Thursday’s classes for babies, toddlers and young children in Halifax and Calderdale.
***Although many classes are starting to get back to normal, some have changed days and venues to fit in with new regulations regarding COVID-19, and some have not yet reopened. We strive to keep details up-to-date, but PLEASE CHECK with organisers before setting off to a class/playgroup.***
Playgroups and classes
Calderdale is a fantastic place for bringing up children and there is plenty going on for families.
Please contact class organisers directly if you would like to find out further information or to confirm class times or costs.
If you know of any other classes or groups which are not already listed, then please contact us here. Basic listings are free. ’Featured’ listings are £10 per month. For our full advertising rates then please click here.
Updated April, 2021
Our mission here at Northern Arts Factory is to nurture your children’s confidence so that they blossom, learn and shine. From their earliest days, children have a natural urge to dance, sing and perform.
We will empower your child by creating a safe space for all children to experiment whilst having fun, to make mistakes without judgement, to value perseverance and work together, helping each other be the best they can be.
New classes in Coley every Thursday:
Coley Village Hall
£8 per class.
Register on our website for a free taster: https://www.northernartsfactory.co.uk
Trampoline park and soft play centre with café. Parent and toddler sessions every morning from 10am-11am, £5.
Airtime Halifax, Unit 4 Calderdale Business Park. Contact 01422 247404.
Class using baby massage, yoga, pilates, sensory play and postnatal fitness to enhance the bond between mum and baby.
From post six week check to fast crawling.
Spring term: February 28-April 11. Thursdays, 1.15-2.15pm.
Calderdale Breastfeeding Peer Support can offer breastfeeding advice and support at Halifax Baby Café, every Thursday between 1-3pm.
You can get help and advice on anything from pain to the most comfortable holds and reflux, have your baby checked for tongue tie and have them weighed. I’ve been myself and it was incredibly reassuring and friendly.
Baby Cafe Halifax is held at Halifax Central Library, Square Road, Halifax.
Beenies is a group for parents/carers with children from birth to aged two (siblings welcome). There will be lots of fun activities to support your child to learn to play and explore. Thursdays, 9am – 10.30am
Southowram Surestart Centre, Withinfields, Southowram. 01422 395501.
Not running while Calderdale is in Tier 3 (updated Jan 2021)
Aquanatal, mum and baby aquafit and exercise sessions at Calderdale’s leisure centres.
£5.20 per session (£4.20 PTL), or free if you have a Lifestyles membership .
Aquanatal: Mondays, 9.30-10.15am, Brighouse Pool.
Mum and Baby Aquafit: Mondays, 10.15-10.45am, Brighouse Pool. Wednesdays, 3-3.30pm, Sowerby Bridge Pool. Thursdays, 1.45-2.15pm, Todmorden Sports Centre.
Mum and Baby Exercise: Wednesdays, 11.15am-12.15pm, North Bridge Leisure Centre. Thursdays, 2-3pm, Brighouse Pool.
Forty minutes of songs and rhymes led by an Early Years Librarian and Early Childhood Music Specialist. You and your baby will explore traditional songs and rhymes and add new ones to your repertoire.
Ages birth-two. £2 per child (Free, PTL)
2020 Sessions
Hebden Bridge Library: Mondays, 11-11.40am (Feb 3, 10; March 9, 16, 23, 30; April 6, 20, 27)
Brighouse Library: Tuesdays, 10.30am-11.10am (Feb 4, 11, 25; March 3, 10, 17, 24, 31; April 7, 21, 28)
Halifax Central Library & Archives: Thursdays, 10-10.40am and 11-11.40am (Feb 27; March 5, 12, 19, 26; April 2,9, 23, 30)
For more information and to check dates, contact Ben Lawrence on 01422 392620.
Free group for children under five, offering messy fun, sensory experiences, musical instruments and much more. No need to book, just turn up on the day.
Thursday, term time only, 1.45pm – 2.45pm. Cliffe Hill Primary School, Lightcliffe.
