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Spangles Children's Centre

Spangles is a Sure Start Children's Centre providing services and activities to support parents in the everyday challenges that they face in bringing up young children. Sure Start Children's Centres are currently opening across the United Kingdom, and by 2010 the Government aims to have a Children's Centre in every community.

What families can expect:

There is a varied timetable with a wide range of sessions on offer:

• A range of fun informal groups for all 0-5 year olds and their families
• Stay and play sessions, provding activities for children to play and learn
  using toys, equipment and resources
• Music and messy play
• Physical activity groups
• Grandparent's and grandchildren's groups
• Dad's groups
• Information on child minders and child minder support groups
• Local information on baby and toddler groups, pre-schools, nurseries
  and primary schools.
• Links to family health teams and information services
• Support for families and children with additional needs
• Parenting classes

There is plenty of Space at Spangles to play, whether you want to look at books in the quiet area, or play basketball in the sports hall. There are timeslots for new parents, young parents, grandparents, parenting courses, classes for parents of children with special needs, and an active class to burn off some energy and learn some new skills.

Our popular stay and play session for all under 5’s has a variety of toys in two large rooms. Different messy play activities are set up each week and displays of the children’s work have been displayed at Essex University at the Essex Children’s Centre week conference and more recently at the Pre School Learning Alliance Conference. Of course we try and display as much of the children’s beautiful work around the centre.

We provide healthy snacks and lunches for the children at our stay and play sessions and encourage all children to develop good table manners and to make meal times a pleasant and sociable experience. A variety of food is normally on offer with complete freedom of choice. Once again the food is provided free, all we ask for is a donation and some help with the clearing up. Tea and coffee are available for parents, in a section of the sports hall where children can be observed but a welcome drink can be had in safety.