Cromwell team boost profile with Stay and Play

Kidsfirst Cromwell has done a great job of building rolls and waitlists over the past year using the Get More offer, developing a Stay and Play group, and using both to get attention from local media. It's a great example of how one initiative can lead to a lot more profile, in this case, thanks to a piece in their local paper.

Having fun is child’s play at new Cromwell playgroup

There’s a fun new place for little people in Cromwell to play thanks to a community initiative by the town’s Kidsfirst Kindergarten.

The kindy is opening its gates to five-and-unders and their mums and dads or other whanau for a weekly two-hour playgroup.

And, it’s free. Teacher Nicola Brown, who came up with the idea, said it’s about helping to create a village in which to raise a child.

“It’s a place where you can connect with other parents in the community. “Your child is in a safe, play-based setting, where they get to meet other kids and you can relax with a cuppa.”

The kindergarten is located next door to Goldfield’s Primary School, on a greenway, so an easy walk for many in Cromwell, and convenient for parents who also drop off older children at school, she said.

“Don’t go to the housework or the groceries. Come hang out for an hour and take a breath.” The playgroup is flexible – members can come and go as they please - and there is no requirement to enrol, Nicola said.

A caregiver is required to stay with the child at the playgroup, but three qualified kindergarten teachers are on-hand to help and all the resources of the kindergarten are available for use. “It’s access to things you might not have at home – the messy play, the water play, the climbing equipment.”

The kindy team tried to pick a day when Cromwell didn’t already have a child-friendly activity on offer. Keen to have a play?

Pop in to the Cromwell Kidsfirst Kindergarten at 25 Gilling Place on a Thursday morning between 9am and 11am.

Contact: Nicola Brown, Kidsfirst Kindergarten teacher, 03-445 0530, nicola.brown@kidsfirst.org.nz