Majority of children's centres expect funding cut

4Children’s annual census of children’s centres found that 57 per cent expect to see funding decline in 2015, while a further 22 per cent are unsure what will happen to their budgets.

The census of 421 managers working across 879 children’s centres – around one in four of all centres in England – also shows that three quarters are seeing a shift in how their budgets are spent. Of this group, 92 per cent said there is a move towards more targeted services from universal provision.

The findings appear to back up previous concerns raised by the National Children's Bureau that funding cuts from local authorities are resulting in open access children’s centre services being reduced with limited resources being focused on more “at risk” groups.

The most common universal services include stay and play sessions, parenting advice, breastfeeding support and health check-ups. Targeted support includes help with domestic abuse, child protection, speech and language therapy and employment support.

Another consequence of the funding squeeze is the increasing number of centres that are having their structure changed – whether in terms of opening hours or reductions in services. The census found that 52 per cent of managers expect to see changes to their organisation structure next year, with 44 per cent of standalone centres anticipating becoming part of a cluster of centres and three per cent fearing closure.  

Anne Longfield said: “Children’s centres are focusing their limited resources on targeted services which will help families who are struggling to cope with family life and, in many cases, facing multiple and complex problems. However some universal services must remain as they are vital to encourage disadvantaged families to come through the doors of their local children’s centre in the first place and ensure that all families in the area benefit.

“It is essential to prevent further budget cuts because we know that investing in families who are beginning to struggle is a more cost-effective way to use limited resources rather than waiting until problems have escalated into costly crisis.”

The census also found that the number of people using children’s centres rose by 50,000 to a total of 1.05 million, of which more than one third are vulnerable families.

Last month, latest data showed local government funding for children's centres and early years services had reduced by £400m over three years.