A quarter of Northumberland's children's centres under threat
Monday, February 16, 2015
Five children’s centres in Northumberland could close as the council looks to make millions of pounds of savings.
Northumberland County Council is proposing to de-register five of its 20 children’s centres as part of a bid to save £44 million over the next two years.
The five children’s centres under threat of closure, include Pegswood, which is run by Action for Children, and Cramlington East, which is run by Barnardo’s. The three remaining centres Choppington, Lynemouth, and Ponteland are council-run.
Barnardo’s manages three other children’s centres on behalf of Northumberland County Council.
Under the plans, outlined in the council’s consultation that closed last week, the services currently offered at the ‘under-used’ children’s centres would be delivered from alternative venues, such as libraries or community centres.
The childcare provision run by Action for Children within Choppington Children’s Centre will not be affected by the changes and will continue to operate as normal.
The council hopes that the primary school, where Choppington Children’s Centre is based, will take over the control of the building, while responsibility for the Lynemouth Children’s Centre building will be handed over to Northumberland Church of England Academy (NCEA), which already provides an early years service in the adjacent building.
Other options being considered by the council include reducing the management and administrative costs of children’s centres.
A Northumberland County Council spokesperson said, ‘The Council has to make £44 million savings over the coming two years and this comes on the back of the £129m it has had to save over the previous five years. No one likes change, but we have no option but to reduce costs and find new ways of delivering services.
‘A recent review of children’s centres found that five out of 20 centres in the county were under utilised. We feel that these services could be provided in a more efficient way from other community venues. I think it is really important to stress that the council is still fully committed to providing children’s centre services in each of these communities with a focus on families that most need help.
'We are listening to the views of parents, relatives and carers who use these facilities and a number of consultation meetings have also been arranged to discuss the proposals.’
