Peterborough unveils children centres restructure plans

Peterborough City Council is proposing to create three outreach centres where disadvantaged families would be able to access specialist support to help their children achieve the best start in life.

The move is being proposed by the council as part of a restructure of services in a bid to save £1.2m.

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

The proposals will be discussed by the council's cabinet at a meeting on November 18, when it will also consider the possibility of turning some of the centres it plans to close into pre-schools and nurseries.

Councillor Sheila Scott, cabinet member for children’s services, defended the cuts, saying the proposed changes will better fit the needs of local families.

She said: “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.

“Our proposal to develop ‘super hub’ centres would ensure that our most vulnerable families can access a wider range of services under one roof and outreach centres will support this.

“It has been well reported that parents in this city can struggle to find school places or nursery and pre-school places in their own communities. These proposals put forward a change of use of some centres to potentially increase that provision.”

The council is yet to decide on whether to put the proposals out for public consultation.