CBeebies star Katy Ashworth opens Norwich children’s centre
Drayton and Taverham's new �564,000 Sure Start Children's Centre was opened by a children's television star yesterday.
Katy Ashworth, presenter of 'I Can Cook' on the BBC's CBeebies channel, was on hand to entertain local children and officially mark the opening of the family centre.
The centre is based in a new building on the Drayton Community Infant School site on School Road and has taken about six months to build.
Centre co-ordinator Hayley Bullock was delighted with the opening day, saying: 'It was absolutely fantastic. There were about 400 people that turned out and the children were really excited to see Katy.
'She gave a quick speech on the benefits of Sure Start Centres, then she signed some autographs. She was brilliant, really friendly and spent a lot of time with the children.
'It was nice to start seeing children enjoying the centre.'
The new building includes a stay-and-play room, multi-purpose room, consultation room and kitchen to cater for families with children under five years old and offers a range of services such as childcare, family support and Jobcentre Plus services.
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It is a new service that looks set to bring a lot to families in the area.
Ms Bullock added that it was a big relief to finally have a permanent base.
She said: 'We've been using community venues like church halls because we have not had our own venue, so it's really nice for us to have a regular building to use.
'The work has been going on for the last six months, so we have been based in the conservatory at the infant school and had three staff sharing two desks. This is a 1,000 times better!
'Our summer timetable will be out in the next two weeks and we will have a lot more going on, like yoga, baby massage and pre-natal courses.
'But we will continue to use Taverham Village Hall for the stay-and-play courses because that has proved very popular.'
For more on the children's centre log on to www.draytonandtaverham.childrencentre.org
Have you got a story about the Taverham and Drayton area? Contact Evening News reporter Kate Scotter on 01603 772326 or email kate.scotter@archant.co.uk
