Central Bedfordshire Council news and press releases

Flitwick Children’s Centre has supported over 1,500 families in the past year

Monday, 13 February 2023

Through weekly outreach sessions in the community, staff at Flitwick Children’s Centre have supported 1,528 families over the past year.

The children’s centre is based in Malham Close in Flitwick, but staff from the centre also organise weekly drop-in sessions in Marston Moreteyne and in Cranfield. The sessions are designed for families who can’t get to the main centre, allowing them to access the same support that’s on offer there - just in a different location. This includes access to family workers, SEND support and speech and language therapists.

The sessions are designed to support families with children from 0 – 12 years, providing sleep, feeding, speech and language advice and activities to support child development.

One parent who attends said:

I am able to drop my son off at school in Cranfield and then go along with my daughter to the group. Every week they have a variety of activities out for the children to play with, messy play which she loves. The team are very helpful and […] they also invite other people in which has been very helpful. I have spoken with the SEND and speech team and got some helpful advice.

Another parent said:

Thank you once again for the children's centre support of my first year as a mum. Your team is such an important part of this community. I consider myself a very lucky mum to have such an amazing team for support.

The family support drop in sessions are held at:

Community Centre behind Marston Moreteyne VC School (Forest End site) - every Thursday during term time from 8.30am – 10am.
Cranfield Church of England Academy (St Paul’s site) on Braeburn Way - every Tuesday during term time from 9.30am – 11am.

Some of the team from the centre also attend the Tea and Tots group which is run at St Marys Church in Marston Moreteyne on the second and fourth Friday of each month.

Councillor Sue Clark, Executive Member for Families, Education and Children, said:

It’s really important that everyone in the area can access the services that Flitwick children’s centre provides, which is why the team have been organising these outreach sessions for some time now. I’m pleased that we’ve been able to reach so many families who aren’t able to come to the main children’s centre hub.

There are also lots of sessions taking place at the main Flitwick hub, including baby massage, baby yoga, childminder’s stay and play, a drop-in session and a session for young parents. Our children’s centres across Central Bedfordshire support almost 5,000 families each year. They are a fantastic resource for the local community, and I would encourage families to find out more about their local centre and make the most of the activities on offer there.

Anyone who would like to find out more about the sessions, or find out what else is happening at Flitwick Children’s Centre, can call the centre on 0300 300 8111 or email flitwick.childrencentre@centralbedfordshire.gov.uk.

We have children’s centres in Sandy, Biggleswade, Shefford, Stotfold, Flitwick, Leighton Buzzard, Houghton Regis and Dunstable. Full details of all the children’s centres and the sessions they run are available on the Council’s Family Information Directory.