Sure Start Greater Southwick in Sunderland is celebrating the naming of its new purpose-built family centre. 'Austin House' was chosen following a competition in which members of the local community were asked to put forward suggestions. The Austin House Family Centre will open early next year and accommodate a range of facilities and services, including a neighbourhood nursery, creche, cafe and toy library.
A 40-place day nursery is the latest addition to the Brinsbury Campus of Chichester College. The facility will open in January to students, staff and the local community. The building's training rooms will be used by students studying early years and childcare NVQs at levels 2 and 3. The nursery will also be used for work-based training, with students spending four days a week in the workplace and a day at college.
Sunshine Day Nursery in Woolwich, London, opened its doors on 19 November.
The nursery offers care for children aged birth to five years from 7am to 7pm and has a roof terrace and toy library.
A 99-place nursery for children aged three months to 11 years has opened in Portsmouth. The setting, run by Tops Day Nurseries, gives priority to NHS staff in the Portsmouth area and is funded by Portsmouth City Council as part of the Neighbourhood Nurseries Initiative.
York-based nursery group Happy Jays is finishing work on a new nursery in Scarborough. The Hopper Hill Road nursery will provide 70 places and create 28 local jobs. It will be the third Happy Jays facility to open in Yorkshire. Happy Jays launched its first setting in 1996, and in 1999 the company became the first nursery business in North Yorkshire to achieve Investor in People status.
