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FUNDING BOOST FOR SPECIALIST CHILDCARE SERVICES
IN DUMFRIES AND GALLOWAY

Specialist childcare services which provide alternatives to young people being taken into care in Dumfries and Galloway have been given a boost.

The Aberlour Childcare Trust, which delivers programmes for young people who are excluded, or at risk of exclusion, from school, has been awarded £400,000 by Communities Scotland.

The Trust’s Crannog service has been operating in the area for seven years. It addresses school and family life issues, helping children to remain within the family home and local community as an alternative to being taken into care.

The investment funding from the Futurebuilders Scotland programme will allow Aberlour to offer services to Dumfries and Galloway Council for longer and more defined periods. This will improve the trust’s financial position and allow it to sell training, research and consultancy services to help young people and their families.

Dumfries and Galloway Council and Aberlour have already been able to further develop their partnership and there is interest in their work from other local authorities.

Commenting on the award, Communities Minister, Malcolm Chisholm, said:

“This is one of the highest-ever Futurebuilders Scotland’s investment awards.

“It reflects the value of the services Aberlour offers to vulnerable young people and families in Dumfries and Galloway and its work to keep them at home and address their behaviour problems in and out of school.

“The funding will help Aberlour secure new and longer contracts for this important work and help it consider the possibility of taking this expertise elsewhere in Scotland.”

Romy Langeland, chief executive of the Aberlour Trust added:

“We are pleased that this funding strengthens our infrastructure and increases our capacity and delighted that it will result in a purpose-built centre for children and families in Stranraer. It is an excellent example of partnership in action.”

The Crannog service works from three bases in Annan, Dumfries and Stranraer. Aberlour aims to replace its centre in Stranraer with a new building, This will help it deliver more services to vulnerable young people and their families in Stranraer and rural areas of Wigtownshire.

Dumfries and Galloway’s director of education and community services, Fraser Sanderson, said:

“We are very excited about the possibilities which this award opens up to this area of our service.

“The level of the award is an indication of the quality of the application made but also of the reputation of the service which we have established with Aberlour over the years in dealing with some of our most challenging young people."

FURTHER INFORMATION

1. Futurebuilders Scotland investment grants are part of a wider £18 million fund managed by Communities Scotland which is designed to help voluntary and community organisations to create more jobs, offer better training opportunities and deliver good services in order to help them become self-sufficient enterprises earning their own income.

The £18 million programme comprises:

* A £12 million investment fund offering grants of up to £500,000 to medium-sized or large social economy organisations already established as service providers;
* A £4 million seedcorn fund offering grants of up to £50,000 to emerging organisations to help them to develop new or existing services;
* A £1 million learning fund to help those working in social economy organisations to develop their business and financial management skills through access to training opportunities; and
* A £1 million support programme to develop appropriate support arrangements for the social economy.

Communities Scotland was abolished on 1 April 2008. This is an archived site and the contents may no longer be accurate. If you are looking for information about housing and regeneration, please visit www.scotland.gov.uk For information about regulation and inspection, please visit www.scottishhousingregulator.gov.uk.