As many of you are aware, Emma Taylor has an established childcare business in Dunning ("Emma's Explorers") and was keen to expand to meet demand within the village. Throughout 2025 we have all been working hard to ensure that Dunning Hall could support such a project, and satisfy the regulatory demands of the Care Inspectorate. The expanded service opened on 19 August (at the start of the new school year) and has already proved incredibly popular.
Emma put out a call for play and activity equipment donations over the summer holiday, and there was a fantastic response from the local community (as always: well done Dunning). However, there was an identified need for more equipment plus some improvements to the Hall to support Emma's Explorers, and other youth-related groups that we are in the process of nurturing.
Yet again, the village comes to the rescue!
The Dunning Community Association was formed in 2018, initially with the aim to purchase and support the Old Schoolhouse (Newton of Pitcairns), which then was the base for the Stepping Stones Pre-school. Parents connected with Stepping Stones had already carried out an impressive fundraising campaign. Although a full-time nursery in the Old Schoolhouse didn’t prove feasible at the time, the funds were carefully safeguarded by the DCA and are now being reinvested into youth and childcare projects in Dunning.
The DCA recently announced a scheme to award grants to youth charities in the local community, and following discussions with the DCA and Stepping Stones representatives (and an application by us, the DHG), we were awarded £5,000 to purchase activity equipment for the childcare club and other youth-related groups running in the village hall. Having gratefully received this award, we are now in the process of purchasing lots of great equipment, including:
- Massive bean bags (yes - they're washable)
- Table tennis and multi-games tables
- Indoor hockey, golf and tennis sets
- Pickleball
- General play equipment (hula hoops, balls, parachute, blocks, skipping ropes)
- Soft play mats and sensory blackout tents
- Storage units, cooking and cleaning equipment.
We are currently looking at the possibility of pre-school (nursery) sessions, and a potential youth club starting in 2026. The equipment could be useful for other groups looking at starting up in the new year: fancy starting a table tennis or pickleball club? We're also looking at film nights next year to put those bean bags to use.
We are so grateful to the DCA and those that fundraised for Stepping Stones. This equipment will be really important to making our village hall the centre of the community again, and an asset to help us develop young people, their families and - hopefully - the wider community.
What next?
We are still in the process of negotiating a long-term lease from PKC (it's in draft and currently going through the legal process), but hope to be operating the hall soon. We are also applying for funding and support to develop our core initiatives:
- Increase hall usage & community engagement
- Support young people and families
- Reduce isolation among older residents
- Grow culture, sport & recreation opportunities
- Strengthen community sustainability & resilience
Interested in getting involved? We're running a Christmas craft fair on 22 November - not only will there be some wonderful gifts to buy, the DHG will have a stall where you can find out more information. Or you can just send us a message.
We'll also be putting on a Halloween party and some afternoon tea dances; details (and tickets) for the Hogmanay party will be out soon too.