Image demonstrating Children's Centre services move will allow SEND expansion

Children's Centre services move will allow SEND expansion

Northumberland County Council is running a consultation about relocating the service provided at Morpeth Children's Centre, a move which will also enable additional provision for children with special educational needs.

If the change of use is agreed the authority will also invest £200,000 in refurbishing the building for this purpose.

The move will not mean any reduction in the current Learning Together Through Play service provided by children's centre staff, which will instead be made available in the first school building next door.

Morpeth Children's Centre services have been provided from a prefabricated portacabin on the site of Collingwood School and Media Arts College and Stobhill First School.  

The roof of the building has been deteriorating for a number of years and full replacement is now needed to enable it to continue to be used.

Current children's centre services can comfortably be accommodated in Stobhill First School, where they are already running on an interim basis.  

It has also been proposed that a better use of the building, which requires significant repair, would be to replace the roof and use it to expand accommodation for the Collingwood special school.  

The plans will see conversion and refurbishment to provide an additional 12 to 16 SEND places in two classrooms, along with toilets, staff accommodation and dining space.

The council’s cabinet agreed to the public consultation, which is required for any change in use of a building as a children's centre.

The consultation will run for four weeks from today (Monday 24 June) until Friday 19 July.

A public consultation meeting will be held on Thursday 11 July, from 9am to 11am, at the current children’s centre building on 11th Avenue, Morpeth, NE61 2HA.
.
Those who wish to respond to the consultation can do so by completing an online form on the council’s website here.  You can also request a paper copy of the form by contacting your health visitor or calling in to Morpeth Children’s Centre.

If you have comments about the proposals, or suggestions about changes which you think should be made to Children’s Centre services, please complete the questionnaire and send it to: Children’s Centre Consultation, c/o County Hall, Morpeth, NE61 2EF or email childrenscentresconsultation@northumberland.gov.uk

If you have questions about how changes might affect your own family, or other parents in the Morpeth area, you can ring the Families Information Service on 0800 023 4440 or 01670 624889 and they will pass your question on to the most relevant person to answer.
 
View all news