Who We Are
Botley Bridges was founded in 2016 in response to the closure of Elms Road Children’s Centre. The charity’s mission is to support the care and upbringing of children to age 11 living in West Oxford, Botley, Cumnor, and the surrounding area by providing support services for families with children, and creating a space for the community to come together so that families can support each other. We believe that providing families with support at the earliest stage of their children’s lives is essential to allow them to thrive.
What We Do
Since 2016, we have continued to carry out our mission by:
- Supporting learning for young children
- Helping families to access and enjoy outside spaces
- Preventing isolation of new parents and parents with young children
- Helping parents and children to maintain good mental health
- Creating a strong local community and reducing barriers to access
- Supporting families in acquiring skills which help to create strong families
- Providing information to parents about other organisations which support families
Chair of Trustees Introduction
This was the 7th year Botley Bridges has been operating, providing support for families with young children in the Botley area and surroundings.
This support has included:
- 47 Baby Play & Learn sessions
- 61 Stay & Play sessions for toddlers including summer holidays
- 29 Buggy Walks
- Positive Parenting and Paediatric First Aid courses for parents
- 3 New Forest School sessions
We were also able to organise the fourth successive year of Christmas Hampers, donating food & gift
hampers to local families who benefit from them. In addition, at the direct request of local schools, we
have financially supported local families.
Botley Bridges could not continue its work without the generous donations and grants received this
year. Thank you to North Hinksey and Cumnor Parish Council for their ongoing support, Oxfordshire
County Council Priority Fund, Pye Charitable Settlement and PLR Trust. Thanks to the Lucy Group for
financially supporting the Christmas Hampers. Thank you as well to all the individual donations, made
either in person at our sessions or online throughout the year. They make a huge difference.
We want to extend a special thank you to our Coordinator Hayley Hayle without whom our sessions
could not happen. Thank you to all the trustees for contributing their spare time to maintain Botley
Bridges’ operations. Last but not least, a BIG thank you to all our volunteers who have helped run
sessions, pack hampers, and have supported our work in any way possible.
Veronica Cucuiat
Chair of Trustees
Our Impact in Numbers
Our services impact families from West Oxford and beyond:
- 308 Families Reached
- 94 from North Hinksey
- 73 from Cumnor
- 38 from Frideswide
- 103 from elsewhere in Oxford & Oxfordshire
Supporting New Parents
Friday Baby Group
This is often the first group that new mums/dads attend with their babies so we aim to make the group as welcoming and supportive as we can. A lot of peer support and empathy is apparent in this session and often the mums go for a coffee together after the session ends. Conversations have included loneliness, isolation and maternal mental health as well as sleep, feeding issues, teething, childcare and returning to work after maternity leave.
We sing with the babies every week and we also have a weekly “topic” which is relevant to baby development or other aspects of family life. Parents also get the opportunity to make keepsakes such as baby footprint cards or homemade toys to take home. We also occasionally have guest speakers
such as Sling Library, Baby Massage, Dental specialists and Speech & Language support.
The Health Visiting Team joins us on the last Friday of each month for a Well Baby Clinic where families could get their baby weighed and seek medical advice.
- 47 weekly sessions
- 9 average weekly attendees
- 66 families throughout the year
- 410 total attendances
“An amazing group to have here in Botley. It has been a lifeline to meet other mums locally. I had no idea there were so many of us here.”
“Inclusive and always pitched just right…one of the few groups that I regularly attend. Has been recommended by local friends who attended over a decade ago and friends who attended recently.”
Wednesday Buggy Walks
This group started in January in partnership with Anna Clarke from Vale of White Horse Council who ran the first few walks before Hayley took over.
The aim of the walk is to get out in the open air and use the local area to walk for approximately 1 hour. The coordinator was able to show the families local parks, playgrounds and walks that they might not have known existed.
Often the parents would go for coffee after the walk and also arrange to meet up at other times. We found that attendance varied, depending on the weather forecast – this group was especially popular in the summer months, though there was occasionally a clash with summer holiday sessions.
- 29 weekly sessions
- 4 average weekly attendance
- 26 families throughout the year
“I have lived here for 4 years but have found walks that I didn’t know existed.”
“Lovely to get out of the house and meet other new mums”
Supporting Early Learning
Monday Stay & Play
Our weekly Stay and Play sessions at Botley School are among our most popular. Various activities are provided that can also be differentiated depending on age and stage of children – this session is for under 5s but older siblings can attend in the school holidays. Activities tend to be no cost/low cost and can easily be replicated at home. Each session finishes with singing time which is very popular. There’s lots of outdoor play is available all year round but we have had to close our large sandpit for some of the year.
We have quite a few grandparents and childminders attending this session and we also have some dads who attend on a regular basis.
Signposting to other services often happens at this session and also lots of discussions about school/nursery places, toilet training, feeding/eating and behaviour.
All in all, this is a lovely session with families offering each other lots of peer support.
- 41 weekly sessions
- 14 average weekly attendance
- 89 families throughout the year
- 593 total attendances
“Lovely sessions with lots of activities.
Very thoughtful and fun!”
“The group is very welcoming for mums and grandparents looking after young children. There are lots of different play materials used in very imaginative ways which the children love and helps with their development.”
Saturday Stay & Play
These sessions are always held on the first Saturday of the month and are open to the whole family. A snack is provided for the children.
