Little Owls Leeds: Parents fear privatising nurseries could reduce neglect intervention opportunities

It was reported yesterday (August 28) that most professionals working with children feel there are not enough services available to support those experiencing neglect in England, according to charity NSPCC.

The finding - from a survey of 700 professionals working across healthcare, police, children’s social care and education - comes as Leeds City Council considers the privatisation of 12 Little Owls nurseries across the city.

The authority agreed earlier this year to pull out of running three Little Owls nurseries in Leeds, meaning that they would permanently close.

It was also agreed that the possibility of seeking new providers for the remaining Little Owls nurseries would be explored, prompting concerns about increased costs.

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Parents also said that, in closing and privatising childcare, the council could be “decreasing the incredibly important early-intervention they offer to families”, as they argued nurseries in council ownership come with increased staff training and accountability.

In a statement, parents involved in the Save Little Owls campaign said: “As Leeds City Council considers passing nearly half of their valuable nurseries into alternative ownership, children’s charities are speaking of a huge rise in children experiencing neglect, and early-intervention support for families which is just no longer there.

“Little Owls nurseries provide superb support to all sorts of families all over our city. Leeds City Council has simply not considered the impact that removing so many from council ownership (which comes with increased staff training and accountability) will have on the children and families of our city.

“We call on Leeds City Council to think again and to protect this valuable and very successful service.”

NSPCC has called for a national strategy for England to tackle child neglect in response to the recent survey.

It showed that 83 per cent of professionals believe there are not enough services available to provide support for children experiencing neglect.

Of those polled, 54 per cent said they’d seen an increase in neglect cases during their professional life.

A Leeds City Council spokesperson said: “We are proud of our Early Help approach to supporting children and families in Leeds, which is across our services, from our Early Help Hubs, to our partnerships with schools, health services, children’s centres, police and social work.

“Early Help in Leeds is the bedrock of our children’s services' ‘outstanding’ Ofsted judgement.

“Regardless of the outcome of the market-sounding exercise, the council will be directly providing, at a minimum, nine nurseries across the city.

“This continued investment, at a time of significant financial stress for the council and local government in general, is a sign of the council’s commitment to early intervention and providing the best start it can to children across the city.

“Leeds City Council will remain an outlier amongst councils in England in continuing its own direct nursery service.”

The spokesperson continued: “The exercise currently underway is part of a thorough review of the Little Owls provision to explore and evaluate options for the future in light of the service’s ongoing financial deficit and the council’s increasingly challenging financial position.

“These options include examining potential interest from alternative high-quality providers.

“The council has a duty to ensure there is sufficient childcare capacity in the city so that parents or carers can work or train. This remains a priority and whilst we do not have to directly deliver provision, we remain absolutely committed to meeting the needs of children and their families across Leeds.”