Barnardo’s chosen as provider of reshaped children and family services in Stroud district

THE biggest shakeup in the way family and children services are funded and run in Stroud district in a decade is progressing.

Gloucestershire County Council (GCC) is reshaping the network of children’s centres in the county by creating 16 ‘super centres’ with a more targeted approach to care.

Stroud district will have two of these new integrated family and children services at existing centres - The Park in Stonehouse and Treetops at Dursley Primary School.

Following a competitive tendering process, last week the county council announced that from April 2017 these services would be provided by Barnardo’s, marking a big step forward for the plans.

GCC says the changes are aimed at targeting the most deprived areas of the district and will offer additional help to support for families with children up to the age of 11.

However, as money is redirected to invest in these services, it also means the district’s five other children’s centres in Cashes Green, Stroud, Painswick, Wotton-under-Edge and Nailsworth will all have their funding from the council pulled.

While these buildings will not close altogether, critics warn the services provided will be hollowed out and that local organisations will have to step in to plaster over the cracks.

The man in charge of the shakeup, Cllr Paul McClain, Conservative cabinet member for children and families, said the decision to select Barnardo’s to provide the council’s new service was an important step forward.

“This announcement means that the plans for the creation of ‘super centres’ can now be put into action, and give the county’s most vulnerable families the support that they need,” he said.

“The council has been working with the successful provider in recent years. I am looking forward to continuing and building on their good work.”

Emma Bowman, regional assistant director Barnardo’s, said: “Barnardo’s is looking forward to working with even more families across Gloucestershire and helping their children to achieve the best possible start in life.

“We already have a very strong presence in the county, having supported thousands of local parents through our current clusters of children’s centres and nurseries in Gloucester and the Forest of Dean, all of which are rated as ‘good’ or ‘outstanding’ by Ofsted inspectors.

“This breadth of local experience and expertise is combined with the wider support which comes from being part of the UK’s leading children’s charity.

“We look forward to working with parents, staff, volunteers and other groups and will keep them informed of developments.”

The ‘super centres’ run by Barnardo’s will be a base for professionals to provide support to those who visit, as well as co-ordinate outreach work to support people in their communities and homes.

Meanwhile, negotiations are currently underway about who will take over the responsibility of running the remaining 30 unfunded centres in Gloucestershire.

Currently the services in all seven of Stroud’s children’s centres are provided on behalf of the council by charity Hill Valley & Vale.

But now the council is asking parents, volunteers, schools and community groups to take over some of the current services such as clubs, activities, information and health advice.

All centres are expected to transfer to local organisations by the end of March 2017. This will leave Stroud town without a fully funded centre.

Critics argue that while this means the centres won’t close, reduced funding will inevitably lead to patchy and inconsistent services and could destroy community networks.

(The children’s centre based at the Arkall Centre in Forest Green)

Despite the new outreach service, there are also concerns that poorer families without access to transport will lose out on vital support and social interaction.

Lesley Williams, county councillor for Stonehouse and leader of the Labour group at Shire Hall said: "I just cannot agree with the Conservatives that by closing all these children centres and consolidating them into super centres is a good idea, it means that residents will lose their local services, will travel further and ultimately will lose out because familiar and trusted faces will not be there.

“It was because of a Labour run task group that there was any funding for social workers and at no point was it secured at the expense of children centres.

“The Conservatives made the choice to reduce the amount of children centres, they did not have to do this."

Currently the centres provide a range of services, including early year’s education, health advice, courses for expectant parents and individual counselling.

It is not yet clear which would be retained and which would have to be relocated to the upgraded children and family centres.

GCC has said the buildings will be used for education and childcare and provide a “network of universal services” for families delivered by parent and community groups.

All 22 nurseries based in children’s centres, early education and health visiting services will continue and GCC is in the process of agreeing a provider.

The plans mean that £3.7 million is being rechannelled into children’s social work over the next two years.

GGC says that so far 41 additional social workers have also been recruited since April 2016.

However this comes against a backdrop of reducing funding for the council’s children and families budget.

GCC’s draft budget for 2017/18, due to be voted through in the New Year, will see money for schools, youth support, children’s centres and early years cut overall by 13.3 per cent, or £4.6 million.

Following the cabinet decision in June 2016 and a competitive process, providers for of the new service across Gloucestershire are:

• Gloucester City – Barnardo’s

• Cheltenham and Tewkesbury – Gardner’s Lane and Oakwood Federation (GLOW)

• Stroud and the Forest of Dean – Barnardo’s

The Cotswolds area will continue to be run by the council, as it has been since September 2016.