When the Somerset Rural Youth Project decided to set up an after-school club in Hambridge, they were faced with a big problem - where to house it.
Many of the children use wheelchairs, so good wheelchair access was a necessity. This ruled out the local village hall. Other avenues were bringing them to a dead end, until a local farmer stepped in - why not use one of his disused cowsheds?
The building certainly had potential. It was a single storey, made of stone, ideal for a group requiring all facilities on one floor. It was big inside, with adequate windows for natural light. If it could be divided up into separate units, different groups could use it and help keep costs low.
But first of all it would need to be transformed from a building for cows to a building for children.
The red tile roof was in good enough condition not to need replacement, but the concrete floor would have to go. Designed for cattle, it was not flat enough for people to walk on. So a new concrete floor was laid, and a carpet bought.
Installing basic facilities was next. In came the plumbers and electricians. The plasterers worked on the walls, and the builders divided the building into three units, each with kitchen and toilet facilities.
Three months on, the club had a new hall.
John Stow is community programme manager of the project. He says the cowshed provides an ideal base for both inside and outside activities.
'Inside we have cooking, photography, and discos. We have had a sculptural workshop, and another time a community artist came in to work with the kids,' he says.
'The farmer is happy for us to use the surrounding land. During the summer, one in three afternoons are spent outside.' Barbeques, treasure hunts and walks have been popular outdoor pursuits.
Meanwhile the cowshed itself has managed to retain its original look. The old wooden beams remain, and the windows are high up on the walls. To passers-by it just blends in with the other farm buildings.
SCARCE PROVISION
According to figures from 4Children (formerly Kids' Clubs Network), 92 per cent of rural parishes have no provision for out-of-school care. A small population spread over a large area and poor transport systems contribute to a low intake. This means higher costs per child, which must be passed on in the form of higher fees. With 20 to 25 per cent of households in rural areas living in or on the margins of poverty, paying for after-school care is often low down their list of priorities.
For the Hambridge group, the problem was heightened by the fact that all the children have additional needs. John Stow says, 'As well as having to find accommodation suitable for wheelchair use, we had to buy a minibus with a wheelchair ramp. The area we serve is very rural, and covers several small villages, so we could not do without transport.'
Lack of suitable buildings can be major hurdle. Although 50 per cent of rural parishes currently have a primary school, only 10 per cent offer accommodation for out-of-school provision or childcare for younger children. If the village does have a community centre, it is often booked for other uses. Rents may be high and local residents are not always happy about paint, sand or water activities that might create a mess on the premises.
A bit of imagination, however, can do the trick in the quest to find suitable premises. When the Countryside Agency commissioned 4Children to look into the issue, they found some disused buildings being put to very resourceful uses. Lacking a suitable alternative, some clubs have opened up in a cricket pavilion, a windmill and even a lighthouse.
For the Cockermouth After School Club in Cumbria, the price of success was that the group kept outgrowing the premises they did find. Margaret Benson, activities co-ordinator for the club, says, 'We started out in church rooms for a few weeks, before we moved to larger premises at the sports centre.
But very soon we had outgrown that hall and were looking for somewhere bigger.'
They didn't have to look far for an alternative. Next door to the sports centre was an unused Territorial Army hut. Although it needed renovation, they could see its potential. The club approached the Territorial Army, and it was agreed that they could sub-let the hall.
Although the Territorial Army lent a hand, the after-school club took on most of the renovation work themselves over the next couple of months. 'We had the floors relaid and the walls replastered and brought the building up to date.'
Margaret describes the hut as being like Dr Who's Tardis. 'It is a long, low building. From the outside it doesn't look big, but inside there is plenty of room. We have several big rooms inside for hockey, football and so on. There is also a quiet room, an office, a kitchen and a big storeroom.'
After all its initial moving around, the club is now very settled. An adventure playground has been built outside, and there is a parking area for parents coming to collect their children.
As the Cockermouth After School Club discovered, sometimes it is not just finding accommodation that is the problem, but finding accommodation that is suitable. Premises need to be brought up to a certain standard to meet Ofsted requirements, and this can often be expensive.
THE RURAL LIFE
This was certainly the case for the Barn After School Club on Penang Farm in Surrey. As its name reveals, it is based in a barn. Jeanette Walker, who runs the club, explains how the idea came about. 'We had an old barn on our farm that hadn't been used and was about to collapse. I am an ex-teacher, so I was keen to find a use for it that could help children. We contacted the local planning department, and made a start.'
It was a big job to take on. 'Many of the beams were rotten, and the roof tiles needed to be replaced,' says Jeanette. 'The whole building needed working on.'
After about nine months, things began to come together. The barn was looking a lot better than it had a year ago, but still blended in with the surrounding farm buildings. 'We kept the original look of the barn. On one side we replaced the doors. On the other side, where once the hay wagon went in, we put in large windows that look out on to the playground.'
Being based on a farm has additional benefits both for play and for education. 'We have large fields and woodlands nearby,' says Jeanette. 'As well as being able to play there, the children also have the opportunity to learn about farm life. They can see for themselves the yearly cycle of farm life - the lambing and the haymaking.'
The club takes in children from the Chiddingford/Witley Grayswood area on the Surrey/Sussex border. Children from four schools attend, picked up by the club minibus - an essential purchase for most rural clubs.
The only other after-school club in the area is four miles away. Jeanette says, 'The local schools do have after-school activities, but these usually just go on for an hour, and are not geared to suit the working parent. We are open until 6pm in term time and open during the school holidays.'
Help at hand There is an increasing awareness of the need for adequate childcare in rural areas. Not only does it provide a service to parents, but often there are few other activities for children on offer. Swimming pools, cinemas, or ten-pin bowling alleys may be several miles away.
Two years ago the Forum for Rural Children and Young People was set up.
Funded by the Countryside Agency and based at the offices of the National Children's Bureau, the Forum strives to improve facilities for young people in countryside communities. Its aim is to bring about positive changes by influencing the policy and practice of those planning services for children and young people in rural areas
Financial support for rural after-school clubs is available from a variety of sources, and funding may be granted specifically for the purpose of renovating premises. The New Opportunities Fund can meet modest capital costs for building conversion and the Countryside Agency administers grants to enable rural communities to develop. In England and Wales, Regional Development Agencies can provide grants towards the cost of renovating redundant buildings. Some Early Years Development and Childcare Partnerships have also established rural subgroups to plan for rural development.
