Friars Centre Playgroup

02/10/2026

🎄Save the date! 🌲

Friars Centre Playgroup Christmas Fair - Saturday 14th November 2026.

9.30 a.m. - 3.00 p.m.

We have some amazing craft and food stalls ready to showcase their amazing talents.

Everyone is welcome - please help us spread the word by sharing our poster and inviting/tagging friends and family to our event.

Entry and parking is FREE
Some stalls are cash only. 💸

Queen Bee’s Bake Hive
Crystals On Sea
Crust Almighty
Blush & Bitters
Nellys Teddys & Other Crafts.
Tinks fairy houses and gardens
Debsy
Decorative Candles
Alison Resin creations
The Trinket Tree
Berry Bliss
Decophoria
crafted arts 3d printing
Handmade cards
Hair accessories and clothes
Sweet Stacks Essex
Duck and Dragon
Glass decorations and jewellery
Mandala decorations and gifts
Personalised gifts
The Ruben's
Mushroom and Moon
Handmade bag charms
Raffle
Children's tombola
Adults tombola
And much, much more!

We look forward to seeing you all and supporting small businesses 😊

01/10/2026

🍂 Hello October! 🍂

As we welcome a new month and all the beautiful colours of autumn, we’re also taking a moment to celebrate something very special…

💛 Maria has been part of our nursery family for 8 years! 💛

For eight wonderful years, Maria has brought her care, kindness and dedication to our nursery, helping to make it the warm, happy and nurturing place it is today.

We’re so lucky to have had her as part of our team for all these years, and we’d like to say a huge THANK YOU MARIA, for everything you do.

Here’s to many more happy memories, muddy puddles, little smiles and autumn adventures together! 🍁🧡

Happy 8 year anniversary, Maria! 🎉

22/09/2026

Has a member of staff done something particularly lovely for your child? 💗
Has someone gone the extra mile, made your child smile, helped them settle in, supported them through a tricky moment, or simply made a difference to your family?

📝 Pop your nomination in our Staff Shout Out box at nursery and let us know who deserves a special mention and why!

At the end of the half term, the member of staff with the most nominations will win a special prize! 🏆

So, if someone in our team has made a difference to you or your family, don’t forget to give them a shout out! 🥰

16/09/2026

🌟 🎨 Special offer £25 per person 🖌 🌟

Christmas bauble painting with Express Yourself Paint Parties - Essex at Friars Centre Playgroup on Sunday 25th October 3.00 p.m. - 5.30 p.m.

A chance to get the girls or gents if they wish together and have some time to yourself to switch off and show your creativity. 🎨🖌

Bring your own drinks 🥂☕️and nibbles 🥨🍰and let's have a laugh!

Something special to go on your tree 🎄and remember year after year.

To get our special offer you must email Lauren or message us to secure your place and pay by Friday 25th September. Lauren's emails address is - [email protected]

We look forward to hearing from you. 😊

10/09/2026

🎶🥄 Can You Help Us Make Some Noise? 🥄🎶

We’re looking for donations of old metal kitchen items to help us create a fun and exciting musical area and develop our mud kitchen! 🌿🎵

If you’re having a clear out, we’d love to give your unwanted items a new lease of life. We’re looking for things such as:

🥘 Old saucepans and frying pans
🥄 Large metal spoons
🍴 Metal utensils
🥣 Old metal bowls
🪣 Metal pots
🎵 Anything else that could make an interesting sound!

The children will have lots of fun exploring sounds, music, role play and sensory play using everyday objects. Our mud kitchen will also benefit from old kitchen equipment for lots of messy, imaginative outdoor play! 🌱🪵🍂

Please no sharp, broken or rusty items. Everything will be checked carefully before being used.

If you have anything suitable that you no longer need, we would be incredibly grateful for your donations. 💛

Thank you for helping us turn unwanted household items into hours of learning, creativity and fun! 🎶🥄🌿

08/09/2026

Come and join our Sip and Paint class 🥂🎨 with Express Yourself Paint Parties - Essex

Sunday 25th October at 3.00 p.m. -5.00 p.m where you will paint three ceramic baubles.

The price is £30.00 per person. Please bring your own drinks and nibbles.

All equipment will be provided and the artist will guide you through patterns or you can paint your own design.

If you fancy joining us for a couple of hours of you time, either on your own or bring a friend along, the more the merrier! Everyone is welcome so please share and tag your friends.

Please email [email protected] spaces are limited so be quick!!!

Payment will secure your place. 😊

We look forward to seeing you and creating something special for your tree! (8 Centurion Close)

07/09/2026

🌞We hope you all had a wonderful summer and what a wonderful first day back we had after the summer holidays! 🍁We were so excited to welcome staff and children back for the start of our new term. We had a lovely day and everyone settled back into routune.🍁

It was so lovely to see some of our school leavers visit us to show us their new uniform before starting school. We wish you every success at big school! We miss you already but know you are ready for your next venture.

📚Our book of the term is:
Toddlers - The Gingerbread man
Prescool - Little Red Riding Hood

Over the coming weeks each child will receive a book to take home which their room is focusing on for you to enjoy together. Please share any photos, drawings, baking or story boxes with us. Happy reading together.

We look forward to welcoming all of our other children back and our new starters over the coming days.

Happy 🍁Autumn 🍁 Term. 😊

05/09/2026

🌟 Officially rated a 5! 🌟
We’re proud to share that following our inspection, we’ve been awarded the highest possible food hygiene rating, a 5 - Very Good, by the Food Standards Agency.

This rating reflects our team’s commitment to the highest standards of cleanliness, food safety, and care in everything we do. A huge thank you to our incredible staff who work hard every day to ensure everything behind the scenes is to the highest standard.

Read the full list 👇

02/09/2026

The countdown is nearly over… nursery is back on Monday 7th September! 🥳🎉

We hope all our little ones have had the BEST summer filled with sunshine, adventures, fun and lots of happy memories!

Our rooms are ready, the toys are waiting and we can’t wait to see all those lovely little faces again! 💕

Get those nursery bags ready… we’ll see you Monday!

Let the fun begin! 🎨🖍️🫧🦖💃🎶