From April, Kestrels Childcare Centre in Caterham, Surrey, will offer the service one Saturday a month, after securing a 6,500 grant.
The centre, which opened in June 2003 at Marden Lodge Primary School, is a 56-place nursery with wraparound care including a breakfast club, after-school club and holiday playscheme for children from two to 11 years old.
It is used regularly by five single fathers who have children aged from three to eight.
Centre manager Linda Smith said, 'The original idea came from talking to dads. One dad said he found it really difficult to find things to do with his little girl.'
A meeting with fathers whose children attend the centre highlighted their needs. 'I had this long agenda and they just wouldn't stop talking,' said Ms Smith.
She said she wanted to create a warm, welcoming environment for divorced or separated fathers, who may only have access to their children at the weekends or live in temporary accommodation with nowhere suitable to spend time with their children.
Suggested activities include fathers preparing a meal with the children, playing games, sport, musical instruments, painting plant pots and planting seeds, and learning how to mend a bike.
The Dads' Club costs 5 a session per family from 10am to 3pm and includes breakfast or lunch. Fathers can drop in for as long as they like, with the only proviso that they stay and play with their children.
Ms Smith stressed that the club would be open to all fathers - not just single parents, but also fathers whose partners may work weekends or want some time to themselves.
Single father Steve Padmore, the main caregiver for five-year-old Milly, who attends Kestrels after-school club, said, 'It will be somewhere where dads can take their children and meet people in a similar situation.'
He added, 'There's plenty of places for mothers, single or not, but not something for fathers. If you're in a family that's split up and the dad has to look after the children, often there's just the cinema, the park or McDonald's. There will be limited opportunities for interaction with other children.'
The funding for the project came from the Local Network Fund for Children and Young People, a DfES grant for community projects for children and young people.
For details contact the DfES on 0845 113 0161.
