Childrens Centre Review

Cllr Craig Timmins and I are seeking urgent reassurance following a report that proposes the closure of Farsley & Calverley Childrens Centre.

So far no decision has been formally made, but this is report is a recommendation going to the executive board of the council for decision next week.

We are well aware of the valuable support offered by the local childrens centre, and living down the road and having attended the centre myself I know how important the services offered can be. As the report on the review notes, our centre is well used, thanks to the fantastic team and the work they do in our community.

Myself and Cllr Craig Timmins have therefore been against any reduction in childrens centre services, and had previously met with the relevant officers to make our view clear about the review.

The childrens centre in Farsley is run by and within the school, and one of the aims of the review was to look to run these more in-house as a council service using council buildings where possible and with staff being managed by the council directly.

We have been clear that regardless of any specific building concerned, what we want to see is these important services delivered within our community, and there to be relevant help and support for families when and where they need it.

In our ward some services offered by the children’s centre are already often delivered in other buildings such as local schools in order to have a presence in each of our separate communities.

Ahead of any decision being made we will be seeking reassurance that, as we were promised during the review, the intention is for these to continue to be delivered within community buildings (libraries, church halls, local schools etc.) with no reduction in the overall service delivered. We would also want to see a regular walk-in service offered for family to get help and advice locally.

As far as we are concerned this could be offered within the existing building, or could be offered in other council and community buildings within the ward, but we would not accept people’s only choice being to attend Swinnow Childrens Centre, which is not easily accessible from most of our ward.

Ideally we would be looking for the review to accept and respond to existing issues locally, and provide benefits from sessions being further spread across the ward with a wider presence in each of our areas, due to the separation of our communities locally and difficulties with transport in our area.

As noted, the report and recommendation is for a decision which is to be made at an exec board meeting next weeks and we will continue to provide updates as we seek further reassurances.

Any queries, please get in touch:

peter.carlill@leeds.gov.uk

craig.timmins@leeds.gov.uk