About Us
The Playground
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Gwenfro Valley adventure playground is in Caia Park, a large housing estate ranked in the top 10 most deprived wards in Wales. Situated close to the Wrexham Football Ground our small charity runs the playground which has been open for over 10 years and is free to access and open to all. It is a dedicated space for playing but not of the highly commercialised and manufactured kind. It is a space developed and maintained by children and adults together. A constantly evolving space full of loose materials, bits and pieces, varied terrain and self-built structures.
"I learned how to use a saw and put nails into wood. I learned how to stand up for myself"
Community Support
Gwenfro Valley Adventure Playground is not just a place of play but a cornerstone for community development and support. We act as an informal food and baby bank for the local community. We are also community connectors, parents will often come to staff to talk to them about their support needs and staff will connect them with services, for example parenting courses, benefits advice, housing support and much more. Because we are a truly community based organisation families come to us who wouldn’t normally access statutory support services, we can help them build the confidence and get the help they need. Many of our staff team are from the local community, they provide consistent supportive relationships, friendly faces, a point of contact and helping hand, and a safety net for children who are experiencing extreme poverty, deprivation and challenging home circumstances.
Case Study
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Emily has 3 children and they often come to play at Gwenfro Valley. Her youngest, Eddie, is 2 and was born early in the 1st lockdown. Emily has been at home being ‘mum’ for over 5 years and she struggled during the pandemic with the isolation. She worried about Eddie not mixing and socialising with children his own age. He also has Muscular Dystrophy and so it’s really important for him to be physically active to build up his muscle strength. Emily and Eddie came along to our parent and toddler sessions and really loved it, Emily has volunteered to help out run more sessions like this she said “Eddies physical confidence has grown so much during these sessions, being able to run and climb and explore the playground without older children there. He has been mixing with other children his age and before that he’d only really known family. I have really loved it for me as well - it’s great to be able to talk to other parents instead of being stuck at home. I can’t wait to start helping out, it will get me out of the house and help me get my confidence back.”