The 20 Sure Start centres will be renamed early support centres, with eight centres acting as the main hubs supporting the remainder of centres, which will deliver services targeting resources to the most vulnerable children in their area.
Over time it is hoped that all locally commissioned services, school-based support services and family support services will be, where possible, brought together in the centres to create integrated early help for children and their families.
Councillor Mark Stocks, portfolio holder for children and young people’s services, said: "The recent changes will not affect service delivery. People will be able to access the hub centres five days a week and all of the usual services offered at spoke centres will remain untouched but might simply be rescheduled to a different day.
"If you live near a ‘spoke’ centre, you can phone or visit your ‘hub’ centre on a non-service delivery day and all of the professionals that you need will be on hand."
The proposals are the first step in focusing services in Cheshire West and Chester to the most vulnerable families.
Plans are still underway to allow staff to be more easily deployed to meet the needs of families across the authority as part of the council's early intervention strategy.
