First Steps Childcare

Our First Steps Childcare Initiative is a pilot project instigated by the availability of Working for Families funding which has allowed us to address one of our key regeneration priorities of creating labour market opportunities for CHA tenants and local residents. The Association recruited at full time Link Adviser in April 2006 to develop this project and who is located within the Community Regeneration Unit at the Michael Lynch Centre for Enterprise.

Client Groups and support

Cunninghame Housing Association was awarded funding to pilot childcare support services for the following client groups:

• Homeless families living within and resettled via Cunninghame Housing Association's Victoria House hostel facility in Irvine
• Clients for whom childcare is a barrier to their participation in our portfolio of Regeneration Unit labour market projects
• Existing and prospective tenants of the Association who are lone parents, on low incomes or otherwise disadvantaged

Using Working for Families Funding Cunninghame Housing Association has been able to provide direct financial assistance for wrap around childcare costs to enable clients to sustain or enter employment, education, training or volunteering activity.

Progress To Date

Up to the end of October 2007, 92 clients registered with our First Steps Childcare programme, with 44 of them supported into education or employment outcomes.

Funding has been provided to enable Cunninghame Housing Association tenants start full time employment, part time employment and sustain work during school holidays. Childcare support was also accessed by tenants to attend various vocational training courses. A number of families have used rapid response childcare services at our Homeless Persons facility at Victoria House and a number of new starts to our North Ayrshire Fab Pad programme have all been supported with childcare costs.

Information on Cunninghame Housing Association’s First Steps Childcare Programme can be obtained from:

Janice Crookston
Link Advisor
Cunninghame Housing association
Community Regeneration Unit
Michael Lynch Centre for Enterprise
71 Princes Street
Ardrossan
KA22 8DG

Tel: 01294 606033
Email: jcrookston@chaltd.org

Funding Acknowledgment

Cunninghame Housing Association would like to acknowledge the support of our funding partners, North Ayrshire Council’s Working for Families Initiative, without whom the development of our First Steps Chidcare initiative programme would not have been possible.