Do you remember the Localgiving matched campaign we were part of in October? Donations that we kindly received during this time were matched by funding from the government. This funding, along with further funding from Sanctuary Housing, has enabled the delivery of weekly online virtual groups for families with young children (under 5s). The families are able to access the sessions from their own homes via zoom.
Our online group runs every Thursday during term-time at 10am. Sessions are advertised on our social media channels and families are asked to contact Lynne, our Stay & Play facilitator by 4pm the day before to express their interest in joining the session and to get the zoom link.
Each session is scheduled to last for approximately 30 minutes and includes a welcome song, focused activity, a story (or two!) and several songs & rhymes. Each week has a different theme eg. Rainbow &Colours; Numbers & Counting; Jungle & Snow (Hot & Cold); Farm Animals; Teddy Bears etc.
Since the beginning of December 2020, we have delivered 12 sessions and we are delighted that a total of 25 different families have joined at least one session. We are happy that some families are regular attendees. The average number for a session is 8 families which is a really nice number for this type of group.
Families attending the sessions have given us some fantastic feedback:
“The group helps me feel less isolated”
“We loved the craft ideas”
“We’ve been going on a bear hunt ever since you read it to us! Also it’s inspired me to try new activities I wouldn’t before”
We are now planning on introducing an informal peer support session at the end of each child-focused session to enable parents to have some dedicated time to talk freely among themselves which they are not able to do whilst the songs & stories, etc are in full flow. If you have an under 5 and are interested in attending the group, please get in touch.
Thank you very much to our funders – Sanctuary Housing, Localgiving and all the individuals who donated to our Localgiving appeal in October – you made this possible!