Maidenhead & Windsor

Work on the second of the Windsor and Maidenhead Royal Borough’s six new children’s centres will get under way in a matter of weeks, with the opening scheduled for early 2008.

The Windsor and Maidenhead centre will be at Imperial Road, Windsor – in part of the building shared by Oakfield First School, The Lawns Nursery and East Berkshire Music Maestros – and will provide high quality early years and social care services for families with children from birth to five years old.

Contractors are due to start the renovations on Monday July 23, allowing the major part of the scheme to be done over the school summer holidays when there are no children on site.

To enable the work to go ahead, the Music Maestros have kindly agreed to use temporary premises in Dedworth and will be returning when the contract is complete.

Cllr Eileen Quick, lead member for Windsor and Maidenhead children’s services, said she was delighted by this significant step forward in provision for families in the Windsor area and thanked the Music Maestros for their co-operation to allow the renovations to go ahead.

She added: “The children’s centre programme aims to set up a network of help and support for families with young children under five It will provide easy access to local services that will not only make life better for the youngsters themselves but also improve opportunities for their parents and strengthen family units.”

With the South Ascot children’s centre already open and this one on the way, the council is on course to have all six in the £1.9 million programme in operation by spring 2008. The other four will be at Ellington Primary School, Maidenhead; St Mark’s Hospital site, Maidenhead, Woodlands Park Centre and Dedworth First School.

Part of the national children’s centre project, each one will provide early years education along with family support such as classes on parenting, healthy eating and giving up smoking along with advice and support on getting back into employment.

Windsor and Maidenhead Cllr Quick added: “Families themselves will play an active part in the range of services and activities on offer to support their needs and, of course, as their needs change so too will the programmes at each site. There will also be openings for partner organisations, such as health, to set up their own complementary family services.”

Sian Thomas, headteacher at The Lawns, said she was delighted by the progress: “This is something we've been working towards for three years. It will be an excellent opportunity for children and families in the area, offering services for children from birth to five years. Each centre will be different because it will cater for its own individual community. It is a very new and exciting time for the borough.”

Oakfield First headteacher Roz Sendorek, said: “We are very much looking forward to the opening of the children’s centre. It will add an extra dimension to our extended school partnership with The Lawns and other neighbouring schools, which is already working very successfully. Parents and carers will certainly benefit from the additional services which, our research shows, are very much what the community wants and needs. ”

The Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead