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Antenatal Workshops

In our Antenatal Workshops we are here to help you prepare for your baby. You will be able to chat to other pregnant women over a coffee while we cover a variety of topics of interest to you and your growing bump. These will include meeting our midwife, infant feeding choices, preparing for hospital and making treasure boxes.

Art Ventures

Art Ventures is a group for children 2 - 3 years and is designed to enhance your child’s creative thought processes. Taking inspiration from the Reggio Emilia inspired approach this group celebrates children’s ideas and how they play. We encourage the children to connect with and respect nature by providing them with an inspiring and vast selection of natural materials. Through the use of real artist’s materials and tools such as clay, paints and inks the children will find and develop their own ways of working.

Balanceability

Balanceability is an approved Learn to Cycle programme for children and is the fundamental starting point for children's cycling and an excellent opportunity to promote active lifestyles at the earliest possible age. The course will run over 4 weeks and will promote children’s physical development including running, jumping, balancing and spatial awareness; all while having fun, building their confidence and learning a key life skill. ‘’ Learning to ride a bicycle is one of life's milestones, providing children with their first taste of mobile independence’’.

Baby Massage

Baby Massage provides a wonderful experience for parents to connect and unwind with their babies whilst learning nurturing touch strokes. Baby massage benefits include secure attachment, supporting your baby’s physical and mental development, providing relief from wind and colic, improving circulation and promoting better sleep. Classes are suitable for babies from birth to 1 year old.

Baby Sensory

Baby Sensory is a group designed especially for parents and their babies under 18 months old. The sessions will provide quality play opportunities with a wide and imaginative range of sensory and age appropriate activities which support positive attachments and promote shared interactions between parents and their babies.

Baby Yoga

Baby Yoga gives parents and children the opportunity through playful interaction and communication to experience the benefits of touch, stretching, movement and relaxation and songs. There are 2 separate baby yoga classes to cater for different ages. The first group caters for babies 3 - 9 months (pre-mobile), and the second group is for babies crawling to walking to 18 months.

Blissful Arts and Crafts

Blissful Arts and Crafts is a fun creative workshop welcoming all parents/carers to explore and focus on themselves through creative arts. This is a 4 week feel good workshop where you can create your own treasures and meet new people. Crèche is provided although places are limited.

Breastfeeding Support Group

The Breastfeeding group is a weekly drop-in group. The group is open to all members and non-members of SureStart, who are breastfeeding or expressing. Antenatal mums are always very welcome. At the group you can get a cuppa, chat with other breastfeeding mums and get your baby weighed. You don’t have to have a problem with breastfeeding to come along to this group, but if you do the group is covered by either a Breastfeeding Counsellor/Midwife or Health Visitor who will be available to offer expert help. Toddlers are welcome too.

Brincadeira

This group is designed for our East Timorese families. This group ensures that your child will have the very best play experience, improving their language and communication, fine and gross motor skills and social and emotional development. It also gives you quality time to spend engaging with your child, or children. This group is suitable for children 6 months to 3 years.

Chatter Matters SLT Clinic

This is a monthly speech, language and communication advice clinic. You can discuss any queries or concerns you might have about your child’s speech and language development with the Speech and Language Therapist who will be able to offer you reassurance, support, advice or signpost you on to a relevant service. This clinic is for children aged 18 months to 3 years and you need to book your appointment in advance.

Crèche

Our crèche is a creative and nurturing space for children to play and learn when parents attend a wide range of programmes. The crèche can accommodate children 0 - 3 years and has a skilled team of dedicated staff.

Developmental Programmes 2-3 Yrs

There are 6 Developmental Programmes for 2 - 3 year olds within Dungannon and Coalisland SureStart. The programmes provide a child-led, play based learning environment that aims to promote each child's all round development. Each programme runs 3 days a week and each session runs for 2 ½ hours. The programme runs term time (September to June) and the involvement of parents is key to the success of the programmes. The Sure Start Developmental Programme for 2-3 year olds may not be suitable for every child. Each year we receive more applications, than places available.

