Bratton Fleming Playgroup - updated June 2009 (see latest minutes below)Bratton Fleming Playgroup - updated June 2009 (see latest minutes below)
Bratton Fleming Playgroup needs its own building. There are two key reasons for this;
Why does the Playgroup need its own building?
Bratton Fleming Playgroup is an OFSTED registered sessional day care provider. We provide four morning sessions a week for children aged 3 to 5 years of age. We typically draw children from the same catchment area as that of the village school, that being Bratton Fleming, Loxhore, stoke Rivers and Challacombe.
Currently we rent the village hall for four mornings a week. We have no written contract with the village hall. Our premises are therefore only as secure as any other booking in the village hall. The village hall will not issue any contract to any user, other than a standard hourly hire contract.
The village hall is used by several other organisations. For this reason, the hall must be set up from scratch every morning. Each morning we have to set out tables, chairs, painting easels, hand washing facilities, sand pit and protective floor coverings. These items are stored in a shed across the car park. Once these things are out, only then can the staff begin setting up the specific activities the children will be offered that day. At the end of the session, the reverse process has to happen. The hall must be cleared and all equipment put back into the shed.
The village hall has limited options for outside play. The children have nowhere to hang coats and store a change of shoes. The outside play area at the hall is grassed. If it has been wet, the children cannot play outside.
The layout of the hall is staff intensive. The kitchen and toilet facilities are both away from the main hall and staff cannot supervise children in the hall at the same time as monitoring a child using the toilet.
The toilet facilities are adult sized. Children have great difficulty using adult sized toilet and wash room facilities. We currently use a hop-up step, but this has its inherent health and safety issues.
The village hall is damp and many of the items we must store (paper, paint, jigsaws, books, dressing up clothes, towels) deteriorate much quicker than can reasonably be expected because of the poor quality storage.
The village hall is used by several other organisations who meet weekly or monthly. This gives us very few options to expand on our existing service. We have been approached by several parents who would like to use the playgroup more but we cannot offer further sessions than are currently on offer.
We need better office and planning space. We currently have no room for a computer to keep track of records, registers and other administration or indeed one which the children could have access to. The storage conditions for confidential child records are not ideal.
Looking to the future, without our own building, any new demand OFSTED makes of the facilities that a playgroup should offer will be complicated to meet. Any change in the facilities we must provide has to be requested of the village hall committee. The village hall committee are not obliged to accommodate us. This situation could ultimately result in our closure.
Purpose built accommodation would give us autonomy. It could be constructed in such a fashion as to maximise the visibility of the children to staff at all times. Kitchen and toilet areas could still offer some monitoring of the main play area. We could have child sized toilets and wash basins at a more suitable height. This would promote better hygiene. A hard play area as well as grass could be provided encouraging more outdoor play. Furniture and easels could be left in situ reducing the set-up/clear away time.
Even more promising, purpose built accommodation would eventually enable us to offer morning and afternoon sessions 5 days a week with a lunch club between. This could amount up to 6 hours of care during the day. This would give more parents the choice of working should they so wish.
Why is your project needed?
The project to provide a purpose building for the playgroup would secure the playgroup for the future. It places the control of the accommodation solely under the committee of the playgroup and means that accommodation set-up can be focused solely on the 3-5 year olds that will use it. In securing Playgroup’s future, three jobs would also be secured and potentially expanded. The quality of existing care would also improve.
A new building would also give us the opportunity to expand our care. Bratton Fleming is a growing village. The intake at the local primary school is increasing. Child minding facilities in the village are currently non-existent. There is no childcare alternative for many families. Demand for extra sessions at the playgroup is increasing. We cannot provide any extra sessions without our own accommodation.
In being on the school site, the children would benefit from closer integration of the establishments. Teachers and staff would be able to work more closely together to facilitate a more effective transition of children between the two environments.
What evidence do you have that your project is needed?
The OFSTED requirements of a sessional day care establishment are set out in the National Standards. Our establishment does not meet all the needs.
We are at present collating evidence from a parent survey in the village. Census information for the Bratton Fleming area shows that the childcare places for 3-5 year olds is below target now and must significantly increase in the next 2 years.
North Devon Homes have recently built 15 affordable homes in Bratton Fleming, producing significant increase in potential children.
How have you involved the community in your plans?
The playgroup is run by a volunteer committee drawn from the families who use it. Community support for our plan is critical for its success. We have recently held a race night that raised in excess of £2500 towards the cost of the project. We also have £1000 from various other fundraising events over the past 12 months. Several people within the village are willing to commit their time and professional service to the work. The project is being run by a sub-committee, again drawn from the local community.
Bratton Fleming Playgroup Minutes January 2009
Bratton Fleming Playgroup Minutes March 2009
Bratton Fleming Playgroup Minutes June 2009