CYP Now - In Practice: Frontline - All-round care for children - TracyLindsell, children's centre manager

Carousel Children's Centre in Braintree, Essex, is breaking new ground. While most children's centres focus on the under-fives, it is providing services for children and young people from birth to 19 and their families. In fact, that's where the centre gets the name Carousel from: "Because it's about providing all-round services for the community," explains centre manager Tracy Lindsell.

The charity 4Children is the lead partner in the centre, which got underway this summer and that now hosts a wide range of services. Forinstance, Mid Essex Primary Care Trust runs health education serviceslike eye and hearing tests, speech and language therapy and a nurseryfor children with special needs, while 4Children has a day nursery,holiday club, and an after-school club for five- to 11-year-olds.

Essex County Council youth service has a team based there, offeringservices such as alternative education for children not in school and agroup for teenage mums. And other groups, including the localHome-Start, also use the centre.

Lindsell's role is to forge links between these groups andprofessionals.

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