Leeds charity pre-school that is 'part of the community' celebrates 55 years of little learners

Past and present families and members of staff were invited to St Mary’s Church on Saturday September 27 to share old memories of Templegate Tiny Tots.

The pre-school was established in 1970 in Halton before moving to Whitkirk Primary School in 1980. For the past 55 years, Templegate Tiny Tots has been dedicated to providing young children with a positive learning environment.

Family is at the heart of the pre-school’s ethos. In fact, many staff members and parents attended Templegate Tiny Tots themselves when they were little.

Tori Pattison, Manager at Templegate Tiny Tots said: “Templegate Tiny Tots has been built on community.

“Everybody’s got a vested interest because their children have come here and everybody’s very proud of the setting and the ethos and how it’s part of the community.”

Deputy Manager Lizzie Booth has a particularly special connection to Templegate Tiny Tots. Not only did her children, husband, and brother-in-law all attend the pre-school, but her mother-in-law also used to volunteer there. In fact, she chose to work at the pre-school when she heard staff members could still remember her husband decades after he was a pre-schooler.

Lizzie said: “When we came to look around with our daughter, my husband walked in and one of the staff went ‘you came to Tiny Tots and I looked after you’.

“I wanted to work somewhere where someone has been there 27 years and is still here.”

In 2020, Templegate Tiny Tots’ plans to celebrate their 50th birthday were curtailed by the pandemic. Now, five years on, they chose to have a joy-filled party with friends and family of staff and pre-schoolers to make up for the lost time.

Previous Tiny Tots attendees were found through word of mouth and social media callouts creating a multi-generational celebration.

To coincide with turning 55, Templegate Tiny Tots have launched their 55 Acts of Kindness Project. Throughout the next year, the pre-school plan to carry out 55 different good deeds in the local community.

Tori said: "It's a kind of thank you to give back to the community that’s really supported us over the last 55 years.

“The idea is we will spend the next year helping in local community groups, volunteering for different charities and in any way helping the local area.”

As a non-profit organisation, Tiny Tots puts its profits back into the children it cares for. There’s a close-knit bond between staff and volunteers driven by a desire to create the best early learning environment possible.

Lizzie said: “Everybody’s so proud of where they work, they want it to be the very best experience for the children.

“It sounds quite cliché but we are like a little family.”

It's been a reflective time for the Templegate Tiny Tots community as they celebrate turning 55. However, while the anniversary creates a chance to look back, it’s a chance to look ahead to the future.

Tori said: “We’re always evolving. Although we started in the 1970s we’re definitely not stuck in the 1970s.

“We’re still here. We’re not going anywhere at all.”