What's Been On
Longridge
We had a number of activities for parents and children to do, including decorating Christmas baubles, making Christmas cards, decorating biscuits and making badges. We were able to consult with parents about what services were available to them and what they would like the new centre to provide, we were also able to answer any questions they had about the new children’s centre.
The parents/carers were then asked the following questions;
What services are offered in the area including health services for families and children aged 0-5years?
Where the services are located?
What groups they attend, where and what time they take place?
What other groups they would like to see in the new centre that would benefit families with children 0-5years.
Kindermusik
Kindermusik is the world’s leading music and movement programme for children newborn to seven years. There are classes for babies, toddlers and older children. Kindermusik foundation of learning, helps with physical, social, emotional, cognitive and language development skills through their classes.
On the 30th October Katrina, Margaret (our volunteer) and I, did our first Kindermusik lessons at St.Maria Goretti nursery,
Brookfield
primary school and Holme Slack nursery. We have had encouraging comments and feedback, from those who attended the sessions. Everyone attending the Kindermusik sessions has developed confidence in their musical skills, in a fun and enjoyable atmosphere.
James the Chef Cooking Activity
On Thursday 25th October, and Friday 26th October, Chef James Holden from the
Academy
of
Culinary Arts
visited Preston East Children’s Centre.
At least 30 children and their parents attended each session, which began with a talk about healthy eating. Chef James followed this with an activity involving all the families experimenting with different foods in order to test their taste buds. They had to identify the flavours of jelly, but all was not as it seemed! The strawberry jelly tasted of lemons, the orange jelly tasted of strawberries and the lemon jelly tasted of oranges.
Chef James then demonstrated how to make a healthy pasta salad, using different ingredients, such as apples, sultanas, peppers and cucumber, mixed with fusili pasta and plain low fat yoghurt. All the families made the pasta salad, with one or two children sampling it before they went home.
Summer Activities 2007
Througout the Summer Holidays the staff of Preston East Children's Centre organised a variety of activities from Arts and Craft to a Bug Hunt.
A Celebration of Cultural Diversity event was held on 26th July at the Guttridge Methodist Church in Deepdale. It was a very successful day which was enjoyed by over 100 children and adults who took part in a range of activities and enjoued a delicious lunch of hotpot or vegetable curry that was provided.
Activities included; jam tart making, mask painting, lantern decorating and a quiz about fruit from around the world. In addition, families took part in Spanish dancing and belly dancing demonstrations, face painting, henna painting, samosa making, tasting foods from different cultures, making smoothies, dressing up and as a result gaining lots of knowledge and information about different cultures from around the world.
On Monday 23rd July and Thursday 2nd August Arts and Craft activities took place. The first was held in the school hall of Brookfield Primary School and the second in Deepdale at the Guttridge Methodist Church Hall. Activities at the events included messy play with shaving foam and corn flour, decorating biscuits, playdoh modelling, decorating visors and painting.
On Monday 6th August we held the Little Mermaid's Beach Party in Brookfield Primary School Hall. Activities included garland making and fish decoration, making fruit kebabs and smoothies as well as creating sand pictues.
The event was very well attended and all children and parents had lots of fun! All members of staff looked the part by dressing up as Hula Girls!
Shield Beetles, Click Beetles, a flying ant, a worm, a snail and a range of flies wee some of the wonderful creatures that the children discovered in the grounds around the Children's Centre with the help of the Wildlife Trust workers on Monday 13th August.
GIANT Land Snails (and they were big!) also made an appearance at the 'In the Garden' summer activity, several children were very brave and held and stroked them.
With a little help from their parents/carers and grandparents, the children made some beautifully decorated plant pots filled with pansies and made animal windchimes, pretty mobiles for the garden and flying insects.
It was a fun packed morning full of creepy crawlies!
The Guttridge Methodist church was invaded by pirates on Thursday 16th August! Children enjoyed making flags, jewellery, treasure maps, decorating parrots with brightly coloured feathers and completing a treasure hunt at the Peter Pan Pirate Adventure afternoon. The event was very well attended by parents and children from all areas and lots of fun was had playing in the pirate ship and in the sand pit!
