Lottery boost gives NI parents quality childcare choice

A playgroup, a community care center and a children’s charity today received a share of lottery grants worth £233,439 from the New Opportunities Fund.

The grants have been awarded under the Building Quality Childcare programme which will invest £6 million into supporting the capital costs of projects across Northern Ireland, which mainly meet the needs of pre-school children.

Projects in Coalisland, Larne and Belfast have received grants in this latest round of awards which were developed in conjunction with Childcare Partnerships to enable children to access good quality childcare provision.

Breidge Gadd, the New Opportunities Fund’s Board Member in Northern Ireland, said: “These grants are paving the way for the creation of new childcare places by investing in much needed buildings and play facilities.

"The Building Quality Childcare programme is enabling communities to make a real difference to the lives of parents and children across Northern Ireland.”

Larne Community Care Centre is based in Antiville, an area of high deprivation and social exclusion. A grant of £106,663 will allow the centre to refurbish its facilities, and create new childcare places for children from the area.

In Co Tyrone, the Happy Days Playgroup will use a grant of £92,480 to replace its existing classroom and build a new facility and play area for the playgroup which caters for 34 children in Coalisland.

The NSPCC has also been awarded a grant of £34,296 to improve the space used to provide child and family support services at its Tates Avenue Centre in South Belfast.

The New Opportunities Fund is the biggest of the National Lottery good cause distributors, providing National Lottery funding for health, education and environment projects across the UK, with a particular focus on disadvantage and improving quality of life.

(MB)