Sean Harper of Just For Fun Holiday Club is gearing up for an exciting June!

It’s June already and we’re halfway through the year. It’s also officially the first month of Summer, even if the weather has changed again! This month we’re talking to small business owners about what’s happening in their business.

Today we're talking to Sean Harper who is manager of the Just for Fun Holiday Club based in Swindon which provides affordable childcare for children during the school holidays between the ages of 4-13 years. With a huge range of activities to participate in, the children never have an opportunity to get bored.

JUNE is the first month of Summer. What will you be doing this summer in your business?
June is a super month for us as this is when we registered the business. It started 6 years ago with the ambition being very small at the time. We wanted to make enough money to cover bills and pay for a holiday each year. Here we are 6 years on and the business is in a position I could never have imagined. 

We now have:

• Over 60 staff who work for us during the holidays
• Over 300 children regularly attend daily across all venues
• Six managers who now run the venues for us
• We run breakfast clubs and after school clubs

June gives us the time to reflect and re-evaluate. We have a full time member of staff starting in September who we hope will accelerate the growth and brand of the business. We want to get out to schools and venues and offer a wide range of activities to showcase what we offer. June is also when we start the build up to the summer holidays. This is our busiest time of the year. As the weeks draw closer the stress builds up in ensuring everything is in place for us to deliver a successful holiday club programme. 

June 1 to 7 this year is Volunteers Week. Do you volunteer or raise money for charity?
Volunteering is not something we do within the business as such; as most staff, if not all work another job full time. I’m sure some staff volunteer for different projects but this isn’t something we do as a company specifically. 

In terms of charity, I will be raising money when I run the London Marathon next year. I’m undecided who I will be running and raising money for, as so many could benefit from this but I will be trying to raise as much money and awareness as possible for whoever the chosen charity is. 

What tips or advice can you give as the summer is upon us? 
Some ideas to keep the children busy this summer that don’t cost much include:

Grow fresh herbs in containers. Use old coffee cans, milk jugs, mason jars, plastic cups, or anything else you have around the house. Keep your herb garden on a patio or windowsill.
Hold marble races. Use anything as the track. Simply cut it in half, making two tracks of equal length. Then, race the marbles down the tracks to see who has the fastest one.
Make paper aeroplanes. Once you’ve made them see who's aeroplane goes the farthest.
Play a card game. Choose from crazy eights, spoons, go fish, or even 21s. Take your pick. Or buy a board game for the family to enjoy.
Master a new skill together. Learn to juggle, sign language, or even a new language.
Create a summer mural. Stretch a long piece of white paper across a wall or floor in the lounge or bedroom and create a family mural. Include hand-drawn, painted, or coloured pictures of your summer activities. Work on it all summer, adding to it little by little.
Create a treasure hunt. Do it at home or around town. Change things up a little and make it a photo scavenger hunt where the children need to take photos of various things on the list. Examples might include: Take a picture of a flower. Take a photo of something red.

June 30 is Social Media Day – what does social media mean to you and your business? 
Social media for us is a huge way of us interacting with our parents. This is our main way of communicating and sharing what we have planned for the next holiday club. It's also a great way of showcasing what the children are doing during their time with us. It gives us the opportunity to share feedback from parents, signpost parents to different things around the town and celebrate days of the year by sharing photos and asking for engagement such as Red Nose Day or National Friendship Day.

To reach the children we use YouTube as a way of them seeing what we do with clips from previous holiday clubs and a montage of activities that really show what they can expect. Along with that we do interviews, so we get the perspective of the child for those looking to come and join. 

As a holiday club we limit our screen time, with it mainly being used for just dance or movie Friday. We want the children to be active when they attend with us and go and play or learn a new sport or technique. 

We do however appreciate the importance of social media and the internet in general. 

Would you like to provide us with a summer ‘guide’ of some kind? 
Here are just a few places I plan to visit during the holidays. I have 2 young children so keeping them entertained is key. Some of these are free and some will cost money, but I hope they are helpful.

Places to visit
Roves Farm – https://rovesfarm.co.uk/
Lydiard Park - https://www.lydiardpark.org.uk/
Peatmoor Lake - https://www.swindonrocks.co.uk/listings/peatmoor-lake
Jungle Kingdom – https://www.junglekingdom.co.uk/
Blunsdon Railway Station - https://swindon-cricklade-railway.org/

Favourite Restaurants
Pizza Hut buffet – My children love pizza so this is a family favourite. Ice cream for pudding if they eat the crusts 
Woodlands Edge – You can tie this in with your walk around the Peatmoor lake. They have a park and area for families s the children can be as noisy as they like.
Kaspa’s – Who doesn’t love ice cream and desserts
Blunsdon House Hotel – They have lovely open space for the children to play with lovely views over Wiltshire
Toby Carvery – Often offer deals where children eat for a £1

For more information visit https://justforfunholidayclub.co.uk/