NVQ Level 2- Childcare, Learning and Development
At the beginning of 2007 at the Children's Centre, 24 parents started the NVQ 2 Childcare, Learning and Development course which is facilitated by the excellent team at Preston College. The course runs for the whole year and the parents have to attend once a week to gain knowledge for them to complete their course work.
The NVQ 2 also involves gaining practical experience and for this our parents have signed on to our volunteer scheme so they can attend our parent and child groups and nurseries to gain the required experience.
Whilst on the placement, they will be out in our community supporting children and families, gaining skills and knowledge. During this time they will be regularly observed and assessed by the tutors.
We wish them all the best in gaining this qualification and are here to mentor and offer our support where we can.
Chatterbox Challenge Week
5-11 February 2007
This week is part of a national campaign to promote speech and language development.
Throughout this week most of the groups took part in the challenge by encouraging children to learn a rhyme about the zoo. They took part in activities linked to this rhyme suchas puppet making, painting and using props for the rhyme etc.
All the children that took part were given a sticker and a certificate.
Leaflets and information were given at the Drop In and groups as well as to the Reception classes at Brookfield and St Maria Goretti Primary Schools.
Over 80 Children and families joined in our Chatterbox Challenge.
RaW (Reading and Writing) Week
8-12 January 2007
The BBC Radio Lancashire Bus was at the Children's Centre on the 8-12 January to promote a NEW 'Fun with Books' project.
RaW stands for Reading and Writing' - the project is aimed at encouraging parents to spend more time reading with their children. Activities during the week were planned to promote fun ways of experiencing books and reading.
Children from Brookfield and St Maria Goretti Primary Schools visited the centre and took part in a variety of activities. They had lots of fun experiencing stories. It was lovely to see all the children working together. We would like to thank all of the staff from the schools involved for their support during this week.
The overall feedback from the week was very positive. Staff and families enjoyed working together in a range of activities to promote reading. There is an evaluation folder of photographs and comments from throughout the week in Reception for you to look at when you visit the Children's Centre.
As many of you may know, we were lucky to have the BBC Radio Lancashire Bus on site for the entirety of the week. Many of us (staff and parents) got involved in their promotions such as the measured mile walk, dental health and hand washing.
You can find out more about what happened by clicking HERE
We hope to continue promoting early literacy skills through the work of the centre. Please watch out for further information.
Brathay - Every Child Matters
On 20th and 21st November 2006, Preston East Children's Centre visited Brathay Hall in Ambleside for two days training about Every Child Matters and team building. The team building activities included rowing, making a 3D jigsaw and explaining our role to other members of staff. Brathay Hall is frequently used by Lancashire County Council to deliver training and development to a wide range of staff and has developed a reputation of excellence. A programme was tailor made and developed by Brathay and the Preston East Children's Centre Management Team to meet our identified purpose and expected outcomes. The programme aims included increasing staff knowledge and understanding of the Every Child Matters Framework, assisting in the development of a cohesive staff team and to share as a team our ethos, values and common goals. The event was evaluated and proved to be a worthwhile and enjoyable experience by all who attended. The staff felt that they learnt a lot about Every Child Matters and were given a great opportunity to bond and get to know the other members of the team. It was particularly useful as an induction for new members who had recently joined the team.
Incredible Years - Webster Stratton Parenting Programme
September 2006
In September 2006, we ran our first course for parents, Webster Stratton Incredible Years. The course is over 13 weeks, with one week as a coffee morning allowing parents to get to know one another. The course has been set up to help parents to change their children's behaviour. Research by Caroline Webster Stratton shows that the behaviour management skills learnt in the group are long lasting with the benefits over time being a calmer family life and a stronger parent/child relationship.
The course is split into five areas. These are play, praise, effective limit settings, ignoring and time out.
