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Website URL : http://www.northyorks.gov.uk/index.aspx?articleid=10913

Boost to services for children and parents in Stokesley area

A new facility for children and parents in the Stokesley area will be officially opened this week. Saturday September 26th will see the opening of the Stokesley and Villages Sure Start Children's Centre. The North Yorkshire County Council initiative offers a range of services to families, with a specific focus on those with children aged up to five.

The Children's Centre is based on the Stokesley Community Primary School site at Springfield in Stokesley. The centre which has been opened since January this year, provides a range of multi-agency services to meet the needs of expectant parents and families with young children including family support, health services, outreach services to children and families not attending the centre, training opportunities and employment advice. New services are continuously being developed as the centre consults with and responds to the needs of local families.

The Children's Centre will be celebrating its opening day by inviting local families to come and have a look at the facilities and meet some of the agencies whose services are offered. The theme for the day is animals and there will be a prize for the child who arrives best dressed as an animal. There will also be a range of activities including a puppet show, facepainting, donkey rides, bouncy castle, competitions, and lots of stalls. The official ribbon cutting ceremony will take place at around 2.00pm. The event will take place between 1.30pm and 4.00pm on Saturday 26th September, 2009.

By 2010, the number of children's centre's nationally will have increased to 3,500 - so every family will have easy access to high-quality integrated services in their community.

County Councillor Caroline Patmore, North Yorkshire's Executive Member for Children's Services said: "Children's Centres have much to offer children and families and in Stokesley we intend to develop our services to respond further to needs locally."

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22-09-09

North Yorkshire County Council, County Hall, Northallerton, North Yorkshire, DL7 8AD | Tel: 0845 8 72 73 74 | Fax: 01609 532009