News
Sure Start children’s centres continue to be under threat
24 Feb 2011
A recent online survey conducted by 4Children and the Daycare Trust has found that around 7% of children's centres are expected to close within a year, 56% expect to offer a reduced service and 86% will face cuts to their funding.
Around 3,500 centre managers were surveyed and a total of 917 responded between 20 and 25 January. Children's centre managers were asked how many families used the setting, whether staff had been issued with redundancy warnings, if they had any indications about their 2011/12 budget, and what they expected to happen this time next year.
The charities said that if these findings were replicated across all centres in England, it would lead to about 250 closures and 2,000 providing a reduced service.
The survey asked local authorities “Are you able to give a commitment to keeping all your existing Children’s Centres open in 2011/12?”
It found that:
- 39% of Local Authorities (59) were able to agree with the statement
- 19% of Local Authorities (39) were not able to agree with the statement but said that they had “no plans” to close their existing Sure Start Children’s Centres
- 42% of Local Authorities (62) either will make closures, had not finalised a decision on closures, or did not respond to our request
Anne Longfield, chief executive of 4Children, said:
Local authorities need to find new ways to ensure Sure Start Children's Centres ‘earn their keep’ by allowing them to become genuine hubs for all children and families services in communities, reducing replication and improving impacts. This will lead to real savings in the longer term.
Anand Shukla, acting chief executive of Daycare Trust, said:
The tragedy of these cuts is that the full extent of Sure Start's impact on children's development will only be achieved in the long term - and the impending closure of so many centres means this investment will not now be fully realised.
These findings follow separate studies published by Frank Field and Labour MP Graham Allen, which both highlighted the importance of investing in the early years.
Frank Field MP, Government adviser on poverty and life chances said:
It is inconceivable that we can make the Foundation Years effective if Sure Start Children’s Centres all over the place are being slaughtered. Local Authorities must seek to employ innovative methods to ensure families – especially the poorest families – do not lose the vital support they need.
Read the press release from 4Children and the Daycare Trust.