Webster Stratton parenting is a two and a half hour session every week and is a really great group to make new friends. Previous parents have had really positive outcomes from the course and they now meet up for a Webster Stratton parents support group, where they can discuss any issues that they may have come across.
If you have any questions or you would like to know any more about the course, please do not hesitate to contact me so we can have a chat.
Jess
01772 790 810
Children's Centre Outreach Worker
Preston Muslim Girls School Health Day
March 06
Health professionals, including the Saul Street Health Visitors, ran the day in order to promote health education and awareness.
A healthy eating workshop was held, which the girls enjoyed very much, and they learnt lots of good advice about healthy eating and exercise, in order to prevent many illnesses including diabetes, high blood pressure, heart disease and anaemia, which are more prevalent in ethnic minority communities.
The girls took away fresh fruit and leaflets to share with their families at home.
A healthy eating workshop was held, which the girls enjoyed very much, and they learnt lots of good advice about healthy eating and exercise, in order to prevent many illnesses including diabetes, high blood pressure, heart disease and anaemia, which are more prevalent in ethnic minority communities.
The girls took away fresh fruit and leaflets to share with their families at home.
Winter Parties 2005 Catherine Beckett Centre & Guttridge Beckett Church Hall
On 13th December at Catherine Beckett Centre and 14th December at Guttridge Church Hall, we held our Winter Parties.
On 13th December at Catherine Beckett Centre and 14th December at Guttridge Church Hall, we held our Winter Parties.
After a lot of planning, parents and children from all over the community came to join us for two days of fun.
The children enjoyed playing party games and we also had a surprise visit from Santa, who had a present for everyone. A snowman, reindeer, fairy and elf were seen having lots of fun and laughter with the children.
Everyone had a really good time and the parties ended with a good sing song of nursery rhymes and winter songs.
The Golden Spade Ceremony
November 2005
The Golden Spade event was held to mark the beginning of the building of our new Children's Centre, and took place on Wednesday 2nd November at Brookfield School. The event was attended by the reception class as well as younger children from the local community and there were lots of construction activities and role play. A colouring competition was held for the pupils of the school with prizes for the best entries.
Guests included Counsellor Pat Woods and her consort, Karen Graham the headteacher, Maria Neale the programme manager and Steve Williams the project architect. Happily, the Lancashire Evening Post were also there to report on the event and take some wonderful photographs.
A lasting memorial of the occasion was the creation of a 'wellie footprint'
plaque which was made by some of the children who were dressed up as Bob the Builder, and which will be displayed in the Children's Centre when it opens in 2006.
Guests included Counsellor Pat Woods and her consort, Karen Graham the headteacher, Maria Neale the programme manager and Steve Williams the project architect. Happily, the Lancashire Evening Post were also there to report on the event and take some wonderful photographs.
A lasting memorial of the occasion was the creation of a 'wellie footprint'
plaque which was made by some of the children who were dressed up as Bob the Builder, and which will be displayed in the Children's Centre when it opens in 2006.
The Grandparents (Sole Carers) Group
Holiday 2005
A grant from 'Awards for All' enabled 17 Sure Start grandparents and their 19 grandchildren to enjoy a wonderful 5 days at Pontins' Southport.
For many families this was the first holiday that they had ever had and what a holiday it was!
The weather was glorious and the Sure Start staff arranged lots of activities to make the week as enjoyable and memorable as possible. There were sports, games, board games, trips to the beach, shopping trips, swimming sessions, and much, much more. The grandparents had some much needed time for themselves, when they left their grandchildren in the capable hands of the nursery nurses for a few hours each day.
The holiday gave the grandparents and children an experience that they not forget and some of the comments were:
'The Sure Start staff that attended the centre during the week were all so very helpful and accommodating and, because of this, considerably eased the grandparents's workload, ensuring that they had an enjoyable and relaxing holiday'
'Just a note to say a huge thank you to Sure Start and Age Concern for a wonderful holiday.'
For many families this was the first holiday that they had ever had and what a holiday it was!
