A PRIMARY school is to become the first in County Durham to offer childcare facilities and education on the same campus.

The Butterfly Day Care Nursery, housed within West Cornforth Primary School, West Cornforth, near Spennymoor, is the vision of headteacher Janet Sarsfield.

The nursery, which opens in September, will be run as a private venture because funding rules do not allow the school budget to be used.

It has been paid for with private money and cash from the New Opportunities Fund.

The nursery can accommodate up to nine babies, 28 children aged two to four and 26 children aged five to eight, before and after school. It will be open every day from 7.30am to 6pm.

Mrs Sarsfield, who took over as headteacher last September, said: "It's the first childcare facility housed within a mainstream school.

"It will allow parents to be able to leave their children in a safe environment and go to work or go out for the day, knowing they're cared for.

"This is something that I feel is needed for a village like West Cornforth, so that we will eventually be offering education for all ages."

Mrs Sarsfield said she is looking forward to her idea, which has already attracted interest from parents, become a reality.

She said: "It's wonderful that my vision has been put into practice and we're very hopeful it will kick-off.

"I came here in September and I saw this as a necessary part of the village as a whole community, not just for the education of children.

"Having been a working mum I know the difficulties of finding good child care for my own children and I see this as a way forward."

For details on what the nursery has to offer, call the school on (01740) 654315