Council to axe a quarter of its workforce providing support to families of children under-five

manchestereveningnews.co.uk:

Bolton Council is to axe a quarter of workers from a service which aims to improve the lives of young children. The cutting of 13 jobs at Start Well will save the authority £538,000 per year, along with other measures, but will affect services aimed at families with children aged 0 to five.

Among the services currently provided are baby clinic drop ins, breast feeding support groups, access to community midwives, new baby groups, parenting courses, speech therapy sessions and stay, play and learn sessions READ MORE:Mum moved by complete stranger's act of kindness for hungry child in The Range The Start Well service in the borough implements the Greater Manchester school readiness model and supports the delivery of the Healthy Child Programme with health services.

This includes 17 Start Well family centres in the borough, which Bolton Council says ‘delivers evidence-based parenting interventions and groups for families and children’.

On its website, the council says the priority of the service is: “For Bolton to be a place that all children have the best possible start in life so they begin school ready to learn, thrive and be healthy and happy.” But a report seeking to implement the cuts, which mainly affect front line workers, was this week approved by Bolton’s cabinet member for children’s services, Coun Anne Galloway.