From David Hutchings, Exeter 382594, September 11, 2008

BARNSTAPLE'S second Children's Centre will be officially opened next week.

The centre is situated on the Sticklepath Primary School campus. It will cater for around 2,300 children under 5 and their families.

It is being managed for Devon County Council by the national children's charity Action for Children which already manages the Barnstaple Children's Centre at Victoria House.

The £750,000 purpose-built centre will be officially opened next Wednesday (Sep 17) at 12.30pm by the Vice Chairman of Devon County Council, Douglas Hull.

Devon County Council is making a multi-million pound investment in creating 43 children's centres across the county.

The centres provide co-ordinated services and support for children up to five and their families and bring together professionals involved in looking after the needs of young children.

They aim to promote positive ways of learning, healthy lifestyles and the early identification of any problems which may adversely affect a child later on.

They are supported by the Devon Children's Trust which is the umbrella organisation for all the agencies which work with children and their families including Devon County Council, the NHS, Devon and Cornwall Police, district councils and voluntary and independent groups.

Devon's executive councillor for children's services, John Smith, said: "There is overwhelming evidence to demonstrate that it's in the early years of a child's life where patterns are set for the future.

"What happens in those early years can determine the quality of the rest of their lives.

"Every parent naturally wants the best for their child and we are determined to help and support them in ensuring their children get the best possible start in life."

Action for Children's Sticklepath Children's Centre manager Irene Greaves said: "We worked very closely with all our partners on the design of the building to ensure it would help us deliver integrated services.

"We have worked just as closely on providing those services so we can deliver the best possible outcomes for all the under-5's and their families who use the centre."

The headteacher of Sticklepath Primary, Toni Carter, said: "We are very privileged to have the centre on our site and I hope all the schools in our area benefit from the marvellous array of facilities there.

"It is fantastic to have so many different experts on one site from whom we are learning a lot."

Local county councillor Chris Haywood, who contributed £5,000 to the centre from his locality budget, said: "This is a superb addition to the existing facilities at Sticklepath which will bring real benefits to the community as a whole."

NOTE TO NEWS EDS: Reporters and photographers are welcome to the opening of the new centre on Wednesday, September 17 from 12.30pm. There will be a tour of the building at 12.40pm, speeches and a plaque unveiling at 1pm and entertainment by the pupils at 1.10pm.

Action for Children is the new name for NCH, the children's charity, one of the UK's leading children's charities, which was established in 1869. Action for Children works in partnership to run nearly 450 services for more than 170,000 of the UK's most vulnerable children, young people and their families. For further information visit www.actionforchildren.org.uk

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