Newry SureStart issues urgent appeal for city premises

The project, one of the largest in Northern Ireland which supports more than 1,000 registered families in the Newry area, says it is in need of premises to host key programmes that improve the lives and educational outcomes of children under four, particularly those from disadvantaged backgrounds.

Anne Rice, Project Manager at Newry SureStart, has issued an urgent appeal for help in identifying a space and is asking individuals, organisations and community groups to come forward if they can offer suitable facilities.

“We can pay rent and any redecoration costs so there will be no cost to your organisation,” she said.

Newry SureStart, which has been funded by the Department of Education since 2000, is a partnership with Early Years, the Southern Health & Social Care Trust, Barnardos, and Home-Start, brings together health, early education and family support services. These are delivered both in homes and in group settings.

They specifically need accommodation for the following:

(1) large group services such as parent & toddler sessions. A large room to hold up to 60 people. They would require a space to store resources, toilets for service users and the ability to leave the room set up for the next day.

(2) Our developmental programmes for 2-3 year olds (DP2-3YO's). These 'pre-pre school' programmes operate for a full academic year. Research has shown children from deprived areas do better in school if they attend these programmes. Each programme has 12 two-year-olds and three staff. At present two operate in St Malachy’s Primary School in Carnagat.

To operate a developmental programme for 2-3 year olds in your premises it would need the following in order to meet registration requirements: • A room, which is accessible for parents to drop off and collect children • Access to two toilets for children • Access to a toilet for staff • Storage space for some resources • Access to an outdoor space for play (if possible)

Time is of the essence, as it takes around two months to register a new premises, meaning SureStart needs to secure a venue by mid-August to prepare for the new academic year.

We would prefer to set up rooms and leave them set up rather than clear it away each day,” said Anne.

"We have our own insurance and staff have comprehensive pre-employment checks including an Enhanced Access NI, cross trust checks and health checks. We would supply all our own resources and would be respectful of your premises, staff and service users.

"If you would like to find out more about Newry SureStart, wish to explore joint working opportunities or could consider accommodating our services and or a Developmental Programmes for 2-3 Year Olds. It would be important we meet sooner rather than later as it takes two months to register a premises.”

For more information on their work or to explore hosting one of their programmes, interested parties are encouraged to contact Newry SureStart directly.