Cirencester Opportunity Group

09/10/2026

We have had the most wonderful stay2play session this morning in Cirencester Opportunity Group's enormous woodland area. Our two year olds and younger siblings went on a leaf hunt with their adult before making beautiful leaf tree pictures to take home. 🍂🌳🔍

We had stories and bubbles with Lisa the children's librarian and then had a fun game with bouncing some of the leaves we found on the stretchy lycra. 🫧🍂

The fully inclusive session is for children and parents/carers of children two years and above and is a fantastic way to get to know staff and the setting before your child starts attending the nursery here Cirencester Opportunity Group

🍂🌳🍂🌳🍂🌳

06/10/2026

We are so pleased to be co running an invest in play program with our friends at Family Action Cotswolds Children and Family Centres and Youth Support Team and The Churn Community Hub 😊

Over twelve sessions we are:
💗 helping parents and carers use play and positive attention to strengthen the relationship with their child and create greater trust between them. 💗
😊 Support their child’s learning, emotional, and social skills. 😔
💗 Set caring boundaries that create a predictable and secure framework for their child’s well-being and development. 💗
😊😔 Regulate strong emotions – their own as well as their child’s. 😡🫣

Do speak to Vicky or Hannah who are trained invest in play facilitators if you'd like any more information.

27/09/2026

💚 A million thanks to the wonderful Active Impact! 💚

Since COG joined the Of Course We Can programme a few years ago, their support has helped us provide some fantastic inclusive experiences for our children and families – including our Summer Playscheme, Water Play sessions and COG Farm Days with the amazing The Good Day Farm - On tour 🐐💦🌳☀️

For many of the children we support, particularly those with SEND, having activities that are accessible, welcoming and designed around their individual needs makes such a difference.

We are incredibly grateful to Active Impact for championing inclusive opportunities and for all the help, encouragement and support they have given COG over the last few years.

Thank you for helping us make sure more children can join in, experience new things and have fun! 💚

Earlier today we brought our amazing Of Course We Can partners together for our final partner meeting.

How amazing to end on a high and to look back over 16 years of the programme, celebrating what we’ve achieved together and, yes, acknowledge that there was a little sadness in the room too.

Over the last 16 years, our partners have created thousands of opportunities for disabled children and young people across Gloucestershire to play, explore, make friends, try new things, build confidence and make memories.

Just looking at the last four years alone, we have supported our partner organisations to deliver more than 2,500 short breaks!

Behind that number are real children, young people and their families. And behind every one of those opportunities are our brilliant partners, bringing their energy, creativity and commitment to inclusion.

We're hugely grateful to every organisation that has been part of Of Course We Can 🧡

We know that the way Short Breaks will be delivered after 2027 is going to change, but our commitment to inclusion won’t!

And we've still got six months of OCWC to make the most of 💪

Cirencester Opportunity Group, GDA, Art Shape, Fat Squirrel Outdoor Co. Ltd, Bloodhound Education Ltd, Move More, KDance Foundation Cirencester - Cheeky Feet & SENsory Movers, TwoCan Inclusive, Acting up, Creative Sustainability, Artspace Cinderford, St Rose's, Stroud, World Jungle, Cotswolds National Landscape, All Sorts , The Music Works - Gloucester

24/09/2026

https://iconcope.org/icon-week/ Babies cry, you can cope. At Cirencester Opportunity Group we can support you through what can be tough days. Please see our display in the tunnel or speak to a member of the outreach team for support. We are always here to help. 😊

21/09/2026

🎵💚 HELP US KEEP THE MUSIC PLAYING AT COG! 💚🎵

We need your help! 🙏

Have you or your child ever…

🎶 Attended Music Makers or Music Shakers at COG?
🌱 Attended COG Pre-School, either now or in the past?
🎼 Taken part in Music Therapy at COG?

If the answer is YES, we’d love to hear from you! 💬

Music, singing and movement can help young children develop communication, confidence, listening, movement and social skills – and can be especially valuable for children with additional needs. 💛

We’re working to develop and secure ongoing funding for our musical activities, and your experiences can help us show why this work matters to children and families.

👉 Please take a few minutes to complete our short questionnaire:

https://forms.cloud.microsoft/e/Tky5irbHBR

⏰ We need your responses as soon as possible, and by Monday 28 September 2026 at the latest!

Every response will help us build the evidence we need to keep developing opportunities for children to sing, move, communicate, connect and thrive! 🎵🥁🪇

💚 Please complete the questionnaire and share this post with other COG families – past and present!

