Life's a beach for minded children living in North East Lincolnshire who have access to a seafront chalet. A group of childminders used capital funding to buy the £75,000 holiday home in Humberston Fitties, a coastal conservation area, earlier this year. Since July they have been running it as an innovative outdoor facility for the community.
Helen Weston, childminding networks manager at North East Lincolnshire Council, oversees the group of six childminders who set up a company, 'Beach Buddies', with charitable status to purchase and run the two-bedroom bungalow.
'We wanted to offer something different to the children and find a space away from home. Childminders in the network thought "out of the box" - the chalet actually started life through thinking of an allotment,' explains Ms Weston. It took two-and-a-half years to find and secure a suitable property, with a static caravan also being considered, and gain planning permission.
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