THE new children's centre will provide extensive facilities under one roof.

Currently there is no single facility that can support the co-ordinated range of assessments, therapies, support and advice services that children with disabilities and their families need.

All too often this means that children and their families find themselves attending a bewildering array of appointments at facilities which were never designed with the needs of children with disabilities in mind or their families or those who care for them.

The new children's centre is to be built on a 14-acre site at High Cross, Newport, behind High Cross Road and Glasllwch Crescent.

It will provide facilities designed to ensure that health, education, social services and the voluntary and charitable sector are able to provide care, treatment, support and advice under one roof. But the South Gwent Children's Centre will provide much more than assessment, medical and therapy facilities.

At the heart of the new centre will be places where children and their families can meet and support each other, to play and to enjoy gardens.

As we reported when we launched the appeal in December, the centre is needed to meet the health and other needs of these children and their families, that cuts the stress and hassle of meeting appointments with different specialists, often in different towns.

To provide this facility the South Gwent Children's Foundation need to raise £6m and our Sparkle Appeal aims to raise £250,000 towards the £6m.

Some of the facilities at the new centre will include:

A hydrotherapy pool Medicinema Office accommodation A parents room IT resource library Training gym Reception and play area Dark and light therapy room Toy library General consulting rooms Range of therapy rooms Rooms for the voluntary and charitable sector

The aim of the new centre is to help each child reach its full potential.