A: When it's proposed in Hammersmith & Fulham by the Tory council!
The Government is creating 3,500 children's centres across the country by 2010 with one in every neighbourhood offering a range of 'core services'. Funding for these centres was confirmed in the Chancellor's recent Budget.
The first five children's centres in Hammersmith & Fulham were set up by the previous Labour council, with seven further centres planned.
So what has the new Tory Council gone and done? They have decided that the seven new centres should instead be 'satellite children's centres' with a much reduced range of services. So children and families living near these seven 'centres' won't be able to access a range of support in their local community. They'll be expected to travel further to one of the five original centres!
The Tories have instead decided to use about half of the children's centres funding to pay for a central team of social workers - completely contrary to the original spirit and intention of the children's centres programme of providing services a 'pram push' away from where families live.
Fortunately the Tories' plans still have to be approved by the Department for Education and Skills...
1 comment:
Dear Mr BlogMeister,
With all due respect, it wouldn't be right for you to keep posting without hearing from the people involved.
Perhaps we should hear from the people directly involved to get a more balanced debate on this.
I hope you would be getting there ...
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