Peterborough considers funding parent-led centres

Peterborough City Council is considering offering a £100,000 package of support to help parents, as well as schools, childcare providers and a parish council, deliver services from facilities it had earmarked for closure as part of plans to save £1.2m.

The proposal is an amendment to plans put forward by the council in November last year.

It wanted to close eight of the city’s 15 children’s centres, leaving three outreach centres and four universal “super hubs”, where all families could access a range of services, including health, education and housing.

But an eight-week public consultation revealed a number of concerns about the potential lack of provision in areas where centres were proposed for closure.

Parents were unsuccessful in calling on the council to backtrack on its reorganisation of children's centres, but have instead volunteered to run some of them.

As a result, the council has amended its proposals and now wants to retain the eight centres earmarked for closure, offering alternative community-led support from them.

Commenting on the amended proposals, councillor Sheila Scott, cabinet member for Peterborough's children’s services, said: “Parents have told us they wanted the centres to continue as they are but unfortunately doing nothing is not an option.

“However we have listened to parents’ concerns and hope the £100,000 package of measures we are putting forward will go some way to allay their fears and also ensure that parents continue to get support in the communities in which they live.

“The children’s centre hubs and outreach centres will continue to support parents in the most deprived areas of the city to ensure those families in greatest need can access them.

“In this very difficult financial climate we need to ensure that the services we provide are giving the most support to those in greatest need and therefore we need to change the way our children’s centres are used.”

The proposals will go before the council’s cabinet on Monday.