Council confirms shake-up of Staffordshire children's centres
Wednesday, February 11, 2015
The control of more than half of Staffordshire's children’s centres is to be transferred to schools and libraries.
The council, which last September consulted on plans to close some of its 57 children’s centres, has confirmed that the management of 35 of its centres will be transferred to adjoining schools and libraries in a bid to save £3m from its budget.
Of the remaining 22 centres, 11 will be retained by Staffordshire County council and turned into ‘Family Hubs’, while a decision about the others, many of which are under lease, has yet to be made as the council continues talks with local partners.
Nursery group Tiny Toez, which runs childcare provision in four children's centres in Staffordshire, has confirmed that all the nurseries will continue to operate as normal.
The move follows research carried out by the council, which revealed that delivering services from the current children’s centre buildings was not helping enough children, particularly those in the most deprived areas.
Mike Lawrence, Staffordshire County Council’s member for children, said, ‘We have spent years trying and failing to persuade enough people to use these services in buildings, so this new approach will focus our energy and resources on providing the right services, in the right place, for the right people.’
