Council to invest £11m in children's centres

Plymouth is set to invest just over £11 million into six new contracts to provide much-loved community-based services for 0-five year olds from children’s centres across the city.

A report to Cabinet yeseterday explained how this investment will prompt new working arrangements that will mean more joined up services with health and other providers so that families with young children will have access to even more services on their door-steps.

Plymouth’s children’s centres are extremely successful and act as hubs in the community for families with young children (from pre-birth until they go to school). They provide access to services including: childcare, midwifery, health visiting, support for children with special educational needs, family and parenting support, specialist services, Job Centre Plus and general advice.

Councillor Nicky Williams, Cabinet Member for Children and Young People, said: “We’re extremely pleased that we can continue to invest in our children’s centres which provide crucial, effective and convenient services for local families with young children.

"We’ve taken this opportunity to look at how we can work more closely with health and other services, for example Health Visitors and Family Support Services.

"This will see us bringing together as many early years services as possible from across the whole of the public sector in a more convenient and simple offer for families based at their local children’s centre.”

Cabinet approved the contract awards, which commits the Council to £3.783 million per year for the next three years – a total investment of £11.350 million into children’s centre divided between the six areas.

The new contracts are part of a major overhaul of the management of Plymouth’s 16 children centres, which will see back-office functions clustered into six geographical areas. This approach will save £2.88million over three years with minimal changes for parents and children using the centres, whilst making the necessary savings after savage Government cuts.

After an extremely competitive bidding process with an exceptionally high standard of bids, based on strict criteria including safeguarding and cost, contracts are set to be awarded to the following organisations:

• The Children’s Society will manage cluster 1 including Nomony, Plumtree (combined with Woodford) and Plymstock and cluster 4 including Four Woods and Tamar Folk
• Action for Children will manage cluster 2 including Green Ark and Manor Street
• LARK will manage cluster 3 including Morice Town, LARK Children’s Centre and Popin
• Barnardo Services Ltd will manage cluster 5 including Sweet Peas, Crownlands and D.E.L.L and cluster 6 including Whitleigh, Southernway and Plymbridge.

The report goes on to say that staff working at each of the centres will transfer to the organisations awarded the new contracts from July 2014 under TUPE protection. The majority of the savings will come from a reduction in management across the centres and some administrative staff, plus other savings from governance arrangements and combining resources for less duplication.

The Council carried out a thorough seven week consultation with parents, staff and others using the centres last year to involve the public in this service redesign. Parents said they were happy to meet in community settings and church halls, as long as venues were local and accessible. As such, there will be a change of location for Sweet Peas, as the current building is not cost- effective and the centre will make its new base within the community where it already delivers a range of activities.

The report also details new governance arrangements that will combine two centres in Plympton – Plum Tree and Woodford. However, this is a paper exercise only and parents will continue to be able to visit both locations so will feel no change in reality. Where there is a change in provider at a centre, any childcare setting (nursery or pre-school) will continue under the current arrangements to ensure consistency of service for families.

Councillor Williams continued: “To safeguard the services we know are important for our under 5s and their parents, whilst achieving the savings we need to make, we’ve been creative about how children’s centres are managed.

"We’ve taken this opportunity to look at the big picture - the way centres expanded across the city means they are not cost effective, so we are now making the most of the resources available city-wide.

"By working in clusters there will be very little discernable difference for families. In fact, it’s likely that through joint commissioning with health, services will end up being much more convenient and community-based.

“We are absolutely committed to ensuring our under 5s and their parents continue to receive the services they need and want. Our new and improved co-operative way of working will deliver this promise and the cost savings needed.”

The decision by Cabinet to award the six contracts is now subject to call-in by scrutiny and a legal stand-still period required following a tendering exercise of this value.