Kilcooley Women's Centre has enhanced its Ladybird Childcare facility with a new outdoor play area.

Kilcooley Women's Centre has been providing services to women across the wider Kilcooley area since 1995, and works collaboratively with other agencies to improve outcomes for all residents of the estate, with a particular focus on early intervention programmes and projects to address educational underachievement and poor health and wellbeing outcomes.

A critical part of their support comes through their provision of access to high quality childcare services which help parents overcome barriers in accessing education and learning, helping them to progress into employment.

Within the organisation's new premises for its childcare facility, new outdoor play facilities were installed with the grant funding from the Energy for Children Charitable Trust.

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Tracy Harrison, Head of Childcare Services at Kilcooley Women's Centre explained: "Outdoor play is so important for young children in their personal development as well as their educational experience, it encourages them to explore, get active, use their imagination and stimulate their senses through touching, hearing, seeing and feeling, something which has been more important than ever over the last two years.

"Having moved premises recently we had very little outdoor equipment for the children, but with the support of the Energy for Children Charitable Trust we have been able to install a large outdoor climbing frame with lots of different sensory activities. The climbing frame has already had lots of use with the children really enjoying outside play time and we can see the positive difference its making to their overall physical and mental wellbeing.

"We are so grateful to the Energy for Children Charitable Trust for their support and for enabling us to develop a space for the children to enjoy, play and learn."

Energy for Children Trustee, June Trimble added: "We are so pleased to see how much of a difference the funding has made to the women and children supported by Kilcooley Women's Centre, which is providing a much needed service to the local community.

"This is exactly why the Charity exists, to help local children who are most in need and to provide facilities and equipment to make things better for them."