Small OutingsLocal updates

Fryerns with children: library songs, baby play and community spaces

Empty main hall at Fryerns Community Centre, with a wooden floor, windows and a closed serving bar.
Fryerns Community Centre

Fryerns’ useful family stops are neighbourhood-sized: songs and books at the library on Whitmore Way, groups at the community centre, and parent-and-child play at Fryerns Farm Family Hub on Churchill Avenue. These are not a directory of everything in Basildon. Start with your child’s stage and an actual session date, then choose between a short rhymetime, a baby group or a special family story-making event.

Updated

Songs and stories on Whitmore Way

Fryerns Library is a practical local stop for choosing books, picking up Bookstart packs and joining a rhymetime. Its baby-and-toddler sessions combine singing and dancing, supporting early language and time together. They are free and do not require booking; children under 12 must have an accompanying adult.

Use the actual date card for the time: Tuesday sessions and Thursday sessions are not interchangeable. The branch opens Tuesday afternoons, Thursday mornings and all day Friday and Saturday. It is closed Monday, Wednesday and Sunday, as well as the library service’s listed public holidays. There is disabled access, along with computers, WiFi, printing and a scanner.

Choose a group for your baby’s stage

Fryerns Farm Family Hub’s delivery site is at the Greenshoots Building on Churchill Avenue. Baby Beginnings is for ages 0–1 with parents and carers, combining activities, songs and stories with chances to share experiences. The provider discusses baby cues, communication, play and development; the local advertised dates say no booking required.

Little Explorers is a separate group for babies aged 9–18 months who are becoming more active. Its play-based activities can include movement, early communication, sharing books and mark making. It is free and the listed dates say no booking required. The two groups overlap in age, but they are different programmes, not two operators or two venues.

Stay, Play and Learn is described as a free group for ages 0–5 using themed activities, songs and stories. Its Fryerns page currently has no open dates, so ask the hub about the next session before travelling. Do not substitute another branch’s session just because it has the same programme name.

The community centre is a venue, not an all-day play attraction

Fryerns Community Centre is also on Whitmore Way. Basildon Community Association, a registered charity, runs it as a local home for activities, groups and celebrations. Its website advertises children’s activities and a term-time playgroup for ages 2–5, but you should contact the centre about the specific group and joining process before attending.

The photograph shows the centre’s empty main hall, not an example of a current child session. It has a large floor area and a closed serving bar. Families can enquire about hiring the hall for a children’s party; that private booking is different from a public event. The published hire price is £30 an hour and includes set-up time, with a deposit to secure the date and the total hire fee due at least four weeks before the booking.

A half-term invitation to make a story

On Friday 30 October 2026, 2–3pm, Fryerns Library hosts its chapter of The Great Basildon Storybook. The Drama Geezers lead drama, games and storytelling so children and families can invent characters and adventures. Chapters made at six borough libraries will become one professionally published community storybook.

The Fryerns session is free, but booking is by contacting fryerns.library@essex.gov.uk. Children under 12 need an adult with them. The events at Basildon, Vange, Wickford, Billericay and Laindon libraries are separate locations; they should not be treated as additional Fryerns choices.

Before setting off

Match the actual venue as carefully as the activity name. The family hub is on Churchill Avenue, while the library and community centre are on Whitmore Way. The hub lists step-free access, accessible toilets, baby changing and free on-site parking. Some activities require booking, even though the two baby-play groups’ listed dates do not.

The hub also provides family support services, but a support appointment is not the same as a play outing. Its Talk Together workshop requires a referral and the SEND Support Drop In is currently suspended. Neither should be mistaken for an open drop-in activity. Check the current calendar and the organiser’s conditions for the session you intend to attend.

Find a date or explore nearby

Basildon events, places & classesFryerns events, places & classes

Useful sources

Guides & inspiration

All guides & inspiration