Thanks to a grant from North Yard Community Trust, Colebrook SW was able to deliver a mums and tots group at the William Sutton Memorial Hall which the parents named Stumblers and Tumblers.

The project was set up in response to research which suggested that those parents under the age of 25 would like a group specifically for them as they often felt uncomfortable with older mums.

The project employed a Co-Ordinator and engagement worker initially to get the project off the ground with the long-term aim of training/upskilling some of the young parents to take the project on at the end of the funding to create a potential employment/business opportunity for a local resident.

During the project, it became clear that only 50% of those parents attending were under the age of 25 but the rest were under the age of 27 so we increased the age limit to ensure we met the needs of the local community. The group became very successful over the 12 months of the project with 56 parents and 65 children attending and 52% of parents also being local residents.

We initially had 6 parents who indicated they would be interested in undertaking training in childcare, first aid and food hygiene but found that gaining commitment was difficult and had to reassess this element of the programme with North Yard Community Trust.

However, at the end of the 12 months we handed over the reins to a local resident who was really interested in taking the group on and with continued support from Colebrook SW has built on its success and the group is thriving.
The hope is that it will become a sustainable business opportunity in the longer term.