Children’s centres in Britain are crammed again
The crush is changing how they operate
Her son was born in 2020, as covid-19 ravaged Britain. So no health visitor came to check on him and she could not take him to play groups, where she might have noticed the profound differences between him and other children. “Because of covid, we didn’t know what’s normal and what is not,” she says. Now three, her son is waiting to be assessed for autism. In the meantime, she brings him to a children’s centre in Devon, where he plays with trained staff in a quiet environment. She is one of many parents resorting to institutions that once seemed on the way out.
This article appeared in the Britain section of the print edition under the headline “When troubles come”
Britain June 10th 2023
- The difficulties facing Britain’s covid-19 inquiry
- Why does London have so much sexually transmitted disease?
- Children’s centres in Britain are crammed again
- How grassroots schemes are helping England’s non-white cricketers
- The fading charms of Britain’s historic cinemas
- Britons still do like to be beside the seaside
- British politics is littered with fake taboos
From the June 10th 2023 edition
Discover stories from this section and more in the list of contents
Explore the editionMore from Britain
The four worst words in British politics
Saying “not a good look” is not a good look
Inflation in Britain looks irritatingly persistent
Worse, the risk has appeared just as growth is sputtering
Labour lacks good ideas for improving Britain’s schools
Making private ones a bit more expensive is not an inspiring start
Britons brace themselves for more floods
A warming planet is making a soggy island soggier
Why meal-replacement drinks are shaking up the British lunch
They are being rebranded as aspirational as well as efficient