PRIMARY school pupils have given a helping hand to developing an online information service for young people in the county.Youngsters from Rushmere Hall Primary have been lending their expertise to help set up a directory of services for children, young people and their families.

PRIMARY school pupils have given a helping hand to developing an online information service for young people in the county.

Youngsters from Rushmere Hall Primary have been lending their expertise to help set up a directory of services for children, young people and their families.

It has been added to the already well-established Infolink system which can be accessed on the internet. The project is part of Suffolk's Children's Futures initiative and has been done with the help of Suffolk County Council's library service.

It contains information and contact details for organisations including sports clubs, voluntary groups, support groups and charities, and will help people find services in their area.

Youngsters from Rushmere Hall used their experiences in using the InfoLink search engine to find relevant information which led to a separate web page being developed for young people that is more attractive and user-friendly.

Tony Lewis, Suffolk County Council's portfolio holder for children and young people, and chair of Suffolk's children and young people's strategic partnership board, said: "I'm very pleased that we have developed this resource for children, young people and their families, especially working with the children from Rushmere Hall Primary School. It's important that young people have access to information through sites such as this, so they can make informed choices in their lives."

He added: "Children's Futures is our initiative to improve services for children, young people and their families by developing closer working between the different agencies working with them. These new InfoLink pages will also enable people working in front line services to get access to better information to help and support families."

The internet address is: www.suffolkcc.gov.uk/libraries/infolink/children