Joe and Zoe Houghton are grateful for all the support they've already received from the wider Playbarn family.Joe and Zoe Houghton are grateful for all the support they've already received from the wider Playbarn family.
Joe and Zoe Houghton are grateful for all the support they've already received from the wider Playbarn family.

Playbarn family rallies to support Zoe and Joe

For Zoe and Joe Houghton, the Playbarn is much more than a family business – it’s their way of life.

As reported last week, they are now fighting to ensure its survival – asking readers to support their £20,000 GoFundMe appeal, launched on February 11.

The couple are determined the business will survive, one way or another, as their staff and young charges have become their extended family.

Parents across Clydesdale who rely on the service they provide are now also working behind the scenes to support them, with a series of fundraisers being planned.

Of course, the pandemic had a huge part to play in the appeal being launched – just as things are starting to look up, Zoe and Joe have used every penny at their disposal.

In the 12 days since the campaign launched, £2770 has been pledged.

Zoe (47) said: “While our numbers are starting to go up again, income has not recovered enough to meet our outgoings. We desperately need new mini-buses and computer equipment. We need help but we are determined The Playbarn will survive.”

Zoe and Joe moved to Lanark 22 years ago, Zoe working as a principal teacher in local primary schools and Joe performing with Scottish Opera, as principal oboist.

But with one child ready to start school and another on the way – Ben, who is now 17 and Charlie (11) – they found a gap in the market.

In 2012, they launched the Playbarn – Out of School Care in Carstairs Junction to offer flexible childcare for hard-pushed parents.

It took a while to build up trust but, as word spread, they were soon taking calls from parents in other areas – keen to enrol their children.

That saw the couple launch their second Playbarn in Braidwood, initially in St John's Parish Church in August 2015 before moving to their current premises in Braidwood in May 2016.

Joe (52) said: “We’d been taking a lot of calls from the area from parents keen to attend but it was a bit of a trek to Carstairs, even though we had minibuses to collect the children.

"When we realised that demand was there, we decided to launch a second Playbarn for parents in the Carluke area.”

Unfortunately, just a few months later, Zoe received devastating news.

She said: “I was diagnosed with stage four melanoma and was given just three months to live.”

It was a hammer-blow but the Houghtons were determined that the show would go on. Joe did a Masters diploma in childhood practice at Glasgow University to take over the reins, while Zoe underwent treatment which continued for three years.

Thanks to a lot of support from the Playbarn family – both their 14-strong workforce and parents – Joe was able to continue with the business while Zoe received treatment. While she still has side effects, thankfully it has been a success.

Joe said: “The last scan, six months ago, was the first one which came back clear in four or five years.

"It was a really tough time but the Playbarn family, both our staff and the parents, were incredibly supportive. They enabled us to do what we needed to do to get through it.”

Zoe has issues with mobility but she is back in charge at the Playbarn as managing director, with Joe managing the Carstairs Junction family and another manager at the helm in Braidwood.

The pandemic was, of course, the next hurdle they had to overcome. They had little option but to close during the first nationwide lockdown in March 2020, re-opening that July.

They then had to close their doors again at the end of 2020 and for the first three months of 2021.

Despite some critical government support, the couple had to borrow significantly to ensure the business survived. While numbers are now improving, sitting at 70 per cent of pre-pandemic levels, the couple are struggling financially.

Joe explained: “We have done everything we can to remain open for children and families who need us, but it has taken much longer than any of us imagined for things to return to pre-pandemic levels.

“There is now, at last, a glimmer of light at the end of the tunnel but it comes frustratingly at the most critical time for us – when all sources of possible financial support have dried up completely.

"That’s why we launched the GoFundMe appeal on February 11. We are determined that the Playbarn will survive but we need help to make sure that it does.”

It would be a body-blow for parents if the centres closed; since the appeal was launched, many have contacted the Houghtons – fearing the Playbarn would be closing.

Zoe said: “We’ve assured them that we will survive, one way or another.

"The Playbarn is much more than a business to us – it’s an extended family and we know parents trust us to take care of their children.

"They don’t have parent guilt about leaving them with us as they know their children are well looked after – and have a ball!”

Parents are now organising their own fundraising events to ensure the business survives. It is hoped the wider Clydesdale community will also rally. To support the Playbarn, visit gf.me/v/c/wh3c/please-help-save-the-playbarn-osc.

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