Playgroup could win £20,000 award as finalist

Cumbria’s Greystoke Under 5’s has been selected as one of the finalists for Nick Jr.’s Help Dora Help Campaign. The initiative, supported by The Prince’s Foundation for Children & the Arts and designed to support nurseries and preschools in their educational curriculum, is set to award a bursary of £20,000 to one of five shortlisted nurseries, playgroups or children’s centres. Almost 300 entries were submitted for this year’s campaign with applicants from Cumbria, Derbyshire, London and Lancashire chosen as finalists. The winner will be decided by members of the public that vote at nickjr.co.uk/helpdorahelp.

"We are absolutely thrilled to be one of the finalists for the Help Dora Help Award,” said Mrs Lucy Fawcett, Chairperson for Greystoke Under Fives Playgroup. “The scheme offers a fantastic opportunity for our playgroup so we are keeping our fingers and toes crossed! To win the award would mean we could develop our basic play area into a fun, safe environment where the children can have real adventures."

If selected as the recipient of the £20,000 bursary, Greystoke will use the Help Dora Help award to expand their pupil's learning opportunities both physically and socially through updating the playgroup’s outside area. They will also introduce possibilities to bake on site by purchasing an oven. The judges were impressed by Greystoke’s focus on exploratory learning and commitment to providing children within their rural community the best in educational opportunities.

“The quality of entries for Help Dora Help was extraordinary and gave a great picture of the areas of educational interest across UK preschools,” said Helena Dowling, Nick Jr., presenter and Help Dora Help judge. “With funding required for things such buying a minibus to creating a mini beast learning zone, the finalists each demonstrate a desire to offer more educational opportunities for their pupils. I am looking forward to seeing which entry the public chooses to receive the award.”

An expert panel led by Nick Jr.’s Wake Up World Helena Dowling, alongside Nick Jr. representatives and partners including The Prince’s Foundation for Children & the Arts, Dora Magazine and Chad Valley chose the five finalists with each finalist awarded discovery and learning equipment from Chad Valley as well as a classroom visit from Dora the Explorer.

Voting is now open to decide which finalist will receive the award. Voting is open to anyone within the UK and voters can take a look at all five finalists and learn more about their submission at nickjr.co.uk/helpdorahelp. Voting is open until 2nd November with the winner of the award announced on 19th November.