Daniel's Den Toddler groups

Mission statement

In this section

Our purpose 

To encourage and enrich family life in order to build stronger communities.

Our vision

We have a vision to see:

  • Parents and children having the opportunity to ‘know and be known’ in their local community
  • People building ‘relationships that matter’ within and beyond their cultural/ethnic group

Our objectives

To have family life valued in all levels of society both locally and nationally.

  1. by establishing and running parent and toddler groups, recognised as first rate by users.
  2. by offering parenting support
  3. by enabling people to recognise the value of parent and toddler groups
  4. by fostering mutual cooperation and support for toddler groups
  5. by supporting the choice of stay at home parents and raising awareness of the value they bring to society

Our principles

To mark our 21st anniversary we published 21 soundbites – these are the core messages of Daniel’s Den that have evolved over 21 years. They run through all that we do and we’re looking forward to developing them and more in the next 21 years!

  1. TEAM – Together Everyone Achieves More
  2. Daniel was a man of prayer. Prayer got him in a den of lions, prayer got him out. Oftentimes people pray to have a baby yet when the baby arrives, they feel they are in a den of lions. It’s scary. Prayer helps!
  3. A genuine warm welcome for all is vital.
  4. Everyone has something to give and something to receive. One of our roles is to facilitate this.
  5. DYS – Down Your Street. There is someone living down your street who needs to be here, and you are the best person to invite them.
  6. Quality characteristics for all relationships – love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, gentleness, faithfulness and self-control are modelled and encouraged.
  7. You can build new flats and houses, but this doesn’t necessarily build community.
  8. Run by the community for the community.
  9. Daniel’s Den is not childcare! It’s an opportunity for the children and parent/carers to play and learn together.
  10. We offer parenting support in two ways – implicitly in the way the session is organised and run and explicitly through our parenting postcards. Everyone needs support as a parent and our 12 postcards are great prompts.
  11. The impact of DD causes ripples to flow out into the families and community.
  12. #FunnyBunny
  13. Encourage and enrich family life in order to build stronger communities.
  14. For people to know and be known in their local community
  15. For people to build relationships that matter within and beyond their cultural and ethnic group
  16. We want to reach more families.
  17. A vision to see a toddler group being within walking distance for every family in this nation (or short car journey in a rural area)
  18. People experience the love of Christ in a language they understand i.e., using the five senses of taste, touch, hear, see and smell and they leave a session feeling special.
  19. Toddler groups are ‘hidden treasure’.
  20. Faith based but not faith biased.
  21. You don’t choose which womb you grow in or which room you’re born in, but both have an impact on your life.