Estelle Morris MP visits Sure Start Rochdale

Sure Start, Rochdale

Former Secretary of State for Education and Skills, Estelle Morris MP recently visited Sure Start, Rochdale to acknowledge good practice in including Children with Disabilities - visiting Rochdale Sure Start and Sandbrook Children’s Centre to see for herself the work being carried out throughout the borough to include families with disabled children.

The trip was specifically to highlight current issues that staff encounter within services so the visiting party can work on solutions on their return to the office.

The visit was instigated by the Children’s Workforce Development Agency, Estelle Morris is the Chairwoman. Accompanied by the Children’s Workforce Development Agency Chief Executive Jane Heywood, Ms Morris spent the day in the North West looking closely at how to ensure each child is getting the most from all the services on offer. 

Sure Start Inclusion Officer for Rochdale. Louise Dews hosted the visit.  She highlighted the work done by the Inclusion Project with Childminders, Playgroups, Private Day Nurseries, Before and After School and Holiday Clubs across the borough.  The project in Rochdale has already been heralded as good practice and may now bee used as a national example. 

During the tour, the party met with one of the Children's Centres teachers, Wardle Childcare Partnership and a parent of a child who has been supported in a childcare setting through the Inclusion Project.

Inclusion Officer, Louise Dews said: “We were thrilled to have a visit from Estelle Morris and Jane Heywood.  They were very interested in our project and got to meet families and settings who have benefited directly from our services.   We are working towards tailoring services to individual children, so disabled children get to access the same services as other children in a way which enables families to be fully supported.”