Children’s Centres

What is a ‘children’s centre?’

A children’s centre is somewhere local families with young children can go to enjoy facilities and receive any needed support. The facilities and activities that are offered are designed especially for parents who may be expecting a new baby, or for those with a child under the age of five.

 Fully trained staff are able to deal with any specific needs a child may have, and they work alongside parents in order to ensure families are consistently supported. Children’s centres aim to improve outcomes for young children, ensuring they are happy, healthy and ready to begin school. Centres can provide help and support to children and young families whenever they need it, as well as helping to prevent any problems from developing in the future.

Children’s centres are specifically tailored to the local conditions and needs. They can help children to become better at learning complex vocabulary, as well as increasing reasoning skills. Children can also learn to develop their intellectual and social skills with the help from children’s centres.

Becoming a parent can be one of the happiest and most challenging moments in anyone’s life. Though it can be a time that brings fantastic memories, it can also be extremely daunting for some, especially first time parents. Children’s centres play a vital role here, as parents have somewhere they are able to go in order to talk to professionals and other parents.

Children’s centres are able to provide a happy, relaxed and non-judgemental place to seek advice and see what facilities and activities are available. Parents are able to build support networks from early on through children’s centres, with more thorough support being offered further down the line if it’s needed.

With help from professionals and strong social networks, parents, both new and old, are able to deal with whatever life brings them. In short, children’s centres offer:

• Early Years provision
• Family support and parental outreach
• Child and family health services
• Parental involvement
• Links to Job Centre Plus
• And more!

Find out more about City of York Children Centres