studies, assisting frontline staff by bringing ‘to life’ examples of how services can support pregnant women, new mothers and children under 5.

Members of the group stress tested partner’s referral pathways to evaluate how they work in practice and identify any areas of improvement. Developing the referral pathways has strengthened collaboration across the system and helped ensure more inclusive and equitable access to services.

In addition, the referral pathways illuminated gaps in support across the system, helping inform the under 5 task and finish group’s next steps and areas of focus.