Frequently asked questions

What does this mean for me? Will the council close my designated children’s centre?

McNay Street Children’s Centre will become the main hub with Skerne Park, Mount Pleasant and Dodmire becoming identified delivery points, albeit on a reduced basis. Haughton Children's Centre will close, however we will continue to provide an activity programme from Red Hall community centre.

What does Hub and Spoke mean?

The hub and spoke model clusters services in geographical areas for convenience of delivery and attendance. This means that a Children’s Centre may consist of several separate sites.

Will I still be able to attend activities at both the hub and delivery points?

The hub (McNay Street) will provide a full range of services, however there will be reduced services at the delivery points. Universal and Targeted services will be available. The level of provision of targeted services will be in relation to local need. In addition to this the council will continue to provide early help support to families, children and young people with additional needs.

Will I still be able to access well child health clinics at the hub and identified delivery points?

We are working closely with our health partners re continuation of clinics from the sites.

Will I still be able to attend family learning courses at the hub or delivery points?

We are working closely with the adult and community learning team to plan delivery of these courses on a needs-led basis from any of the sites.

Will you still provide activities from Red Hall and Maidendale Community Centres?

We intend to continue providing activities from these sites.

What is Building Stronger Families?

Building stronger families supports the widespread recognition that it is better to identify and deal with problems early rather than respond when difficulties have become acute. Darlington Children’s Centre hub and spoke model will be part of the wider Early Help model.

How many days will the delivery points run?

This will depend on local need.

Will you still run volunteer-led groups and support volunteers?

We are committed to supporting volunteers who could provide some of the universal groups as they do now.