WHETHER you are a new mum wanting to make friends or a struggling parent needing support, children’s’ centres are an invaluable free service to many caring for children.

However, government cuts and financial instability has meant Essex’s children’s centres have been in an uncertain position.

From April next year children’s centres as we know them will cease to exist.

In place of them will be “family hubs” which will offer services to from pre-birth to 19, and up to 25 for people with additional needs.

The health, wellbeing and family support service will include 12 family hubs across the county, which will be open 50 hours per week offering weekend and evening provision.

Family hubs will be supported by 25 family hub delivery sites and a large number of local, outreach sites.

Over the last two years ago there has been a reduction in the number of fixed children’s centres and an increase in outreach sites.

Councillor Dick Madden, Essex County Council’s cabinet member for adults and children, said: “We need to build services without walls. This approach takes the Pre-Birth to 19 Health, Wellbeing and Family Support service to the village hall, or even the front room, and makes sure that families, who need support most, receive it wherever they live.”

Staff will support families with children in their homes or in local clinics or play areas not just within a centre environment.

Southend Council hope to safeguard its nine children’s centres by “streamlining” the management of the centres.

We visited Northlands Park Children’s Centre, in Pitsea, to ask mums who use this vital service and find out why it is important to them.

The centre, in Davenants, was bustling with mums and happy children when I visited this week.

Indoors there was a big room filled with lots of different activities and outside there was an expansive play area with a climbing frame and a tyre obstacle course.

Everyone looked happy to be there and all around there were kids riding toy cars and others pushed doll’s prams around.

After half an hour outside the families were called in for sing-a-long time and they all stood in a circle and joined in with the nursery rhymes.

Kelly Freegard, 38, from Montsale, Pitsea, visits with her son Marshall.

She said: “I have an older son Leigh who is 11 and we used to go to the centre when he was a couple of months old.

“After I had Marshall it was a bit different because he had his brother to play with so I didn’t come to the sessions.

“I have started coming now because he is at an age where he just loves being around other kids and is really sociable.

“When I ask if he wants to go to play group he gets all excited and goes and gets his shoes!”

Sharon Wild, manager at the centre, and Craig Horner, assistant director of Barnados, showed me around Northlands Park.

The mums who spoke to me were very positive about the children’s centre notably the way in which staff went out of their way to help parents in need.

On the financial pressure on charities delivering council-funded services, Mr Horner said: “Yes there have been challenges due to austerity measures but Barnados does benefit from having a lot of volunteer support.

“I started out volunteering in a drug and alcohol centre and then my career progressed from there.

“This centre covers some of the most deprived people in Essex, if not the country. We want to give all children support so they all have the same life choices. Nothing is more important than the children.”