1st Place

10/04/2026

Mindful Mums walk is a weekly opportunity for parents and carers to connect, chat, and enjoy some fresh air together, and find out about the services we offer.

A huge thank you to Dina from our Family Services team, who has been leading the walk each week. Dina has also been meeting parents for a coffee afterwards, creating a lovely space for support and conversation. We’re thrilled that the parents who joined have now registered with our centre.

10/04/2026

Sleep is often one of the biggest challenges for new parents and carers.

The Coping with Sleep as a New Parent/Carer workshop has been created to offer reassurance, understanding, and practical emotional support during the early months. Designed for parents and carers of babies aged 0–6 months.

Upcoming dates: 14th & 24th of April.

Sleep is often one of the biggest challenges for new parents and carers. While it’s completely normal for babies not to sleep through the night, that doesn’t make the experience any easier — especially when exhaustion begins to affect your wellbeing. The Coping with Sleep as a New Parent/Carer...

10/04/2026

A huge thank you to Germania, one of our Early Educators, for giving her time to run another fantastic baby massage course at 1st Place. 🥰

Another successful course and well attended! Parents and carers received certification at the end of their course, It’s been wonderful to see parents and carers building confidence and bonding with their babies in a calm and supportive space.

08/04/2026

If school mornings have been feeling a bit overwhelming lately, you’re not alone.

Maybe it’s anxiety, big feelings, or something your child doesn’t know how to explain.

Or maybe you’re running on empty, trying your best but feeling completely drained.

Feeling exhausted, low, or overwhelmed can make even the school run feel like too much, and that’s okay to admit.

You don’t have to figure it all out on your own.

The parent/carer support circle is a relaxed, understanding space where you can talk honestly about what’s been going on, whether that’s your child struggling with school, or you feeling overwhelmed trying to hold everything together.

No judgement. No pressure. Just a space to talk, feel heard, and learn about ways to support your child’s wellbeing and your own.

This session is for parents and carers with KS2 children (Years 3, 4, 5 & 6).

Register:

📧 [email protected]

📞 07999 402 360

Learn practical tips, share your experience and learn ways to support your child’s wellbeing and your own. 

27/03/2026

Join us for Easter fun!

Centre locations: Elba place, near Elephant Park and Burgess Park.

Our Early Year’s practitioners have lots of activities planned. Sessions a auf or babies and toddlers.

Sessions are aimed to under 5’s but older siblings are welcome.

27/03/2026

Join us for Easter fun!

Centre locations: Elba Place - near Elephant Park and Burgess Park.

18/03/2026

These sessions are for young children with additional or special educational needs.

Come along if you have any concerns about a child’s development, our friendly staff are available to offer support and guidance.

SENsational Play is a supportive space for children to explore and grow.

Through play, children are supported to develop early attention, communication, and interaction skills in a calm and welcoming environment.

The session particularly supports children with Autism, Global Development Delay, ADHD, and other additional needs.

🕥 10:30am – 12:00pm
📍 1st Place Best Start Family Hub
12 Chumleigh Gardens, Burgess Park, SE5 0RN
📅 30th March

16/03/2026

We’re excited to welcome Ellie Suggate‑Francis as the new Director of 1st Place!

Ellie brings over twenty years of experience across Early Years and family services, from Children’s Centres in Southwark and Lambeth to national work at the National Children’s Bureau. Throughout her career, she’s been dedicated to improving the lives of children and families, especially those facing the greatest challenges.

We’re delighted to have Ellie join the team and lead 1st Place into its next chapter.

You can read more about Ellie’s journey and background in our latest blog post.

🔗 Link in bio

16/03/2026

After an incredible 16 years at 1st Place, we recently said a very special farewell to our Director, Nicki Howard.

Nicki has played such an important part in shaping 1st Place and supporting children and families across Southwark. Her leadership, warmth and dedication will stay with us for a long time to come.

We loved celebrating her at our farewell gathering. A huge thank you to everyone who came along, sent kind messages, or helped make the day so memorable. 💐✨

Nicki will be so greatly missed by all of us, but we’re excited to see what her next chapter brings.

You can read Nicki’s reflections on her time at 1st Place over on our website.

🔗 Link in bio

16/03/2026

We’re excited to welcome Ellie Suggate‑Francis as the new Director of 1st Place!

Ellie brings over twenty years of experience across Early Years and family services, from Children’s Centres in Southwark and Lambeth to national work at the National Children’s Bureau. Throughout her career, she’s been dedicated to improving the lives of babies, young children and families, especially those facing the greatest challenges.

You can read more about Ellie’s journey and background in our latest blog.

We are pleased to share that Ellie Suggate‑Francis joins 1st Place as our new Director from the 16th of March. Ellie brings extensive experience in early years and family services, both locally and nationally, and we are delighted to welcome her to the organisation. She spoke to us about her journ...

16/03/2026

After 16 years leading 1st Place, our Director Nicki Howard is moving on to a new chapter. We spoke to Nicki about her journey, the changes she’s seen in family support, and her hopes for the future.

Nicki will be greatly missed by everyone at 1st Place.

Read her reflections on our website: https://www.1stplace.uk.com/news/reflecting-on-16-years

13/03/2026

We have had some special guests at 1st Place at the Elephant!

The children loved checking on them each day, watching the incubator closely and looking for the first signs of hatching.

It was such a wonderful, hands‑on learning experience, full of curiosity, and lots of excitable moments.
Today we said goodbye as the ducklings headed back to the farm, but the memories (and the amazement!) will stay with us. 💛🐤