23.01.04
Nursery practitioners to excel at
Early Excellence Centre
Trainee nursery practitioners and child minders in Carrick
are now accessing their training and skills development in
fantastic newly refurbished and extended facilities at Higher
Trehaverne in Truro, thanks to the completion of a £440,000
upgrade to the nursery at Truro Nursery School.
The £440,000 project to extend and refurbish the Early
Excellence Centre received £35,000 investment from the
Objective One European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) with
the additional investment coming from the Department for Education
Services, The Seed Challenge Fund, Cornwall County Council
Local Education Authority and the Nursery School.
Work on the Truro Early Excellence Centre was completed in
October 2004 and the centre and how been back in operation
at the Trehaverne site for almost three months. The makeover
has proved to be a great success with all those using the
centre with over 50 individuals working in Carrick's childcare
sector already using the facilities for training or professional
development.
The investment has enabled a new dedicated training room
to be built along with additional office space, facilitating
a significant increase in the level of training that can be
carried out at the centre.
The internal layout of the centre has been altered dramatically
to open up the workspace and give the building a light and
airy atmosphere conducive to learning and enjoyment. The new
layout is versatile enough for the space to be used for a
variety of purposes and a wireless computer network is now
allowing staff, children and parents to use ICT anywhere in
the building.
The centre will act as a hub for training nursery practitioners
working throughout Carrick and will also operate an outreach
service to some of the more rural areas of the district where
accessibility and social exclusion are issues.
Carol Kimberley, Head of Truro Nursery, was responsible for
the establishment and development of the Early Excellence
Centre and is delighted with the new facilities, she said: "The extra space that this project has given us has made
all the difference to the quality of work we deliver and the
level of training we can offer to the Nursery Sector. Training
of Nursery practitioners is a key element of our work which
now, thanks in part to Objective One investment, we are able
to carry out.”
A broad range of childcare practitioners can use the centre
to access training and workshops and nursery teachers, child
minders and reception class teachers are just some of the
people who are now using the centre and its facilities to
develop their childcare skills and, where appropriate, gain
qualifications through accredited courses delivered at the
centre.
Following on from a national consultation exercise carried
out by the National Daycare Trust to look at the national
context of parents' childcare needs, the Early Excellence
Centre is co-hosting a feedback session for parents and members
of the early years partnership to find out about the results
of the exercise. The session on February 11th will be one
of the first community information sessions to take place
at the centre and will enable those who took part in the exercise
to discuss how the needs for childcare provision in Carrick
differ from those nationally.
The project was developed with assistance from Community
Development Officers from the Carrick Integrated Area Plan
(IAP) Team who work closely with the private, public and voluntary
sector to develop successful projects that will regenerate
the local area.
Editor's notes:
European Regional Development
Fund (ERDF)
ERDF is one of our four funds that make up the Objective
One Programme for Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly, which
is making £314 million of investment available for developing
the local economy between 2000 and 2006.
ERDF exists to:
|
Help reduce the gap between development levels and
living standards among the regions and the extent to which
least-favoured regions are lagging behind. |
|
Help redress the main regional imbalances in the European
Community by participating in the development and structural
adjustment of regions whose development is lagging behind,
and the social conversion of regions. |
The IAP is the local delivery mechanism for European Objective
One investment in the Carrick district and is responsible
for working closely with the private, public and voluntary
sector to develop successful projects which will regenerate
the local area. The team offers advice and guidance on whether
projects are eligible for Objective One investment; assists
with the preparation of business plans and guides applicants
through the Objective One investment process.
Carrick IAP Team
Carrick's IAP Team is invested in by Objective One, the South
West of England Regional Development Agency, Cornwall County
Council and Carrick District Council. The team are employed
and managed by Rural Economic Partnership Ltd which is a subsidiary
of Cornwall Enterprise, a local authority company controlled
by Cornwall County Council.
For further information contact:
Carol Kimberley
Truro Early Excellence Centre
01872 274693
George Collinge
Carrick IAP Team
01872 224428
Jason Clark
Communications Adviser
Objective One Partnership Office
Castle House
Pydar Street
Truro TR1 2UD
Tel: 01872 241379
Fax: 01872 241388
objectiveone@cornwall.gov.uk
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