A study by Sutton Trust Charity has revealed that the official figures of 500 closures of Sure Start Centres are an underestimate.
It has been reported that as many as 1,000 Sure Start Children’s Centres may have been shut down in England since 2010, doubling the official estimate and leaving many parents concerned about the fate of their own centres as early years support declines.
The Sutton Trust, an education and social mobility foundation, found that there was a lack of clarity in how individual centres are identified and how changes are made, which has led to the underestimate of centres being closed. The study warns that this is the tipping point and that further reductions to services are to come as local authorities continue to budget with shrinking funding. These cuts in services means that access to early years provisions are varying across the country and that many centres are only offering a fraction of the support they once did, furthering the decline in social equality and resulting in thousands of parents and children missing out on vital services.
The Sutton Trust said that if the government was serious about social mobility, it must reconnect with the original aims of Sure Start. The trust recommends the introduction of national guidance aimed at stopping the closures of children’s centres, and the publication of a long-delayed review of early years services. So far, the bulk of the closures have been concentrated in the South East and the North, but as people living in the Bath area will know, there have been threats to children’s centres in Radstock, as well as in the city and many children’s centres have had hours or staff cut, or been moved into libraries, which are now also facing closure and changes to their opening times and staffing.
For many parents, Sure Start Centres are a life line, especially for those that need to access additional services and support. Parents across the country have been pledging their support online for Sure Start Centres and credit them with being able to help first time mums, meet friends and help their children gain confidence among other important opportunities.
Do you use a children’s centre? Are you concerned about how the cuts will affect your children or local services? We’d like to hear from you, share your views on Twitter or Facebook!
