Childcare providers in two Suffolk towns have received national recognition for keeping families at the heart of services.

Meadow Children’s Centre, in Saxmundham, and Leiston Children’s Centre both won Families First accreditation from the National Association of Family Information Services, recognising efforts to interact with families and help parents engage with their child’s learning by providing information, advice and support.

Standards are met in various ways at the centres – overseen by acting manager Sam Best – using development plans influenced by an advisory board made up of local groups. Services are also shaped by feedback in the centres and on official Facebook pages.

Celia Carter, support and information officer with the county council’s children and young people’s services, said the awards had helped staff and volunteers realise what a fabulous job they were doing.

The awards were presented at Leiston Children’s Centre, in Waterloo Avenue, Leiston, where parent Michelle Nash, now a qualified community parent volunteer, said: “I love both centres, they are like a home away from home.”