Children's Centres: Closures
The question
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many former Sure Start children’s centres have (a) closed and (b) reduced services so that they no longer meet the statutory criteria of a children’s centre since 2011.
Answered by Josh MacAlister
Ensuring every child has the best start in life, the chance to achieve and to thrive, are the foundation stones of the government’s Opportunity Mission.
Data on the number of Sure Start children’s centres is supplied by local authorities via the department’s Get Information about Schools database portal, which can be accessed here: https://www.get-information-schools.service.gov.uk/.
Based on information supplied by local authorities, 779 children’s centres have closed since 2011. Local authorities have converted a further 686 children’s centres into ‘children’s centre linked sites’. These are formerly children's centres in their own right, but they no longer meet the statutory definition of a children’s centre. They offer some early childhood services on behalf of another children's centre.
These figures are based on information supplied by local authorities as at 2 September 2025. These figures could change again in future, since local authorities may update the database at any time.
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