This week David discusses the Children Centre Network closure

One of the worst things the last government did was to close the Children Centre Network which had been carefully built up over the previous 13 years.

The preventative work that these centres undertook was the achievement I was most proud of during my 13 years previously as MP.

Built upon the back of SureStart which mirrored an interventionist approach pioneered in the US, the notion was that by situating a centre within each larger community there would be a hub for all pre-school activities.

This would outreach to surrounding rural areas and by the nature of being universal provision they would cater for all children and their parents for that young age group.

Having been involved with Hill, Valley and Vale, which morphed out of the original individual centres, from the outset I took a particular interest in how the scheme evolved.

What we were doing here in Stroud and the other market towns was replicated up and down the country so that by the middle of the last decade there was a comprehensive service in place everywhere.

On my many visits to centres I saw some of the most inspiring work going on whereby professionals from the worlds of education, health, care, employment and the benefits system would make themselves available both to help the children and their parents.

The support system was invaluable to those children who faced particular problems, especially those with special needs.

However rather than being treated differently care was always taken to include them in activities and classes so that they were never identified as different.

It was with alarm that I witnessed the beginning of the end of the network with only two centres surviving, in Stonehouse and Dursley.

All the others have subsequently been closed, though some limited provision may continue.

I so miss being able to pop in to see those centres but I would like to take this opportunity to thank Sarah and Carol and the rest of the staff and volunteers for all they did to enrich the lives of many thousands of children over so many years.

A victim of austerity, we will rue the day that the decision to close the network was taken.

Whereas we had a generation prepared for life over the rest of this century, we now will have left children in a much more vulnerable situation and parents equally bereft of the help, advice and support that was previously available.

Time doesn’t help heal what was a shameful decision.