MUMS say they are feeling isolated and scared for the future as children centres close this month, leaving many families no longer eligible for support.

They say a lifeline has been taken away and are now worried about where they can get help when they are struggling.

The 58 children’s centres in Surrey axed in the restructuring of the county council’s Early Help provision will be replaced by 20 family centres run by a mix of borough and district councils, charities and other schools.

In Waverley, Hale Family Centre in Farnham and Loseley Fields Family Centre in Binscombe are now open – while Potters Gate, Elstead are among those set to close this month and Tennyson’s, Haslemere, has shut.

But mums who relied on the children’s centres say they no longer meet the new criteria.

They say they had no idea they would not be eligible for help from the new family centres until they tried to contact outreach workers and were told they could no longer help them. 

Nicole Beaven, 26, has two children aged seven and three, both with additional needs. 

She says her local centre in Eashing Lane, Godalming was a lifeline providing support when she felt she could not cope, helping with filling in paperwork and forms and was somewhere she could turn. 

She said: “My mental health is up and down all the time. They were always there for me and I can’t just go to them now like I used to.”

Mum of four Helen, 36, has also been accessing classes and support at the centre for nearly ten years, but found out last month she could no longer attend.

Her surname has been withheld as she cares for a vulnerable child.

She said: “Since July I have gone in a couple of times to see if I can get help, but they said no because we don’t meet the criteria anymore.”

Waverley Family Centres will be run by Barnardo’s on behalf of Surrey County Council.

Under the new criteria for family centres set out by Surrey County Council, support is provided for families with children aged up to 11 who need Level 3 targeted help.

Families who need support now need a ‘request for support’ form from a health visitor, school, GP, or early years worker. Some family centres will be providing group sessions for those “needing a little extra help”.

Surrey County Council said it had provided guidance to centre staff to help them manage the transition and that each centre has communicated directly with individual families who need support.

By Rebecca Curley, Local Democracy Reporter