KCC fundamentally misunderstands Millmead Children’s Centre

Time is running out to save Millmead Children’s Centre from the heartless cost-saving of Kent County Council’s Sue Chandler.

I appreciate that balancing the books is hard but what the KCC leaders are proposing fundamentally misunderstands Millmead Children’s Centre and what that centre has done and could continue to do for the community.

The council says it is trying to make £100m in savings by 2026.

It says services are available at other sites in both areas.

Staff at the Millmead Centre in Margate were told on 25 July their jobs are at risk.

Millmead manager Jan Collins’ said: “I understand why this is happening but I cannot and will not accept depleting these services in areas of high poverty and that is why I am encouraging as many people as possible to respond to the public consultation before it’s too late.”

.Children’s centres threatened by funding cuts, BBC News

Savings over services

Cllr Sue Chandler, cabinet member for integrated children’s services, wants to find “efficiency savings” by cancelling services inside a community and expecting similar services outside the area to pick up the slack. That’s not how any of that works, Sue.

The reason Millmead Children’s Centre found success in the first place is that it addressed unmet needs in Millmead and Dane Valley. Not least of all, The children’s centre created a community hub within walking distance of where it was needed.

For some reason, Conservative-run KCC, wants us to believe that a quick mile-and-a-half stroll to an already busy location will be just as good. I have no idea how they think such a distant second-tier offering will prevent families from falling through the cracks as they did before.

Labour’s member for Thanet Cllr Barry Lewis has invited the Kent County Councillors to come and experience what a three-mile walk with a pram is like.

This included a three-mile pram push to highlight the journey dozens of parents will have to make if Millmead is shut down. Millmead offers a range of free-of-charge services designed to help parents cope on low incomes, including advice and free courses.

Last ditch talks to be held over Kent children’s centre closure, Kent Live

Probably not political, right?

I’m sure the fact that Conservative councillors are cutting services in a predominantly Labour voting area has nothing to do with it. We can trust them, right?

The “on paper it works” cost-cutting exercise will create a two-tier system of family services and support. For those who live near where the services will still be offered, those services will continue to be free. After all, it will remain within walking distance. Meanwhile, those in Millmead will not have a free service. There will be a very real cost to travel either by bus or taxi.

Not to mention the fuss of getting your family all the way over there. With the best will in the world, some families are going to disengage.

I can still remember the time when money was so tight that a bus ticket was too expensive if I wanted to eat. With everything rising in price, can Cllr Sue Chandler be certain no other families are facing a similar choice? I rather suspect that this was never a factor of consideration to start with.

We need community hubs like Millmead Children’s Centre

KCC has failed to understand how important community hubs are for well-being and social cohesion. I truly hope that Conservative KCC leader Roger Gough’s reported visit to the children’s centre today helps him see that the people of Millmead are more than just numbers on a balance sheet.

The services that KCC funds through Millmead Children’s Centre support a lot more than just the basic services. Millmead Children’s Centre program means that a nursery, a youth club, a food bank, and other community support can be offered. These are not on the balance sheet for the cost-cutting exercise. These are vital community assets that can only exist because well-funded family services also run from the community space. KCC are not just cancelling a single service but a whole suit of them.

Jobs could be at risk, as well as a food bank and discounted food subscription service that operates from the site if the funding is cut, according to staff at Millmead.

MP warns against cutting Thanet children’s centre, BBC News

Without seeing the bigger picture, KCC will continue to fundamentally misunderstand the children’s centre, what it means to the community, and the benefits that never show up on a balance sheet.

Families say they “will be lost” if services, including the weekly youth club, can no longer be provided at Millmead Children’s Centre due to Kent County Council plans to withdraw funding.

Around 30 youngsters, aged 8-15, attend the youth club which is just one of several lifeline services provided at the centre on Dane Valley Road.

Youth club among services that will be lost at Millmead Family Hub if county council funding is withdrawn, The Isle of Thanet News

A vital point of community support

I wonder if the Conservatives in KCC are embarrassed that the two children’s centres run by external agencies have demonstrated a greater level of service and a wider range of services. After all, these are the two that KCC wants to close despite the improved value for money that they provide

They can sell this not as shuttering centres that are showing them up but as the simple non-renewal of funding. It would be tempting to suggest that the Conservatives leading Kent County Council will lose no sleep over disadvantaging potential future Labour voters.

I hope that Roger Gough and Sue Chandler understand that the centre hosts a food bank. This might not sound like much until you realise this may literally be the reason people can eat. I’ve gone hungry from lack of money before. I can tell you it was one of the most miserable times of my life. If not for the kindness of others, it could have been so much worse. Dane Valley has incredibly high levels of poverty and food is getting crazy expensive. While we might be tempted to pass blame for that, what the area needs is more support, not cuts and recriminations.

On a guided tour of the nursery, Jan explains it is not just the children coming here who are anxious, hungry or poorly turned out, it is the parents too.

“This is what poverty and deprivation looks like.”

Staff and parents at children’s centres in Margate and Sheerness urge Kent County Council not to cut funding, Kent Online

The centre is not just a pawn in a game of politics. It is a vital community asset the loss of which will have real human consequences for a long time to come.

Meadow Nursery

I recall that in the early years of the Millmead Centre, the nursery (Meadow Nursery) there saw children moving on to school at or above the recommended minimum level of learning in the high 90s – 97% or something like that. Compared to a quite low average for the area – something like 16%. I forget the exact details but the point is that Millmead Children’s Centre is making a difference in the lives of children and families that could only have happened because of the location and the excellent management of the facility.

Meadow Nursery continues to receive glowing OFSTED reports consistently rating them Good to Outstanding.

Children demonstrate exceptional skills and make remarkable progress in readiness for school. Children are highly motivated and learn the skills needed for their future. Younger children practise using a knife and fork as they cut up part-boiled carrots and parsnips. Older children anticipate key events in stories, developing their interest in literacy. They learn to respect and value the differences between themselves and others.

Outcomes for children are outstanding, Meadow Nursery, OSTED report November 2017

This excellent nursery depends on Millmead Shildren’s Centre because it is on the centre’s property. You cannot just cut the centre’s main reason for being and think that the attached community programs can continue in the same way.

Kick us while we’re down?

I put a lot of work into supporting Millmead Children’s Centre when it was first starting. When my children went to Meadow Nursery, I was a parent representative on the management board. While my part in the centre’s story is relatively minor I was well-placed to see the skill and effort that went into making something truly special. I’ve seen first-hand how it has helped people who live around here.

The vast majority of people involved in steering and growing the centre almost certainly put in much more time and effort. even so, I am proud of the contribution I made to a project that has done so much good in the community.

I have seen the way the centre has met local needs in a way that no other service ever has. Times are tough for everybody right now. This threatened cut truly feels like being kicked when we were already down.

Cllr Roger Gough, we might not agree politically, but please reconsider. Dane Valley needs this community hub in ways that will not show up don’t he balance sheets. Consider this an investment in lives that are only just starting.

I’m begging you. Do the right thing and confirm funding in 2025 for Millmead Children’s Centre.

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