SureStart Info is your local centre affected?

[Pipsqueak]

Information taken from the facebook page of the DayCare Trust

http://www.facebook.com/#!/notes/day...93764360648900



.Parents called upon to make their voices heard

17 February 2011

New research out today presents a mixed picture for the future of Sure Start Children's Centres, as local authorities across the country reveal their plans for centre closures.

The survey by 4Children, Daycare Trust and Nursery World was carried out as local authorities set their budgets for the year for the first time since the removal of the ring-fence on the Sure Start grant in October's Comprehensive Spending Review. This gives local authorities new power to determine how much they spend on Sure Start provision in their area. The results show that whilst many have prioritised protecting the future of their Sure Start Children's Centres, significant numbers in local authorities across England remain at risk of closure in the next 12 months.

By law1, all Local Authorities have a duty to ensure that appropriate consultation has been carried out before closing a Children's centre or making dramatic changes to the provision of Children's Centre services.

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 (29) 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
These findings are released on the same day that a new poll of 2,000 mums conducted in conjunction with parenting club Bounty sees parents speak out about how much they value Sure Start, and express their fears for the future of their local Children's Centre.

That poll showed:

■83% of mums who used their Sure Start Children's Centre felt that councils should be required to spend all their Sure Start funding on Sure Start, rather than other services.
■15% were aware that some services would be cut, and 6% thought that existing staff would be losing their jobs
■When asked about the impact on their family if access to the Sure Start Children's Centre was removed or limited, a majority of mums who use a Centre felt that it would be harder for them and their child to meet other local families (53%). In addition 35% felt that they would feel isolated, 32% would find it harder to see their midwife or health visitor, 29% would miss out on advice with parenting skills, and 28% felt that their child's development would suffer.
■The most popular Sure Start service used by Mums was stay and play sessions (63%), followed by health visitor (53%), rhyme/story time (34%) and midwife support/advice on breastfeeding (26%)
Anand Shukla, acting Chief Executive of Daycare Trust said:

"These local authorities have demonstrated that Sure Start closures are not inevitable. While we understand that there are tough spending decisions to be made, we know that investing in children today is an investment in the future of our society and economy. Our survey with Bounty mums shows how passionate parents are about Sure Start. They hugely value the services they can access, and see the benefits to their children's development.

We hope that councils will listen to their local residents, who are forming strong campaigns across the country to fight these cuts. It is now clear beyond doubt that families will not stand back and watch short-term cost-cutting decisions close down the services provided in their much loved Children's Centres."

Anne Longfield OBE, Chief Executive of 4Children said:

"It is good news that a growing number of Councils are making a public commitment to keeping their Sure Start Children's Centres open - it shows that it is possible to put families first even when times are tough financially. But this survey also proves that many parents still are right to worry, with a large number of local authorities yet to finalise their future plans, and some publicly acknowledging likely Children's Centre closures.



"Sure Start has never been more crucial as families struggle to offer the best start for their children and those facing unemployment or family problems will find it hard to escape from their troubles without the support these Centres offer. The next few weeks are critical for the future of Children's Centres: local and national decision makers must stand ready to step in to ensure such vital services are not lost forever."

Liz Roberts, Editor of Nursery World said:

"The importance of early intervention in maximising young children's life chances is now accepted, but a strong network of Sure Start Children's Centres is a vital element. We need everybody to show support and make as much noise as over the forest sell-offs. We should make sure that young children's needs are seen as important as those of the nation's trees!"

4Children, Daycare Trust and Nursery World are calling on Local Authorities to prioritise funding for Sure Start Children's Centres; parents to voice their concerns to their Local Authority and for Central Government to monitor this situation closely to ensure that Sure Start Children's Centres continue to play a key role in the future of family support.

The survey was carried out between Monday 7th February and Thursday 11th February, when the press offices of 150 Local Authorities in England were contacted. 21 Local Authorities did not respond to the request

Local Authorities that gave a commitment to keeping all their Children's Centres open in 2011/12:

Bath & North East Somerset

Bournemouth

Bristol

Buckinghamshire

Bury

Calderdale

Cambridgeshire

Central Bedfordshire

Darlington

Devon

Doncaster

Durham

Ealing

East Riding of Yorkshire

Essex

Greenwich

Hackney

Halton

Hammersmith and Fulham

Harrow

Hartlepool

Herefordshire

Hertfordshire

Hounslow

Hull

Isle of Wight

Islington

Leicestershire

Lewisham

Lincolnshire

Medway

Merton

North Somerset

North Yorkshire

Northamptonshire

Northumberland

Nottingham

Nottinghamshire

Oldham

Peterborough

Poole

Redbridge

Redcar and Cleveland

Richmond upon Thames

Sandwell

Solihull

Somerset

Southend-on-Sea

St Helens

Stoke-on-Trent

Suffolk

Surrey

Swindon

Tameside

Tower Hamlets

Trafford

Wiltshire

Wolverhampton

Worcestershire



Local Authorities that were not able to agree with the statement but said that they had "no plans" to close their existing Sure Start Children's Centres:

