A CENTRE in Sherwood which provides services for young children and their parents, from breastfeeding classes to adult maths tuition, has met government targets months ahead of schedule.

Nine months after it opened, staff and parents at Little Forest Children's Centre, in Friars Way, were celebrating this week being awarded Full Core Status by the department of education and skills, which usually takes a minimum of 18 months to achieve.

The award recognises the centre's success at providing a good level of support to families in the area and it is the second such facility which serving a disadvantaged area in Kent to be awarded the status.

Manager Sarah Warner told the Kent and Sussex Courier: "It's excellent, it really is.

"It is the marvellous team of people that work here which has made this possible," she added.

Children's centres have been set up by the Government to deliver key early years services to children under five and their families. Little Forest Children's Centre which is funded by KCC has resources to help more than 807 children under five and their families. A wide range of representatives from organisations such as West Kent Primary Care Trust, Job Centre Plus, Kent Adult Education and social services also use the centre.