About Us

SPRINGFIELD COMMUNITY FLAT

With our committed and hardworking staff team, we continue to work for social justice at both macro and micro levels because of widening social and health inequalities.

We have been operating on the Springfield Estate for the last 25 years with services for a range of deprived people, young families, early years 24months -5yrs, Out of School Hours provision including Breakfast Club and After Schools Club for 3-11 years -(this service is currently suspended)   We also run a Lunch Club for the elderly and disabled people with an Outreach and Befriending service for those who cannot attend the Lunch Club.  English Classes, Outings and Events etc.  We provide some advocacy service.    Also we run an Adventure Playground and Youth Centre for children 8+ with lots of equipment – we have Holiday Playschemes during school holidays. We have football coaching and youth activities on Fridays after schools. 

Our Early Years Sessional Care and Responsive Crèche / Nursery registered OFSTED (“Good”) where children learn through play, operates from the Community Health Centre with many associated family services. We have a key worker system, and work to the Early Years Foundation Stage Curriculum. Three of its managers have degrees and all the staff are undergoing training. Our family support work, growing out of this, is developing fast, especially with families where the child or the parent has some special need. We also employ fully qualified childcare workers who are bilingual in the languages that the children speak at home. We offer 15 hours a week free places for 2 year olds which helps some of the poorest and most deprived families in this area, especially those who have no English.  We also offer free 15 hours a week places to 3 and 4 year olds and are currently doing outreach to encourage new families to come in to benefit from this resource.  Several of these families have applied for the 30 hour scheme.

We have introduced Forest Schools ethos, a mud kitchen and the children have planted seeds bulbs, fruit and vegetables.

Adventure Playground + Youth Centre  The playground has climbing frames, zip line and huge American swing.  On the Adventure Playground and Youth Centre we have series of Marine Containers with the insides removed allowing huge play space.  We have also run Art and Craft workshops for the young people. Our Adventure Playground Youth Centre is open during Summer and Easter Holidays . We also run summer Friday Youth Activities, including Football Coaching. 

In July this year a team from a corporate organisations volunteered one day and cleared the ground and did lots of gardening work.  This made the adventure playground look much better from the outside.  There is a range of activities and sports (dance, drama, arts and craft) for children and young people aged 8-21 years as well as our risky play.

There is plenty of indoor and outdoor space. Youngsters grow their own fruit and vegetables. Would anyone interested in gardening like to come to help and encourage the youngsters to prepare the ground and plant the seeds etc?  This is exactly the time of year when help is needed.

The Senior Citizens / Elderly Group Activities Club (for over 50s) continues to meet once a week at the Christ Church Community Hall. We are dedicated to improving the lives of the elderly people in the community, providing a safe, inclusive and fun environment this group.  The elderly come to make new friends whilst they enjoy fun activities and a range of services as well as home cooked hot meals. Also they go on exciting day trips, every christmas they have a party, bearing in mind some do not have any living family members. This group meet every Wednesday. We also have an outreach programme visiting some isolated people within the community.  We are trying to visit each flat on the estates so that we can find out where elderly and perhaps lonely people are living and offer a befriending service to those who cannot get to the weekly group.

ESOL Classes - 4 mornings a week (Mon - Thurs).  This project is run by a group of talented individuals, headed by a qualified teacher with working knowledge and experience of teaching ESOL curriculum to diverse student groups.  The tutor also organises the sessions and a team of volunteer tutors who guide and support our learners.  After a decline in attendance during the Covid 19 pandemic, this project is now thriving. We offer students crèche/nursery facilities when needed.