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Parents celebrating school’s new centre
LOOKING AHEAD ... front, Malcolm Osbourne and Jo Wilson, acting headteacher at Bamburgh School with, from left, Julie Dodsworth, Jill Osbourne and Dawn Taylor welcome the new centre.
A NEW support centre for families with children at a special school in South Tyneside is set to open later this month.
The £6,455 unit has been created at Bamburgh School in Horsley Hill, South Shields, after a successful Lottery bid by the parents’ group.
The Friends Of Bamburgh School project is nearing completion, and the new resource centre will provide families with access to medical services, and advice on special needs, benefit entitlements and other issues.
It will also have internet access, and TV facilities to watch educational and informative DVDs.
Malcolm Osborne, chairman of the Friends Of Bamburgh School, said: “We’re absolutely delighted that this resource centre will soon be open.
“It will give families a one-stop shop of advice and services about a wide range of issues.
“It has been a huge project and everyone involved has worked extremely hard. We are very satisfied that it is soon going to happen.”
Mr Osborne and other parents in the group came up with the idea for the centre after his daughter, Lauren, 13, was diagnosed with Asperger’s Syndrome, in 2008.
They applied to the National Lottery’s Big Lottery Fund, which supports community projects.
Mr Osborne, 55, from Whiteleas, South Shields, added: “Lauren was diagnosed with Asperger’s when she was 10 years old, and we didn’t really know where to turn.
“If there had been a facility like this at that time, we would have felt very reassured.
“Families facing a situation like this will be able to get advice on where they can go to access the services they need.
“It can also benefit families in the wider community who need a bit of advice and support.
“When children are diagnosed with an illness or disorder, many people are not aware of where they can turn or what to do next.”
Pupils, parents and staff at the school will attend an opening ceremony for the new centre, which is expected to take place before the end this month.
Bamburgh School caters for about 150 children with medical and emotional conditions.
The Friends Of Bamburgh School was founded by parents, families and carers of children at the school in 2008.
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Wednesday 23 May 2012
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