Children’s Centres Census 2013: A national overview of developments in Children’s Centres

The findings of this year’s Children’s Centres Census attest to the resourcefulness and commitment of the many local authorities, Children’s Centre Managers, staff and volunteers, who are stretching every sinew to maintain and build them as a vital resource in their support for young children and their families and in their early intervention strategies.

The results of the Census indicate that the need for Children’s Centres’ services remains very strong. Nearly three-quarters of respondents report that the number of families using their services has increased over the past year and more than half are supporting over 300 families on a regular basis. Based on our findings, we estimate that Children’s Centres are currently helping more than one million families across the country. Around two-thirds of those have been identified as disadvantaged (320,000 of the 500,000 families with at least one child aged 0-5 years defined as such).