Courtesy Barrhead News

A FORMER school building in Barrhead will be transformed into a specialist youth centre.

The now empty Auchenback Primary School building is set to become an early years facility created to combat poverty problems faced by Barrhead youngsters.

It comes as East Renfrewshire Council reveal that up to 1,300 children in the authority are living in circumstances that will lead to poor health in later life.

It was also revealed that the council are considering extending nursery services to kids at two years old.

Councillor Alan Lafferty, convener for social work and health said: "We know that the earliest stages of life are crucial to a child's future life chances.

"Health, wellbeing, resilience and attainment are all influenced by a person's early years."

The centre will offer support to parents pre-birth who are struggling with poverty, domestic violence and substance abuse while youngsters as old as 15 can gain advice and help on everything from smoking to weight.

East Renfrewshire Council says the initiative is aimed at giving youngsters a better start in early life, and will work as a test bed for wider community initiatives throughout East Renfrewshire.

The work will be supported by an Early Years Change Fund which aims to put in place early interventions to reduce the need for councils to react to crisis.

Auchenback Primary School was closed last year after a falling student roll swayed councillors to call time on the school's 40 year history.

Since then the building has been mothballed, however rumours that the Community Health and Care Partnership (CHCP).

It has now been confirmed that the care will be delivered by East Renfrewshire CHCP which is a partnership between East Renfrewshire Council and NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde (NHSGG&C) .

It is not yet know what kind of changes will be made to the building or if it will be demolished and a new building constructed, however an East Renfrewshire Press release stated the centre would be built on the site of the former Auchenback Primary School.

Councillor Lafferty added: "We want all children in East Renfrewshire to experience a stable and secure start to life and to be supported to succeed.
"By creating opportunities to offer more support during the early years we can have a lasting impact on outcomes for our children."

East Renfrewshire has one of the highest numbers of children of any authority compared to the national average.

Almost 20 per cent of the East Renfrewshire population are aged between 0-5 years old. This is higher than the Scottish average of 17.4 per cent.