17/09/2026

⛳️💚 A fantastic day of golf, fundraising and community spirit! 💚⛳️

On Saturday 12 September, we were delighted to join Oaksey Park Golf and Leisure for their Captain’s Day, with COG having been chosen by club members as one of the local charities they are supporting through this fantastic event. What a wonderful show of support for local children and families! 🌟

Earlier in the year, it was a pleasure to welcome Hugh and Josh from Oaksey Park Golf and Leisure to COG, where we chatted about our work and how we could get involved in supporting the big day.☀️⛳️

A brilliant group from our Board of Trustees swapped the boardroom for COG T-shirts and high-vis jackets and headed along to join in the fun. They spent the day selling raffle tickets to club members and guests – and even took along a Hook-a-Duck stall for a little bit of retro fun! 🦆🎣 There are some skills you just don’t get to demonstrate at a Trustee meeting… 😂

The atmosphere was fantastic, the sun shone, and it was lovely to meet so many members and guests who were keen to support the charities chosen by the club. 💚

A huge thank you to everyone at Oaksey Park Golf and Leisure – to the Captains, members, organisers and everyone who bought a raffle ticket, hooked a duck or simply stopped for a chat about COG.

As a small, independent local charity, support from organisations and communities like Oaksey Park Golf and Leisure really matters to us. It helps us continue creating positive beginnings for local children and families, including children with SEND and families who need a little extra support. 🌱👨‍👩‍👧‍👦

And a special shout-out to our fabulous Trustees for rolling up their sleeves and getting stuck in – high-vis, ducks and all! 🦆💚

Thank you, Oaksey Park Golf and Leisure, for choosing to support COG and for making us so welcome. ⛳️👏

16/09/2026

💬✨ Communication, Collaboration & Community! ✨💬

We were delighted to be part of the Soroptimist International Cirencester & District Open Evening recently, bringing together an inspiring group of community-minded women for an evening of conversation, networking and friendship.🤝💛

Our CEO, Cath, spoke about COG, sharing how we work within our local community to create positive beginnings for children and families – particularly through our specialist SEND provision, early intervention, family support and the many partnerships that make our work possible. 🌱👨‍👩‍👧‍👦

The theme of the evening was Communication, Collaboration and Community – three things that really resonate with us at COG! 💚

It was fantastic to hear about the work happening across Cirencester, put faces to familiar names, make new connections and start conversations about where future collaborations might take us. 💡🌟

A huge thank you to Avril York for inviting and introducing us and to the Cirencester & District Soroptimists for hosting such a welcoming and interesting evening – and for creating a space where local organisations could share ideas, experiences and opportunities.

Because when local people and organisations connect, great things can happen for our community! 🫶

16/09/2026

The outreach team are welcoming back to a new term all of our COG nursery families and parents/carers of new starters with a hot drink and a delicious treat. Do join us this morning or at 12 midday for a chat and something yummy. 😊

10/09/2026

A heartfelt thank you to The Winstone Charitable Trust

On Sunday 6 September, our Manager, Cath Fowler, was honoured to attend a Thanksgiving Service at Cirencester Parish Church, celebrating The Winstone Charitable Trust and the remarkable legacy of Kate Doreen Winstone, whose unwavering support for the people of Cirencester continues to benefit our community. She was joined by COG's Fundraiser, Paul, Pre-School Cook, Sharon, and her husband Pete. We all thoroughly enjoyed hearing about the history of the Trust and K D Winstone's legacy.

In 2023, the Trust generously funded the transformation of COG’s tired soft play room into a welcoming and engaging space. It now gives our children valuable opportunities to develop their physical skills, confidence and social interaction through play. It is particularly beneficial for children with SEND and sensory needs, who can explore movement safely within a supportive environment.

We extend our sincere thanks to the Trust’s trustees for their commitment and dedication in honouring K D Winstone's wishes and for the time, care and responsibility they gave to supporting local organisations during the time the trust was active.

The Trust’s generosity has created a lasting resource that continues to make a real difference to the children and families who use COG. We are extremely grateful to be part of K D Winstone’s enduring legacy of kindness and support for Cirencester.

10/09/2026

WELCOME to a new academic year to all our new and returning children and families, as well as a new member of staff you will see in our early intervention pre-school team. Annies joins us as a Level 3 qualified early years practitioner, and is also a trained ELSA (Emotional Literacy Support Assistant)!

Sharon, who preceded Ben as our Pre-School Manager, has moved from her long-standing role in the Pre-School Team to a new role with Vicky and Hannah, supporting our lovely parents, carers and families. This is a return to something similar to the role Sharon originally joined COG in, quite a number of years ago now! Please welcome her into her new team, where we're confident she will be a brilliant listening ear, and a calm and steady support to COG families.

We're sorry for the welcome coming at the end of week 2! It has been a busy start to the year, settling all the children back into nursery/pre-school and hearing all about their Summer breaks.