13/01/04 - New Allerdale Team to Improve Early Years & Childcare Services

Cumbria’s Early Years Development and Childcare Partnership has now developed an Allerdale local area team, one of six local teams working across the county to ensure the individual family needs of communities are met and quality provision is there for all.  The Partnership, which supports the growth and quality of childcare provision available throughout Cumbria, has developed these teams so that it can respond more quickly and effectively to local needs.

County Councillor Joan Stocker, Cabinet Spokesperson for Education says

“Listening to parents and carers needs is at the heart of developing specific services for local communities. The whole aim of the team is to develop new childcare places and support existing groups such as full day-care, breakfast clubs, after-school clubs, crèches, playgroups, childminders, home and home childcarers thereby providing local choice for parents.  This is done by working with partners in the statutory, voluntary, private and community sectors.  There are many innovative schemes already running throughout the County meeting the needs of their local community and I hope this excellent work continues with the support of these new teams.” 

Deborah Paniagua, the Senior Development Worker for Allerdale says, 

“The team members have great experience in childcare and early education.  We are working with all childcare providers, to ensure that we are able to meet the needs of the children and parents of Allerdale. As we are a new team, at the moment we are trying to visit as many providers as possible. Tina Hugo, and myself have been meeting lots of lovely people, all working very hard in their settings.

We have been involved in a number of diverse projects all over Allerdale. We are in the process of developing three Children’s Centre: one in North Allerdale which will build on the Mini Sure Start and Neighbourhood Nursery; one in West Allerdale building onto the existing Sure Start programme, and the one in Workington will be the major Children’s Centre development in the County and is being built onto the Workington Family Support Project. The Children Centres programme builds on the positive outcomes and research evidence developed by the local Sure Start and Early Excellence projects, which indicate that positive early intervention and access to services has long term beneficial effect on children’s learning and social development and family cohesion. 

We are also working with Workington Regeneration and the Keswick Area Partnership to try and ensure that there is enough childcare provision in those areas, as lack of childcare is a considerable barrier to employment and training. This is an exercise we hope to repeat all over Allerdale.

Starting on 15th January we are running a four-day Making Choices course, which offers lots of information on careers in childcare and training opportunities to those considering working in childcare. Then at the end of January we will be running a session about Childminding in Maryport – “Everything you wanted to know about Childminding…but were afraid to ask!” and we hope anyone interested will come along.

Funding will be available soon, to help people who would like to set up a childcare service and childminder grants are still available. So anyone interested in developing any kind of childcare provision can contact us and a development worker will be on hand to offer help and support every step of the way.

To contact your local Area Team ring the Children’s Information Service on 08457 125737.