One of the biggest is to ensure children's centre services become an established and valued part of communities, says Julie Williams, 4Children's head of children's services in the North of England.
The key is getting parents onside. "It's about letting them be the voice of the centre, getting them to take ownership of it and get involved in decision-making, monitoring and evaluation," she says.
Getting the message out there is vital and if that means knocking on every single door in a neighbourhood then that's what centre staff must do.
"Teams go out knocking on doors street by street and do pick up families who wouldn't necessarily have hooked into any other services," says Williams. Post offices where people collect benefits, health clinics and schools are other places where children's centre staff can draw in parents.
Williams is based at Leeds City and Holbeck Children's Centre and oversees a range of services in the North, including a creche service serving 27 children's centres in Leeds, out-of-school clubs, nurseries attached to children's centres and advice for independent sector providers. She believes funding and sustainability are the other key challenges for children's centre leaders.
No one knows funding levels beyond 2011 and the forthcoming general election and tough economic climate add to the uncertainty. Meanwhile, children's centres have a crucial role in supporting families through the credit crunch.
"More parents are losing jobs and many feel very demoralised and can't see a way out," says Williams. "So we're trying to help them get back to work or take a new direction through positive opportunities like going back to college."
There are real opportunities for centres to join forces with colleges and training providers to help families and tackle unemployment. Partnership and integrated working generally is the key to centres' long-term future, says Williams.
That includes sharing information to ensure the most vulnerable families don't slip off the radar.
"From Sure Start we've moved to services in every community so everyone gets a bite of the apple," she says.
"Children's centres and extended schools dovetail really well and the hope is children's centres become statutory care and don't disappear. It's the right way forward."
TOP TIPS
- Make your centre the single point of contact for local family services. This helps continuity and aids communication between agencies and families
- Search for funding streams through colleges and local providers to enable parents to access training.
