All of Oxfordshire’s 44 children’s centres are set to stay open after a county council review found savings could be made elsewhere.

The centres provide guidance and support for parents, including health services, childcare and early learning, and access to advice on speech therapy, health eating and managing money.

They were set up by the last Government in an attempt to tackle child poverty.

In other parts of the country, angry parents have launched mass protests and picketed council offices against plans to close centres to save millions of pounds.

A review of the future of Oxfordshire’s centres was launched earlier this year.

Now County Hall has signalled it will avoid a repeat of this year’s library and youth centre protests by ensuring all 44 stay open.

Savings totalling £500,000 will instead be found from the centres’ £9.5m budget by 2015 by reducing or merging management.

No final decision will be taken until the spring, and the proposals are still being finalised.

The councillor responsible for children’s services, Louise Chapman, said: “It is not an insignificant budget, and the ring-fencing was taken off by the new Government.

“A lot of councils have chosen to lose some of them, but we have not.

“I went in front of a council scrutiny committee yesterday and said: ‘Read my lips, no Children’s Centres will close under these budget proposals.”

She said the ongoing review of the service would identify which are working best so best practice could be shared.

Further savings will be made when contracts to run the centres come up for tender. Management may merge at some children’s centres to cut costs.

Ms Chapman said she wanted centres to reach more people and support families facing the toughest problems.

Derek Moore, assistant director of the Charity Spurgeon’s, which runs four Oxfordshire centres said: “We are pleased that Oxfordshire County Council has recognised the importance of support for parents of young children at this critical stage in their development.”

Blackbird Leys Children’s Centre volunteer Paula Mitty, 44, first started working at the Wesley Close centre after being given support there.

The mother-of-four said: “It is brilliant that they are keeping them open, but they should not mess around with them too much either.

“Changing them would damage their whole concept of them. They offer fantastic support to different people with different needs.”