Play Torbay Newsletter Autumn 23

Welcome to the Autumn Newsletter, although it is nearly Christmas!! Ok, admit it, is your tree up yet? Ours isn’t but the Christmas jumpers have made an appearance already. Hohoho! Before we get too caught up in the festive mood lets have a look back at whats happened recently.

Summer HAF Programme

Once again it’s been a busy, busy time at Play Torbay with lots of exciting new developments but before we get ahead of ourselves let’s take a moment to look back at the amazing, albeit a bit soggy,  Summer HAF Programme.   

After a HR Review Report we received in July we had to do a lot of last minute running around filling forms so the Licensing & Permits Officer at the council could agree all the work permits for our junior placements to support us with the summer sessions. During the summer we ran 48 play sessions across 3 sites in Torbay with a total of 974 attendances by children and young people. What a fantastic achievement by all involved. Give yourselves a huge pat on the back, you were all amazing.  The feedback from the council, parents, children and indeed from some of you was that this year ran smoothly and was a great success.

WE WON!!!!  

As a result of the HAF sessions we won the best Holiday Club Award Autumn 2023. That’s down to YOU so a giant thank you to you for all your hard work and enthusiasm.

Indigos Play & Ecology Centre

Developments at Indigos Play & Ecology Centre continue to go from strength to strength. Have a look at the blog and see just what’s been happening. We have been working really hard to improve the facilities at Indigos. The photos always tell the story better … but here’s a quick breakdown of what has been achieved in a relatively short time.

• The old tool shed has been removed and replaced with a new one and including a good path up to it.

• The paths have been cleared and a new sign at the Rowan Way entrance. The new sign was designed by Ralph, isn’t it fab?

• The Play Pod had a long overdue clear out and officially became a loose parts storage play shed again. It has been very popular with the children.

• The popular bath swing has been repaired and the fire circle relocated

• A new floor has been installed in the tower to make it safe.

• New Swisco bins for general waste and recycling have arrived. Whoop!  Who knew you could get so excited by rubbish bins?

Many thanks to Chris who has been leading on all this hard work which we never really saw happening, he just quietly gets on with it and we all reap the benefits.

In July and Ocotober we had requests to host birthday parties in there. “Ooh, we thought, What a great idea. Why didn’t we think of hiring it out for parties before? Lets see how it goes.” Of course they turned out to be a huge success as Indigos is perfect for birthday parties. Thank you to Sheena and Carmen for hosting them. The children loved them and the parents could relax knowing that their children were in a safe environment where they could simply enjoy being in the wonderful space. We provided arts and crafts crafts, toasting marshmallows and the new PlayPod which were enjoyed by the parents and the children and a great time was had by all. Hopefully it will be the first of many birthday parties there.

Lottery Continuation Fund

Now we have some fantastic news! Did you see us doing the happy dance around Brixham when the news was announced? After a lot of hard work our lottery bid was successful and we have been awarded £158,000 over two years to fund two new appointments, a Programme Development Co-ordinator and a Play Support Mentor. Their jobs will be to plan and run a range of events to build a network of parents and children which will help to support and build communities . This will in turn provide opportunities for junior placements to further develop their skills, competency and confidence. All of which is brilliant on its own but in addition to this it will also create choices and pathways to future education and employment for them. It really is a case of everyone’s a winner!

Alternative Provision

Our Alternative Provision is doing well with 13 young people currently on roll this term. We have also been busy recruiting and we would like to welcome some new staff members to the team: Jane, Georgina & Katie. We have also been looking into and awaiting approval to deliver Unit Awards certifications by AQA which will help celebrate young people's achievements which we are excited about.

Wild Fox Developments

It isn’t just Indigos getting all the attention. A lot of work has been going on at Wild Fox since the summer.  In October after a site visit, a plan of action has been produced.  As you know, the site is in quite a state at the moment and the first priority is to get it  cleared. Until that is done we can’t get a clear picture of what will work best on the site in the future.

With that in mind we have organised two volunteer days to clear the site 29th November and 13th December.  Play Torbay staff and some student volunteers from PGL will be there to help remove unsafe wooden structures, remove the tree house and the shelter over the fire pit – among other things. If you could spare a couple of hours to help out on either of those days it would be very much appreciated. Please contact Chris on 07716457677 if you’d like to be involved on either or both days. All volunteers will receive a roast dinner at the community centre? To be fair, they do a great roast dinner. I’d volunteer just to get that!

While we are on the subject of the community centre…they, as well as Torbay Council, Kings Ash Academy, Paignton Police, Sanctuary Housing and Play Torbay have all been involved in the creation of a new drop-in style youth club at the Foxhole Community Centre every Friday 4.30 – 6.30 (4-6pm from January 2024). This is an exciting development in an area that desperately needs support. Hopefully this will be the start of Foxhole turning a corner and the beginnings of the regeneration of this community.

That’s you all up to date for now. We hope you enjoyed this catch up.  We are achieved a lot this year and have lots more planned for next year.  We are well aware that  none of it would happen without YOU!  Let us be the first to wish you all a very Merry Christmas and a  Happy New Year and thank you all for your support and hard work throughout this year.