‘They had given me my sanity back’: Mums across Oxfordshire campaign to save children's centres from cuts

It is hard to imagine this buzzing centre sitting empty, with no-one to enjoy the fairy lights strung across the classroom or the hand-doodled bunting proudly in the playroom.

Yet that is the reality facing this ‘lifeline’ of a centre in Cutteslowe, and dozens of others across the county, which are set to be cut from the county council’s budget today.

Protesters, led by mum Jill Huish from Banbury, have led repeated demonstrations and they marched through Oxford on Saturday.

Among those demonstrating was Clare Currie, from Oxford, the aunt of David Cameron.

She and David Cameron’s mother, Mary Cameron, have signed a petition calling for the children’s centres to be saved.

Cutteslowe mum Stephanie Henman uses the North Oxford centre daily with her baby daughter Lyla.

The mum-of-one said: “I went to the children’s centre for the first time when she was three days old.

“Her umbilical cord had started to bleed and I was really worried about it being infected.

“The children’s centre is a lifeline. If I had her now and the centre wasn’t here I would be so isolated and so lonely.

“I wouldn’t be as good a mum or have as many skills – it is so reassuring.

“There are different courses like in baby massage and classes on health and nutrition. I just think it’s invaluable. It breaks my heart that they might shut them. There are so many cases of people thinking ‘I’m really drained and down’ who could end up with post-natal depression.

“That could just be stopped by someone asking them if they are okay, and if they want a cup of tea.”

Far from just being a place to leave little ones while parents are busy, children’s centres teach life lessons.

As children play together on a colourful rug, overshadowed by wooden boxes stuffed with books, Dilba Cacan said the centre’s staff and visitors were ‘like family’.

The mum-of-four, whose children range from four to 15, started using children’s centres after moving to England from Turkey.

The 38-year-old, who lives in Cutteslowe, said: “My second child was two months premature – I spent seven months in hospital and I wouldn’t socialise.

“I had no family here and didn’t know any English.

“We need this centre, not just my children who are growing up, but for children in the future. They need help.

“I was a refugee when I first came to this country, I want to give back and learn.

“I knew nothing when I came here, even to go shopping or go to the pub I didn’t really know how.

“If we have a problem they will give very helpful advice, help us fill in forms. I don’t know how they can close it.”

Mrs Cacan, who was an economics teacher in Turkey, volunteers as a teaching assistant at Cutteslowe Primary School.

Headteacher Jon Gray said: “The centre helps prepare parents for school and gives them educational support.

“If it wasn’t there those families would not at home and would not be engaged in early intervention. You can learn so much from each other.”

He referred to the eight targeted hubs which the county council has proposed to replace centres, where volunteers will help people who have been referred from social services and GPs.

He added: “Those eight centres, how are they going to provide outreach?

“We have the most extreme vulnerable families that need consistency. If it’s not on their doorstep they won’t find it further afield.”

• Sylvia Howells, left, of the Bicester Labour Party, and campaigner Jill Huish 

Nicola Harris, 34, was facing money problems and an abusive relationship.

She struggled to communicate with her six children, now aged between two and 16, before discovering the centre.

She said: “It has changed my life. It’s like another family home that you can go to have five minutes out of your own four walls. They gave me all of my own sanity back. I met this guy and he knocked my shield down.

“I was depressed and down – they have given my kids a better life.”

Ms Harris’ twins, who struggle to talk properly, get speech therapy through the centre.

She added: “Before I went to the children’s centre I stayed at home by myself.

“I started using the food bank where I met one of the workers.

“At that time my youngest child was four weeks old and was in intensive care with pneumonia. She was fighting for her life. The children’s centre took the bad and the good with me and helped me through it.

“They taught me how to communicate with people. They’ve given me courses and helped me fill out forms for my daughter’s Disability Living Allowance. If it goes, I am truly stuck. It’s what keeps our community going.”

Leaflets on everything from healthcare to debt are stuffed in display shelves around the centre, encouraging parents to ask staff for advice.

Sarah Levete works at Oxfordshire Skills and Learning Services – part of Abingdon and Witney College – delivering courses at children’s centres across the county.

She said: “The progress people make is fantastic, they are really supported by the centre. It’s really rewarding. It’s about encouraging people back into learning and supporting them, and reducing the barriers in a supportive way. It’s a stepping stone to go onto other things.”

Jean Fooks, Liberal Democrat city councillor for Summertown, hailed the centres as a ‘lifesaver’.

She said: “People with a new baby take one look at it and think ‘help’.

“A lot of people come from abroad who don’t know anybody – it’s extremely lonely.

“This has really been a lifesaver and enabled parents to meet others. People who go there would literally fall apart knowing they couldn’t.

• Saturday’s protest march against the cuts

“It is very much a prevention service. If people are having problems they can get help before it gets worse.

“They can share experiences with no stigma. If parents can’t get support the children will suffer and quite possibly be taken into care.”

Jill Huish has spent months crusading for the county’s centres to stay open, heading up the group Save Oxfordshire’s Children’s Centres to save the universal services.

The 33-year-old former chef was rescued from a bad relationship when she discovered Banbury Children’s Centre.

She said: “I didn’t know anyone when I moved to Banbury, it was through the centre that I built up a network of friends. It’s that hidden power that people don’t understand.

“Volunteers don’t compare to well-trained staff. They are not able to spot things like if someone was wearing long sleeves in the middle of summer which could mean she was self-harming.

“Social services are so overstretched. I’m really worried about how they will be helped before they get to that point.

“The reason we fight is because you should be able to push your pram to the children’s centres.

“You shouldn’t have to get a bus or a train.”

She issued a final warning to councillors: “Once you have pulled this service apart, we will never be able to put it back together again.”