Children’s centre rated “outstanding”

Shropshire Council’s Market Drayton Area Sure Start Children’s Centre has been judged as “outstanding” by Government inspectors.

This is the second children’s centre in the county to be inspected, and both have achieved this accolade.

In a report published this week, Ofsted (the Office for Standards in Education, Children’s Services and Skills) said that the Market Drayton Area Children’s Centre is “highly effective at meeting the needs of users”.

The centre, which has a main base at Longlands Primary School, Linden Way, Market Drayton, is one of 18 children’s centres in Shropshire which offer a variety of services for families with children under five years old.

Inspectors commended the centre for providing an “exceptional range of multi- agency partnerships”, “highly effective outreach support” and “exciting adult
learning programmes”.

Ofsted highlighted that the centre’s leadership and management “inspire trust, encourage and promote excellence” and that “parents and carers report extremely high levels of satisfaction with the work of the centre”. The report continues to praise the centre’s “outstanding capacity to sustain improvement”.

Councillor Aggie Caesar-Homden, Shropshire Council’s Cabinet member for children and young people’s services, said:

“This second outstanding judgement following a children’s centre inspection for Shropshire Council is a credit to everyone involved with the centre. Ofsted’s recognition of how parents and families view staff “with very high regard” is well-deserved praise.

“The report highlights how the children’s centre is continually improving opportunities for families with children under five years old – and I would encourage anyone interested to find out more about what children’s centres can offer.”

The Ofsted report summary for centre users recommends only two areas where it can improve even further. These are increasing opportunities for parents and carers to contribute to decision-making and governance of the centre, and opportunities to access Jobcentre Plus support to improve individuals’ employment prospects.

Inspectors visited the centre on 13 and 14 January 2011.

For more information on Market Drayton children’s centre, which covers the market town and surrounding areas, contact manager Julie Duncan on 01743 452400.

For further details about children’s centre services go to www.servicesaroundyou.org