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Top childcare facility for Cheetham

NEWS RELEASE

11 December 2003

Top childcare facility for Cheetham

The national charity for pre-schools in England, Pre-school Learning Alliance, has been awarded a grant to build a new neighbourhood nursery as part of the existing Woodville Resource Centre in Shirley Road. The nursery will be based in the ward of Cheetham in Manchester and, with support from the Pre-school Learning Alliance, hopes to provide the very best childcare facilities to meet the needs of families in the area.

Cheetham Neighbourhood Nursery will deliver flexible nursery education and care for young children from six months to school age, including full day care, to allow for continuity of care for the children and their families in the area. The facility will provide a safe, friendly and caring environment in which children can learn.

Today an award of £128,000 from the New Opportunities Fund was announced (in addition to the sum of £77,000 from Sure Start). This will be used to build the brand new nursery, which will provide 50 nursery places as part of the Cheetham Family Centre. Currently parents in the area have very few local childcare choices and the new facility — which is expected to be completed next spring — will provide families in the Cheetham area with a much-needed provision. The Pre-school Learning Alliance will be working very closely with Sure Start and the local Early Years Development and Childcare Partnership to improve facilities for families. The Centre will offer family learning opportunities, a drop-in and advice centre and will also provide a range of workshops for parents and carers, alongside flexible, affordable childcare.

Pat Styles, North West Regional Executive Officer at the Pre-school Learning Alliance commented:

"Having been involved in this project since it's conception in the Spring of 2002, I am delighted that the parents of Cheetham, and the existing staff of Cheetham Family Centre, who have worked so hard to make this happen, will finally have such a superb facility."

Neighbourhood Nurseries are part of the Government's wider Neighbourhood Childcare Initiative (NCI). The NCI aims to create new childcare places in the most disadvantaged areas of the country through childminding (25,000), nursery provision (45,000) and out of school care (50,000) and through the support of childminder networks.

The Pre-school Learning Alliance is currently establishing a network of over 20 Neighbourhood Nurseries nationwide. The nurseries will be built to a unique design, designed from the inside out to suit the needs of the children and parents who will use them. The traditional emphasis on the exterior architecture has been replaced with a design based around creating an interior that places children's and parents' needs first. The importance of parental involvement is a key part of the Pre-school Learning Alliance campaign, changing lives changing life.

The campaign is seeking, via its Charter for Parents and the Early Years, to obtain a childcare or nursery place for every child who needs one. The campaign is also calling for the involvement and full consultation of parents in their children's early education; continuity of care for children; and a commitment to ensure a better deal for the voluntary sector as a major contributor to universal childcare.

ENDS

For further information please contact:

Pat Styles
Pre-school Learning Alliance
T: 01772 423538
Out of hours press calls:
E: Pat Styles

Notes for Editors:

  1. The Pre-school Learning Alliance has 15,000 member pre-schools who look after 500,000 young children and their families in England every year. Registered as an educational charity, the Alliance is the national dimension of the pre-school movement. Its member pre-schools are based in the community and most are managed and run by parents, alongside trained staff.
  2. The charity is involved in more Sure Start projects than any other organisation and aims to open around 30 Neighbourhood Nurseries by the end of the year.
  3. Pre-school Learning Alliance members receive a regular magazine (Under Five) reflecting issues affecting the early years sector. If you would like to receive a copy of this please call 020 7833 0991.
  4. Further information and all press releases are available on the Pre-school Learning Alliance's website: www.pre-school.org.uk or email pressoffice@pre-school.org.uk
  5. The charity recently launched the next phase of its changing lives changing life campaign, which seeks to give all children the best possible start in life. For more information visit www.pre-school.org.uk or call 020 7833 0991
  6. The Cheetham Family Centre will be part of the existing Woodville Resource Centre, Shirley Road, Cheetham Hill, Manchester, M43 6NE. For more information about the new Cheetham Family Centre and Cheetham Neighbourhood Nursery, please contact Pat Styles on 01772 423538.
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