A new after-school club has opened in Dunfermline after a period when many parents were left without access to childcare.
The Touch Trust Kids Club opened its doors on October 21. Located in St Margaret's community church, it replaces the Garvock out of school club which closed in August.
Service provider Michelle Macgregor said: “There was no childcare in the area after the Garvock club closed. There’s three schools and all the parents were left high and dry over the holiday period.
“A lot of parents didn’t have childcare, which is horrendous."
One affected parent said at the time: "Right now I can't find a single childminder because parents are massively flooding all alternative clubs, childminders and social media with requests."
Michele continued: “We had to wait on the Care Inspectorate giving us our registration, which can take up to six months. We got it done in eight weeks since it was an emergency situation, so kudos to the Inspectorate for getting us up and running.
“We had a lot of help from Shirley-Anne Somerville and other councillors who pushed for us to get it sorted.”
Members of the City of Dunfermline area committee handed over £14,654 to establish the service after the Trust said that it would step up and take on all of the former Garvock club’s registered children and families.
Discussing the facility itself, Michelle said: “This is the end of our second week which has been amazing. The kids have been fantastic and it’s like we’ve always been here.
“There’s ample space for kids to play, and the feedback from most of the parents and kids has been amazing.
“The kids have been good at doing a lot of life skills. They help with the dishes and the club generally.
“They don’t have any technology, because it’s about letting children be children. There’s also a lot of arts and crafts, and they have their choice of activity, within reason. If they want to go downstairs and play pool, they can do that."
Some after-school clubs in Fife have recently struggled to provide children with transportation.
Michelle said: “We’ve managed to get a minibus, which means that St Margaret's and commercial kids have transport in and out in this weather.
“We’ve managed to borrow one, but we’re fundraising to get our own one.”
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