Early Years Project

A creche for refugees and asylum seekers

Bristol Refugee Rights is the first port of call for the majority of asylum seeking and refugee families coming to Bristol. At the Early Years Project we welcome their children between the ages of 4 months to 5 years.

Without the Early Years Project these children would have no access to any sort of organised child care, so we offer them something that they simply can’t get anywhere else: a place to be children and a place where they can play and learn.

Our Early Years Project is registered with Ofsted (Standards in Education, Children’s Services and Skills) on the Voluntary Childcare Register and as such complies with all Ofsted requirements for this type of childcare setting.

The creche not only enables parents to attend English classes and access our wide range of support services, it also allows them to become an active member of the Bristol Refugee Rights community. Because of this our services are in high demand.

The Early Years Project is open:

• Tuesday 10.00am – 12.00pm for Refugee Women of Bristol members during school term time
• Wednesday 10.00am – 12.00pm
• Thursday 10.30 am – 12.30 pm
• Friday 10.00am – 12.00pm

Please check our closure and holiday dates.

Since 2010 the Early Years Project has been funded by a combination of BBC Children In Need, Crowdfunder and private donations.

Our aims

We have designed our creche to be stimulating and has a range of toys and resources. It’s cosy room and generous garden area provide a secure and stimulating environment for children to learn and grow. It is also a great place for the children to develop their English skills through songs, rhymes and stories.

The childcare team aim to be continually learning ourselves, and we strive to understand the needs of children from refugee and asylum seeking backgrounds. We enjoy getting to know children who attend and while the they are with us we see their relationships flourish; first with our team and then with other children.

The Early Years Project believe that children and families should have the opportunity to grow and learn together. We therefore support families in many practical and emotional ways. Not only do we help families access nursery and local children’s services, we also making sure the children have enough food and clothing, giving out nappy packs and promote healthy eating and  importance of play.

You can learn how the Early Years Project, previously known as the “Community Creche”, helped one family new to Bristol:

https://www.facebook.com/pointswest/videos/897453817016429/

Hire our creche

Our lovely Paddington Bear creche room at St Paul’s Learning Centre is available for hire with or without staff.  For more information, visit our Creche and Room Hire page.