Who are we? 

Save Ealing Children’s Centres is a group of parents, carers and local community campaigners trying to stop Ealing Council from closing or ‘repurposing’ 10 children’s centres across our borough (repurposing is closure by another name).

We and our many supporters have responded to Ealing Council's public consultation, written to our Councillors to object, held protests, gathered more than 2,000 signatures on each of two different petitions, spoken at Council meetings and co-operated with Opposition councillors to try to reverse the decision – but the Council has so far not listened!

The vast majority of public responses to the consultation stated clearly that the reduction of centres from 25 to 12 would have a negative impact on their lives. Yet Ealing Council approved the decision to close or repurpose 10 children’s centres (reprieving just three)! We need all our children’s centres saved.

Why are we asking for your support? 

We are asking for your URGENT support to fund a legal challenge to Ealing Council's decision to close 10 children's centres. There is a strong case to be made that the Council has acted improperly through the process leading up to the decision. We have exhausted the few democratic routes available to try to pressure the Council to do the right thing – and we continue to protest and lobby councillors.

We believe we have a strong legal case, but there is a limited amount of time to bring it. That's why we are asking for you to donate what you can afford TODAY!

We have identified that:

1. Forthcoming government reforms could deliver the savings required by the Council – Ealing Council has rushed these proposed changes, given the forthcoming increase in funding and focus on the government’s new ‘Best Start’ strategy

2. There is little evidence that other ways of improving early years services and increasing reach have been properly explored or exhausted prior to proposal of these closures

3. There is no data or evidence included in the rationale for the proposed closures. The proposition to improve services by cutting the number of access points is actively misleading.

How much are we trying to raise and for what? 

We urgently need to raise £5,000 to cover initial legal fees of getting advice from solicitors and barrister. The legal team will investigate and consider all the Council's decision-making and consultation processes, advising us on the merits of the challenge and preparing pre-action correspondence to the local authority.

The advice will be obtained on behalf of individual families who are affected by the decision in Ealing.

If any funds raised are not used or compensation is gained through a successful legal challenge, Save Ealing Children’s Centres will donate the remaining money to local fundraisers on CrowdJustice. What are we trying to achieve?

What are we trying to achieve?

We are fundraising for this legal challenge because very young children and their families in Ealing value and need their local children’s centres.

We have tried everything we can to engage with the Council, which has so far not listened to the voices of parents or to the evidence that local children’s centres improve the lives of children and their families. We need our challenge to now take this further step.

Ealing Council expects residents to believe that by closing or changing the use of 10 children’s centres they will improve early years services, reach more young children and offer more help, with less staff and fewer resources. The opposite is true. These closures will disproportionately affect vulnerable children, lower-income families, women, single parents and people from minority backgrounds.

Last year in Ealing, 4810 children aged under 5 and their parents (2,277 children and 2,553 parents) attended those children’s centres that the Council has threatened to close. These totalled 19,688 visits over the year (9,770 for children and 9,918 by parents).

The closures will also mean that much-valued staff face losing their jobs, with all their skills and experience of engaging with children and families lost to the community.

Our aim is simple: to identify the failings in Ealing Council’s consultation and decision-making processes, and force Ealing Council to reverse its decision to close 10 children’s centres in the borough.

Please contribute and share this page now! Thank you so much, in advance, for your support!

What else can I do to help? 

Join our campaign. For more information you can find us at:

https://www.facebook.com/groups/899671585554071/

Or contact us at: [email protected]