Influential Pen Green children’s centre saved from closure after council U-turn

A legendary nursery school that has been called the world’s most famous children’s centre and was a blueprint for Sure Start has been saved from immediate closure after an 11th hour U-turn by Tory councillors in the face of widespread public opposition.

North Northamptonshire council dramatically announced midway through a packed and emotional public meeting on Tuesday that it would use £650k of reserves to keep the trailblazing Pen Green nursery in Corby and three other state-run nurseries afloat.

The council had come under fire from local parents and early years experts who accused it of “levelling down” and being “out of touch” with reality after it proposed to axe £520,000 from Pen Green to prop up the three other cash-starved nurseries.

The proposed cuts to Pen Green have become a potent symbol of the government’s alleged neglect of early years services, where more than 1,000 children’s centres have closed over the past decade, and of its failure, in a heavily leave-voting and economically deprived patch of Northamptonshire, to walk its levelling-up talk.

Just minutes before the U-turn councillors had been warning financial help was impossible. But the last-minute change of heart was welcomed by Pen Green, though it warned its share of the new funds would still leave it £175k out of pocket, lead to service cuts and not address longer-term funding issues.

“They are still levelling down, and there is still no recognition of the importance of our unique integrated services. We are still losing out financially, and while it is great news the other three nurseries are saved, we are still very much in danger,” said Angela Prodger, Pen Green’s joint director.

Jason Smithers, the leader of North Northamptonshire council said: “We have seen and heard passion and commitment from all of our nurseries and their advocates … I fully understand the strength of feeling regarding the funding for our maintained nursery schools in North Northamptonshire.”

Helen Hayes MP, the Shadow Minister for Children and Early Years, said: “Parents will be pleased and relieved to hear that Pen Green’s immediate future is secured. But this last-minute U-turn illustrates the continual uncertainty faced by nurseries and families. Across the country, thousands of childcare providers are facing a similar cliff edge after a decade of neglect from Conservative governments, making childcare increasingly unavailable and unaffordable for families.”

The council said the funding – the three other nurseries, which do not offer wider integrated services were given £100,000 each – was temporary to allow the nurseries “time to adapt”, suggesting that unless there was a boost in the overall funding, Pen Green could find itself in a similar position in a year’s time.

Pen Green is a world-leading model of integrated early years care, bringing together high-quality nursery, health, family support and social care services under one roof to provide the best possible start for families in a deprived former steel town scarred by poverty, ill-health and poor educational outcomes.

More than 1,000 children a year pass through its many services, it trains thousands of childcare and family workers and spawned a thriving internationally renowned research centre. Hundreds of people visit each year from all over the world, from Auckland to Bologna, Glasgow to Kazakhstan.

It is also treasured locally for its everyday successes: reaching out to struggling young parents and families and providing them with wrap-around support, getting their lives on track. A number of parents made emotional speeches to the council meeting about how it had rescued them and their children from despair.

A statement was read out at the council meeting from Tess McQuade, headteacher at Prior’s Hall, a Corby primary school. In it, she recalled how she had gone to Pen Green for support as a 17-year-old with twins born 11 weeks early. It helped her negotiate not only an abusive relationship but gave her space to return to her studies.

“Without Pen Green I would not be where I am today,” her testimony said. It added: “I can honestly say that the wonderful advocates who work at Pen Green Centre gave me strength and support when I was in need of it most.”

As one Pen Green parent told the Guardian, ultimately a Tory-run council was proposing to drastically cut the budget of Pen Green, slap bang in the county’s most deprived area, to prop up three nurseries elsewhere. “If you cut the centre’s funding, it is not levelling up – it’s levelling down.”

The latest threat to Pen Green – there have been several – will have reminded politicians in this currently Tory-held marginal parliamentary seat of the deep affection of local people for its famous nursery. One said: “It [Pen Green] is a family. It’s like your nan’s house on a Sunday. You know it is always there for you.”