Slinn Street Starters: Sheffield playgroup’s 40 anniversary marked with plea for more volunteers

Slinn Street Starters in Crookes, Sheffield, first opened its doors 40 years ago in September 1983.

Many of the hundreds of children who attended down the years have grown up into parents themselves, who take their own toddlers to the group in a hall at the side of St Timothy’s parish church on Slinn Street off Western Road.

But with a combined age of 138, and with 62 years of volunteering between them, the two remaining stalwart helpers – Jenny Jones and Lynn Wright – say they desperately need new recruits if the playgroup is to carry on.

Jenny said: “It’s hard being a parent to young children, and a place like this gives mums and dads some structure, somewhere they can talk to other parents, compare notes, and keep sane!

“We really want it to keep going, and we’re both happy to keep on helping out at a reduced level ourselves, but at our ages now and after such a long time we do both need to step back a bit and enjoy our retirements.”

The playgroup was first set up in 1983 by mums including Gill Crawshaw from Crookes, whose husband Keith still does behind-the-scenes admin and charity commission paperwork for the playgroup.

Mum-of-three Jenny first started volunteering in 1992. She told fellow helpers she would ‘do a year’. Now aged 74, and a grandmother-of-six, she has been helping at Slinn Street Starters for 31 years.

Lynn, a former Sainsbury’s confectioner, has also been helping out for 31 years. Now aged 64, she used to bring her own children – aged 35, 33 and 31 – to the playgroup when they were little.

Retired social worker Jenny joked: “You start to get into it, you make friends – and before you know it you’re still here 30 years later.”

Previously the playgroup ran three mornings a week, and pre-Covid even operated as an Ofsted-approved pre-school where parents could drop off their children and leave.

But as fellow volunteers have retired or moved on, and in the wake of the pandemic, the group now runs just one morning a week on Fridays, as a stay-and-play for parents and little ones.

There are toys, painting, snacks and songs – and a secure garden with a sandpit, mud kitchen, outside toys and a safe pond – from 9am to 11.15am, all for just £2.50 a session. The playgroup attracts up to 20 children every week.

“It just needs a few more people to agree to help out to keep it running,” said Lynn.

“One of the mums already does the crafts now. Jenny is happy to carry on doing the teas and coffees. We just need some more people – perhaps some work-from-home dads! – to commit to helping out in the mornings, especially putting the tables and toys out and doing some of the heavy lifting, or helping out on alternate rotas every other week.”

Anyone interested in helping out should drop in to the playgroup on a Friday morning in term time to find out more.