Our Story Read All About it! Making news since the 80's! 1/8 Our founder, Pauline, talks about starting the charity When I moved to Aveling Park Road in 1977 there was nowhere for people to go with their children, so I opened up my home to friends and other families. Together we set up a range of activities: keep-fit, coffee mornings, play sessions and Halloween and Bonfire parties. We also used the playscheme in a gardener’s shed and double-decker bus in Lloyd Park. In 1981 the bus was under threat of closure, so we formed the Lloyd Park Action Group and started our campaign to improve services for the community. As a result, we were given use of five portacabins in Lloyd Park and in 1984 we formed The Lloyd Park Parent and Toddler Group; with play sessions every weekday afternoon. Since this time we have continued to campaign and develop community-led services to support local families, and there have been so many successes. From raising the funds to employ our first staff members, securing grants of £1.3 million in 2003 for the building in Lloyd Park and in 2016 winning the contract for Children and Family Centres to enable us to support families across Waltham Forest. My fondest memory of the community coming together to support the charity was in 1992 after our building was completely destroyed by a fire. When I first saw the devastation I thought it was the end of the charity, but our community worked together to get services back up and running within a week. It was quite incredible how everyone rallied together to help us. There have been some amazing p eople involved over the years who have helped make this charity so special. The staff are so critical to its success, but because I'm the figurehead I have been nominated for a few awards. It was an absolute privilege to be awarded an MBE by King Charles in 2011 (then Prince Charles) and I accepted it on behalf of everyone involved in Lloyd Park over the past 35 years. Pauline Thomas MBE Founder of The Lloyd Park Children's Charity 1977 Local families meet in Pauline Thomas’ front room on Aveling Park Road. 1981 The group starts using an old gardeners’ shed in Walthamstow’s Lloyd Park and become known as The Lloyd Park Action Group. 1984 The Charity moves into five portacabins and a team of volunteers begin to offer parent and toddler sessions. 1987 Our first paid member of staff is hired and we introduce a playgroup. 1990 We become The Lloyd Park Under 5’s Centre and offer extended daycare for working families. 1992 The centre is destroyed by fire but the local community comes to our rescue to help us reopen. 2003 We raised £1.3 million to build The Pauline Thomas Centre in Lloyd Park. 2007 The Higham Hill Centre opens. 2009 Funded by 'Parents as Partners in Early Learning' and then the National Lottery, we worked in partnership with families to develop and introduce our family support community project, 'You and Your Child'. 2011 Expanding our interest in nature and risk-taking play comes Grow Wild. 2013 Local parents come together to fight poverty. They set up our Baby Bank to provide emergency support to families in crisis. 2016 We are awarded the contract to provide Children and Family Centre services for all families in Waltham Forest on behalf of The London Borough of Waltham Forest. 2018 Families work together to overcome barriers and fight for equality by introducing our Breaking Barriers project. Timeline Key points in our history 2019 Our brand new and exciting play space The Friendship was opened at The Lloyd Park Centre. 2022 Following our co-production partnership with Whitefields, we developed our deaf provision, becoming the first early years setting to offer this specialised service. 2025 We opened the Grow Well Centre, now home to our Baby Bank services.

Teatime and Holiday Clubs Teatime Club The Lloyd Park Centre offers inclusive Teatime Club until 5.50pm Monday to Friday for primary school aged children. The Lloyd Park Centre collects children from Winns Primary School Apply Here Fees Holiday Club The Lloyd Park and HIgham Hill Centres both offer inclusive holiday clubs for primary school aged children, from 8-5.50pm Monday to Friday during school holidays. See Dates for your Diary page to find out when our holiday schemes run. Bookings for October 2026 Holiday Club open from: 9am, Tuesday 22nd September Apply Here Fees Activities Your child will enjoy a range of activities including arts and crafts, sport, imaginative play, risk taking play and more. Children work together to explore their interests such as creating and performing in talent shows, fundraisers and sports events. There are opportunities to use our Grow Wild adventure play space, and for sporty and messy play, so please dress appropriately. Food Our dedicated catering team prepare our food on-site using fresh ingredients, creating tasty and nutritious meals with an emphasis on providing a wide range of plant-based foods. Meal times are always a sociable and enjoyable part of our day. Our Food

