Select Committee chairman visits Coin Street

The visit was part of the committee's monitoring of Sure Start and early years education services.

"We are delighted that Mr Sheerman chose to visit our centre," says centre director Guy Hanscombe. " We have involved staff and children in the visit because they are the best people to explain what they believe gives children the best start in life and how we at the centre help provide good quality childcare for our local community."

Mr Sheerman also inspected the construction site of the new Coin Street neighbourhood centre due to open on Stamford Street in 2007. This will become the permanent home for the family and children's centre as well as accommodating Coin Street Community Builders' growing learning and enterprise support programme.

Earlier the committee chairman had a briefing about the range of childcare, education, youth, parent, health and enterprise support programmes being planned by Coin Street Community Builders. He also discussed education provision across the boroughs of Lambeth and Southwark.