The Governors and Headteachers of Hillside Infant and Junior schools and the Children’s Centre staff are petitioning to save our centre from closure.

It has been cited by the local authority that the school have refused to sign or negotiate the lease of the centre and therefore this is the main reason for closure. This is in fact untrue. The school is willing to negotiate and sign a lease, providing that should one day the centre be no longer used as a children centre the building would revert back to sole use of the Hillside schools and it’s community.

There is a public consultation that runs from 14th December until 25th January. Please see the link below.
http://www.hillingdon.gov.uk/haveyoursay

Please see written guidance from the Sure Start Statutory Guidance 2013, that contradicts the proposed closure. Please see our response in bold print under each statement.

Local authorities should:
• ensure that a network of children’s centres is accessible to all families with young children in their area;
• ensure those children’s centres and their services are within reasonable reach of all families with young children in urban and rural areas, taking into account distance and availability of transport;

Closing the centre would mean the nearest centre would be based in Harefield or Eastcote, not accessible by walking distance from Northwood or Northwood Hills. In addition, Harefield is served with very limited public transport options.

• together with local commissioners of health services and employment services, consider how best to ensure that the families who need services can be supported to access them;
• target children’s centres services at young children and families in the area who are at risk of poor outcomes through, for example, effective outreach services, based on the analysis of local need;
• demonstrate that all children and families can be reached effectively.

The centre provides midwifery services for approximately 800 expecting and new mothers each year. Under the new proposals this service will not be in walking distance.

Hillside Children’s Centre provides a family support worker who supports and works closely with our most vulnerable families from both Hillside schools and three other local Primary schools. The closure would mean that there is no longer a key family support worker who has detailed knowledge and effective relationships with our most vulnerable families.

The proposed closure of the centre would mean the hub centre based at South Ruislip Children’s Centre would have an outreach of nearly 8,000 children.

• ensure that opening times and availability of services meet the needs of families in their area;
• not close an existing children’s centre site in any reorganisation of provision unless they can demonstrate that, where they decide to close a children’s centre site, the outcomes for children, particularly the most disadvantaged, would not be adversely affected and will not compromise the duty to have sufficient children’s centres to meet local need. The starting point should therefore be a presumption against the closure of children’s centres;

The closure of the centre would adversely affect all families who use the centre, especially our most disadvantaged and does compromise the local need as there would not be a centre in walking distance that also supports and links with Northwood and Northwood Hills schools.

It also says the Local Authority should…

• take into account the views of local families and communities in deciding what is sufficient children’s centre provision;
• take account of families crossing local authority borders to use children’s centres in their authority. Families and carers are free to access early childhood services where it suits them best; and
• take into account wider duties under section 17 of the Childcare Act 1989 and under the Child Poverty Act 2010.

In our opinion there has not been sufficient or adequate opportunity to take into consideration the views of families crossing the local authority borders or the opinions of local families and the Northwood and Northwood Hills community.

Please use the opportunity to share your opinions through the link below and by signing our petition.

We the undersigned believe that Hillside Children’s Centre should be protected from closure. We request that the Centre continues to provide essential services for families in our local community of Northwood and Northwood Hills.