When the crèche workers ask the children about what
they did at the weekend, there aren’t too many tales of feeding the
ducks or going to the swimming pool. Here are just a few of the stories
from ‘our’ children about what they do when they are not in the 999 Club
crèche.
“We go shoplifting every day for breakfast. You lift
the lid on the pram and I sit on top of it”
“My dad beat my mum up and the police came at 2
o’clock in the morning. They took us to a place where only mums and
children go.”
“I have to go to the toilets with my mummy to smoke
drugs and it makes me feel sick. I flush the toilet ’cause I’m bored
“ ’Cause I had nits my mum’s boyfriend shaved all my
hair off.”
“Mummy’s boyfriend punched her in the face and I
tried to help her.”
“Don’t you smell nice, Sharon. My mum smells of
heroin.”
Sue, Sharon, Julie and Alisha who work in the crèche give
the children the security and attention which can be missing from their
lives at home. The crèche is not one for working mums, it’s for parents
who have problems of their own and who can use the time their children
spend with us to address these problems. We have also, in the past year,
taken referrals from social services, from foster carers and even from
the courts.
The crèche was inspected by Ofsted in June 2006 and
given a glowing report. The crèche was rated ‘good’
in all categories:
-
effectiveness of provision
-
protecting children from
harm
-
helping children to achieve
well and enjoy what they do
-
helping children make a
positive contribution
-
organisation and quality
and standards of care.
There was also a health and safety inspection of the
crèche by the Council Food and Safety Officer when, again, we got a gold
star!
The children are given a freshly cooked, hot meal
everyday. They are taken to play in the park, they sing and dance, read
books, paint and bake and have a lovely time.
