Staffordshire County Council has 54 children's centre sites with 26 designated children's centres. However, nearly all of the children's centre provision is operated by private, voluntary and independent providers.
Nursery group Tiny Toez runs five children's centres in the county.
The council says that only 25 per cent of families in the county use children’s centres and that only a quarter of these are from its target groups, including those from disadvantaged backgrounds.
The council is proposing handing over 23 of the buildings, which are already based on school sites, to schools, with the stipulation that some of the provision is used for services for birth to fives.
The remaining 21 sites would be offered back to the community for use, with a few handed back to to libraries to use.
The plans will be discussed at the council's cabinet meeting next week and if approved would be put out for an eight-week consultation shortly.
Mike Lawrence, cabinet member or children and communities, said, ‘We want every child to have the best start in life and ensure that they are safe, healthy and ready to achieve at school.
‘The first five years are vital for a child, but only 54 per cent of Staffordshire children are judged to have reached a good stage of development by the end of their first year at school.
‘We must narrow the gap between the children who achieve that stage and those who don’t, as preparing children for school life is essential to build their confidence and independence by being able to use the toilet, dress themselves, interact with others through play and be able to concentrate in class and follow instructions.
‘Despite investing millions of pounds in providing help for 0 to five-year-olds only 25 per cent of our families are benefiting from the early years services we commission and only a quarter of these are from our most vulnerable families.’
He added that rather than ‘trying to get reluctant people to visit council buildings’ the council would ‘focus on providing the right services in the right place to those who really need them.’
The council says it wants to make the system simpler by working more closely with schools and the private, voluntary and independent sectors, to combine the appropriate support and services through one organiser in each district, so there’s no duplication and it’s easier to measure the results.
‘We recognise some parents need a great deal of help, while others need very little support. The intention is to offer the right degree of help to every family, so whether it’s providing information or something more complex and sustained we will be able to make a difference in many more children’s lives, ’Mr Lawrence said.
- More information on the proposals is available at www.staffordshire.gov.uk/beststart