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
Many Britons are waiting 12 hours at A&E
The crisis in emergency care has deep roots
Is British justice too secretive?
Controversy rages over what happened both before and after a horrendous mass stabbing
Britain’s oldest newspaper is a treasure trove of trivia
Why historians love the London Gazette
The rise of the Net-Zero Dad
Middle-aged men care less about the problem. But they love the solution
Backing Heathrow expansion suggests Labour is serious about boosting growth
It is the surest sign yet that the government is up for the fight