I am deeply opposed to the closure and merger of children’s centres in Portsmouth for the following reasons.
There is no education or training for becoming a parent which is one of the most important and difficult jobs and it is extremely important that parents are supported from the start whatever background you come from. We have many children who are arriving at school age 4 who are well below their chronological age in standards, sometimes this is because of the lack of support given to parents who struggle and need help. Education has begun to improve in Portsmouth and some of that improvement has come from the establishment of children’s centres, they have only been in place for a few years and it takes time to prove their worth and I believe that is starting to show.
Children’s centres have to be local and accessible. Parents do not have the money or energy to travel across the city to visit children’s centres. Visits to their home are good but it is really important for parents to be able to get out of their homes and have somewhere to go. Being a parent can be very isolating and children’s centres provide a place to go to meet people, receive advice and education. They can pick up on mothers with postnatal depression, health checks for infants and receive general advice.
Children’s centres are developing many new initiatives which are helping our families. They are identifying problems early and professionals can see many families in a short space of time rather than spending time travelling to homes although it should be a combination. Children’s centres are also providing cookery classes, parenting skills, teaching English, signposting families to other initiatives. They are also developing adult education classes and helping find employment and giving benefits advice.
Closing children’s centres is very short termism, education standards are still too low in Portsmouth. We have to provide support right at the beginning of a child’s life if we want to improve standards. It is one of the areas in which the City Council should be investing, not reducing investment. Good support from birth to the end of the education system will massively change the economic and social outcomes of this wonderful city.