Families across Cumbria are set to benefit after Children's Minister Margaret Hodge gave the go-ahead for nine new Sure Start Children's Centres for the County.
The centres will be in Workington, Cleator Moor, West Carlisle, Longtown and Carlisle South, three in Barrow and a special rural centre to serve the communities of Lakes Grasmere and Lakes Ambleside.
The centres will offer integrated early education, childcare, health services, family support and help into employment. The centres will act as models for the future transformation of children's services in Cumbria.
County councillor Joan Stocker, Cabinet member for education said:
"The children's centre initiative is entirely consistent with the county council's commitment to improve social, emotional and educational opportunities available for the children and young people of this area and gives us a real opportunity to develop universal services. I am delighted that so many providers have been approved as children's centres. The centres will enable families in each community access the services they need, when and where they need it."
Cumbria Sure Start’s children’s centres and extended schools policy officer, Tricia Bewick said:
"The staff of Cumbria Sure Start have been working for over 18 months with colleagues in education, childcare settings, health, social services, the voluntary sector, Jobcentre Plus and the library service to develop children’s centres which will serve our local communities. I am delighted that we have received confirmation from the national Sure Start unit to say that the first nine Sure Start children’s centres in Cumbria have now received ‘designation’ from the Government. We hope that we can work together to develop these centres so that children and parents can start to benefit from the services they offer as soon as possible. Our target is for 15 centres to be open by March next year and we will shortly be starting to develop plans for phase 2 (2006-08) children’s centres.
I congratulate and thank our colleagues at each children’s centre for the hard work and commitment they have shown to achieving children’s centre designation."