A family centre has been given a new lease of life following a grant from the National Lottery.

The Kaleidoscope Centre For Families, in Oxford Road, Kidlington, is setting up a breakfast club and after-school club thanks to £14,900 from the New Opportunities Fund.

Children aged up to 11 will be able to spend time at the centre before and after school, allowing their parents to leave and collect them outside of working hours.

The money will be spent on wages, equipment and toys and a computer system linked to schools for children with learning disabilities.

The funding is a welcome vote of confidence in the centre after Oxfordshire County Council tried to close it last April. It survived by becoming a charity depending on donations to survive from the county, district and parish councils, individuals such as Kidlington-based tycoon Sir Richard Branson - who has pledged £1,000 a year for five years - and organisations like Sainsbury's.

Andrew Hornsby-Smith, the chairman of the centre's management committee, said: "The funding we are given is not guaranteed indefinitely so it's a very precarious position for us.

We have got a basic plan to work within the grants we have got and work out a range of services we can provide, but it's a balancing act."

The centre lost £4,000 last year and Mr Hornsby-Smith said that they will be applying to the National Lottery Board for money to underwrite the centre's £65,000 annual costs.

Around 200 families use the centre at the moment and there are 1,200 children at Kidlington's four primary schools who could use its services.

The Kaleidoscope Centre also provides a Creche, a Post Natal Support group and advice for parents.