27 March
There was cause for celebration in Kidbrooke last Friday when Greenwich Council announced the official opening of the Storkway Children’s Centre in Ridgebrook Road.
The opening day gave parents the chance to meet with members of staff to find out more about the new services available to them. There were also a wide-range of activities for children to enjoy, including face painting, arts and crafts, a bouncy castle and a live band performance.
Services available at the Storkway Children’s Centre include:
· Kidbrooke Health Visitor Team - running a parenting programme of therapeutic play sessions, and Storkway Baby club providing weekly baby clinic and support services.
· Greenwich Local Labour and Business and Eltham Job Centre Plus – offering individual advice sessions and support on a range of issues on employment, training and benefits.
· Children’s Information Service – offering information and advice about childcare and services for children.
· Nursery provision at the centre includes 50 places available 51 weeks a year from 8am-6pm, Monday – Friday. Places are for children aged 0-5 years old.
Julia Phillips, Greenwich Council’s Head of Sure Start, Early Years and Childcare, said,
“The Storkway Centre is already a valuable facility within the local community and with the new services that are now available, it will continue to provide a high quality service to local parents and their children.”
The Storkway Children’s Centre is one of 16 centres that will be opened across the borough in 2006, with another seven centres being planned for opening by 2008.
To find out more about the services at the Storkway Children’s Centre please contact Grace Atkins on 020 8331 1970.
ENDS
For more information please call David Harrison on 020 8921 5214.
Notes to editors:
The Storkway Children’s Centre originally opened as Storkway Family Resource Centre in March 2004.
Since it’s opening, 438 children, 437 families and 451 parents have used the centre.
Other resources available within the Storkway Centre include:
A specially equipped sensory room, a Toy Library Office, which offers weekly toy lending sessions, computer hot-desks, kitchen facilities and bookable meeting rooms.
Funding
Greenwich Neighbourhood Renewal is supporting Children's Centres across the borough, by contributing £2m of investment to help ensure that there are Children's Centres in all of the most deprived areas of Greenwich.
The Storkway Children’s Centre has also received funding from the Sure Start Unit, SRB5 South Greenwich Regeneration Agency, The Woolwich Development Agency, Neighbourhood Nursery Initiative, Hyde Housing Association and Greenwich Council.
Background
Children’s centres are a key element in Greenwich Council’s Modernisation Programme bringing together major investment in buildings and technology to improve the accessibility of services to Greenwich residents.
The Council believes investment in such centres will make significant changes by giving children a better start in life and supporting parents with more help and information when they need it, by offering them real choices about training and employment.