Harry Cohen
CHILDREN’S CENTRES IN WARRINGTON
The new children’s center at St. Stephen’s on Sandy Lane is a fine example of the kind of services we need for parents and young children. It will cater for over nine hundred children through a combination of maintained nursery provision, a private nursery and a Sure Start programme.
I, together with local councilors in the area, campaigned for a Sure Start programme for Warrington North for years, because I know how much it can benefit young children. All the research shows that putting money into providing the best possible care for under 5s means that they have fewer problems at school later and achieve more. Unfortunately the local people, health officials and the previous council leadership, who decided where the first Sure Start Programme should go in Warrington ignored the areas of north Warrington most in need. But the local councilors and I didn’t give up. We made a nuisance of ourselves everywhere until we got, not just another Sure Start programme, but a whole new children’s center. It will provide not just for children, but for parents too, with plans for education and training to be available on site.
So what next? Well, we need another Children’s center and so I asked the Prime Minister last Wednesday if he would expand the network of such centres. His reply was encouraging, promising a growth of seventeen percent in spending on childcare over the next few years and hoping that the provision would reach other parts of Warrington, which Sure Start hasn’t yet reached. There has already been a huge expansion in childcare under this government with the number of free nursery places in Warrington increasing to 4,400.
Yet we need more because proper nursery care gives children a good start in life and allows parents the peace of mind of knowing their children are being properly looked after.
Our older children have over the years benefited greatly from the Warrington Youth Action Community Safety Partnership which has seen young people from the age of 13 to 19 undertake projects that have developed their personal confidence and contribution to the community. Those involved now receive accreditation through Youth Achievement Awards. The pressures to maintain, let alone extend their operation, grow each year, which is reflected in their need to raise financial support for the work they do. It would be a great shame if this project, which has been running for seven years, should have to be cut or even close down. I am doing all I can to ensure the continuing success of Warrington Youth Action and would urge anyone who feels they can assist to visit their web site at www.warringtonyouthaction.co.uk for more information.
You can contact me in the following ways: by letter to Gilbert Wakefield House, 67 Bewsey Street, Warrington, WA2 7BQ; by phone on 01925 232 480; by fax on 01925 232 239; or by e-mail at jonesh@parliament.uk
