Alliance comments on new government figures showing a huge decline in children's centres since 2010

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 .

The statistics are available .

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鈥檚 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鈥檚 centres since 2010. 

Even if including 鈥榗hildren-centre linked sites鈥 (places that provide some children鈥檚 centre services but don鈥檛 meet the statutory definition of a children鈥檚 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鈥檚 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鈥檚 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鈥檚 centre sites (including linked sites) since 2010. 

Neil Leitch, CEO of the Early Years Alliance, said:

鈥淲e know that children鈥檚 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. 

鈥淲hile the government鈥檚 plan to invest in a new programme of family hubs is welcome, it鈥檚 very difficult to see how the plans as described to date will compensate for the sheer scale of the closures that these figures show. 

鈥淔or so many children鈥檚 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, 鈥榣evelling up鈥 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.鈥