A DROITWICH children's care centre will be providing an increased range of services for the wider community.

WANDS, which is on the Westlands estate, will be opening up some of its services to families with children at Westlands and Chawson First School, as well as other people in the area from next month.

The move follows government plans to make sure that all children and families have access to a wide range of services on or around school sites.

Parents and carers with children under five will still get the services already offered, which include early education, childcare and family support.

But from the start of September other services provided at WANDS by other agencies, such as the Citizens Advice Bureau (CAB), Relate, and the One Stop Shop, will be available for anyone in need of help.

However, health visitor clinics and community midwives sessions will still only remain available for parents with young children.

The children's centre, which is part of Worcestershire County Council's early years and childcare service, is planning an additional range of courses from September, including healthy eating, basic computing and family links.

The One Stop Shop will be at WANDS every Thursday afternoon, providing access to council services. The Children's Information Service will be at the centre every Friday from 10am to 12pm, and the CAB will increase its time to six hour per week.

Kate Jones, programme manager at WANDS, said: "All in all, it's an exciting time for the centre, as we continue to develop new services for the communities of Westlands and Chawson. We are looking forward to seeing lots of new faces at WANDS from the autumn onwards, as well as continuing to provide quality services for our existing service users."