Anna Freud Centre given £2.5m boost by foundation donation
Anna Freud's planned Centre of Excellence - Credit: Archant
A new centre to support children with mental health issues has been given a £2.5m boost.
Trevor Pears - Credit: Nigel Sutton
The Pears Foundation has joined up with the Anna Freud Centre to support a new centre of excellence.
The foundation has donated £2.5million towards the £24m cost.
More than £15.3m is expected to be raised by selling the centre’s Maresfield Gardens base.
The remaining cash is being raised from voluntary donations.
The centre of excellence, which is to be built on a site in King’s Cross, will bring together
people and organisations in neuroscience, mental health and education with the aim of delivering better mental health services informed by the most recent scientific discoveries.
Most Read
- 1 CCTV footage released as family pay tribute to 'loving son' Olsi
- 2 Highgate woman pledges £1million for children's autism charity
- 3 Man arrested following stabbing on Royal College Street
- 4 First Muslim lord mayor of Westminster announced
- 5 Five bedrooms, utterly charming and in Muswell Hill
- 6 Floating park between Camden Town and King's Cross
- 7 Former Camden Council leader chooses women's safety charity for second mayoral year
- 8 'I'm sorry people had to wait 30 years,' former minister tells Infected Blood Inquiry
- 9 Barnet: Two men charged following fatal High Road stabbing
- 10 Toff's of Muswell Hill celebrates Fish and Chips Day with 50 free glasses of fizz
Professor Peter Fonagy, chief executive of the Anna Freud Centre, welcomed the partnership.
He said: “Pears Foundation is a great example of a progressive partner who shares our values and passion for improving the lives of children.”
He added: “I think the Family School will become an inspiration for many years to come for those seeking new ways to improve children’s mental health.”
The Family School, at the heart of the centre of excellence will be the first institution of its
kind where mental health is incorporated in children’s education,
so as to enable students to reintegrate back into mainstream education.
At full capacity it will offer intensive, tailored psychological and educational support for up to 48 children aged
five to 14 who are at risk of permanent exclusion from mainstream school, and their families.
Trevor Pears, Executive Chair of the Pears Foundation, said: “We are really excited and proud to be working with The Anna Freud Centre. This will really boost our ongoing commitment to developing understanding of the challenges children face today and how they can be supported.”
Construction is due to start later this year with the aim of being ready for the start of the new academic year in September 2018.
