Faced with the mighty task of finding over £2,000 to replace the old decking in front of Hardwick Pre-School, Sharon Griffiths, who runs the pre-school, and her staff, committee and parents succeeded in raising over £1,000.
While this was a significant achievement for a small pre-school, it wasn't enough to cover the material costs of the new decking – being a pre-school, it had to include non-slip tread strips and a specialist deck covering in the specification.
"Grenville Chamberlain, our district councillor, suggested we apply for a Community Chest grant from SCDC," said Sharon. "I was surprised how easy it was to complete the Council's form and get our application in.”
"I was also surprised at the speed of the decision making - we submitted the original application on 15 May, provided the quote on 2 June, they reviewed the application on 20 June and we were notified we would get the full grant of a £1000 on 30th June.”
"Together with our own fundraising, the grant enabled us to buy all the materials – and thanks to the willingness of our parents to give their time and expertise for free to dismantle the old decking and install the new one during the summer holidays, we had a fine new play area finished and ready in good time for the start of our new term on 6th September."
"The Community Chest scheme is for just these sort of projects," said Grenville Chamberlain. "When a lot of very hard work has been done by local fundraisers, obtaining a Community Chest grant can make all the difference to them in achieving their goal."
Hardwick Pre-School, in the grounds of Hardwick Community Primary School in Limes Road, Hardwick, is rated as ‘Outstanding’ by OFSTED. Its staff are all highly qualified and dedicated to the education and development of the children in their care with a specifically tailored curriculum working towards early learning goals.
“A high level of care and attention made possible by an adult to child ratio of at least 1:6,” said Sharon. “The maximum number of children at any time is 26 – names for our waiting list are taken from the age of one.”
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
South Cambridgeshire District Council
T 03450 450 500
F 01954 713 149
E scdc@scambs.gov.uk
T @SouthCambs
W www.scambs.gov.uk
Your local District and County Councillors
District Council List of all councillors
County Council List of all councillors