Children, parents and carers are celebrating the creation of a one-stop shop for families in Diss.The official opening of Diss Children's Centre takes place today, marking a major boost for children and families in the south of the county.

Children, parents and carers are celebrating the creation of a one-stop shop for families in Diss.

The official opening of Diss Children's Centre takes place today, marking a major boost for children and families in the south of the county. It will provide parents and carers with family support and health care, as well as links to training and employment advice.

The centre, on the site of Diss Infant School and Nursery, is one of 25 centres being opened by Norfolk County Council in 2008, bringing the total number of Children's Centres in the county to 36.

The Diss Children's Centre has cost £442,000 to create and includes a community room, which can also act as a crèche; a training room, a consultation room and an office. The project has also seen an extension to the school to house another ultipurpose/training room, so parents can attend training and leave their children in the Centre's crèche.

Children's Centre Manager, Emma Slaughter said: “It's a very exciting time for children and families in and around Diss. The Children's Centre gives a central focal point for families - giving somewhere that they can access lots of information about the huge range of services on offer locally for them and their child. We have been delivering services in Diss and the surrounding villages since early last year and the response and feedback has been fantastic, and we hope that the completion of the new building will enable us to build on these successes.”

The new building was completed at the start of this year, and already a huge range of services are being offered through the centre, in partnership with other organisations and professionals in the area. It can support all aspects of family life, providing universal and tailor made services to children and families. Activities offered so far include baby massage, baby yoga, help with giving up smoking, family finance drop- ins, first aid for parents and parenting support programmes.

More than 300 families in or around Diss are registered with the Children's Centre and are already benefiting from the free services on offer.

Rosalie Monbiot, Norfolk County Council Cabinet Member for Children's Services said: "It is the long-term vision to have a Children's Centre within easy reach for every community so that all children and families can have access to all the services they need. The Diss centre will provide support for hundreds of children and their families.”

The official opening of the Diss Children's Centre will take place at 10.30am on Friday and will be hosted by BBC Look East presenter Stewart White.

For more information about the services on offer, contact Diss Children's Centre on 01379 651786.