Would you run a baby and toddler group?

[seizethecuttlefish]

Bit of background. I go to a great group. But it's not very busy and the woman who runs it has been missing in action since it restarted in August. The hall is all paid for but there has been no sign in sheet or money collected since I started going. There is no fb presence or advertising and anyone who joins is through word of mouth. I've never met the woman who runs it. We were all talking today and are worried that the group would stop, without anyone taking ownership. I was about to message the leader and ask if she needs help but I suddenly thought "what's actually involved in running the group?" The internet is full of advice but I wanted some personal experiences.
Have you run a group?
What are the downfalls?
Is this going to take over my life?

We set up a group between 4 of us. Try to recruit some other mums? The vicar's wife got involved ( one of the other mums was a church goer) so we got the hall for free. It was a great success and still going many years later.

I did it pretty much alone. Would recommend having a group of 4 of you.

You would need to find out who has hired the hall and on what basis as someone will have public liability insurance and will know what the terms of the hire are. Who owns the toys and who,is responsible for keeping them clean, getting rid of the broken ones and replacing them. Where are the risk assessments and are they up to date?

Are you going to do drinks and snacks? If so does someone have the relevant food prep certificates if you are going to so more than break open a pack of biscuits? Who washes up and clears up,the toys and the end of the session?

If you are going to do craft who will plan it, prepare it, run it and tidy it away?

Toddler groups take a lot of work and planning and you need to get the governance in place. As a church we are looking at doing a drop in baby and toddler group and we have most of the kit and the legals in place but whether my lovely parishioners want to turn out week in week out to set up, sweep up and then chase people who try to wriggle out of paying is yet to be decided.

It is a great way to meet people and a great way to give back to the community but what happens if someone has an accident and sues you. It happened to us (not children thankfully) but it has made us very cautious.

I used to run one.
It's rewarding and a good way to meet people.

It helps if you can have some support. Like an unofficial committee.
For example: Someone to set up a craft table, another to do refreshments and maybe someone to read a story at tidy up time.
You may need insurance which isn't that much. A company called Morton Michel used to offer this, not sure if it still does.
Get volunteers to bring a packet of biscuits, kitten roll, teabags etc.
Have the odd raffle for fundraising, liaise with the local primary school for a stall at their fetes etc.
It doesn't have to be overly time consuming.

DH helps to run one and there is a small organising “committee”, they share the jobs and I think it would be too much work for one person. Plus if there’s just one person running it, things could grind to a halt if they are ill or on holiday or move away or just stop doing it. So definitely see if you can get others involved too.

Thanks all. I think one of the issues is that it's a one woman show and I think it's just too much. Mostly some good points, thanks. It's toast and biscuits so think we'll get away with food prep. At both groups I go to, everyone helps out with clean up but this does really rely on good will.