April Talk with Sean Harper

It’s April, the second month of Spring and does this mean April showers or will it be a time of sunshine end to end? We’re catching up with some business owners this month to see how things are looking for them this month. Today we're talking to Sean Harper who is a director of Swindon-based Just for Fun Holiday Club and also a welfare manager at a secondary school. Just for Fun Holiday club provides childcare for children between the ages of four and 13 years. Sean and his team offer a range of games and activities. In his day to day job he offers support to secondary school aged children in areas such as bereavement, anger management, 1-1 support, safeguarding and emotional literacy support.

How is April looking for you in your business? 
Easter is looking very busy for us with over 450 children attending one of our venues over 8 days during the school holidays. 

Every child will receive a free Easter egg for attending. We welcome over 200 children making use of the HAF (Holidays, Activity & Food) programme. This gives those eligible 24 hours of fun with us, funded by Swindon Council for free.

We have purchased a bouncy castle for our sites which will be making its first appearance over Easter.

We also have different events each day including tie dye, Easter egg hunts, competitions, NERF battles and chess competitions.   

This month it’s Stress Awareness Month, what does stress mean to you? 
Many people don’t realise they’re suffering from stress. Others may know they are, but not acknowledge the need to do something about it. 

Feeling under stress is almost seen as the norm, accepted as an inevitable part of a busy life. It can seem like we’re expected to deal with whatever lands on our shoulders, particularly at work when everyone has too much to do and there’s never enough resources. 

Sometimes people are reluctant to appear weak by admitting that they’re struggling to juggle everything they need to do; they feel they ‘should’ be able to cope and just get on with it.

The fact is, stress is just as valid a problem as any other kind of mental health difficulty. Being aware when we’re experiencing stress – or recognising when it’s affecting someone around us – is important, as it’s the first step towards feeling better. In fact, allowing stress to go untreated has its dangers.

This is a link I have sent out to all our staff to help raise awareness and perhaps it could help anyone reading this article.

https://mentalhealth-uk.org/blog/8-stress-awareness-day-activities/

Did you know that April 28 is Pay It Forward Day? Who could you ‘pay it forward’ to? Has anyone ‘paid it forward’ to you? 
I feel it’s good to pay it forward because by doing so you practice credibility and accountability by considering others' needs. This carries over into everything you do. You feel better about yourself because you're trying to make everyone's lives better, especially your own.

At Just For Fun, we try to help parents by spreading the cost of our clubs if they don't qualify under the HAF scheme and we try to support them when times are hard.

And finally: 
Wishing you all a peaceful and sunny April & Easter!

For more information visit www.justforfunholidayclub.co.uk