Updated January 2021
Classes for tots, children and adults. Genres include musical theatre, street & jazz, dancing tots, adult dance, tap & modern and classical ballet.
Musical Theatre School Holiday Workshops available .
Creative Dance Centre, Springvale Works, Brighouse. Phone 07377 883 522.
Baby massage, baby yoga and toddler yoga.
Thursdays at PB Play Village, Halifax.
Call 01422 242679 to book.
Currently not running (updated January 2021) – (some pools are open but lane swimming only)
Family Swimming sessions are times to swim with children under eight.
Brighouse Pool: Mondays, 9.30am-noon; Wednesdays, 10am-noon
Halifax Pool (teaching pool): Mondays, noon-1.15pm & 3-3.45pm; Tuesdays, noon-3.45pm; Wednesdays, 10am-1.30pm & 2.15-3.45pm; Thursdays, noon-1.15pm & 2.30-3.45pm; Fridays, noon-3.45pm; Saturdays, 1-2.15pm; Sundays, 9am-4.30pm
Sowerby Bridge: Tuesdays, 3-4pm; Thursdays, 3-3.30pm; Fridays, 3-4pm; Saturdays, noon-2pm; Sundays, 9am-12.30pm
Todmorden Pool: Sundays, 10am-noon
Friendly group with lots of toys, a weekly craft activity and singing. Thursdays during term time, 9.30am-11am. £2 per family, includes drink and a biscuit.
Hove Edge Toddler Group, Thursdays, 9.30am-11am. Hove Edge Working Men’s Club. Contact Lucy, 07766 101658.
Jo Jingles classes introduce young children to music through the use of nursery rhymes, songs, musical instruments, movement, sound games and stories.
Classes include: Mondays, Chicoccino Play Gym, 9.45am (2 years plus) and 10.45am (under 2’s); Wednesdays, Play Palace, 9.45 (2 years plus) and 10.45am (under 2’s); Thursdays, The Edge Play Gym, Brighouse, 9.45am (2 years plus), 10.45am (under 2’s).
Jo Jingles. Venues throughout Calderdale. Contact Louise on 07419 737543. www.jojingles.com
Little Strikers encourages all aspects of mental and physical development through football, for children aged 1-6.
Thursdays, 1pm-1.45pm, Play Palace, Halifax; Saturdays, 9.30am-10.15am and 10.30am-11.135am, Play Palace, Halifax; Saturdays, 10am-10.45am and 11am-11.45am at Brighouse Central Methodist Church.
Little Strikers, Thursdays and Saturdays. Classes in Halifax and Brighouse. Contact 07896 202334.
Classes not currently running – updated January 2021
Science experiments classes for children aged 18 months to 4 years.
Sessions include:
Updated January 2021
Mini Mess combines different activities such as Mini Movers and Groovers music time, messy play specifically designed for little ones, free playtime, singing songs, story time and refreshments.
All Mini Me Time Calderdale Classes are currently being run and booked through the Children’s Centres. Contact them or message charlotte@minimetime.co.uk.
(updated January 2021)
Classes include ballet, parent and child dance, cheerleading, tap, acro, street and musical theatre.
Miss Stacey’s School of Dance, Hayley Hill, HX3 6ED. Contact 07791 209353.
Swimming lessons and baby and toddler swimming in a warm, well-lit pool. All the changing rooms have baby changing tables with ample seating in reception where people can enjoy a coffee while watching our large screen TVs.
Baby and toddler swimming: Tuesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday mornings.
Swimming lessons: daily.
Ogden Otters, Ogden, Halifax. 01422 247500.
We run music classes for babies, toddlers and pre-school children in Brighouse, Copley, Eccleshill, Halifax, Mytholmroyd, Oakenshaw and Queensbury.
Sessions include exploring different percussion sounds, building confidence and self-expression through dance, practicing rhymes to develop speech and finding their singing voice and learning to sing in tune.
