Cambridgeshire County Council Children’s Centre team will publish a consultation shortly about new arrangements for Children’s Centres in Cambridgeshire. Some changes are proposed to the current model which will see the merging of some of Cambridgeshire’s children’s centres. Children’s centres have developed in Cambridgeshire since 2005 under the Government’s Sure Start initiative to deliver early intervention and preventative services for families with children under 5 years of age.

Each centre serves a ‘reach’ area where there are between 900 and 1200 children under 5yrs. The April consultation will be about making some adjustments which will include proposals to form a smaller number of larger reach areas with some changes to management arrangements. At present there are no plans or suggestions that any children’s centre buildings should be closed.

The proposals in the consultation are aimed at delivering a sustained and effective service from children’s centres to families as we seek to ensure maximum service provision within a context of reductions to budgets. The consultation follows an informal consultation with children’s centre providers which took place in February.

Next steps are as follows:

The formal (30 day) consultation document will be issued, to internal and external stakeholders, after the Easter holidays. It will include:

•A summary of the final proposal and how it has been informed.

•Detailed analysis of reconfiguration scenarios

•Detailed implications for each children’s centre; including workforce implications.

•A Community Impact Assessment.

•A detailed Service Framework for children’s centres in Cambridgeshire

•Information on the key consultation questions and how to comment

I would urge all parents in Queen Edith’s who use Homerton Children’s Centre to respond to this consultation so that their views can be taken into account.

Further information about children’s centres in Cambridgeshire can be found at: www.cambridgeshirechildrenscentres.org.uk/

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