The weather was glorious and the Sure Start staff arranged lots of activities to make the week as enjoyable and memorable as possible. There were sports, games, board games, trips to the beach, shopping trips, swimming sessions, and much, much more. The grandparents had some much needed time for themselves, when they left their grandchildren in the capable hands of the nursery nurses for a few hours each day.
The holiday gave the grandparents and children an experience that they not forget and some of the comments were:
'The Sure Start staff that attended the centre during the week were all so very helpful and accommodating and, because of this, considerably eased the grandparents's workload, ensuring that they had an enjoyable and relaxing holiday'
'Just a note to say a huge thank you to Sure Start and Age Concern for a wonderful holiday.'
Summer Holiday School Camp
Lots of sports and fun activities took place in August 2005 at Deepdale Junior School. It was an opportunity for the children who took part to gain some confidence, use their skills, get exercise and be healthy, and most importantly, have lots of FUN during the school holidays.
There were so many activities, including football, cricket, football, rounders and basketball to name of few of the sports, and also quizzes, songs and other things for the children to do.
All the children really enjoyed themselves and are looking forward to similar activities next year!
There were so many activities, including football, cricket, football, rounders and basketball to name of few of the sports, and also quizzes, songs and other things for the children to do.
All the children really enjoyed themselves and are looking forward to similar activities next year!
Preston Five-a-Side Football Tournament
This was a massive event, with over 48 teams, of 250 children and young people, taking part on 28th August 2005.
There were teams for under 12s, 14s and 16s. The matches were played on 5 pitches and managed by a referee. As you can imagine, this took a lot of organising!
At the end of the day, the proud winners and runners up were awarded prizes from the Mayor. It was an exciting day!
There were teams for under 12s, 14s and 16s. The matches were played on 5 pitches and managed by a referee. As you can imagine, this took a lot of organising!
At the end of the day, the proud winners and runners up were awarded prizes from the Mayor. It was an exciting day!
Teddy Bears Picnic
In August 05, as part of our summer activities, parents and children were invited to our 'Teddy Bears Picnic' on our local Moor Park.
The weather was beautiful and for many of us, including myself, it was lovely to be out in the sunshine instead of in the office.
Everyone brought a teddy. We were joined by Rogan, a storyteller called 'Annacy'. Rogan told us some lovely Teddy Bear stories and we sang some of our favourite nursery rhymes and stories.
Just time for a picnic, before we set off in the woods to search for unusual leaves and fir cones. The children were wonderful and helped each other to find and share the treasures.
Why not have your own Teddy Bears Picnic. All you need is a picnic, books, imagination and don't forget your TEDDY.
'There are lots of books about Teddy Bears. 'Whatever Next' by Jill Murphy is about a Teddy Bear that takes a picnic to the Moon. Zooooom'.
The weather was beautiful and for many of us, including myself, it was lovely to be out in the sunshine instead of in the office.
Everyone brought a teddy. We were joined by Rogan, a storyteller called 'Annacy'. Rogan told us some lovely Teddy Bear stories and we sang some of our favourite nursery rhymes and stories.
Just time for a picnic, before we set off in the woods to search for unusual leaves and fir cones. The children were wonderful and helped each other to find and share the treasures.
Why not have your own Teddy Bears Picnic. All you need is a picnic, books, imagination and don't forget your TEDDY.
'There are lots of books about Teddy Bears. 'Whatever Next' by Jill Murphy is about a Teddy Bear that takes a picnic to the Moon. Zooooom'.
Sandra Simpson
Family Fun Day June 2005
The Parents Forum arranged the Sure Start Preston East Fun Day on 19th June 2005 to mark Sure Start month.
Local parents and Sure Start staff worked hard and brought the community together, with the only agenda item being FUN! There were lots of attractions to keep families entertained, including henna hand painting, giant inflatable slides and games, the Rock FM Thunder Truck, stalls and children's activity tents.