Go Me and Dad

Go Me and Dad is a programme especially for our dads/male carers and their children 0 - 3 years giving them that one to one uninterrupted quality playtime that they may not always get time for. It is filled with lots of fun, interactive activities, games, songs and ideas that you can take away and try at home.

Health Visiting Workshop

Health Visitor support and advice provided with a specific topic each month. Topics include Weaning and Toddler diets, Sleep, Toilet training, Positive parenting/Behaviour management, dental health – included in the weaning sessions.

Healthy Meals on a Shoestring

A one off session with a focus on healthy eating, and ways you can eat good food on a budget.

Hypno-birthing

Hypno-birthing is run by our midwife and is a unique method of relaxed natural childbirth education. Enhanced by self-hypnosis and guided imagery techniques that allow women to use their natural abilities to bring about safer, easier and more comfortable birth. These techniques aim to help reduce awareness of fear, anxiety and pain during childbirth.

Incredible Babies

A 9 week programme for parents and babies, creating opportunities for peer support and socialisation. You will gain knowledge on your babies need for secure attachments. It also encourages baby’s physical development and speech and language skills.

Incredible Toddlers

This is a 13 week parenting programme designed to strengthen parenting skills by providing simple tips, advice and support in dealing with challenging behaviour in children aged 1 -3 years. The course aims to support parents in understanding how to build their child’s self-esteem through the use of praise, coaching and child-led play. Crèche is available.

Learn Play Grow

Learn, Play Grow is a group for children who will benefit from a small group setting to develop their play and communication skills with the support of the Play Development Team and the Sure Start Speech and Language Therapist. A home visit will also be completed at the beginning and end of this programme.

Little Chef

Little Chef is aimed at parents and children to promote a good relationship with food and healthy eating habits.

Little Einsteins

A programme aimed to inform parents how the development of their baby’s brain is influenced by factors such as their relationships, experiences and environment. Parents/carers play a crucial role in building their baby’s brain and you will discover how to support this development. This programme is aimed at antenatal parents and those who have children 0 - 3 years.

Little Explorers

This is a programme aimed at children aged 2 - 3 years in their pre pre-school year. It offers children a variety of play experiences to meet their natural curiosity to learn. It supports their senses through touch and taste and supports their language development through music and songs as well as providing them with the chance to mix with other children to build their confidence and self-esteem.

Materials Workshops

Each artist led, creative workshop will focus on certain materials and items such as clay or paper. Your child will have the opportunity to explore and reveal the many possibilities that each material/item holds as well as developing their creativity.

A Focus on You

A Focus on You is a Health Visitor run group suitable for parents which promotes positive mental health and wellbeing. This group is aimed at helping parents to build skills to cope with stress and anxiety. It provides a safe space for mums to meet, gain support, build confidence, relax and make new friends. In the group we look at simple steps to improve your mental wellbeing through topics such as mindfulness, laughter yoga, five ways to wellbeing, find your flow/balance through art, relaxation, mood and food, find your rhythm drumming, be happy, gratitude, chi me and many more. A limited number of crèche places are available.

Musical Storytime

Step into your favourite story book with Musical Story Time, a programme where the story comes to life, providing a fun and interactive experience for your child. Musical Storytime aims to inspire your child’s imagination through stories, songs, rhymes and activities. While introducing your child to new words and songs that will help support their speech and language. This group is for children 1 - 3 years.

Nurturing Programme

This 11 week parenting programme gives parents the support needed to help manage the big and small issues of family life. The programme covers a range of topics from behaviour management, social skills and self-esteem. An important element of the programme is for parents to understand the importance of caring for yourself, so you can look after those around you. Crèche is available with this programme.

Open Exploration sessions

Inspired by children’s museums, these discovery sessions provide you child with a unique experience where they can learn through their senses by interacting with the various installations and activities in the room.

