Setting up a parent /toddler group...

[Monnie]

I'm sure there was a thread about this before but have not had any success in finding it.

Anyway, if anyone has any info out there to help me, I'd be really grateful.

Tx

This guide looks useful. It's here The pre-school learning alliance will probably be helpful if you're thinking more pre-school/playgroup than toddlers though. Good for you and good luck!

This is something I have thought about doing in the past so I will be interested to hear any advice you get.

A friend of mine set up a weekly parent/baby/toddler group a year ago in a local residents hall, and I attend it regularly. She advertised in local shops and on tree trunks! She uses the hall for free. It's for 2 hours one morning a week, and she charges £1 per visit. All the money goes to buying toys for the group and providing coffee and biscuits. There's a wide variety of ages - from newborns to pre-schoolers (my eldest child is probably the oldest at nearly 4). There are baby toys, jigsaws, books, walkers, train sets, toy kitchen, bikes etc, tables with playdough, colouring pens and stickers and loads more. There are soft rugs and cushions in one corner for the mums with small babies.
20 minutes before the end we all sit down and my friend leads a songtime for about 10 minutes - Wheels on the Bus etc, when we all sit down with our youngsters. then everyone helps to clear the stuff away.
It's very friendly and I've met several new mums who I will meet again at nursery etc. It's also been very good for my youngest child to meet others the same age, as my eldest already had a set of friends from our original NCT group.
Let me know if there's anything else you'd like to know.

Thanks for the support, everyone.

Thanks, wickedwaterwitch, for the website info.

It's something I want to do in the furture once I have finished college(NNEB), so fingers crossed...

I ran our local Parent and Toddler group for a number of years so any advice you want please ask.
It was and still is run along similar lines to the one Fionn is talking about. The preschool learning alliance are a great help, the local area co-ordinator helped with advice and contacts and we insured the group through them. We also got a grant from them for buying some equipment. More recently we registered it as a charity because that meant we were eligible for lottery grants etc. This involved lots of initial form filling but now takes minimal effort. Tesco's and our local district council also gave us donations. As a result we are now able to offer a large variety of toys and books have a good selection of musical instruments and also lots of easels / craft materials etc. so we can run monthly activity days.
Hope this helps and really good luck
Vx