Sure Start fightback kicks off

Louise Nousratpour, Equalities Reporter
Monday February 28, 2011
The Morning Star

The mother of an autistic child vowed today to lead a campaign to save her local Sure Start centre after Hampshire County Council announced plans to close more than a third of its 81 centres.

Becci Frost has helped to organise a protest this Sunday outside the Oakmeadow Sure Start Centre in Fareham - one of 28 centres earmarked for closure in the council's newly agreed budget for the next financial year.

She told the Portmouth News today that the centre had been "very important" in helping her deal with her three-year-old son Zac's condition.

"They've got a sensory room at Oakmeadow which is fantastic for Zac. If he's having a bad day he can go in there and scream as loud as he likes and throw himself around knowing that he won't hurt himself," she said.

"It's a place where I know we won't be judged because he's disabled, which has happened when we've been to some mainstream clubs and groups."

Unions and campaigners warned today that the next few weeks would be "make or break" for Sure Start centres as England's councils agree their budget for 2011-12 amid pressure from central government to make cuts.

Figures released in January by 4Children and Daycare Trust showed that some 86 per cent of centres faced budget cuts from April and around 250 centres expected to close in the next year.

Christina McAnea of public-sector union Unison said: "We are getting daily reports of Sure Start centre closures and outsourcing, which will have a devastating impact on deprived communities.

"Sure Start centres are a lifeline for families and provide health, social care, childcare and outreach services under one roof.

"Without these vital services thousands of children will not get a fair chance in life."

4Children chief executive Anne Longfield added: "Parents don't want to hear central and local government playing pass the political parcel. They just want to know that their Children's Centre is here to stay.

"The next few weeks are make or break for Sure Start."

• More than 300 Mancunians - mainly mothers and children - staged a protest on Saturday after the city council announced its decision to cut £8m from its early intervention grant which funds the centres.