Derby Street Children's Centre > >

Before		After

The Official Opening ...

Visitors of all ages celebrated as Heywood’s MP Jim Dobbin opened the state-of-the-art Derby Street SureStart Children’s Centre on Friday 27th June.

The flagship centre, which provides play facilities for babies up to five years old along with advice and support for parents, held a party to celebrate its official opening. On offer were musical instruments to try, a messy play area and the brand new sand pit, outdoor climbing wall and willow tree sculptures.

The centre, a result of a £3.5M investment, is a partnership between SureStart, Rochdale Council, New Heart for Heywood, Hopwood Hall College and Pennine Acute Care Trust. It has been getting up to speed since it first opened its doors in October last year, but the official opening was a chance for local families to see the full range of services on offer.

Mr Dobbin hailed the new centre, which will be run by SureStart, as ‘an Oasis in the community’. He said: “The opening of the all singing, all dancing Derby Street SureStart and Children’s Centre is one of those invitations that MPs love.

“The entire provision, from childcare, IT, health care and advice available in other areas is a credit to the local partnership. The staff can be justifiably proud of the facility and this is a visible sign of the positive things that are happening across the country and totally different from the doom and gloom that we hear in the National media.”

Ellen Wintle-Yates, Resident Director for New Heart for Heywood, had said of the centre: “It is what New Heart for Heywood is all about. It is about investment in the young people of the town, giving everyone a future and these excellent facilities are the envy of the rest of the borough.”

The official opening of the centre was also attended by families from around Heywood eager to try out the new facilities. Lauren Hughes, 22, mum to Holly, five, Georgina, three and Liam, one, said: “With three young children you have to be very organised and it’s really helpful to have the routine of coming to the centre. There is so much to do here, the centre has made a real difference to me.

“Its been fantastic too for the children to learn in such a great place and for me to meet other parents and get the chance to relax.”

The centre will be open to the public from 8am to 6pm for 50 weeks of the year. It is mainly aimed at the under 5’s and their families but also serves the needs of the wider community by offering access to training, employment advice and playing host to various groups.

General Information ...

SureStart Children’s Centres are places where children under 5 years old and their families can receive a range of services and information under one roof. Parents and carers can also access help from teams of professionals including:

- Midwives

- Speech Therapists

- Specialists offering advice on employment

- Specialists in family support

There are currently 16 operational Children’s Centres in Rochdale, with another three due to open in Spring 2008.

Children’s Centres are designed to deliver better outcomes for children and families, building on successes of previous Sure Start local programmes. They are there to support young children and their families through the early years of development, providing a range of stimulating and challenging play and educational activities. To support this, every Children's Centres has a Toy Library, where for a small charge parents and carers can borrow toys and equipment on a regular basis. All childcare provision within Children’s Centres is registered with OFSTED .

How do I access services? ...

Each centre produces a monthly timetable of activities, run by qualified professionals. Many of the sessions are free, or charge a small fee. Parents and carers are also encouraged to get involved with their local centre, such as parents' groups and forums. Contact your local Sure Start Children’s Centre for more information on the services they provide in your area.

Contact Details ...

Derby Street Children's Centre 
Derby Street
Heywood  OL10 4QJ
Tel. 01706 369889

Previous Updates ...

Derby Street Children’s Centre and Centre of Vocational Excellence represents a major investment of £2.3 million, in the future well-being of Heywood children. The development is a partnership between Derby Street Nursery, New Heart for Heywood, Sure Start and Hopwood Hall College in which the community has been widely consulted.

The children’s centre is providing quality nursery education linked to childcare and services developed through the Sure Start Local Programme. When the building programme is complete in March 2007 these services will be enhanced and developed in spacious purpose designed, environmentally friendly accommodation.

The children’s centre is part of a network of Sure Start Children’s Centres which form a key part in delivering early years services within the Local Authority. They are crucial to the implementation of Government and Council’s ten-year childcare strategy ‘Choice for Parents, The Best Start for Children’. Derby Street Children’s Centre will contribute to improving the child outcomes set out in ‘Every Child Matters’: being safe; healthy; enjoying and achieving; economic well being; and making a contribution.

Children’s Centres are premises, which will provide co-located, multidisciplinary services that provide a personalised support to children and their families. These services will be based on local need and parental choice. The services offered will include offering information, advice and support to parents/carers, early years day care provision, health services, family support, parental outreach and employment and training advice for disadvantaged families. More importantly Children’s Centres will describe how services working in an integrated way, offer support to children and their families.

The Derby Street Children’s Centre will link closely with Woodland Children’s Centre and Woodland Community School in offering a comprehensive range of activities to support children and their families. The centre will also offer courses organised and run by Hopwood Hall College within the Centre of Vocational Excellence. A number of these courses will be for local people seeking a career in childcare and related fields.

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