Creating a Buzz: Bringing The Hive to life in the Central Market 

Over the past week, the Central Market has become the backdrop for something a little different – the launch of The Hive, a new fostering approach built around community, connection and support.

Across three pop-up days, the fostering team brought The Hive into the heart of St Helier, inviting people to stop, ask questions, and explore a different way of thinking about fostering.

It takes a village

The Hive is rooted in a simple idea: it takes a village to raise a child.

Foster families are brought together into small support groups, or “Hives”, where carers and children build strong relationships. Each Hive is supported by a supervising social worker and an experienced hub home carer, creating a network where:

  • Carers can share advice and support
  • Children can build relationships and feel a sense of belonging
  • Families can spend time together through regular activities
  • Practical help, including sleepovers, is available when it’s needed most

This shared approach helps reduce isolation, strengthen placements, and give children a greater sense of belonging, stability and security.

Lauren from the fostering team shared: “We are excited in the fostering team to launch a fostering concept that will enable more support within our fostering community.”

Taking the message into the community

To introduce The Hive, the team set up in a space already filled with energy, connection and community.

Over three days, the pop-ups created opportunities for open, informal conversations, helping answer any questions, and helping people leave with a better understanding of what fostering can look like.

A creative collaboration

To mark the launch, local artist and illustrator Jamie Willow, of DrawnByJamie, transformed the space over the course of five days into a vibrant, beehive-inspired installation.

It showcased the importance of working with local artists to bring vibrancy to shared public spaces, using creativity to make everyday environments more memorable and meaningful.

Reflecting on the project, Jamie said: “Public spaces can be such powerful places for creativity and connection, so I was really excited to help bring The Hive campaign to life in the Central Market. From the beginning, I imagined colourful honeycomb pathways leading people through the space towards the fountain, creating artwork that is playful, vibrant and clearly connected to the visual identity of The Hive.

“I wanted the artwork to support the campaign while also complementing the character of the Market itself, carefully considering how the design would work in such a busy environment with high footfall. Collaborations like this are a great way to celebrate local creativity and show how artists can help make everyday places feel more engaging, and contribute to campaigns in a way that is memorable and full of life.”

You can see more of Jamie’s work at www.drawnbyjamie.art

Working together

The project was a true collaboration between Children’s Services and the Jersey Markets team within Infrastructure.

This joined-up approach reflects the Hive model itself – people working together to create something stronger and more supportive.

Simone, Central & Beresford Street Market Manager, said “This collaboration with Children’s Services was about coming together, having the opportunity to do so in a public space such as the Market worked so well, supporting impactful endeavours truly makes a lasting difference in the community and this is the space to do it.”

Find out more

The Central Market pop-ups marked the beginning of The Hive, with plenty more opportunities to find out more in the coming months.

The fostering team commented: “The engagement we had from the public was encouraging and we welcome anyone who would like to reach out to find out more about The Hive.”

If you think you could make a difference to the life of a child or young person, or simply want to find out more, get in touch: