'SureStart'

On Friday morning I opened the new All Saints SureStart centre in Whitehall Street.

The All Saints SureStart programme is one of five in South Tyneside, and has been part-funded by the European Regional development Fund, which allocated £100,000 to the project.

Facilities at the Centre include a baby clinic, multi-sensory room, soft play area, toy library, training kitchen, three nursery rooms, laundry facilities, training and rest rooms, a covered play area, and a lounge-café for busy Mums and Dads to relax in while the little ones make full use of the entertainment and learning facilities.

I think everyone would agree that all our children deserve the very best start in life, and that we should be providing better opportunities for parents, and affordable, good quality childcare.

This is why the Government's SureStart programme is so important to our communities.

SureStart is for all parents, children and young people in our communities, catering for babies up to 4 year olds, and their parents. The programme works by bringing together early education, childcare, health and family support.

Why is this so important to our communities?

Well, evidence collected by the Government in 2002 shows that good childcare makes a big difference to not just children, but their parents too. Good childcare offers children a first rate start in life, and helps parents to return to work - or even start to work - secure in the knowledge that their children are being looked after in a safe, happy, productive environment.

SureStart offers much more than this, however.

It offers early years education for 3 and 4 years old, so that by the time they start school at age 5, they are ready to learn, and the transition to the classroom is as smooth and straightforward as possible. This approach immediately benefits children right from the start, as they are ready and prepared to learn from their very first day at school, boosting their educational achievement.

What else does SureStart offer? SureStart works with parents to support family life and family health, working with parents right from the birth of their baby, to pre-school education, to starting school, right up until age 14.

Even more than this, the SureStart approach actively involves parents in their childrens' care and development, not just Mums, but Dads too.

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For example on Friday I saw the work done by the Mums and Dads who, along with the Centre staff, formed the All Saints Decorating Group - an impressive sounding name for an impressive group! The group of talented volunteers have recently finished painting the 'Little Nippers' room with nursery rhyme themed murals - I spotted the cat and the fiddle with the cow that jumped over the moon.

More than this, though, what I noticed about the All Saints Centre is the huge range of activities going on - Penguin 'stay and play' sessions for little ones over 18 months old, Little Monkeys sessions for birth to pre-school, and Little Angels sessions for newborn babies and their mums and dads - and how much everyone seemed to be enjoying themselves.

Also on offer are drop in sessions for mums and dads to share parenting experiences over a coffee, or to get advice on returning to, or starting, work while looking after the kids.

SureStart offers parent and children in our communities a valuable resource, helping parents to get back into employment and feel more a part of their local community, and helping the youngest people in our communities to make the very best of the educational opportunities available to them so that from the minute they start school they are ready to achieve, setting the pattern for the rest of their lives.

I hope to see the local communities utilising the facilities offered by the SureStart Centre as much as possible, making full use of the excellent community resources and exciting programmes o benefit all our pre-school children and their families.

All Saints SureStart can be contacted on 0191 420 7657. Other SureStart Centres are located in the Bede, Beacon and Bents and Biddick Hall, and Primrose areas.