Day-care centre planned at Mangere by Dr Barnardo’s

Press, Volume CXI, Issue 32525, 8 February 1971, Page 6

Day-care centre planned at Mangere by Dr Barnardo’s

A day-care unit, with provision for babies and infants to stay overnight in emergencies and residential accommodation for staff, is to be built by Dr Barnardo’s in New Zealand at Mangere, South Auckland. The organisation’s pilot scheme for a child-care project in New Zealand was announced recently by the national secretary (Mrs M. E. Jones, of Wellington). It replaces the residential nursery home, which was originally

planned for Pakuranga, Auckland. The earliest estimated date for completion of the centre at Mangere is “towards the end of 1971,” says a news release from the New Zealand committee of management. The change in plans was made after the study of a major research project done in Britain into the effects of residential care on children under five with home problems. Discussions were held in New Zealand between the Barnardo director of child care (Mr V. L. Cornish) and the organisation’s chief architect (Mr H. Hall) from Britain and representatives of the

Child Welfare Division of the Department of Education and the Barnardo New Zealand committee of management. They agreed that the childcare work to be carried out by Bamardo’s in New Zealand should be, initially, a special type of day-care unit. In Britain, where the study of the needs of children in the context of total family care have been made for five years, it was found that daycare centres brought field staff into contact with families at a stage early enough for constructive and helpful work to be done with children, rather than making this contact when it was too late

to achieve any real success. “Keeping the family unit together for the sake of the child is becoming a priority in modem child care,” the news release says. The new establishment at Mangere will be the centre for a pioneer family-care scheme of a type not previously attempted in New Zealand. This area was chosen for its particular needs and the Child Welfare Division welcomes the Barnardo’s plan for children and their parents there.

Units, such as the one planned, can provide much needed accommodation for bereaved or otherwise unsup-

ported mothers and fathers in need, and for children who require help in times of home crisis. The initial cost of the project will be assisted by the parent organisation of Dr Barnardo’s in the United Kingdom, the release says. But it is hoped that support from New Zealand donors will eventually make Dr Bamardo’s in New Zealand selfsupporting. The sketch shows the proposed child care centre for Dr Bamardo’s at Mangere. The architects are Calder, Fowler and Styles.