CHILDREN in Stacksteads will be able to benefit from two new after-school clubs thanks to a lottery award of more than £60,000.

Stacksteads Out of School Care Committee, a Stacksteads Riverside Park Group project, is celebrating after securing the cash from the lottery's New Opportunities Fund.

The application was made after the number of inquires about childcare provision in the area highlighted a lack of suitable places.

Parents were asked to fill in a questionnaire to see if they would be interested and based on the results the committee started to negotiate with local primary schools to organise two after school clubs.

Ann Egan, chairman of the Stacksteads Out of School Care Committee, said: "This is a big opportunity for us to provide quality care for school age children of parents who wish to work or study. I am absolutely thrilled."

Stacksteads Riverside Park Group chairman Michael McShea agreed. He said: "This is great news for Stacksteads and I am very pleased with all the hard work of the volunteers whose work on this project has been rewarded."

The club for children aged four to 11-year-olds, which is being held at St Joseph's School during term time, will provide 24 new childcare places.

Children attending from Holy Trinity will be collected from the school and the club will run until 6pm.

The second club, for 11 to 14 year olds, will be run at the drop-in centre and will offer 20 new places.

The committee intends to combine recreational and educational activities for these children and offer a drop-in homework club, for which there will be a small charge.

The lottery cash will also fund a holiday club, for four to 11-year-olds, which will be held at Holy Trinity School, from 8am to 6pm.

Charges to parents will be kept as low as possible and up to 70 per cent of those can be claimed back through Working Families Tax Credits.

This will mean the actual cost to parents whose children attend the clubs all week could be as little as £6 a week.