Bexley

Birmingham

Blackburn with Darwen

Bracknell Forest

Brent

Croydon

Derbyshire

Dudley

Hillingdon

Kent

Luton

Manchester

Middlesbrough

Milton Keynes

Newcastle upon Tyne

Norfolk

North Tyneside

Oxfordshire

Reading

Rutland

Stockport

Sutton

Walsall

Wandsworth

Warrington

West Berkshire

Westminster

Wokingham

York



Bounty ran their Word of Mum omnibus survey between 17th and 26th January 2011 and interviewed 2260 mums (including pregnant women and those with a youngest child aged 0-2).



1The Apprenticeship, Skills, Children and Learning Act 2009, states that: An English local authority must secure that such consultation as they think appropriate is carried out-

■(a) before making arrangements under section 3(2) for the provision of a children's centre;
■(b) before any significant change is made in the services provided through a relevant children's centre;
■(c) before anything is done that would result in a relevant children's centre ceasing to be a children's centre.

[JCrakers]

Glad to hear Leics is staying open as my friend works there.

[Mouse]

Ours come into the 3rd category - those that won't say anything They are looking at closing several here.

[mufftie]

ive said before i hate sure start so ill be glad to see the back of them

[Mouse]

ive said before i hate sure start so ill be glad to see the back of them

But what a waste of all the time & money that's gone into setting them up. Some of ours are only a couple of years old, if that. They're fantastically well equipped and have cost a fortune to build.

[mufftie]

But what a waste of all the time & money that's gone into setting them up. Some of ours are only a couple of years old, if that. They're fantastically well equipped and have cost a fortune to build.

totally agree there

[Mouse]

I might suggest they donate all the equipment to the childminders

[mamasheshe]

Norfolk safe for now

[RachelE]

Ours seem to be safe for the time being.

I have to say, that our centre is great. They are really good to us 4 childminders!

The building houses the preschool to, so I bet they are rather worried!

The staff are all really friendly and it'd be a huge shame for it to go.

I think they have way overspent though on resources, which might have kept them going a bit longer!?

Rachel x

[rickysmiths]

ive said before i hate sure start so ill be glad to see the back of them

Oh I agree with you. Ours cost a fortune and I don't know why. Get ride of them and put the money back into Heath Visitors and Midwives who help all mums.

[Pipsqueak]

The principle of surestart is good and the original intentions. I think services under one roof that targets the most needy in society and welcomes in the rest is great - however its no good if teh people who are supposed to be delivering these services have no clue.

ours are safe apparently

[RachelE]

health visitors and midwives dont do the same jobs as a toddler group, a music group or any other baby/ toddler groups.

We live in a rural town and have many new people moving to the town. These groups are very important to these parents. And, having them all in the same place is ideal.

Maybe we're just lucky!?

Rachel x

[rickysmiths]

health visitors and midwives dont do the same jobs as a toddler group, a music group or any other baby/ toddler groups.

We live in a rural town and have many new people moving to the town. These groups are very important to these parents. And, having them all in the same place is ideal.

Maybe we're just lucky!?

Rachel x

I think you are. Our centre, even though they boasted how it cost £250,000 for a small office and a disabled toilet and 5 car car park, no outside plat area, the small meeting room is part of the school to which it is attached is not big enough to house the Heath Visitors or midwives.

Yes it does hold various groups and classes but they are nothing more than is available in the local community anyway and are often run by the same companies that run them in the CC.

There is no reason why the Health visitors and midwives couldn't direct the mothers to these. At least they see all new mothers both vunerable and not, just because you are not in a low income bracket does not mean you take to motherhood or don't suffer PND and need lots of support and confidence building.

[miffy]

Looks like our area is safe for now - good!

Miffy xx

[miffy]

I might suggest they donate all the equipment to the childminders

Now that is an excellent idea!

Miffy xx

[Pipsqueak]

Even better - hand over the running of surestart to us minders.......

[mama2three]

Looks like our area is safe for now - good!

Miffy xx

I wouldnt be too sure. Our village centre has no planned groups at all - ok it hasnt officially 'closed' but it may as well have done. Childminders are allowed to use the room 1 morning a week , we provide all our own 'consumable resources' - otherwise nothing. x

[The Juggler]

ours are all staying open for now I think. I think if anything the satellite centres will close (those running groups at libraries etc).

I really hope ours stays open as it is a really good one with an excellent CM friendly manager.