Budget cuts result in fewer hours and reduced services at children’s centres

Children’s centres are having to reduce their opening hours and scale back or charge for services because of cuts to their budgets.

According to 4Children’s Children Centre Census 2015, 68 per cent have had their budgets cut this financial year.

The survey was based on responses from 388 managers representing 1,000 children’s centres.

When extrapolating the figures across all 3,382 children’s centres in England, this equates to about 2,300 settings that have seen reductions to their budget, says the charity.

To continue to operate on a reduced budget, more than half of survey respondents (57.5 per cent) said they are cutting back on the services that they offer in the coming year.

This is the case for Weybridge Children’s Centre in Surrey (see case study), which has had to operate on a reduced budget because of cuts to funding of 2.5 per cent since 2011/12.

More than 19 per cent of managers plan to make cuts to stay-and-play sessions, 15 per cent to messy play and 14 per cent to baby massage. Other services they plan to reduce include music and movement and fathers’ groups.

4Children says that while these core parent and child sessions are sometimes dismissed as soft and dispensable, the reality is quite different. For example, it argues that stay-and-play sessions play a crucial role in supporting parents to engage proactively with their children’s learning and development, and in helping to establish a positive home learning environment.

Another way in which children’s centres are responding to challenging financial circumstances is by shifting towards more targeted services and away from universal services, according to the census.

More than three-quarters of centre managers said that the services they offer have become more targeted in the past year.

4Children warns that while greater targeting is an understandable response in the face of severe budget constraints, it should also be recognised that the loss of universal provision can have consequences, including for the most disadvantaged families. The charity claims research shows that one of the key factors in supporting the development of young children from disadvantaged backgrounds is giving them the opportunity to learn and engage with a broad social mix of other children, which is lost if services become solely targeted.

The charity also says that universal services are known to be an ‘essential’ way to engage families in the first place, due to their ‘non-stigmatising nature’.

As well as cuts to children’s centre’s budgets, the census reveals a large number of them are operating under conditions of significant uncertainty.

Approximately 130 children’s centre sites are currently at risk of closure and there is uncertainty about the future of a further 750.

About 7 per cent of respondents said that they have received an indication that they will be moved from being a standalone centre to part of a cluster.

SERVICES

According to the 4Children census, children’s centres are playing a significant role in the delivery of childcare, with 44 per cent of respondents providing childcare places. The majority, 85 per cent, offer places for children from birth to two, while 79 per cent offer places for three- and four-year-olds.

Another key area in which children’s centres are playing a prominent role is in the provision of mental health support, shows the census.

A third of centre managers who participated in the census are currently offering mental health support to children and young people.

Just under half, 43.9 per cent, provide some form of mental health support to mothers either before or after birth.

On top of this, 98 per cent of respondents are offering some form of support to parents to help them improve their skills and employment prospects.

Just over half of centre managers are directly involved in delivering the Government’s Troubled Families programme.

The census also suggests that as well as delivering services directly, children’s centres have started to play a broader role in their local areas. One way in which centres are achieving this is by allowing external organisations and groups to use their buildings.

More than 82 per cent of respondents either currently lend use of their buildings to other organisations or would be able to do so if asked.

The range of groups who are sharing children’s centres’ spaces includes church and community groups, local residents’ associations, youth services, adoption and fostering services, libraries and post offices.

www.4children.org.uk/Files/28082f59-4cb8-4116-a476-a536009e5d05/Children_Centre_Census_2015.pdf

CASE STUDY: WEYBRIDGE CHILDREN'S CENTRE

Weybridge Children’s Centre in Surrey, rated ‘good’ by Ofsted, says it has had to be creative with its budget in light of cuts.

Four members of staff work at the ‘part-time’ centre, which has a reach of nearly 1,900 children. The core services the centre provides are outreach, stay-and-play sessions, and parental support through a range of activities.

Centre leader Daphne Sohl said, ‘The reduction to our budget hasn’t had a dramatic impact as we have a “can do” approach.

‘However, we have had to be even more creative with what we spend money on, especially as my aim is for the budget reductions not to be felt by service users.

‘While we have had to reduce the number of people we support with one-to-one counselling, we have joined up with the local IAPT (Improving Access to Psychological Therapies) service, which now accepts self-referrals and is providing a cognitive behaviour therapy course at the centre.’

Ms Sohl told Nursery World the centre has also reduced the amount it spends on staff overtime and resources such as stationery. On top of this, she no longer attends conferences and said they source free training where possible. The local authority provides training for new starters.

She added, ‘We do most things in-house and don’t pay for external people to come in to run activity sessions or groups. We utilise our own skills. The crèche we run is also staffed by volunteers.’