Sheerness Children and Families Centre, Kent
Tuesday, November 25, 2008
Where is it? The centre is based on the Isle of Sheppey in Sheerness, Kent.
Who runs it? A charity called Sheerness Children and Families Centre, which was set up to run the centre and nursery in order to access funding that is unavailable to statutory bodies.
Who has funded it? Sure Start is still the main funding source, along with nursery fees. The centre also charges the local primary care trust rent as it is based in-house. Other funding sources include the Big Lottery Fund, the Neighbourhood Nurseries Initiative, the Dolly Parton Foundation and South East Coastal Communities, among others.
How has the money been used? Primarily to create what the charity believes is the largest children's centre in the country, with 80 staff situated in a £2.5m building that covers over 1,000 square metres. Before 2005, there were no resources for agencies offering services to children and families, so now the centre employs most of the staff that deliver its services directly. South East Coastal Communities has also recently funded a dads' worker, who will be running classes with young fathers and their children.
Anything else? There is a community chef who comes in to teach parents about healthy cooking. The centre also does a lot of work around speech and language.
