An enterprising playgroup in the Scottish Borders has secured sponsorship for a leafleting campaign to advertise its services in an attempt to fight back against dwindling numbers.
Playleader Anne Scott from Noah's Ark Playgroup in Kelso said, 'I first had the idea last October. Playgroups all over Scotland are closing down and I thought I had do something. My initial thought was to start writing to newspapers, but then I decided to put something out there in the local community.'
The Scottish Community Foundation and a local company, Maxwell Motors, have paid for the printing costs of 2,000 leaflets, which publicise the services and benefits playgroups offer. Ms Scott is distributing them to libraries, doctors' and dentists' surgeries, swimming pools and community centres.
'The leaflets are to give people an insight and to let them know that they still have a choice about the pre-school years,' she said.
Ms Scott blames the fall in playgroup numbers on the rise in local authority provision of free places for three- and four-year-olds. 'At one time we only avoided folding because the other play leader and I chose to take no pay for three months,' she said. One local playgroup has recently closed down.
Ms Scott believes that playgroups benefit the community by offering a meeting place for families and children new to the area, unlike nurseries where children tend to be dropped off and collected each day. 'They are very much parent-run organisations,' she said. Benefits for children outlined in the leaflet include learning to co-operate with other children and adults, new play experiences and beginning to separate from their main carer for short periods of time.
'Play is so important that it is enshrined in article 31 of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child,' the leaflet states.
Figures provided by the Scottish Pre-school Play Association (SPPA) reveal the extent to which playgroup numbers have fallen in recent years. In the SPPA's annual survey last October, membership in Aberdeenshire had fallen from 145 registered members to 138, while Fife was down from more than 100 in 2001 to 95 in 2002.
Ms Scott, however, is keen to campaign against these falling numbers and said that if there were sufficient interest she would like to include details for other areas on the leaflet, called Who benefits from playgroup? and make it available throughout Scotland.
If you would like to receive a copy, or are a playgroup interested in adding your own details, you can contact Anne Scott at Noah's Ark Playgroup, Kelso, Scottish Borders TD5 7JH.