'£600 was raised on the day, and £300 of that was donated to Help a Local Child. Over 500 people attended the day. The weather was beautiful and a great time was had by all.'
Local parents and Sure Start staff worked hard and brought the community together, with the only agenda item being FUN! There were lots of attractions to keep families entertained, including henna hand painting, giant inflatable slides and games, the Rock FM Thunder Truck, stalls and children's activity tents.
'£600 was raised on the day, and £300 of that was donated to Help a Local Child. Over 500 people attended the day. The weather was beautiful and a great time was had by all.'
Samanta Grant
Deepdale Art, Crafts and Poetry Festival
Sure Start Preston East and Little Gems Parent & Child group took part in the Deepdale Art, Crafts & Poetry Festival exhibition 2005.
Over several weeks, parents and children, with a little help from Sure Start staff, worked hard to create an "Under the Sea" collage. Using paint, sand, shells, sticky fingers and a lot of mess, the parents and children did themselves proud by producing a lovely piece of artwork.
As a result, the artwork has been published in the Deepdale Dialogue! Well done!
Over several weeks, parents and children, with a little help from Sure Start staff, worked hard to create an "Under the Sea" collage. Using paint, sand, shells, sticky fingers and a lot of mess, the parents and children did themselves proud by producing a lovely piece of artwork.
As a result, the artwork has been published in the Deepdale Dialogue! Well done!
Sherri Jackson
Smoke Free Homes Project March 2005
On No Smoking Day 9th March 2005 SureStart Preston East, Ribbleton and Fishwick and St Matthews joined together to launch the first Smoke Free Homes project in Preston.
At East we sent every SureStart member a letter with a form to sign up to a Gold or Silver pledge. In June we had a prize draw £25 Toys R Us voucher.
The aim of this project was to reinforce the dangers of second hand smoke especially in young children as these can have long term health effects. The project is still continuing every returned form receives a free 'goody' pack and certificate.
Anne Hurst
At East we sent every SureStart member a letter with a form to sign up to a Gold or Silver pledge. In June we had a prize draw £25 Toys R Us voucher.
The aim of this project was to reinforce the dangers of second hand smoke especially in young children as these can have long term health effects. The project is still continuing every returned form receives a free 'goody' pack and certificate.
Anne Hurst
Preston Carribean Carnival May 2004
The theme for the 2004 Preston Caribbean Carnival was 'Pearl' and it was decided that Sure Start Preston East would do the 'Little Mermaid'.
Parents and children from all our groups, team members and anybody else with a spare pair of hands took part in the preparations. We had creative help from Jane Blackburn at Prescap, and after months of hard work, the results were better than expected.
Early on Carnival day, everybody got together to get ready …. there were princesses, mermaids, a King Neptune and even a strange looking crab and an octopus! (We think they caught the bus from Blackpool!)
The event brought communities from all over Preston together, in a day of colour, fun and laughter. Thank you to everyone who took part.
Sherri Jackson
Parents and children from all our groups, team members and anybody else with a spare pair of hands took part in the preparations. We had creative help from Jane Blackburn at Prescap, and after months of hard work, the results were better than expected.
Early on Carnival day, everybody got together to get ready …. there were princesses, mermaids, a King Neptune and even a strange looking crab and an octopus! (We think they caught the bus from Blackpool!)
The event brought communities from all over Preston together, in a day of colour, fun and laughter. Thank you to everyone who took part.
Sherri Jackson
Chicken Licken Puppet Show
Parents and children from Jumpstart came to watch the Chicken Licken Puppet Show run by DNA at the Gujerati Hindu Centre. Everyone was mesmerised by Chicken Licken's antics and even the adults found Foxy Loxy very scary.
We then had a craft workshop, and all the children made their own Chicken Lickens, who then took part in their own mini puppet show.
A picnic finished a lovely day and lots of Chicken Lickens went home with their new owners.
Caroline Burnell
We then had a craft workshop, and all the children made their own Chicken Lickens, who then took part in their own mini puppet show.
