AIBU that the Tories were mad to close sure start centres?

[Tristar15]

Has anyone else seen the report today about the impact of Sure Start Centres? It’s great that they had such an impact but why did the Tories close them? Did they just want something that had been a success under Labour gone?
Labour haven’t committed to reopening them by the way but there is currently nothing plugging the gap and it will be years until the impact of what the Tories say replaced them will be seen (not that I’m expecting this to have anywhere near the impact Sure Start had).

I strongly believe all families should be able to access them- as it reduces stigma and mc mums can be very isolated- often away from family, new area because of husband’s job etc.
Ours sent workers to other playgroups in the area which was great. One issue we had was boundaries. I was refused access to the only one I could get to because I lived in the wrong catchment.

I imagine they had a big effect on a few families but were an expensive intervention.

Why all the middle class bashing??! FFS. See the comments above. There's areas of vulnerability not related to class you know. Just cause someone's "middle class" doesn't mean they know what's going on with newborns or multiple young children, sleep deprivation, Physical pains. Mental health and abilities. Domestic abuse? SEN? I could go on.

Having an average income or some kind of employment that you deem to be middle-class means jack all sometimes.

Its about access, availability, contact, community, visibility and relationship building

We've lost this at our peril.

The money spent had a huge impact, better educational outcomes, less need to access health care etc in the long term the investment pays off

The one I used to go to was in a very middle class area so was full of middle class parents, it was a shame as I could afford paid for classes and did do these alongside. I think the parents who it was meant to benefit were not accessing it

I'm not middle class bashing. I am mc. I just noticed it was all MC people using them and they were horrible to those users. Christ what they'd be like to non mc users.
Again just my experience, but it is an experience nonetheless.

Agree with you, Im amazed and disappointed at some of the posts on here, bemoaning that the middle classes (shudder) use a service.

Why shouldnt people of all classes work together, learn together, access things together, play together?

Should we be opening up ghetto services for only the underclasses or something?

And there is a tendency to view anyone in employment as 'middle class' (and slag them off too).

It's not quite the same. Sure Start was aimed at under 5's, Family Hubs are up to 19 and 25 for Special Needs I believe. Supposed to have various services there. The reality is it will be trying to cover a bigger group with less funding.

Indeed. I forgot to add isolation to the list as well. Middle class people pay their taxes, believe it or not, and are entitled to access services.

Yes, I agree, I absolutely think that people over the age of 18 should have access to supportive services but without more money it’s just spin. Also Sure Start is aimed at the early years for a reason, the earlier there is intervention the greater chances of more successful outcomes.

Not at all. I might live in a deprived area, but if you met me, you'd probably think I was MC.

My point was that the people who used SureStart round here, were - in the main - parents who would've found other ways to get support/set their own playgroups up etc.

I feel that targeted support and intervention is the wisest use of public money. Not a free for all for people who are not struggling and whose children are not vulnerable.

I went to sure start playgroups when my son (now 9) was a baby. They were great - none of my pre-existing friends were on maternity leave, and I hadn't done NCT, so the friends I made at sure start groups were much needed. We still hang out today, I see them every week and it has been brilliant for my son to have solid friendships outside of school.

Yes we are middle class, but so what? My son was late speaking, and got referred to SLT through one of those groups. You need a mix of people, because mothers with pnd or anxiety won't attend if the only other parents there have been sent by social services and clearly can't be arsed to engage (they were quite visible).

Our Sure Start centre was brilliant-it had a really good mix of all sorts of people. It supported referrals to external providers, helped parents with forms, or to get jobs, helped new mums with their baby and also to make friends.

It was such a short-sighted decision to close them all. The government just expect schools to pick up the pieces with no budget and no services to refer families onto.

I used a Sure Start centre when I had my first, and it was brilliant. I was so isolated, young and unsupported, it genuinely saved my sanity, as well as being great for my baby. I also ended up volunteering, which gave me the experience and confidence to get back into work. It was an economically deprived area and I never got the impression that any of the parents there were well off, but it was a nice community and an opportunity to make friends.

8 years later I had my second child in a ‘better’ area. No Sure Start. Absolutely no support. Hardly any groups, and those that did run were poor quality and expensive. Minimal contact with the health visitor. I really missed Sure Start in those first few years. Despite having worked hard, got a decent job, moved to a ‘nice’ rural town, I felt worse off.

I now work with families in deprived areas of Wales. The need is there, the provision is not. Short grant funded projects don’t last long enough to make an impact or build communities.

Global financial crisis of 2007/8 meant a lot of public services were cut. Austerity has since been shown to have been a bad policy that has left us with a whole host of problems.

