Children's centres disappear at rate of 10 a month
Gabriella Jozwiak
Thursday, February 2, 2017
The number of children's centres that have been closed or downgraded has increased by more than 100 in the past 10 months, taking the total to 1,130 since 2010.
Analysis of latest Department for Education data by CYP Now shows that there are currently 3,242 children's centre sites in England, but 741 of these have can no longer officially be categorised as full children's centres because service provision does not meet the necessary criteria.
This means there are 2,501 official children's centres in England - a reduction of 1,130 from 2010 when there were 3,631 children's centres across the country.
In April last year, a Freedom of Information request by CYP Now revealed there were 1,026 fewer children's centres, meaning the number closed has increased by 104 in the past 10 months - a rate of more than 10 a month.
The figures do not include children's centres earmarked for closure in 2017. In January Kirklees Council announced plans to close more than 20 children's centres.
Knowsley Council, which runs 11 children's centres, is currently consulting on plans to save £511,000 from its children's centre budget.
Action for Children director of policy and campaigns Kate Mulley said the increase in the number of children's centre closures was "extremely worrying".
"Good child development before age five is linked to better education, employment and health in later life," she said.
"Many children and families need the early support offered through parenting programmes, family learning and early years education services.
"The closures raise questions on how we can improve children's life chances in the early years," she continued.
"It's time for the government to provide a clear direction about the role that children's centres can play in local communities to improve the lives of disadvantaged children and deliver their promise to promote social mobility."
The Department for Education has confirmed it will launch a consultation on the future of children's centres in 2017, after announcing it had dropped the life chances strategy in which the consultation was due to be included.
Barnardo's assistant director for policy Jonathan Rallings urged the government to launch the consultation "as soon as possible".
"One of the concerning things is that the longer the government prevaricates over not holding its consultation, the more likely it is that local authorities are going to come under pressure to prioritise other services," he said.
"For all of the encouraging rhetoric we've heard about helping families and early intervention, we find it hard to understand how the government will actually deliver that if it doesn't have children's centres in place.
"They are the key service that is universal and accessible for people between having contact with a health visitor and school starting.
"Children's centres should be a key part of the government's machinery - they are as important as schools," he added.
Government figures published in September show that councils intend to spend around £90m less on children's centres in 2016/17 than they did in 2015/16.
A DfE spokeswoman said: "Giving children the best start in life and supporting working families with the costs of childcare will help to ensure this is a country that works for everyone, not just the privileged few. We are investing a record £6bn in childcare per year by 2020 and this includes extra support for disadvantaged families.
"Many councils are merging centres to allow services to be delivered more efficiently. Where they decide to close a children's centre site, they must demonstrate that the outcomes for children would not be adversely affected and will not compromise the duty to have sufficient children's centres to meet local need."