How to Start a Playgroup

Connection is a big part of what we're about at Moolk, so when our community coordinator Nat mentioned in the group that she helps run three playgroups a week, a few of you jumped in asking how she'd actually gone about setting them up. We thought it was worth sharing properly - both for anyone thinking about how to start a playgroup of their own, and because it's a genuinely lovely story about a small group of families who decided not to go without.

In Nat's words:

"We didn't set out to run a playgroup. It started with four families attending one that was run by another organisation, then there was a change in management, and it stopped feeling like a safe space for us to keep bringing our kids to. I'd been going to these groups for seven years, so knowing how important something like this was for us, our kids and the community, we decided to start our own rather than go without."

From those four families, Nat's group has grown into three sessions a week:

• Wednesdays - Playgroup at a local church hall (they also move here on Fridays if the weather turns)
• Thursdays - Bumps and Bubs at a local beer garden, which sponsors the group with free coffee for the mums every week
• Fridays - Playgroup at a different outdoor location each week, for a change of scenery

The group posts its weekly schedule on Instagram and Facebook so families always know where to find them.

It's worth sitting with just how much a playgroup can offer, especially for parents in the thick of the newborn or toddler years. When you're a new mum, the days can feel long and isolating - playgroup is often the first regular, low-pressure reason to leave the house and be around other adults who genuinely get it. There's something steadying about sitting with other parents who are in the same stage, swapping the small stuff (sleep, feeding, tantrums) without judgement.

For the kids, playgroup does a lot of quiet, important work too:

• Social skills - sharing, turn-taking, and navigating other kids who aren't siblings, often for the first time
• Free play - unstructured time to explore, imagine, and problem-solve at their own pace, without an adult directing the activity
• Outdoor play - fresh air, movement, and sensory experiences that support physical development and, frankly, wear little legs out before nap time
• Routine and transitions - getting used to a new environment, new faces, and the rhythm of a session (which can make things like starting kinder or school feel more familiar later on)

None of that requires a "proper" program or curriculum - just a regular, welcoming space and a few other families showing up too. That's exactly what a good playgroup should be facilitating.

If you're thinking about starting your own group, here's roughly what's involved, and where to find support depending on which state you're in.

You don't need a crowd to start. Most state playgroup bodies suggest somewhere between three and five families is plenty - Playgroup NSW says all you really need is three, and Playgroup WA also asks for three fee-paying families to get registered. Think about who you've met through mothers' group, at your child health nurse appointments, or just other parents in your neighbourhood.

You've got more freedom here than you might think. A local hall, a community centre, a park, even a beer garden if you can find one willing to have you - it's always worth asking. Council-run spaces, schools and churches are also worth a call, and many will already have experience hosting playgroups.

This part is worth not skipping, mostly for the insurance - to meet in any public space, most councils and venues will expect your group to hold public liability insurance, and registering with your state body is the easiest way to get it. Here's how it breaks down by state:

• NSW - Playgroup NSW. Family membership is free and includes public liability insurance for your group. New families can attend two sessions before needing to join, and Playgroup NSW insurance covers everyone during those trial visits too.
• QLD - Play Matters Australia (formerly Playgroup Queensland). Volunteer-run groups without a formal legal structure register as "community-led" play experiences, and insurance is included as part of that - no separate cover needed, and no fee to affiliate at this level. If a group has a formal structure behind it instead - incorporation, a committee, an AGM, its own bank account - it's classed as "organisational-led," regardless of whether anyone's paid, which comes with a $330+GST annual affiliation fee and requires the group to already hold its own public liability insurance. You'll also get a digital portal for managing sessions, attendance tracking, and access to over 100 activity resources.
• VIC - Playgroup Victoria. Registering your playgroup costs $50 for 12 months, which covers public liability and property insurance, a listing on their Find a Playgroup page, and access to their activity library and toolkit.
• WA - Playgroup WA. Each family pays an annual membership fee (around $35, with concessions available) that covers insurance for the whole family across any Playgroup WA-registered group. A group becomes officially registered once at least three families have signed up.

Worth noting: registering with your state body covers your group's insurance, but it's up to you and your co-founders to decide whether there's a cost involved for families to actually attend each week. Some venues charge a small hire fee - Nat's Wednesday venue charges $2 per child, for example, but the team has chosen to absorb that cost themselves rather than pass it on. Their view is that removing cost as a factor means budget is never the reason a family doesn't come along, and that playgroup should be available to everyone.

• A simple first aid kit and a list of emergency contacts for each family
• An agreed approach to allergies - many groups go nut-free by default
• A loose weekly routine (free play, a shared snack, maybe a story or a song) - it doesn't need to be rigid, just enough that everyone knows what to expect

Local Facebook community pages, your child health clinic noticeboard, mothers' group chats, kinder or school newsletters - word of mouth tends to do most of the work. Nat's group relies on Instagram and Facebook to keep regulars in the loop and welcome new families along the way.

You know the drill - couch in the morning, playgroup by 10am, dinner out before bed. Moolk pieces are built to move through all of it with you, feeding access included, so you're not packing a spare outfit or planning your day around a wardrobe change.

Running a playgroup wasn't something Nat set out to do - it was something her group fell into because they needed it to keep existing for their kids. A few years (and three weekly sessions) later, it's something she's genuinely proud of. If there's a gap in your area, or your current group isn't quite right for your family anymore, it really might just take a few families and a willingness to give it a go.

Have you started a playgroup or mums' group of your own? We'd love to hear how it came together - drop your story in the Moolk community.