Children’s services given a £2m boost (From Swindon Advertiser)

Children’s services given a £2m boost

12:30pm Saturday 13th June 2009

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A SERIES of pioneering youth centres that will bring all services for young people together will be rolled out across Swindon in the next 12 months.

Swindon has scooped £2.68m of Government funding to play a part in a new initiative aimed at revolutionising care for young people.

The scheme will bring mental health experts, education psychologists, youth services, health services and speech therapists together at four sites across the town.

New approaches to children’s care have been a priority since the tragic case of Victoria Climbie, who died in 2000 after suffering sustained abuse at the hands of her guardians in London.

A campaign for improvements in child protection policies was launched after her death.

Swindon Council’s lead member for children services said the scheme will benefit children and parents across the town.

Coun Garry Perkins (Con, Shaw and Nine Elms) said: “This is great news for Swindon and shows how hard we have been working to make this possible.

“Ever since the Victoria Climbie incident Swindon has pushed ahead further than most councils.

“We already have integrated teams dealing with all the services for young people. Now we can take it forward by identifying the best sites for them to work from.

“We already have the Salt Way Centre, which brings together all the services that young disabled people need.

“The plan is now to have that for all young people.

“This will hep us spot problems earlier on and give young people all the support they need under one roof.”

Coun Perkins said exact locations were still under consideration, but potential sites include Westrop Children’s Centre, Highworth; the former Windmill Hill school site, Freshbrook; the Plus One Youth Centre, in the town centre and the site of Uplands and Seven Fields schools, in Penhill.

He said: “In some cases we could be in a position to move into the sites within the next few months, but I hope within 12 months they will all be open.”

The Swindon scheme is among 101 “co-location” projects to be funded from a £200m pot, unveiled by Children’s Secretary Ed Balls on Thursday.

Announcing the funding, Mr Balls said: “Schools used to be open from Monday to Friday, 9am to 3pm, but I want them to be at the heart of their community.”

South Swindon MP Anne Snelgrove also welcomed the announcement, saying: “Swindon is again a winner when it comes to Government help, and I want our projects to lay down a marker, not just for our community but the rest of the country.

“This is setting a benchmark for how schools and wider children’s services in the 21st century should operate and the role they can play in raising the standards for all children.”

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