PARENTS are set to protest ahead of tonight’s meeting of Wirral’s full council as they demand answers over plans to reduce the number of designated children’s centres.

Wirral Council carried out a review of children’s services from April 2014 to July 2014, with the results approved by the authority’s ruling cabinet last year.

Part of the plans are to reduce the borough’s 16 children's centres to four “hubs”, along with another four retained for outreach provision.

Under the plans, the remaining sites will either be transferred to schools for nursery care or the council will be forced to ask other organisations to take them over.

The authority is currently undergoing public consultation but many parents say they are “dissatisfied” that the original review was “not carried out properly” and the current consultation is “failing to provide answers to many questions”.

A report to September’s cabinet meeting said the current position of sustaining 16 designated children’s centres that “all deliver the core purpose offer is not viable”.

The authority is looking to cut £2m from the service’s current total budget of £6m.

Wirral Green Party are supporting parents in their campaign for a “proper review” of children’s services, with Birkenhead parliamentary candidate Kenny Peers writing to Clare Fish, strategic director families and wellbeing, asking for her to investigate parents’ complaints.

Mr Peers said: “The council plan to make 67 staff redundant based on an Early Years Review that is not fit for purpose.

“If people are to lose their jobs it should be with the knowledge that no stone has been left unturned to safeguard those jobs, based on this review that clearly is not the case.”

A leaflet set to be handed out to councillors as they arrive for tonight’s meeting at Wallasey Town Hall calls on them to “put their political differences aside and demand answers on our behalf”.

Announcing the consultation last month, Cllr Tony Smith, Wirral’s cabinet member for children and family services said: “Wirral’s children’s centres play a significant role in providing effective early childhood services for families and targeted services for those in need of additional support.

“The review of Early Years and Children’s Centre services, which took place earlier this year, recognises the important role the centres have to play in narrowing the equality gap and improving school readiness for some of our most disadvantaged youngsters.

“In putting forward this consultation, our aim is to get the views of as many people as possible to ensure that the services we offer, and the providers of those services, remain progressive and fit for purpose.”
 

The review advocates a new approach to delivering Children’s Centre services in Wirral. Recommendations include:

  • Children’s Centres to play a key role in providing targeted early help to families who need it, to ensure services are delivered to those children and families who need them most.
  • Better working and partnerships to be further developed with partners and other services/organisations that provide early childhood services. (eg Health & JobCentre Plus)
  • Outreach teams to be developed to operate across Constituencies based on levels of need.
  • A new approach to Children’s Centre service delivery to be developed. In each Constituency, one main Children’s Centre hub to offer a full service and one outreach/satellite centre. The remaining buildings will be shared with partners and offer a reduced Children’s Centre service.

The proposals outlined in the review, if implemented, will:

  • Keep a main Children’s Centre in each of the four constituency areas
  • Ensure that every family with children under five and parents expecting a new baby still have a named Children’s Centre
  • Make the services available for young children and their families much more joined up across health, education and social care
  • Target services and support those that need the service most
  • Work closely with partners to make best use of the Children’s Centre buildings