UNISON is backing a campaign to protect Sure Start Children’s Centres by providing resources to the Daycare Trust, through the union’s general political fund.
The trust is calling on local authorities to protect the centres in their forthcoming budgets, amid fears that centres may see further cuts in 2012 as councils attempt to balance their budgets for the coming year.
The call has been accompanied by the release of a campaign guide, resource pack and grants scheme funded by UNISON to support parents, staff and centre users in campaigning to save threatened centres.
General secretary Dave Prentis said: “UNISON is proud to be funding this campaign, which will help parents and communities to safeguard Sure Start for the children of today and tomorrow. Thousands of our members work tirelessly to keep vital Sure Start centres running, and even more depend on them for support.
“So do many families across the country – the centres are crucial to giving every child the best possible start in life, and they help parents to stay in work.
“Before the election, the government promised Sure Start Centres would not be cut – this campaign will help families and communities hold them to account – protecting Sure Start for the future.”
Sure Start Children’s Centres play a vital role in early intervention, a key factor in improving children’s long-term life chances, and are highly valued by parents who use them.
They are funded by local authorities, which face cuts of £2.3bn in 2012-13, and evidence suggests that hundreds of centres across England have faced closure, merger or are currently under threat.
Thousands of daycare places in children’s centres – which are essential for working parents – have been lost
Information on the campaign pack can be found here.