Papa and PJs

Papa and PJs is a programme providing the chance for the dads/male carers to get involved in the bedtime routine. It provides a calming and relaxing environment with sensory play activities to help the children settle before bedtime. It offers a wonderful opportunity for dads to spend quality memorable times with their children 0 - 3 years.

Parenting Puzzle

This programme is for parents of children 0 - 3 years. There are a range of topics covered for example the art of listening, giving praise, child led play, choices and consequences. Crèche is available with this programme.

Parents Forum

The Parents Forum is an opportunity for parents to share what they think about SureStart activities, highlighting what we are doing well and what we can improve on. Crèche is available with this programme.

Playtime

Playtime is a unique play programme adopting a Reggio Emilia inspired approach that provides an enriching learning experience for children and their parents. The group helps to build positive relationships through fun, active play opportunities and will support the all-round development of your child. This group is aimed at children 18 months - 3 years.

Rhyme Before Teatime

Rhyme Before Teatime (Suitable from Birth) Promoting a love of books and enhancing imagination through use of puppets, rhymes and songs. These sessions enhance speech and language and social and emotional skills. The session promotes early literacy and focuses on spending quality time with your child, promoting bonding and attachment.

Story and Rhyme

Promoting the use of your local library and a love of books, this session helps parents and children bond and have fun whilst learning new stories and rhymes. It enhances speech and language and social skills in all the children who attend. The physical rhymes and songs enhance physical development and imagination for children 0 - 3 years.

Stories before Bedtime

This early evening group will support your child’s language development through a stimulating range of stories and songs. It is suitable for children 0 - 3 years.

Summer Programme

Our Summer Play Programmes change every year to accommodate our families’ needs they are usually particularly creative, imaginative and fun. The programme can include indoor beach days, outdoor activities, musical events etc. The summer newsletter will give a full range of programmes we provide.

Tempu Ho Kangaroo

Tempu Ho Kangaroo – ‘’ Time with Kangaroo’’: Run by our East Timorese Family Support Worker this group allows precious time with your baby. In this group we cover baby massage, brain development, the importance of talking to your baby and post-natal exercise. The group is offered to East Timorese mums and babies between 0 - 6 months.

Tetun Baby Sensory

This group is designed for our East Timorese parents and babies under 18months old. The sessions will provide quality play opportunities with a wide range of sensory and age appropriate activities, which support positive attachments and promote shared interactions between parents and their babies.

Tetun Rhyme Time

A group especially designed for our East Timorese families with children 0 - 3 years to encourage speaking Tetum at home. During this group there will be storytelling and rhymes in Tetum along with information on the importance and benefits of keeping your children bilingual.

Tetun Walk and Talk

A group especially designed for our East Timorese families; this walking group for both antenatal and postnatal mums is suitable for all abilities as you can choose the pace you walk. Walk and Talk offers the chance to chat for both parents and children and can improve low mood, anxiety and reduce stress as well as having health benefits such as improving fitness levels, strengthening muscles and weight loss.

Toddler Yoga

The aim is to help both parent and toddler relax in their shared enjoyment of the movements. It offers a whole new experience of fun for your child. The moves and sequences offer support in every area of your child’s development including, physical, cognitive, social and emotional. Classes offer a wonderful opportunity for family bonding and for making new friends. Toddler yoga equips you with tools for stress management, teaches us to be in the present moment, sparks imagination, helps maintain flexibility, and develops focus and concentration. It is suitable for children 2 - 4 years. (One off sessions e.g. Good Morning Yoga and Good Night Yoga suitable for 18 months to 4 years old.)

Toddle and Talk

This 4 week group is designed for parents/carers and their children aged 24-36 months to attend together. The programme will be led by the Speech and Language Therapist. Each week, children and their parents/carers will get the opportunity to take part in fun play based activities linked to a topic which can help develop skills in a number of areas including; play, communication, listening, taking turns and social interaction. These activities, along with information and advice can easily be continued and reinforced at home to help develop each child's skills.