CHILD care experts from Bedfordshire County Council spent a day in Sandy market on Friday talking to parents about everything from care to family support. There was a large play area, balloon modeller and magic show to keep children entertained so while t

CHILD care experts from Bedfordshire County Council spent a day in Sandy market on Friday talking to parents about everything from care to family support.

There was a large play area, balloon modeller and magic show to keep children entertained so while the kids were having fun parents could talk to child care experts.

The visit to the market coincided with National Childcare Week which gave local authorities a chance to promote the benefits of quality child care and highlight its availability to local parents.

County councillor David Reedman, cabinet member for children and young people, said: "Visiting Sandy market was an excellent opportunity for parents to pick up information on services and their children to enjoy fun and games at the same time.

"Quality early education and childcare gives children a great start in life.

"Our children's information service team provided a wealth of information on nurseries, child minders and out of school clubs."

Charnjeet Dhillon, children's information service manager at the county council, said: "If children are to achieve their full potential we need to highlight the quality services available for families with young children.

"We understand that mums and dads looking after their children can find themselves tied to their homes during the week with little time to speak to the county council about the services available. We hope the visit to Sandy market gave parents an opportunity to combine their shopping with a chat about how we could help.