Chris Wakeham has a remarkable story to tell. Aged 81, she has been working in childcare since she was 16 and founded the charity Centre Point that established the first out of school club in Jersey. Twenty Five years on and this club is growing from strength to strength, supporting over 200 children in term time and 250 during school holidays. Retiring from her post as Head of Centre Point after ten years, Chris is still actively involved with the newly formed Centre Point Trust and sits on the Board of Trustees supporting the sustainability of good quality childcare in Jersey.
In 1982, two years after Chris had thought of the idea, the first out of school club in Jersey formally opened its doors! It was called Centre Point and offered a nursery service and out of school club service which included holiday time.
The first term started with 17 children but in a very short time, this figure had gone up to 60 with a massive waiting list. A year later, Centre Point started a second group and moved into new premises that they managed to finance themselves. A few years later, another surplus school building became available from the Department of Education, Sport and Culture and allowed Centre Point to extend the age group of the children in out of school care to 16 years.
Throughout all these changes, Chris ensured that Centre Point’s central ethos was continually maintained; providing a homely, caring environment for children, learning to care for one another backed by the belief that children should be brought up in a secure family situation and delivered at an affordable price. It’s this central belief that has run through everything that Centre Point is doing today.
Chris retains an active interest in childcare at all levels and remains on the Board of Centre Point Trust, who are grateful, not only for her work and experience gained over the past 40 years (recognised with the award of the M.B.E. in 1993), but also for her continued interest, enthusiasm and guidance as a new era in play care opens in Jersey.