help starting a parent and toddler group

[boogiequeen]

Dear Mums
Helpppp.
I have been trying to find infomation on starting a parent and toddler group.
I really want to know if I need any formal childcare qualifications or If i can attend short courses such as first aid, creative play etc instead. The p+t groups I go to with my children at the moment (23 and 9 months) are all run by midwifes and ex nursery nurses etc.
I have premises which my husband uses in the evenings but we need to fill during the day.
can anyone answer my question? or suggest courses etc. Also I will need to know the health and saftey issues that need to be carried out when working with the under 5's and if there is a limited time I can have each session open for, that sort of thing.
Hope this makes sense. I have the kids running around my ankles at the mo so have typed this in a hurry
look forward to any advice anyone has
xx

Hi boogiequeen,

Our local parent/toddler/baby group is fairly informal. The mums are a;ways present with their children so there's no issue about formal qualifications. It's just a room (church hall) with lots of toys (mostly passed on/donated) and the right sized chairs and tables for snacks, drawing etc. I think if you're not making a great profit (we just charge to cover rent and facilities) and especially not em,poyingf anyone, then everything is a lot more straightforward. There is an organisation in Scotland, where I am, that I forget the name of! will check - bound to be equiv. in England - that you can align yourself with to get support and advice. It's a lot more organic than running a daycare centre or nursery, because the presence of the parent or carer makes the children their legal charge not yours. It's a love;ly environment for exploring play ideas, singing/making/doing things in groups... a little hectic at times because of the age differences. Definitely informal, ours. Writing in haste, ought to be working, but if this sounds sim. to what you have in mind and I can be of assistance, let me know! Good luck!

Hey Spots

Thanks for the advice, as you say I dont want all the responsabilty for all those kids so I thought the p+t group would be the best bet. Also I really dont have time to do a 2 yr creche course when its not really a creche I want to open, just need the basic do's and donts of running a group. it seems this is quite hard to find without someone wanting to charge you money for their booklet!
It would be great if you could let me know the name of that support group (only if you remember it) once again thanx for the response. x

Hi Boogiequeen,
The group are called the Scottish Pre-school Play Association and I have a contact number for them locally which is 01592 - 641 - 642. I'm sure if you wanted to call they could advise you on other organisations that might help you, if they couldn't themselves. Good luck!

I helped with starting a toddler group along with the ministers wife and another couple of mums. We just decided on how it would run what we would charge and checked the hall we were using was OK for insurance. Its own insurance covered us.

Consider getting other local mums use the group involved, that way they can help with getting stuff together and be able to run it if you can't make it.

I would check with the councils pre- five section for advise and if there are any requirements to meet. As you say as it is a parent and toddler group its fairly straight forward.

Decent biscuits, a big roll of carpet for the babies to lie on and a couple of organised activities (like a craft and a building thing set out) for the toddlers seemed to do the trick.

Hi Spots and Skribble.
sorry for not replying quicker as went to visit relatives for the weekend, back now and just logged on.
Thanks for the number spots will follow that up, also thanks to Skribble for the reply. will look at my councils website now.
xx

Our P&T is run by volunteers, and it was set up with the help of the Meet-a-Mum Association (MAMA) . We have a committee, and a treasurer - the only thing I can think of that hasn't been mentioned is that, iirc, you will need public liability insurance.

The one I helped start was sort of commitee run, we checked and the insurance that was in place for the hall covered us for public liability and theft or criminal damage to equipment, this will vary with venues /halls though.

If it is a once a week thing then insurance isn't that bad if you have to get your own. I priced insurance when i did a business plan for a mobile creche a while back.