Sure start Children's Centres - do you use them and what do you think of them?

[carriemumsnet]

BBC Radio London have invited us on tomorrow (Friday am) to talk about what Mumsnetters think of Sure Start children's centres. It's a while since anyone an MNHQ used one so we'd be really interested to know what y'all think.

All feedback welcome.

Thanks

MNHQ

Our local one has made a big difference to us. Before it was built there were hardly any local baby or toddler groups in the area.
Now there is somewhere to go every single day if parents want/need to and most of the activities are free.]

The staff are very friendly there and it's one of the few places where I feel completely comfortable with taking my children with SNs.

In the holidays they also arrange activities and trips for school-aged children. This is a real help during the summer holidays when the only other activity groups seem to be sports-based and therefore not much use if your child finds sports and team games difficult.

LOL lisad!! It's very high crime area, which i would have to get 2 buses to get too (one not buggy friendly)

Ours has been open about a year now and has got very popular. The staff are friendly and all the parents and children seem to get on. I have stopped going a couple of times because it just got too busy and i didn't feel that i could follow my toddler about safely and it was difficult to keep an eye on her with so many. But tbh i have noticed that there are a group of mums that either all come together or not at all and they all have dc of 3/4 and a baby so are quite distracted but i felt that they seemed to take over the place and were not particularly friendly either iyswim? It is definitely a nicer place in the summer because they have a little garden area with a sand pit/tent/water etc out there and it makes it less crowded inside.

We use two centres to hold ante-natal support groups and my god! They are a fantastic resource. I wish my own children were young enough to use them. They would have been such a life saver for me when I was a young, unconfident and slightly depressed new parent.
The staff are wonderful and welcoming, the centres are clean, safe, and so beautifully equipped it makes me sigh (before we were invited to hold our groups at the centres we were more used to begging and borrowing crappy 2nd hand toys for the group)

The centres are still fairly new in our (outwardly prosperous) town but the amount of activities and support on ofer to parents is staggering.

In fact, I now want to work in one

I love mine,

We go there regularly and even met Godon Brown at ours

DS1 goes to playgroup there 5 mornings a week.

DS2 & DD goes to Stay&play on a Wednesday morning and activity play Wednesday afternoon with DS1 too.

We use the surestart library as its closer and no specific return dates,

The staff are all so lovely.

My Antenatal care was done at mine, as is all the HV stuff, they do baby massage on a Thursday too.

I am currently doing a maths course one morning a week to 'help me help my child with maths'

I also did an art course.

I ABSOLUTLY LOVE IT AND WOULD BE LOST WITHOUT IT

I have visited a local Sure Start Centre with some friends a few times. The facilities are fantastic; they seem to have a lot of money for equipment and catering etc. It doesn't seem that well publicised though, I only found out about it through a friend.

Unfortunately, some of the staff aren't so good - one of the women running the group is quite rude to the parents and children. On our last visit she made my 3yo son cry by telling him off for not eating/drinking fast enough (even though he was late starting his snack because they didn't have enough chairs and bowls).

I would be interested to find out what qualifications and experience you need to work in a sure start centre.

Sorry Gordon, my keyboard likes to randomly miss letters out.

I used to travel across town from our v leafy area to the surestart childrens centre, which was in a more deprived area, and dd went to nursery there. Like morningaper I loved that it was socially inclusive and properly inclusive to chilren with disabilities (I also have a disabled ds and I've seen some shocking excuses for inclusivity).
It was without doubt the best childcare setting I've experienced, and that's as a parent of 3 very different children, two of whom have been in private education for different reasons. I know that's one of the things people say about surestart; that it's used by middle class people rather than those it's 'aimed' at; we were in a minority of mc families there, and when we started the place was very underused. Prob because it wasn't advertised to the extent that they weren't even in the phone book and weren't googleable.
Prsumably it was a different council dept responsible for publicising it.
It's become my 'gold standard' for anywhere I look at for my dcs, and i've not yet found anywhere to match the quality of care, thoughtfulness and communication with the children and parents.

Ditto Stmaybe,

The diversity in my DSs class is lovely to see and he (and us!) has learnt so much from it.

Just back in having been to my local centre for a weaning group.

Have found them very useful in supporting mums lots of activities and groups run at them but they seem to have been launched by stealth round here, publicity has been terrible which is a shame.

Every time I've tried to find out more about SureStart I've found their website very alienating.

The centre closest to me doesn't seem to be listed on the website, for example.

Hmmm, they're grrat in principle, in my experience! Ours was one of the first pilot ones. They have always promised great groups and activiities but never delivered for some reason.

