Eight voluntary sector children's centres and community nurseries, which are funded partly by Sheffield council, have had their grants reduced because of Government guidance which says that children's centres should be sustainable via fee-charging by 2011.
Arbourthorne Tiddlywinks, Darnall Community Nursery, Ellesmere Young Children's Centre, Elnisah, Handsworth Community Nursery, Manor Community Childcare Centre, Sheffield Children's Centre and Tinsley Green Nursery were founded as community nurseries but now have become children's centres or provide daycare for centres nearby. Campaigners claim that they are all in areas of high deprivation and that they will not be able to survive on parents' fees alone.
On 1 December Sheffield council ordered a review of the city's childcare provision, due to be published by early March, after more than 2,500 people signed petitions calling for the settings to be saved. However, staff at Arbourthorne Tiddlywinks, which has 37 childcare places, say that because of grant cuts the setting will have a deficit of £11,500 by March, and that as Tiddlywinks is a voluntary organisation it will not be able to continue trading while it has debts.
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