12/11/2025
“I never had any thought that I’d be getting involved in any of this. I was a mum who had just moved to Great Wakering… and I didn’t really know anyone.”
Vicky Perrin moved to Great Wakering as a young mum with two small children. Isolated and new to the area, she quickly discovered a lack of accessible activities for families in the village. Despite being a large village with many community assets, these spaces were underused, and many parents like her were forced to travel long distances—for Vicky, it meant driving to Westcliff—for basic parent-and-baby activities.
This personal frustration became the seed of a movement.
“I was sick of travelling into Southend… I started a family engagement session called Leap Sprogs.”
To fill the gap, Vicky launched Leap Sprogs, a low-cost, inclusive family engagement session. The idea was simple but powerful: offer a combination of learning (shapes, colours, numbers) and movement-based activities in one place—affordable and local.
Leap Sprogs was initially hosted at the underused local family centre. Vicky approached them directly, and because they weren’t seeing regular community use either, a partnership was born. The sessions took off, and Leap Sprogs quickly grew into a trusted space for parents, children, and families across the village.
“It grew substantially from there… We started asking people what they wanted to see.”
Through Leap Sprogs, Vicky began forming connections and listening closely to what families actually wanted. One recurring request? Netball.
“We started putting on netball… we were seeing parents, young mums, grandmas… It became a multigenerational space.”
What started with Leap Sprogs became a web of community-led activities:
Each new activity emerged from genuine community demand—not from imposed programming. Vicky’s approach was always the same: listen, respond, and stay consistent.
“They started seeing each other at different sessions… they started forming friendships.”
Using tools like Facebook groups and WhatsApp, Vicky helped build bridges between isolated individuals. Community members began recognising each other at events, forming friendships, and developing a sense of place and belonging.
The impact extended beyond social benefit:
One standout story was Ella, a single mum who had struggled to engage with the outside world:
“Now she’s an integral part of the family engagement session. All the parents and children know her.”
“We started collaborating with schools, the parish council, preschools, local health services…”
As the initiative grew, Vicky and her partners—especially the Active Through Football (ATF) team—worked to align with other systems and institutions:
This ‘systems knitting’ made the work sustainable and expanded its impact. It wasn’t just about running sessions; it was about embedding them into the fabric of the village.
“We were there every week, consistently. We listened to what they wanted… not just what we thought would work.”
Key factors behind the success:
And crucially:
“It just grew organically… It’s been a joy to work there.”
Vicky’s work in Great Wakering is a textbook example of asset-based community development—starting not with what’s missing, but with what’s strong, and growing from there. Her story shows how deep impact can come from listening, acting locally, and staying human in approach.
“We were just a football club that wanted to use community participation to make our sessions busy… and now, we’re changing systems.”
— Stuart Long, ATF
To read more case studies like Vicky’s you can sign up to The Active Wellbeing Society – Community Participation page using this form.
