The Little Lions Family Hub on Canvey Island, Essex, is hosting a SEND Support Drop-In session today for families with young children who have special educational needs or disabilities. On 26 January 2026, parents and carers can visit the hub to speak with staff from the Additional Needs Early Intervention Team (Essex Child & Family Wellbeing Service) about their child’s development; no formal GP referral is required.
The drop-in runs from 13:00 to 14:00 at Northwick Park Academy, Third Avenue, and is designed for children aged 0–5, whether they have a formal diagnosis or families are seeking early advice on speech, motor skills, and sensory needs. This SEND Support Drop-In typically takes place on the fourth Monday of each month.
Staff from the Essex Child & Family Wellbeing Service (ECFWS) — delivered locally by HCRG Care Group and Barnardo’s — will be available to provide one-to-one guidance and help parents navigate local support networks. The initiative builds on pilot work on Canvey Island that Essex Live and Essex County Council officials have described as informing wider programmes such as Harlow Futures.
These sessions are part of the national Family Hubs and Start for Life programme, which aims to turn local centres into one-stop hubs for family health and early years support. Bringing specialist early-years services onto the island seeks to reduce the need for families to travel to mainland specialist hospitals for initial advice and early intervention.
The site is wheelchair accessible; however, buggies must be left in the designated outdoor buggy park. There is no onsite parking at Northwick Park Academy for hub attendees, so visitors should use nearby residential street parking and observe local restrictions.
For confirmation or queries, attendees can contact the Essex Child & Family Wellbeing Service central line on 0300 247 0013.
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