Little Stars our toddler group here at St Mary’s Eaton Socon.
We use the main church, so have a big space covered in foam mats with a variety of toys ranging from baby toys, bouncers and baby mats to toys suitable for older toddlers. Our activities table varies from week to week with craft, sensory play such as magic sand or building toys such as magnet tiles. We also have either our toy kitchen or small world toys out and always have dressing up ready to be played with. We usually end each week with a song time which both grown ups and children are encouraged to join in with.
Our aim at Little Stars is to provide a welcoming, safe environment, enabling grown ups to both interact with their children through play and to meet and chat with other grown ups whilst their children are playing. Our volunteers are always on hand to chat about anything and everything, provide advice, offer a listening ear or simply give your little one a cuddle whilst you drink a hot cup of coffee (a rarity with small children!)
FAQ FOR LITTLE STARS
Held? Wednesday mornings (term time)
Time? 10am – midday
Where? St Mary’s Eaton Socon Church
Is it drop off? No – please attend with your child
My child has additional needs – can they still attend? Yes! We welcome every child at Little Stars. If your child has particularly high needs we would love to work with you to put support in place for your child to able to attend. Please get in touch with our Children & Families Worker to discuss this.
How old does my child need to be? Newborn until they go to school
Cost? There is a one off registration fee of £2.50. This is to cover buying new toys, replacing broken ones, the cost of our Christmas party and the endless supply of batteries we need to buy! There is then a weekly fee of £1 for one child and their grown up(s), 50p extra for each additional child over the age of 6 months. This cost includes refreshments. This is payable by cash or card.
Do I need to book? No! Just turn up and if it’s your first time you’ll be asked to fill in a registration form for your child
I want to take photographs of my child, is this allowed? Yes! It is always lovely to take “in the moment” photographs of your child having fun. However the photograph must be of your child only unless you have asked permission from the grown up of the other child(ren). You don’t know why another child may not be allowed to be in photographs and by taking a picture of them you may be compromising that child’s safety.
Who runs Little Stars? Little Stars is led by our Children & Families Worker and staffed by volunteers who have experience of working with children. All volunteers have been through our safer recruiting process, are DBS checked and have had safeguarding training in line with both our own safeguarding policy and that of the local diocese.
What do I need to bring? Nothing except what you need for your own child. We will provide refreshments for both yourself and your child. You are welcome to bring drinks/snacks for your child in with you however please make sure they are sitting down whilst eating and they do not share with anyone who you don’t know – this is due to allergies. We do sometimes do messy craft or sensory activities so please dress your child appropriately for this.
My older child is off school, can I bring them? This depends on why they’re off school, a random teacher training day or school closure is fine to bring them. However if they are unable to be in school due to illness then please do not bring them to toddler group. This is for the safety of all the other children and staff. If you are bringing older children please supervise them appropriately around the younger children.
Who can I email for further information? You can contact our Children & Families Worker here