Minister for local Government John Healey continued his look around the excellent facilities in Birdholme by viewing the Birdholme childrens centre today.

Birdholme childrens centre was a brand new building when it was opened in 2006 and now caters for parents and children across the South of Chesterfield and Birdholme in particular.

The centre boasts wonderful facilities and many local parents have described how much it has helped them.

Toby Perkins, Labour’s Parliamentary candidate for Chesterfield said: ” I was proud to show John Healey the facilities, and particularly to hear the glowing praise for this facility from the parents who take their children there and to see how much it meant to the pre-school age children who go there.”

People who have never been to a childrens centre might well think that it is a parental drop off point. Nothing could be further from the truth, it gives parents assistance in all sorts of life and parenting skills but it’s entire ethos is around improving the parent/ baby relationship not making it easier to spend time apart.

Also on site however, is the Families First Childcare Co-operative nursery where working parents can leave their children in a safe and rearding environment.

He added: “Sure Start childrens centres have contributed so much, I can’t believe that the Tories would consider shutting one in every five of them, but the Tories lack of commitment to these vital services has been made abundantly clear. This is yet more proof that while Cameron talks the talk he won’t back up our vital services with cold hard cash.”