Please find below a comment from the Early Years Alliance on statistics published by children and families minister Will Quince on the number of children’s centres in England in 2010 compared to 2021, in response to a parliamentary question by shadow early years minister Helen Hayes.
The statistics are available here.
Early Years Alliance analysis of the figures shows that:
- The number of full children centres has fallen from 3615 to 2273 since 2010, a decline of 1342.
- Local authorities have seen an average decrease in the number of full children’s centres in their respective areas of 37% since 2010.
- 51 local authorities have seen the number of full children’s centres more than halve since 2010.
- Only 2 local authorities have seen an increase in the number of full children’s centres since 2010.
Even if including ‘children-centre linked sites’ (places that provide some children’s centre services but don’t meet the statutory definition of a children’s centre), as the government has done in its statistics:
- The number of all children centres sites (including linked sites) is now 2965, a decline of 650 compared to 2010 figures.
- Local authorities have seen an average decrease in the number of children’s centres sites (including linked sites) in their respective areas of 18% since 2010.
- 82 local authorities have seen a decrease in the number of children’s centres sites (including linked sites) since 2010, with 19 seeing the number of sites more than halve.
- Only 4 local authorities have seen an increase in the number of children’s centre sites (including linked sites) since 2010.
Neil Leitch, CEO of the Early Years Alliance, said:
“We know that children’s centres are a vital source of support, practical advice and guidance for families across the country, and in particular, disadvantaged and vulnerable families. As such, it is extremely worrying that over 1,300 centres have closed since 2011, and that more than 50 local authorities have seen the number of full centres in their areas more than halve.
“While the government’s plan to invest in a new programme of family hubs is welcome, it’s very difficult to see how the plans as described to date will compensate for the sheer scale of the closures that these figures show.
“For so many children’s centres to be disappearing over a period when there has been so much government rhetoric on closing the gap, improving life chances and, most recently, ‘levelling up’ seems completely contradictory. If the government is genuinely committed to ensuring that children and families are able to access the support they need, they need to invest in the services that deliver this.”