Legal News
Reading Council consultation on reorganisation of Children’s Centres (10 January 2017)
Date: 10/01/2017
Reading Council has launched a 12-week consultation on the future of designated Children’s Centres, with the aim of reducing the centres to four central hubs, with services also being offered in a network of satellite buildings and community venues.
The council says the new arrangement would continue to offer universal health and maternity services – and more intensive support would be available for vulnerable families.
The proposals form part of the council's requirement to make £42 million of savings by 2020, due to ongoing cuts in central government funding.
Reading currently has 13 designated children's centres led by five teams, offering a range of activities which help prepare children for school or nursery – these include family activities, such as Messy Play and Story Time, along with more targeted support, including perinatal mental health group sessions and one-to-one family support.
Under the new proposals, the Children's Centre service would be a mix of targeted and universal services, ensuring that the most vulnerable families are offered services – maternity services and health services would still be available for all families from Children's Centres.
The number of designated Children's Centre hubs would be reduced to four hubs, with the Health Visiting Service integrated within them.
Increasingly, services are being delivered in different and more flexible ways through homes visits and the use of satellite and community buildings, said the council.
Reading's Lead Member for Children's Services, Councillor Jan Gavin, said:
“Reading's Children's Centres currently offer a wide range of family services to parents, prospective parents and young children in the borough.
“However, drastic and sustained cuts in government funding mean we can no longer continue to fund the same level of service and have had to look at different ways of working.
“We want to hear the views of local families, service providers and members of the public about these proposed changes, before making a final decision on the future of Children's Centres services in Reading.”
All responses should be received by midday on Wednesday 29 March.
The analysis of the responses will be published and presented to councillors for a final decision in June 2017.
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