Newington Children’s Cente Update!
Matt Dunkley, Kent County Council’s CorporateDirector for Children, Young People and Education, said: “At approximately 4.30am today (Wednesday, February 5 2020) there was a fire at Newington Children’s Centre in Thanet. The fire has caused substantial damage to buildings and both the children’s centre and the Growing Together Nursery, which is part of the Thanet Early Years Project, will be closed until further notice. Some activities will be held at alternative locations while others will unfortunately have to be cancelled. Staff will be putting a sign on the gate soon with contact details so families can call for the latest information, or they can check the Thanet Children's Centres page on Facebook for updates. They can also contact the Children and Families information Service for information about alternative provision by calling 03000 412323, emailing kentcfis@kent.gov.uk or visiting https://www.kent.gov.uk/education-and-children/childcare-and-pre-school.
Newington Community Primary School is not affected by the fire and is open. The cause of the fire is being investigated but it is not being treated as suspicious. We would like to take this opportunity to thank Kent Fire and Rescue Service for their work at the scene, as well as staff for the professional way they have dealt with this incident. We appreciate this will be a difficult time for children, families and staff and we will endeavour to reopen the children’s centre as soon as it is safe to do so.”