A picnic finished a lovely day and lots of Chicken Lickens went home with their new owners.
Caroline Burnell
Blue Planet Aquarium
On a gorgeous Monday during half term, the Sure Start Preston East Parents Forum attended a day trip to the Blue Planet Aquarium in Cheshire. It was a thank you for all of their tireless efforts to date. We had 12 parents and 33 children on the day.
The parents chose the trip, as they said that it would be both fun and educational for the children, and it just so happened that the Aquarium was right next to the Cheshire Oaks retail complex, with loads of shopping available to be done- sounded a bit fishy to me!
It was a fabulous day enjoyed by parents, children and staff alike.
Ghaz Akram
The parents chose the trip, as they said that it would be both fun and educational for the children, and it just so happened that the Aquarium was right next to the Cheshire Oaks retail complex, with loads of shopping available to be done- sounded a bit fishy to me!
It was a fabulous day enjoyed by parents, children and staff alike.
Ghaz Akram
Kool Kidz Parent & Toddler Group Activity Programme
Summer 2004
With a grant from Community Chest the families spent a fun filled summer visiting 6 venues. These places were decided by the parents themselves.
Gullivers World must be a favourite for all, a funfair aimed at the young & old alike with so much to do the day is never long enough.
Eureka in Halifax was a very interesting exhibition where the children learned a lot of amazing things about everyday life.
South Lakes Animal Sanctuary - what a place! Have you ever seen tigers climb 30ft poles to reach their lunch!? A must see for anyone, especially when the children could actually touch the animals, so much to do & see.
Blackpool Tower, another favourite, see the amazing circus acts, go ballroom dancing, walk the walk of faith & lose yourselves in Jungle Jims. If that's not enough take a walk along the prom or play in the sand.
Camelot Theme Park, Merlin, King Arthur & the Knights of the Round Table, tournaments & magic shows, funfair, animal farm, and birds of prey, join in the fun & ride a dragon. Wow what a wonderful place to visit, don't forget to cheer for your favourite knight.
Ever been to the theatre, no? Well the families did just that. A show by Kidz 4 Kidz was attended & enjoyed by the families. The Wizard of Oz entertained us so much the kids talked about it for weeks afterwards.
For those families who couldn't go away during the school holidays this programme of day trips was the best summer they'd had, every week the children looked forward to a new adventure. It was well worth the time & effort it took to organise and co-ordinate it all. Everyone thoroughly enjoyed themselves.
Gullivers World must be a favourite for all, a funfair aimed at the young & old alike with so much to do the day is never long enough.
Eureka in Halifax was a very interesting exhibition where the children learned a lot of amazing things about everyday life.
South Lakes Animal Sanctuary - what a place! Have you ever seen tigers climb 30ft poles to reach their lunch!? A must see for anyone, especially when the children could actually touch the animals, so much to do & see.
Blackpool Tower, another favourite, see the amazing circus acts, go ballroom dancing, walk the walk of faith & lose yourselves in Jungle Jims. If that's not enough take a walk along the prom or play in the sand.
Camelot Theme Park, Merlin, King Arthur & the Knights of the Round Table, tournaments & magic shows, funfair, animal farm, and birds of prey, join in the fun & ride a dragon. Wow what a wonderful place to visit, don't forget to cheer for your favourite knight.
Ever been to the theatre, no? Well the families did just that. A show by Kidz 4 Kidz was attended & enjoyed by the families. The Wizard of Oz entertained us so much the kids talked about it for weeks afterwards.
For those families who couldn't go away during the school holidays this programme of day trips was the best summer they'd had, every week the children looked forward to a new adventure. It was well worth the time & effort it took to organise and co-ordinate it all. Everyone thoroughly enjoyed themselves.
Debbie Irving
'I have started to do more reading with the children than I did before this week.'
'Fun, constructive and enjoyed by all.'
'The activity was great, very interactive for the children. It was good for their social skills and it would be good for the activity to be repeated.'
Comments from parents about the RaW Week