Toddlers in St Albans sang harvest festival songs today at a tea party to celebrate Jobcentre Plus launching their new service, STEPS 4 CHANGE, at St Albans Children’s Centre.

STEPS 4 CHANGE means that New Deal advisers from St Albans Jobcentre Plus will now be on hand at the Children’s Centre on a regular basis to offer lone parents an extensive range of services to help them find suitable employment to fit around their family commitments. This includes how to be better off in work calculations and other financial incentives when returning to work. Jobcentre Plus can also help parents find suitable registered childcare and even organise help towards the cost of paying for it.

Bringing in this new service means that St Albans Jobcentre and St Albans Children’s Centre are working in partnership to offer lone parents in the St Albans area a one-stop shop on advice and support with childcare, education, health, parenting and employment all within easy reach.

Monica Wragg, Childcare Partnership Manager for Jobcentre Plus in Hertfordshire said, “By working with our partners in the St Albans community, such as Young in Herts, and Leo Silvers, manager of the Children’s Centre, it gives Jobcentre Plus the opportunity to support lone parents in their search for work at a convenient location to them.”

She added, “Our specialist advisers can offer help with looking for work, finding suitable training opportunities to increase skills, find suitable childcare providers in the local area and provide funding for childcare when the parent starts work. It’s all about helping parents finding a solution tailored to their own individual circumstances. By helping parents to improve their skills, we hope to help them improve quality of life for themselves and for their children.”

For more information on New Deal for Lone Parents contact the Hertfordshire team on 0800 783 9619.