PARENTS caring for disabled children have been given extra help to get back into work or training as part of an innovative pilot scheme run by Redbridge Council.

Twenty seven families from across the borough have taken part in the Special Needs and Opportunities with Childcare Affordability Programme (SNOWCAP), which assisted them with childcare costs so that they could try and get a job or attend college courses.

Parents who have already benefited from the programme met at the Child Development Centre in Barkingside for a celebratory event on Wednesday, July 1 to share their experiences.

The project, which was funded by the London Development Agency (LDA), ran from January 2007 until March 2009 with an extension now agreed for existing participants running until December 2009.

No extra families are being accepted on to the project.

Redbridge Council played a major role in managing the project, identifying suitable families in the area and helping them through the assessment process so they could receive the funding.

One parent who is benefiting from SNOWCAP is Lydia Allen, from Chadwell Heath. Her daughter Kehara who is three and a half years old, was born with cerebral palsy.

She said: "I found out about the scheme through my pre-school liaison officer and I don't know how I would have coped without it. It enabled me to get back into work and to find a nursery close to where I live which is welcoming and loving to Kehara.

"I always wanted Kehara to go to a mainstream nursery because I wanted her to socialise with able-bodied children and have something to strive for. This nursery is just perfect and I would not have been able to afford it and go back to work without SNOWCAP."

She added: "I've been lucky enough to receive funding from the scheme for about two years now and since being made redundant from my job, it has now given me the opportunity to undertake a degree. Without SNOWCAP none of this would have been possible."

Cllr Gary Monro, Cabinet Member for Children's Services, said: "This project has helped so many families in the Borough who have children with disabilities and otherwise would not have been able to afford childcare costs to learn a new skill or secure employment.

"We know how much pressure these families are under so anything we can do to assist to make their lives easier is to be applauded."