Justin Tomlinson MP has praised the efforts of two local residents who have opened a unique store in Swindon.
Teach, Play, Learn is a new shop where can you buy books, games and toys chosen for their clear educational value.
Run by former primary school teacher Larissa Hughes and her husband Carl, who live in North Swindon, the shop at Studley Grange Craft Centre offers parents, carers and also teachers a range of brightly presented resources to stimulate a child’s curiosity to learn and develop.
However the shop is by no means a new venture. Larissa and Carl have been trading online as Primary Classroom Resources for almost ten years, and ran a shop at Basepoint Business Centre in West Swindon for about 18 months.
Justin Tomlinson MP said: “It’s fantastic to visit a business which saw the opportunity to thrive online nearly ten years ago and have now seen the benefit of moving into retail. It’s great that Larissa and Carl now employ 9 people in their warehouse and at the shop and I’m really impressed that Primary Classroom Resources sends educational material to teachers in Australia, the Middle East and China.”
Larissa Hughes said: “From my teaching experience I realised a long time ago that there was a need for a website where teachers and parents could find interesting, innovative and proven material to extend children at different stages in their learning. When we started, with just the two of us, trying to grow the business online and respond to customers in a shop became overwhelming. We’ve always wanted to run a shop for people in the Swindon area and now that the online operation is well established, we’ve taken the leap at Studley Grange which is ideal as it attracts a large number of parents and grandparents as well as carers to the child-friendly craft units, as well as the butterfly centre and small animal farm. We also welcome teachers who can see what we offer, including our range of ‘classroom decor’ which we import from the USA. We’re the UK distributor for Creative Teaching Press which produces display materials to help teachers make their classroom interesting. It’s a great time saver for showing off children’s work.”
