Are children's centres reaching the hard to reach?

That is the question. I am a huge fan of children's centres and our local one does some wonderful things, including a carers and childminders drop in, yoga, toy library, music and movement, breastfeeding advice and a Turkish and Kurdish advice session. But three small things recently have made me wonder what more it could be doing to reach the people it really needs to be targeting.

Firstly, my social worker mum came along with me to the play drop in which I have raved about. She said while it was lovely, the families she worked with probably wouldn't make it that far as first of all you have to buzz to get in the centre, then pass a reception, and go down a corridor through another door. I'm not really sure what could be done about this to balance security with ease of access though - any ideas? She also said the amount of information on the walls (timetables, advice on play, safety advice etc) was a bit intimidating, with lots of words and could do with some simplification.

Secondly, last week at the play drop in we were told about an event that afternoon - a child safety fun day starting at 1pm with food, messy play and face painting (and a presence from various bodies like St John's Ambulance). MediaChild, MediaBaby and I decided to have lunch in the park then come back for the afternoon. ( I actually wasn't going to but after lunch MediaChild informed me "We must go back to the children's centre now because I need a poo". OK, then.).

So we got to the children's centre bang on one o'clock (you can't argue with a poo) and were greeted by people outside with registration forms and balloons encouraging us in. There were signs in the park as well - great. We went in, and other business taken care of, looked for the fun. But there wasn't any. Nothing was happening apart from a group of mums and children hanging about in the waiting area . There were a few empty tables with signs on and that was it. We waited til 20 past then went home. Now maybe the fun started as soon as we left and maybe the day was a great success. And 20 minutes doesn't sound that late a start - surely, for a free event, it's just whinging to not be bothered to wait. But I think if you are gong to entice people into the centre with balloons and promises of fun, the fun needs to happening right now if you want them to a/stay and b/ come back. Children are notoriously poor waiters. And what if you had seen the promise of free food and decided that would be the children's lunch? Hungry children are even worse waiters. You end up with bored hungry kids kicking off, and perhaps embarassed mums taking them home again. So basically I think events need to start on time. (We did get a goody bag as we left, with a UV protector wristband, reflective jacket, fever thermometer, and a balloon, so that was good).

And finally, one of the bits of info on the wall of the play drop in is a folder with recipes for play dough encouraging parents to make it at home. So we assiduously mixed the ingredients together early one morning while the baby slept but just ended up with a practically liquid mess. A quick Google and my mum's comments led me to believe that the centre had missed off the crucial instruction "and then cook over a low heat". But if I hadn't been so search engine obsessed, or vaguely remembered the process from my childhood,I wold have assumed I had got it wrong and possibly never made play dough again. So the last thing is, small details matter.