Council-run centre needs improvement, says watchdog

First Ofsted report into Hungerford-based establishment

A CENTRE which caters for young children from Hungerford, Kintbury and the Lambourn Valley needs improvement, according to a watchdog report.

Hungerford Children’s Centre provides a range of services, including health visitor clinics, speech and language therapy, play and learn sessions, and courses for family support, parenting and emotional well-being.

Although the majority of these services are located in the centre premises at the Croft, Hungerford, regular weekly activities are held at Lambourn and Kintbury.

There are 1,033 children aged under five living in the catchment area of the centre, which opened in 2006 to deliver services on behalf of West Berkshire Council.

The Ofsted report said that the “skills and knowledge of children when they start school are typical for their age, except in Lambourn and Kintbury where they are typically lower.”

The centre has identified its priority groups as those families from ethnic minority backgrounds, lone parents, children with low levels of language and literacy and parents who have low self-esteem and are at risk of deteriorating mental health.

However, the inspectors found a host of key areas which required improvement, particularly:

* access to services by young children and families

* the quality of practice and services

* the effectiveness of leadership, governance and management

The findings coincide with a damning Ofsted report into district-wide, West Berkshire Council-run children’s services in which failures reportedly put youngsters at risk.

The inspectors who assessed the centre, too, were critical of the support provided by West Berkshire Council.

There was some good news, too, however, with the report quoting one parent who said the centre had “turned my life around”.

Inspectors also acknowledged that parents were appreciative of the support and advice provided, with one describing it as a “lifeline” and another as “the only place where I feel safe outside my home”.

In addition, the report noted that “children who have attended (the centre) and then moved on to the nursery school achieve higher than their peers at the end of the Early Years foundation stage”.

The headteacher at the centre and nursery school, Suzanne Taylor, said: “I am delighted that so many families have vocalised their support for the centre.

“This is the first Ofsted inspection for the children’s centre and it provides a useful framework for our continued improvement.

“We will be working closely with the council to action the points for improvement highlighted in the report.”

West Berkshire executive member for education, Dominic Boeck (Con, Aldermaston) said: “The positive comment from those using (the centre) endorses the fact that this is a very important resource.

“We will be working hard to ensure that the centre is given the support and guidance it requires to take it to the good Ofsted grading it so rightly deserves.”