The latest cash injection will create 4,781 jobs and 260 projects, ranging from converting a beer cellar in a hotel to setting up links with local football clubs. It brings the total awarded through the out-of-school hours childcare programme to more than 200m and will boost the number of places nationally to 427,000.
A Derbyshire hotel, which already houses a nursery, is to have its two large beer cellars converted with a 208,367 grant to provide 16 holiday childcare places for children aged five to 11. Louise Williams, manager of the Tiddlers Day Nursery, said, 'We are delighted with our NOF award which will help us to make our holiday club facilities among the best in the area.'
Four awards totalling more than 1.3m are being made to the Exeter-based Playlines Trust to create 2,348 places in Plymouth, Torbay and elsewhere in Devon and Cornwall. The schemes will work closely with the Exeter City, Plymouth Argyle and Torquay United football clubs to provide coaching for children.
Playlines director Steve Keable said, 'Once again this is great news for our children and parents. We are really excited to be developing new partnerships through this award, especially with our local league football clubs.
'This will offer new fun activities that will attract older boys and girls.'
Welcoming the NOF awards, Kids' Clubs Network chief executive Anne Longfield said, 'Increasing childcare places isn't just about providing a safe place to go, it's about ensuring all children have access to opportunities. The NOF has supported a massive increase in the number of out-of-school places and we must build on this for the future, to support the millions of parents now working, encourage lone parents to be able to enter the workforce and deliver childcare from birth to teens.'
NOF chair Baroness Pitkeathley said, 'As we approach the final stages of the Fund's out-of-school hours childcare programme we can see some of the real benefits which projects have brought to children, their families and local communities. As well as allowing parents and carers the opportunity to return to work, education and training, the Fund's childcare programme has generated vital jobs within the childcare field since the first grants were awarded in July 1999.'
When the out-of-school programme was launched four years ago, 220m was pledged to create 432,000 childcare places across the UK by 2003. A further 98.5m was made available to extend the current programme for childcare projects in areas of particular disadvantage.