SCHOOL pupils got building work underway on a £600,000 children's centre supporting families in Weardale.

When it opens next summer, the building, at Stanhope's Barrington School, will be one of the first of 30 centres being developed by Government initiative SureStart across County Durham.

As well as providing full day care for under-fives, it will link with health, education and employment services to offer facilities, such as advice and information for parents, help with getting adults into work and training, outreach sessions for parents and carers, family support services and access to a childminder network.

Some residents have branded the centre a waste of money, claiming that it will duplicate existing services and threaten small schools in other Weardale communities.

But Barrington headteacher Lynne Bainbridge said yesterday the full benefits would gradually emerge.

The school's oldest and youngest pupils, James Forster, aged 11, and four-year-old Darren Reed, were chosen to start the project by cutting the first piece of turf.

Mrs Bainbridge said: "The children are all very excited. It will bring lots of benefits to families, not just in Stanhope, but in the whole of Weardale.

"The intention is that it will not just be for under-fives but for older children as well.

"Through consultation, we have become aware of people's needs and the service will develop through the dale."

Children's centre field officer Sean Ward said: "Outreach services and events are already underway, including a number of activities to support adult learning, which will enable parents and carers to engage or re-engage with training and work."

Book boxes and story-telling sessions are aimed at encouraging young children's speech and language development, while Rookhope Primary School has set aside a community room where the dale's first Early Start course is due to open in January.

An informal partnership guiding the centre's development has its next meeting on November 21 from noon to 1pm in Stanhope Methodist Hall.

The building was designed by Jane Darbyshire and David Kendall and is being built by Durham County Council's Service Direct team.