Sunny

Here you’ll learn about what playgroup leaders do and how parents and caregivers can help make playgroups be warm and welcoming spaces for all families.

There are lots of different ways parents, caregivers and community members can support playgroups to run fun sessions for all families.

One of the most important things is to make sure that it’s not just one person who is expected to do everything.

Most often, people will offer to help out, but if you could use another hand or two, be sure to ask other attendees to volunteer with tasks at or between sessions. See: How do I lend a hand at playgroup?

You can also get everyone involved in things like packing up after activities by turning it into a game.

People who lead or contribute to running playgroup sessions can make everyone feel welcome by:

• greeting families as they arrive.
• introducing parents and caregivers to each other.
• letting people know what other community services and programs they can access.
• asking parents, caregivers and children what sorts of activities they’d like to do at playgroup.
• encouraging everyone to join in with activities and asking for help to pack up at the end of a session.
• checking in on families you haven’t seen for a while or who have missed a session.

Playgroup Tasmania is committed to ensuring playgroups are child safe, child friendly spaces. To do this we support playgroup leaders and volunteers to:

• display the Playgroup Tasmania Statement of Commitment to Child Safety and Wellbeing at your playgroup and model this commitment within the playgroup.
• think about any dangers that might be in or near your playgroup venue (things like slippery areas, poisonous plants or nearby roads).
• get in touch with Playgroup Tasmania if you are concerned about anything or just want to talk something through.

There are lots of different ways to lend a hand at playgroup. Community playgroups need people helping out in different ways, including being playgroup leaders. See: What do playgroup leaders do?

If your child takes part in the playgroup, you’ll be busy supervising them, but you can still lend a hand with things like:

• Spreading the word and inviting others to join in the fun at playgroup
• Welcoming families as they arrive at playgroup .
• Helping set up for play or special activities before playgroup starts.
• Cleaning up as the playgroup session ends.
• Chatting with other parents/caregivers to check how they’re doing and if they’re enjoying playgroup
• Sharing ideas about activities that you could do at future sessions.
• Saying good-bye as families leave when playgroup is over.
• Posting updates on Facebook to let families know what activities are planned for the next session.

If you don’t have a child at playgroup, you can still help out as part of our volunteer program. Being part of this program means you’ll need to fill out a form and show Playgroup Tasmania evidence that you have current Registration to Work with Vulnerable People (RWVP) and a National Police Check. This helps keep everyone at playgroup safe and well and is part of our commitment to maintaining child safe, child friendly playgroup spaces.

If you would like to find out more about how you can volunteer at playgroup, please contact Playgroup Tasmania on 1300 035 350 or email admin@playgrouptas.org.au

Families are what make playgroups successful!

If you’re starting a new playgroup or want to get more families coming along to your sessions, the best way to do this is through ‘word of mouth’.

In fact, most families join a playgroup because a friend invited them.

So make sure you tell your own friends and relatives about it and encourage other playgroup families to do the same.

Playgroup Tasmania can also help you promote your playgroup. They do this by:

• Adding it to the Find a Playgroup map on their website: playgrouptas.org.au/find-a-playgroup
• Supplying a ‘Join us here’ flag to display outside your playgroup while a session is happening (if you are a community playgroup).
• Providing posters for your playgroup that you can print and display around your community.

Social media is also a great, free way to promote your playgroup both between sessions and when you’re looking for new families to join in.

We find that setting up a Facebook page or group is a really effective way to do this in Tasmanian communities.

For instructions on how to set up a Facebook Page and invite current families to join, visit this link: How to create a Facebook Page

If you don’t already have a Facebook account or need help to set one up, please contact admin@playgrouptas.org.au.

This information will help you plan a fun and safe playgroup session.

A community playgroup session led by volunteer playgroup leaders is:

Fun!

Playing and having fun is one of the key parts of a playgroup session. Keep activities age appropriate and don’t be worried about changing how you do things to get families engaged. Keeping things simple is also important. After all, volunteers and playgroup leaders should enjoy themselves too!

Flexible

Always have another idea or two up your sleeve in case the Tassie weather doesn’t cooperate with outdoor plans or if families are especially energetic and prefer music or dancing to story time.

Welcoming

Playgroups are at their very best when they reflect their communities and welcome all families. Our differences and similarities are all worth celebrating as playgroup families share the experiences of supporting for each other and learning together.

What does a typical playgroup session look like?

A 1.5 hour playgroup session might run like this:

15-30 minutes before start

Playgroup leaders and volunteers arrive to set up activities and do a check to make sure the playgroup space is child safe.

The first 15 minutes

Families are welcomed at playgroup and told about any special activities you’ve got planned.

Next 45 minutes

Allow lots of time for enjoyment of free play and any planned activities.

15 minutes before the session ends

Check in with families to ask what they enjoyed at the day’s session.
Encourage everyone – adults and children – to help tidy and clean up the playgroup area, put toys away, clean hands, faces and dishes.

End time

Say good-bye to families as they leave and remind them of the next session.

When families have left, it’s a good time to collect the attendance sheet and pass onto Playgroup Tasmania. You might also take brief notes of anything that happened at the session that you think Playgroup Tasmania should know about (injuries, complaints and compliments).

The ‘Did something happen at playgroup’ document can help you do this or you can fill in a ‘Tell us what you think’ form. If you have something urgent to pass on or want to debrief about the session, call or text your Playgroup Tasmania contact to let them know.

To find out more, please contact Playgroup Tasmania on 1300 035 350 or email admin@playgrouptas.org.au.

There is a huge range of information and ideas just a Google search away, but all that information can seem overwhelming.

There’s a few things you that can help you plan fun activities for playgroup sessions.

Keep it simple!

Fun doesn’t need to be complicated.

Drawing, playing dress ups and reading stories are just some of the simple activities you can plan and everyone can enjoy without lots of work or tidying up afterwards.

Keep it safe!

Some activities that are safe for 4 year olds aren’t safe for one year olds. Take a minute to think about whether an activity will be safe for everyone at playgroup.

Keep it welcoming!

Think about whether some families might feel left out by an activity. For example, if a family doesn’t include a dad, making a Father’s Day card can leave some people feeling left out. Simple things like changing the activity to making a card for a special person in the child’s life can make a big difference.

Keep it fun!

No one goes to playgroup to feel stressed out. Laughter and smiles are the aim for parents, caregivers and children alike.

Take a look at some of these ‘trusted sites’ to get activity ideas for your next playgroup session:

• Play Experiences, Play and Learn Together
• Preschooler Play and Learning, Raising Children Network
• Great Start
• Department of Health indoor active play ideas

Playgroup Tasmania is here to help!

Playgroup Tasmania is the peak body for playgroups around Tasmania. That means we are here to support you to both start a new playgroup and run an existing playgroup.

This online toolkit has some information that can help with both these things and you can also contact Playgroup Tasmania to ask questions and get advice. We can be contacted by phone or email (see below) and also through Facebook messaging and leader’s groups.

Some of the things we can help you with are:

• Support to find and hire a safe and suitable space to hold your playgroup
• Promotional materials like outdoor flags, posters and more
• Guidance on planning playgroup sessions and activities
• Support to make playgroup accessible and inclusive
• Information for families about health, support and other services they may want to access
• Guest speakers and connections to local programs and services

We’re also here to help if something goes wrong (for example, a family member is injured at playgroup) or to talk and debrief after a playgroup session

To find out more, please contact Playgroup Tasmania on 1300 035 350 or email admin@playgrouptas.org.au