Petition: Increase and protect budget for Sure Start children's centres

Purpose and potential supporters:
Parents of children under-5, their extended families, child-minders, workers of children centres

Petition addressed to:
David Cameron and the members of the coalition Government

Rationale for the petition:
In spite of David Cameron and his government's promise that the budget for Sure Start children centres was ring-fenced, children centres' are running with increasingly lower budgets, increased demand, and many of them are under the threat of imminent closure. We think children centres are great places for young children to play safely and interact with other children. They are also good places for parents to meet other parents facing the same type of challenges and to reduce the feeling of isolation many parents -especially new mothers- may feel in the first few months of their babies lives. Children centre also provide valuable health and nutrition information and healthy snacks for children. Finally during the the winter and period of bad weather, children centre provide a warm place to play for children to play and make it possible for children and parents to go out of their homes almost every day.

Please sign this petition and help persuading the Government of the great need for increasing and protecting the budget for Sure Start children centres. Thank you very much.

Petition:
Dear Prime Minister and members of the coalition Government of the UK,

Children centres are fundamental tools for small children socialisation. They are great places for young children to play safely and interact with other children. They also allow parents to meet other parents facing the same type of challenges and to reduce the feeling of isolation many parents -especially new mothers- may feel in the first few months of their babies lives. Moreover, children centre also provide valuable health and nutrition information and healthy snacks for children.

Unfortunately due to the gradual reduction in budget allocations for the Sure Start program these centres are finding increasing difficult to provide the much needed service they used to provide. To make it possible for children centres to deal with their demand and be able to extend their services and opening days and times, we would like to you Mr Cameron and the members of the coalition government to increase and protect the budget for Sure Start children centres.

Thank you very much for your understanding.

We look forward to your action concerning this pressing problem.

Yours sincerely,

Goal:

5000 signatures

Petition by:
Jormavic (netivist username). Mother of two children under 5, London.

Deadline:

15-05-2015

Important: signing this petition is anonymous. Only if you comment will it appear on the the discussion forum.