It’s a service that’s helped hundreds of young children across our borough get a flying start in life.
And now Sure Start is set to help even more under fives and their parents as it comes to Platt Bridge.
The Sure Start team will be based within Wigan Council’s newest children’s centre, part of the borough first extended school – Platt Bridge Community First.
The £5m centre on land between Liverpool Road and Woodcock Drive will open for business on Friday November 3.
As well as the school, which has been created through an amalgamation of Low Hall and St Nathaniel’s, the centre will include a library, a housing office, health centre and the Sure Start children’s and families’ centre.
Platt Bridge parents with children under five will now have a range of Sure Start services at their fingertips including early learning, day care, parental outreach and family support.This will compliment child and family health services such as ante-natal care and a baby unit.
It will also have strong links with the school and plenty of services aimed specifically at parents and carers including employment opportunities through Job Centre Plus, fitness activities such as aerobics and other courses through to smoking cessation.
Welcoming the opening of the new children’s centre Wigan Council’s Cabinet Member for Children and Young People, Cllr Brian Wilson says: “The council has radically re-organised how it delivers services for children and young people to enable almost everything they need to be accessed from the same source at the same time.”
Cllr Wilson adds: “Platt Bridge Community First is not only the flagship for this ethos but also we believe it is a blueprint for the future of education in our borough.”
“Sure Start has a proven track record of helping children and families across our borough and it is only fitting that it is an integral part of this exciting new facility.
“We are now looking forward to the opening of the centre which we believe will quickly become a focal point for the entire community. It is something that the community of Platt Bridge can be justly proud of.”
Notes to Editors
For more information on the new Sure Start Children’s Centre contact Senior Marketing Officer Susan Roberts on 01942 26205.