Families with slightly older children attend and they say it is nice to catch up with other families who they might not see as often especially if their children attend different local schools.
The set up is very similar to the usual Stay & Play session with differentiated activities. We have lots of mums and dads joining us, and sometimes grandparents and other relations come along too.
These sessions have the widest reach of all our sessions, with the highest proportion of families attending from outside West Oxford – possibly due to the lack of affordable family activities available at weekends.
- 12 monthly sessions
- 20 average weekly attendance
- 92 families throughout the year
- 236 total attendances
“Friendly staff and volunteers.
Good selection of activities in a safe environment. Thank you”
Supporting Outdoor Learning
Summer Stay & Play
Our summer holiday programme consisted of 4 stay and play sessions at Botley School, 3 park sessions and one visit to the Story Museum in Oxford.
The summer sessions are slightly different as we have older children attending so we need to ensure that activities are easily differentiated and suitable for all children.
In addition to our usual Stay and Play sessions at Botley School, we planned 3 park sessions – one at Botley Park, one at Dean Court and one at Cumnor Park. Each of these sessions were themed: Teddy Bear’s Picnic at Botley Park (this had to be moved to Botley School due to bad weather), a Seaside theme
at Dean Court and a dinosaur theme in Cumnor Park. Lots of different arts and crafts and activities available to tie in with the theme. We find we get new families joining us for these sessions, some of whom are in the park on the day and join in.
Summer Stay & Play was funded with a grant from Pye Charitable Settlement.
- 8 summer sessions
- 17 average session attendance
- 82 families attended
- 133 total attendances
“It is lovely to have play groups on over the summer when everything else is closed. It gives the children a lovely opportunity to play with others.”
Forest Stay & Play
These new sessions started in summer 2024 in response to a parent survey about our programme, where the idea of a “forest school” play session was requested by many. These three pilot sessions were run with grant from Oxfordshire County Council.
The Forest Stay & Play sessions ran on Saturdays and used the Forest School area of Botley School. This meant it was very accessible by public transport for local families and feedback was very positive. Children accessed different activities such as making bird feeders, cooking over the fire, minibeast hunt, leaf printing, story sticks, and more.
- 3 pilot sessions
- 30 average number of families per session
- 89 total attendances
“Great session for getting the children outside and playing in the natural environment”
“We brought our grandson who is usually very timid and a bit of a ‘watcher’ he was like a different child at Forest School! He loved it and came out of his shell. The hot apple juice and smores were also a big hit.”
Building Parents’ Skills
Child & Baby First Aid Courses
We ran 4 sessions during the year over the course of 2 days in Spring and Autumn. We always run an afternoon session and an evening session. Basic first aid is taught focusing on common issues and complaints with babies/young children such as choking, cuts, bruises and breaks, childhood illnesses etc. Adult CPR is taught also.
Participants give good feedback saying that it has given them peace of mind to know what to do in an emergency.
- 4 total number of sessions
- 10 average session attendance
- 39 parents attended
Family Nurturing Courses
We were able to run this four-week course run on Monday evenings in July thanks to a grant from Oxfordshire County Council, which was facilitated by Sue Dowe and Hayley Hayle. Seven families came to the sessions which focused on developing good emotional health in the family and learning ways of managing challenging behaviour using positive and nurturing strategies. The aim is to run 2 courses a year – a follow-up course in the afternoon was run in November 2024.
- 4 total number of sessions
- 7 average session attendance
- 26 attendances
Working With Our Community
Christmas Hampers
120 hampers were packed and delivered to families on low incomes, with donations covering costs. This activity generated great support from the local community both in terms of donations and volunteering. Engagement with both the Oxford City and Botley larders which increased requests. We were also grateful for the support of St Peter and St Paul’s Church who gave us their hall free of charge.
Museum Visits
We had two visits to the Story Museum and one to the Ashmolean Museum. Both museums have Early Years specialists and run Early Years sessions. We had exclusive use at both Museums. The families enjoyed doing something different and attending places that they wouldn’t usually attend.
- 31 Story Museum families
- 16 Ashmlean Museum families
Intergenerational Group
This session ran weekly at Chawley Grove Care Home in Cumnor. Thirteen sessions were run in total.
When the residents were able to join in, and we had a decent amount of families, this session was very beneficial. The residents enjoyed looking at the babies/children and recounting their time as children and parents and would often discuss the toys and games that they had played with.
However, whilst initial numbers were encouraging, the average attendance was 2-3 families per week – and we had to make the difficult decision to cancel this session.
Accounts 1/11/23- 31/10/24
| Income | £12,802 | Expenditure | £21,046 |
| Grants and larger donations | £5300 | Salaries & Staffing | £13200 |
| Income from sessions | £5276 | Premises costs | £3772 |
| Donations from Individuals | £1936 | Running costs | £2444 |
| White Horse Lottery | £290 | Grants awarded | £489 |
| Hampers | £1141 |
NB 2022-2023 financial year ended in a surplus due to grants coming in at the end of that financial year
Closing balance 31/10/24 £9803
Trustees
Chair of Trustees – Veronica Cucuiat
Treasurer – Sue Dowe
Secretary – Sarah Cohen
Louise Kunzeman, Kim Randell, Amy Walters, Sue Wastie
