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Darlington Borough Council consults on proposed changes to children’s SureStart centres (25 April 2017)

Date: 25/04/2017
Duncan Lewis, Legal News Solicitors, Darlington Borough Council consults on proposed changes to children’s SureStart centres

Darlington Borough Council in County Durham, northeast England, is inviting families who use SureStart children’s centres in Darlington to comment on proposed changes to the way the services are offered.

The principle of changing the operating model for children’s centres was agreed last year by members of Darlington Borough Council, as part of the Medium Term Financial Plan.

A “hub and spoke” model was proposed, which would have seen the service reduced to one centralised children’s centre, with outreach services in other locations.

Officers have developed a model which would see McNay Street Children’s Centre designated as the main hub, with other centres at Mount Pleasant, Skerne Park and Dodmire stay open as delivery points. It is proposed that Haughton Children’s Centre will be closed.

A full range of services would be offered at McNay Street, with other centres having a reduction in services based on local needs.

At a meeting earlier in April, cabinet members gave approval for the proposals to go out to consultation.

The consultation – which is aimed at both current and potential future users – was launched on 18 April and runs until the end of May.

The public can find out more about the proposals and offer their views by speaking to a member of staff at their local children’s centre, or visiting the council’s website or Facebook page. There will also be a series of public forums at children’s centres.

Darlington Borough Council Cabinet Member for Children and Young People, Councillor Cyndi Hughes, said:

“Everyone knows that the council is facing financial challenges – this means that we have had to look at different ways of ensuring that our children’s centres continue to deliver on a range of priorities, including reducing child poverty and providing early help and support to families.

“We want to know what everyone – parents, grandparents, aunties and uncles – thinks about our proposals to make children’s centres more flexible, effective and efficient.”


Once the consultation period has concluded, the council says that any responses will be analysed, before a report containing recommendations on the future of the service is presented to Cabinet.

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