Initially you had to be in the local 'catchment' areas - specifically areas of social deprivation or a 'registered family' who got on their books via SALT or HV recommendation.

At that time, early on, they were hugely well-funded but the staff seemed clueless as to how to run the place. Our local GP's were not having their HV's replaced if they left, yet the surestart centre had them coming out of their ears and you couldn't access them unless you fit the criteria. I think that's changed now, thank goodness.

It does seem better now, but still somehow not up to expectation - things are often cancelled at the last minute and you ring up to go on a course and they say it's not now running. Also their literature is generally a bit crap - bad spelling, missing off dates or times etc.

I think it's a good idea and I'd like it to work, as it clearly does in so many areas, just not in mine unfortunately.

Oops, sorry, that's great, not grrat - and there's me moaning about spelling on literature.

Ours is fantastic.

The staff are wonderful; turnover is low, training is good and ongoing, and they all really care about what they are there for.

Ours has a pre-school and a nursery; DD2 who has complex special needs went to the pre-school and I can't praise it highly enough. They supported me so much as well, especially with the whole statementing procedure.

DD3 is in the nursery and again it is wonderful.

The other facilities are great - parent and baby groups, parent and toddler groups, SN groups (including a SN drop in and play in the school holidays) as well as holiday playschemes, HV clinics, breastfeeding support, young mums, young dads, Dads group, music groups, autism groups, I can't even remember them all.

This all sounds very positive BUT, are they all run the same?

I travelled about 3miles toone as I'd heard about some classes that seemed good to do with DD2. When I got there, the receptionist was quite rude and told me I couldn't join the classes because of where I lived. How is that inclusive? She even confirmed for me that the classes were not full yet still I was not able to join.

So instead of breaking down barriers and bringing mums with varying experiences together, it just seemed to be bound by silly rules which only end up reinforcing the negative stereotypes held by MC mums.

Seriously, I know how to use the internet. All I can find about my local one is government evaluations of how it's performing in certain areas. I would like a website that welcomes me in, invites me to use SureStart, even.

Never been.

Our local village hall has just been converted into a Sure Start CHildrens center.
They are given loads of money each month and yet because our local health visitor couldn't organise a piss up in a brewery it took over a year for anything child orientated to happen there.
She now runs 2 groups there a week which are by invitation - she doesn't advertise - the before and after school club that used to run there - still does aside from that it is empty.
It is a shame IMO

Hi all

Thanks so much for the feedback. I've done a pre record for the programme, but they would also love to speak with any Mumsnetters who live in London and who would like to give their views.

If you'd be interested in being on the show for a few minutes between 7 and 9am tomorrow Friday please email [email protected]. Or you can email Jo and Paul during the programme [email protected] or call/text during the programme - CALL 020 7224 2000 or TEXT 07786 200 949.

Thanks again for the feedback. We're also going to send a link to this thread through to the Children's Centre coordinators as we'd love them to add all their info to Mumsnet Local so we can all know what's going on at a Children's Centre near us

Well my fab centre is in Brighton. I'd love you to give them my feedback, as they deserve all the bigging up they can get.

i have used our local surestart centre since ds was born 7+ years ago. we went to a fab creche when he was tiny, & he started at the nursery when he was 18 months. dd followed him, & when she goes to school in september we will really miss the place. ours is very socially inclusive. it has great facilities, dd does french & yoga at nursery.

My nearest one is a good way away, in a scary area (I won't say deprived because I would be happy to go to other deprived areas that aren't scary). I have never been and it has never been suggested to me by a HV or anyone. Whilst I think it is important that resources are directed where they are needed most, I do think it is a missed opportunity not to include all mums. It could be a real force for social cohesion and inclusion. Also, just because you live in an affluent area does not make you an affluent person necessarily.

TBH I would avoid anywhere that was run by HVs.

I was visited by a rep from our local Surestart centre in the weeks following the birth of my DS.

Our local centre run lot of activites and courses which I think are very valuable in the community.

The facilities are excellent and staff always helpful and friendly. We've been to structured play sessions and also HV/Midwife drop ins.

When my next baby is born I will be using it alot more frequently as it's only a short walk from my house.

All in all a great resource for parents and communities.

Well Fio, that's pretty much what they did do to me as I said.

I was more than happy with the concept of me paying whilst others did not. I just wanted to attend the classes.

Neither my level of education nor my household income made any difference to the fact that I was a mum wanting to get out the house and socialise. Just like all the mums from the estate, I expect.