Bath & North East Somerset Council has recently set its budget, and we are pleased to let you know that this means that there are no plans to close any of our 12 Children’s Centres.
Whilst we will be keeping the centres open, funding will need to stretch further and we have had to prioritise our services to meet the needs of children and families who access our Children’s Centres.
What will stay the same?
The Council is committed to working with local families and offering a range of services to support children under 5 and their needs across the whole of the authority.
Although there may be some changes to who delivers what and where, our contracts with voluntary sector groups to deliver family support, which includes amongst other things Stay and Play Groups, Counselling and outreach to families who need additional support will continue for at least another year.
What improvements will there be?
To help keep our Children’s Centre Services as a resource for the community, many children's centres are also now offering up the space in their Children's centre for parents to run their own groups. This is already happening in Parkside and Keynsham and is something we want to promote as part of the BIG Society. If you are interested in finding out more – why not get in touch?
Children Centre Services offer a range of opportunities for people to volunteer, whether with our voluntary sector partners or with the local authority children’s centres, so do call in for more details.
What changes will there be?
Because we have a new set of priorities which include supporting parents with home learning, working with families as soon as babies are born and working with our localities where children need the most help to achieve their best, some services such as the Toy Library and Library services will not continue. However local Children's Centre Managers are working hard to ensure that families are not affected by these changes and are looking at what they can provide themselves.
All children’s centre will be looking at new ways to generate income. This could include renting out rooms and asking for voluntary contributions at some activities.
If there are any changes to an individual service you receive from your Children’s Centre, information will be available at your local centre or you will be contacted by a member of staff to let you know what this will mean for you.
To talk to someone about Children's Centres, please contact us on 0800 073 1214, email fis@bathnes.gov.uk or write to us at Family Information Service, Riverside Offices (North Block), Temple Street, Keynsham, BS31 1LA.