Three Cheers for New Crèche: South Eastern Regional College has successfully secured financial assistance of up to £99,373 from the Coastal Communities Fund (Round 5), organised through the Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs (DAERA) to support a crèche in the College’s Newcastle Campus on Castlewellan Road.  Celebrating are (l-r) Kelly-Ann Allen, Access student and Chair of the Crèche Student Engagement Team, Darragh (3) with mum Michelle Kane, Access student, Heather McKee, SERC and Joe O’Neill, DAERA.

South Eastern Regional College (SERC) has been successful in securing financial assistance of up to £99,373 from the Coastal Communities Fund (Round 5), organised through the Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs (DAERA) to support a crèche in the College’s Newcastle Campus on Castlewellan Road. 

Heather McKee, Director of Strategic Planning, Quality and Support said, “We are delighted to have secured this funding which will support a crèche registered to provide professional childcare for up to 26 children whilst parents are studying at SERC.

She added, “The development of the crèche at our Newcastle Campus aims to enhance economic activity in Newcastle and the surrounding County Down coastal corridor. It will assist in addressing one of the key barriers to participation in education and training, which is a lack of affordable childcare, by creating student grant funded  crèche  placements (where students are eligible) or affordable  crèche  placements for parents privately funding their childcare, to run alongside tailored classes. 

“Every parent and guardian knows, that once you have children, any kind of self-development takes planning and juggling so that children are looked-after, pick-ups are organised, snacks and lunches are packed –  sometimes this added pressure can make it seem impossible to even think about returning to study.  The provision of this much needed childcare support allows local people to access education in the College knowing that their young children are being looked after whilst they focus on their own learning.  

She concluded, “The crèche will be fully operational in September 2020. A SERC project team will work with our students to help inform the design ensuring it’s a bright, fun and stimulating area which will encourage that vitally important early years play, interaction and learning.   We want the children to love coming to SERC whilst their parents are here studying.”  

Students will be able to enrol onto courses from May 2020 and secure crèche placements for their children to start in September 2020.

It is envisaged that the development of the crèche will create three to four nursery nurse jobs initially, with the intention of growing to seven posts in the future 

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