A PROJECT working with disadvantaged youngsters has been handed £30,000 by Children in Need.

Little Pals Children’s Centre Nursery, based at Tendring Education Centre, in Jaywick Lane, Clacton, has been awarded the grant over three years to provide early years parent and baby sessions.

The windfall will provide an opportunity for families with young children to increase their self- esteem and wellbeing.

The cash has been allocated to the nursery, which also operates from the former Sure Start centre in Broadway, Jaywick, through Children in Need’s Small Grants Programme.

The BBC charity has now given more than £275,000 to causes in the district.

Gillian Smith, director at Little Pals Children’s Centre Nursery, said: “This is our first time to receive funding from BBC Children in Need and we can’t wait to put the funds to work.

“Funding will allow us to connect with parents who have young children and help them to build a better future for themselves and their children.

“We are over the moon at getting this money. It will provide groups for baby massage and baby sensory and toddlers.

“At the moment we run the nurseries and parents drop off the children, but this will help parents socially and emotionally by helping those who are isolated to get out and meet people in a similar situation.”

The groups are expected to start after the May half term.

The grant is part of the national charity’s second funding allocation of the year.

Clare Cannock, regional head at BBC Children in Need, said: “We are so pleased projects like this are able to benefit from our small grants programme and make a difference in the community.

“The generosity of the British public allows us to make these grants possible and make a positive impact to the lives of children and young people.”

The charity’s chief executive Simon Antrobus added: “Our Small Grants programme can and does make a significant and lasting impact on young lives.

“Each project will go on to make a positive and lasting difference to the lives of disadvantaged children and young people in the heart of communities up and down the UK, so thank you for making these grants possible.”

Across Tendring, Children in Need is currently funding three projects to a value of £275,950.

It also handed £84,939 to Teen Talk Harwich to provide drop-in support and group activities to young people with emotional and mental health issues.

BBC Children in Need currently awards grants at six points during the year and funds two types of grants. The small grants programme supports projects for up to three years, and includes grants up to and including £10,000 per year.

To date, the public has raised more than £1 billion for the charity.