Because it's something that improved outcomes and saved money in the long term, not the short term. That and the fact it's the Tories who don't really want to help anyone other than themselves

What a ridiculous post. Not every struggling parent goes round with a placard. Many hide it. I had 3 under 2 and PND.All my dc have subsequently been found to have autism as have I. Being M/C doesn’t mean you don’t have parenting struggles. Thankfully services weren’t so narrow minded and I had a Home start volunteer too.

Rural area, sure start centre next to a primary school was amazing.

Stop with the middle class hatred.
When you have a baby, sleepless nights, bonding, teething are classless. That's the whole point to gather with other people with kids the same age. Not elderly church volunteers whose kids were toilet trained by 12months fifty years ago. Or asking sleep deprived parents to reinvent the wheel every three years.

My kids met their peers and when time passed we all did the school run together. It's social cohesion, it brings communities together.

I had to take a kid for an injection at the old sure start centre during COVID. It's now underfunded, underused, mostly closed, invite only.
I got quite emotional seeing the lovely well thought out for babies & toddlers and broken parents building. Went for a little weep in what was once a beautiful play area garden which upset me even more.

We deserve these spaces, bring them back. Those early years are so precious and it's not a race to the bottom but the dedicated spaces for older people locally were not cut in the same way.

There is struggling and then there is community cohesion and support.

Both need support, both need a system in place to enable cohesion to flourish

Research I think states that when there is a mix in a community, whether that be for housing purposes, work, living and leisure spaces and support services, everyone benefits.

Never, ever, confuse the services with the bricks and mortar with the delivery of the actual services.

And I think this survey is somewhat flawed as it does exactly that

They were a Godsend for me. I live in a rural location and had no friends/family close by with children. I felt completely clueless and lonely.
I was in the 1st group to attend when my DS was born. They were really supportive with signposting me to speech therapy for him and a shoulder to cry on when he was being assessed for ASD. Admittedly it was the MC mums who used it initially however by the time my DD was born,18 months later, it was mainly WC mums. That was great as it got mums together who probably wouldn’t have met before.
They were also helpful as my DD suffered terrible separation anxiety. It was a sad day when it closed.

@soupfiend don't get me wrong, I loved my sure start centres locally and was there every single day for YEARS. My kids are 5 years apart and there was a big difference between the surestart provision when DD was young and DS was young. And I was gutted when I realised it wasn't the same for him as for her.

But if there is limited funding, targeted support makes most sense to me.

I loved the Children's Centres. I actually ended up working in one for a while - until it was closed down. ☹️

The fact that the support was available to all was one of the main advantages. Any parent can struggle, need support, need advice or just a friendly person to chat to about their child. I'm middle class but as a new parent of a child who turned out to be neuro diverse, I also greatly benefitted from the help our local centre provided.

There was easy access to support, non judgmental parenting classes, information about weaning, healthy eating, potty training etc etc. Play and Learn sessions had structure, singing, crafts and educational toys. The only thing left round here are basic soft play centres. The kids have fun but all they learn to do is run around madly while their parent watches while having a coffee. Soft play has its place but it certainly doesn't replace what the Children's Centre provided.

The Family Hubs are only available for families already in a great deal of need. Sadly, even with unlimited resources there might not be very much that can be done to significantly improve the outcomes for those children. Obviously help for those children is needed. However, one of the main benefits of the Children's Centre was that a slightly struggling parent could get a little bit of quick support and the problem was helped before any significant issues arose. Now support only comes to those already at rock bottom and who have more problems in their life that mean things like their children having 5 portions of fresh fruit and veg per day doesn't even come close to being on the to do list.

There's an upsurge in children starting school not toilet trained, not able to hold a conversation, not able to sit down for even a very short while. These are the children who never got the chance to go to a Children's Centre.

It was the Tories who closed many Sure Start centres not the financial crisis, the money was there to keep them, they chose not to.

I live in a deprived town and they were a godsend. I visited a few different ones and some were in the middle of council estates that had a poor reputation, others in mixed areas and both types were well used by locals of all classes. They had special groups for Sen children, multiple births, dads and those experiencing difficulties. The toy library was amazing and again some sessions were tailored for different groups. Ours had a cafe too that offered snacks, lunch etc at an affordable price and was very popular.
I found that unlike the paid groups like Music with mummy and Kindergym they attracted a diverse mix, people you actually chatted with were often from very different backgrounds, there was no stigma, we were all in the same boat.
This kind of set is popular in Europe. Why on earth our government thought that we didn’t deserve it god only knows. It’s like everything has to be monetised and essentially if you can’t afford it then tough luck, earn more. I genuinely think that the Conservatives party hates us as a whole and certainly doesn’t trust us.