A VISIT to Hampshire's new multi-million-pound shopping centre really will be a day out to remember for all the family.

When WestQuay opens in Southampton tomorrow, mums and dads will find it hard to tear their children away from the unique Abacus in-centre creche.

Abacus - on the upper shopping level of the £295 million centre - will enable children aged from three months to eight years to take part in daily activities and stay for between one and six hours.

The creche will be open seven days a week from 10am to 6pm, except on Thursdays when it will stay open until 8pm.

Daily activity clubs at no extra cost will range from putty modelling, mosaics and Meccano, to jewellery-making and painting, and there will even be a daily after-school homework club for five-to-eight-year-olds.

Children can also have birthday parties there, and youngsters with special needs are well-catered for, too, with facilities including a member of staff trained in sign language.

All Abacus staff are highly-qualified and police and social services checked, and there will be a high staff/child ratio and stringent security procedures.

WestQuay spokeswoman Vanessa Forster said: "Special attention has been paid to the choice of our creche facility provider."

To find out more, visit the creche website at www.abacuswestquay.com

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