The past five years have been tough for children's centres, defined by belt tightening and closures, to which Palfrey Sure Start Children's Centre has not been immune.
The Walsall centre has endured budget cuts, job losses and has also had to absorb the work of nearby Chuckery & Paddock Children's Centre, which closed in April. "We have had cuts and lost some people," says programme manager Mick Davies. "Others, as a team, decided to go onto fewer hours to save jobs, so that's what we did."
Despite this, the centre is still delivering at the highest level. Ofsted rated Palfrey as "outstanding" when it visited in 2010 and its latest inspection awarded top marks again.
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