Our stories

Leoni enjoys coming to Little Manor Play Project at the Froud Centre after school each day, here she tells us why.

Leoni says:

“Little Manor is a fun place to go after you have had a hard day of school to have fun. You play with your friends and have a really good time. We do different activities each day. We love to do things like roller skating, play outside in the playground and cooking.

We never do the same thing twice in a week, which is good because if we did it wouldn’t be as much fun.

When we get to the Froud Centre after school we have to put our coats and bags away and wash our hands so we can have a snack. For our snack we have things like macaroni and cheese or fish bake with beans, it’s very good. We sit in tables of four so we can interact with more people.”

And Leoni’s mum says:

“From the beginning, it was clear that Little Manor were not just ‘minding’ the children while their parents go to work. [They] share a desire to see the children not just have a good time, but also develop into responsible young adults through new experiences and rewards reinforcing good behaviour. This combined with the kids’ enthusiasm is a source of comfort for me as a working parent as it means I can relax knowing the kids are fine while I am at work.

The kids have a great time with the wide range of arts and crafts as well as indoor and outdoor play. Most days it is difficult convincing them to leave when parents come to collect them. This is particularly challenging when they have activities such as karaoke and I know it will always be tough convincing Leoni to leave when a roller disco is on.”

Because of this, I have no hesitation recommending Little Manor to friends and family. I look forward to continuing my association with them. After all, I still have one more daughter who has yet to enjoy the ‘Little Manor Experience’.” 

SupaPlay Saturdays are a series of exciting and free drop-in play events for primary school aged children and their families. Funded by BBC Children In Need, these events offer families the opportunity to experience play in a safe environment, with activities supervised by professional playworkers from our children’s work team.

For parents like Evelyn, SupaPlay Saturday played an important part in her week-end routine. Evelyn’s son has a learning disability and she first heard of SupaPlay Saturday at a SEND open day fair. The Saturday sessions enabled Evelyn to gain some respite. She explained that she could ”talk to other parents, share tips and tricks and find some comfort in knowing that I wasn’t alone in having a child with a disability.“

She also liked SupaPlay Saturday as it allowed Mannaseh to make new friends. As Mannaseh is an only child, Evelyn felt happy knowing that he could interact with other children of different ages in a setting different to school. Mannaseh thoroughly enjoyed all the facilities and different activities that were held every month. Evelyn said that ”there aren’t enough projects like this around.”

A typical Saturday for Evelyn and her son would have been one where they were at home watching TV, so coming to SupaPlay Saturday helped them break out of that routine and enabled Mannaseh to be more active and social.