Classes include: Mondays at Baliff Bridge Community Centre, Brighouse; Tuesdays at Jungle at the Junction, Queensbury; Wednesdays at Hebden Bridge Town Hall; Thursdays at Birkenshaw Community Hall and Mytholmroyd Cricket Club; and Fridays at The Edge Playgym, Brighouse.
Rhythm Time. Contact Alison on 07938 752005.
(lessons running whilst in Tier 3 – updated January 2021)
Term time lessons for children aged four and above, with crash courses available during school holidays. Lessons run Tuesday to Friday, 4-7pm, and Sundays 9am-5pm.
Rishworth School, Woodhouse School (Brighouse) and DW Fitness (Halifax).
Held in the church hall, the group boasts a sand pit, slide, various ride-on toys, building blocks, a home corner and two craft tables. Admission includes drinks and snacks. Thursdays, 9.45am-11.15am, term time only.
St John’s Parent & Toddlers, Church Hall, Thursdays, 9.45am. Contact Mandy on 07760 217116.
Thriving group for babies, toddlers and their parents and carers at St Jude’s Church, Halifax, in the church hall. Thursdays, 9am-11am, term time only. Contact Rosslynn Gowers: 01422 321573/07951 115333
The St Matthew’s Baby & Toddler Group invites all parents with young children to join them in the Parish Centre for fun and games on Thursday mornings from 9.30am-11am.
St Matthew’s Baby & Toddler Group, Parish Centre, Rastrick. Thursdays, 9.30am. Contact Michelle, 07926 460958.
Striker Tots provides a structured programme of football coaching sessions for toddlers and young children in Calderdale. Head coach is ex-professional footballer Richard Graham, and classes teach and develop basic football skills such as dribbling, passing, shooting and heading, as well as social skills like teamwork, sharing and communication.
Sessions on Thursdays at 1pm and 1.45pm at St John the Devine Church Hall in Rastrick, and Saturdays at 9.30am and 10.15am at St Andrews Methodist Church, Halifax.
Striker Tots. Contact 0113 8800 840.
Child Minder Network Session, free. Thursdays, 9-11.30am (term time only), Northowram Hub, 01422 434006
Chat and Play, £1.60 per family. Ages 0-5. Includes refreshments. Thursdays, 1.30-3pm (term time only). Northowram Hub, 01422 434006
Messy Monkeys, walking to 5 years, £1.50 per family. Thursdays, 1-2.30pm (term time only). Holywell Green Children’s Centre, 01422 266197
Well Baby Clinic (free, run by the Health Service), Thursdays, 9.30-11.30am. Illingworth Community Children’s Centre, 01422 243633.
Baby Stay & Play Group, Thursdays, 9.30-11am. St Paul’s Church, Sowerby Bridge.
Sessions are starting again at some Sure Start centres and the North Halifax Partnership is offering a free, 6-week programme of events. Face-to-face and virtual sessions are available and more information about both will be available at launch events in October 2020.
The Little Samurai Club offers fun martial arts classes for 3-5-year-olds in Brighouse.
Tuesdays, 4pm-4.45pm; Thursdays, 4.30pm-5.15pm; Saturdays, 11am-11.45am.
The Little Samurai Club, A One Business Park, Brighouse. Contact 07761 973553.
Classes not currently running – updated January 2021
Toddler Sense, a multi-award winning activity programme, offering toddlers and children a magical, multi-adventure experience in a safe and happy environment. Classes run on Mondays, Thursdays and Fridays.
Toddler Sense, Shaw Lodge Mills, Halifax. Contact Laura on 07885 463238.
Tumble Bees run fun, themed preschool gymnastics classes for confident walkers aged 1 to 5 years old. Classes are run as themed terms, between 6 to 8 weeks long. Learning through fun is key and children develop skills such as balance, coordination, gross and fine motor skills, creativity, social, physical and emotional. Thursdays, 10.15am, at Limelight Studio, Rastrick.
Tumble Bees Preschool Gymnastics, Limelight Studio, Rastrick. Thursdays, 10.15am. Contact Nikki on 07786 328545.
