The Cumbria Record - Hayton Pre-School

Hayton's Pre School

When in danger of losing their premises in Hayton school hall because of a rise in the number of pupils, Hayton Pre-school Group, a voluntary run pre-school charity, raised enough funds in four months to refurbish the village hall in time to open for the new academic year in the autumn. This not only protected and expanded pre-school childcare places, but also gave jobs to five local parents returning to work.

Child Playing If the group were to continue it was imperative that new premises were found and a frantic six weeks was spent searching for a suitable venue. The Reading Room was the final choice but there were many obstacles to overcome; dealing with building surveys, quotes for necessary work to be done and grant application forms, all of which took valuable time. The building survey results were not good and work had to be done before the internal decoration could be considered. Evidence of bats, a protected species, gave rise for concern but bat experts finally allowed work to continue.

In September 2002, the now transformed Reading Rooms were open for business. An outdoor playground and new play equipment funded by the Countryside Agency, were an added bonus, as were the computers donated by a local software company.

All this was achieved by a determined group of volunteers. There is now regular childcare in Hayton, and in January 2003 there will be full day care with the provision of a breakfast club from 8am, which will serve not only the pre-school, but the primary school as well. A remarkable achievement for a small community.

Relocation of Hayton Pre-School Group to the Village Reading Rooms

There is money out there to be had - with a lot of research and dedication to answering the same questions time after time, grant applications will become easier.

With hindsight the short time scale (less than six months start to finish) was a blessing as all the hard work was concentrated and we always had a deadline in our sights.

It is worth the effort encouraging volunteers to get involved with all areas of the project, especially the administration.