Diary Dates 2026 Important dates such as planned closures, holidays and training days Spring/Summer 2026 January 5th Training Day - All Services Closed February 16th - 20th Half-Term Week Holiday Clubs open Term-time activities closed See Holiday Activity Timetable March - April March 30th - April 10th Half-Term Holiday Clubs open Term-time activities closed See Holiday Activity Timetable April 3rd Bank Holiday - All Services Closed April 6th Bank Holiday - All Services Closed May 4th Bank Holiday - All Services Closed 7th Parents Evening Lloyd Park Centre - 6-8pm Higham Hill Centre - 6-8pm 25th Bank Holiday - All Services Closed 26th-29th Half-Term Week Holiday Clubs open Term-time activities closed See Holiday Activity Timetable June 1st Training Day - All Services Closed June 27th Lloyd Park Summer Fair - 11am-2pm July 4th Higham Hill Summer Fair - 11am-2pm 20th Summer Holiday Club open Term-time activities closed See Holiday Activity Timetable August 28th Summer Holiday Club ends 31st Bank Holiday - All Services Closed Autumn/Winter 2026 September 2nd Training Day - All Services Closed October 16th Parents Evening Lloyd Park Centre - 6-8pm Higham Hill Centre - 6-8pm 26th - 30th Half-Term Week Holiday Clubs open Term-time activities closed See Holiday Activity Timetable 30th Halloween Discos Lloyd Park Centre - 6:30-8:30pm December 3rd Winter Wonderland Party Higham Hill Centre, 3-6pm Lloyd Park Centre, 3-6pm 18th Last Day of Term 21st - 31st Christmas Break - All Services Closed Follow us on our socials for updates on scheduled activities and sessions Related Links: Interactive Calendar School Holidays Activity Timetable RolePlay Magazine More Information 020 8527 1737 info@tlpcc.org.uk

Ready for School: Outcomes and Impact Overview The Ready for School (RFS) programme is a relationship-based early intervention designed to support children and families as they transition into Reception. The programme is delivered to a cohort of children living in a community ranked in the top 20% most deprived nationally according to the Index of Multiple Deprivation (IMD), meaning that all participating children experience socioeconomic disadvantage. Led by an experienced early years teacher, the programme combines small group work, home-based and school-based support, and community activities to strengthen communication, social skills, and independence in line with the Early Years Foundation Stage and help for children to develop the skills and confidence needed for a successful start at school. Alongside this, the programme provides wider family support, working with parents on a range of practical and emotional issues that may affect children’s development. This includes helping families to build routines, access support, and create positive home learning environments. By strengthening parental confidence and engagement, the programme supports families to embed learning into everyday life. Context and Data Considerations Outcomes from 2019 to 2021 reflect a period of significant disruption due to the COVID-19 pandemic. During this time, access to early education, childcare, and support services was limited, and opportunities for in-person delivery were reduced. As a result, data from this period is presented for completeness but is not directly comparable to later cohorts. The analysis therefore focuses on outcomes from 2021 onwards, when programme delivery stabilised and families experienced more consistent support. Outcomes and Progress Over Time Good Level of Development (GLD) is the national measure used at the end of the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) to assess school readiness. A child is considered to have achieved a GLD when they meet the expected level of development in the key areas of learning, including communication and language, personal, social and emotional development, physical development, literacy and mathematics. Achieving a GLD indicates that a child has developed the foundational skills, knowledge and behaviours needed to make a successful transition into primary school. The Good Level of Development (GLD) rate across the programme shows a clear trajectory of improvement. From 2019 to 2021, outcomes were significantly below national expectations, with GLD rates of 40% and 30% respectively. From 2021 onwards, there is a marked and sustained improvement, with outcomes ranging between 75% and 100%. This upward trend demonstrates both programme maturity and increasing effectiveness over time, particularly given the high level of disadvantage within the cohort. Benchmarking and Comparative Performance The programme’s post-pandemic performance compares favourably with local and national benchmarks. GLD Benchmark Comparison (2021–2025) The most recent national data shows that approximately 68% of children in England achieve a Good Level of Development. Against this benchmark, the Ready for School programme achieves an average of 79%, placing it above national performance and broadly in line with or exceeding both London and local authority averages. This comparison is particularly significant given that all participating children are drawn from communities experiencing high levels of deprivation. While national and regional benchmarks include children from a wide range of socioeconomic backgrounds, the Ready for School cohort represents a consistently disadvantaged group. Outcomes at this level therefore indicate strong programme impact and suggest that children are being supported to reach levels of development comparable with, or exceeding, their peers. Current Cohort and Emerging Outcomes The most recent data, based on teacher assessment, indicates that outcomes remain strong. In the current class cohort, 62% of children are predicted to achieve GLD, while children participating in the Ready for School programme are predicted to achieve 71% GLD. This difference suggests that children engaged in the programme are continuing to outperform their peers, providing evidence of ongoing added value. The previous cohort achieved 69% GLD, which aligns with the sustained improvement seen in recent years. Outcomes Across Groups Analysis by key groups highlights important patterns in programme impact. Interpreting Impact The programme's outcomes provide strong evidence that children are making progress towards key developmental milestones. Improvements in school readiness are not only reflected in overall Good Level of Development (GLD) outcomes but also demonstrate progress in the fundamental areas of communication and language, personal, social and emotional development, and learning behaviours that underpin later educational success. Children eligible for Pupil Premium achieve slightly higher GLD rates (61%) than those not eligible (54%), indicating that the programme is successfully supporting children facing economic disadvantage to reach important developmental milestones and narrow gaps in attainment. Children with English as an Additional Language achieve particularly strong outcomes (69%), outperforming their non-EAL peers. This suggests that the programme is having a positive impact on communication and language development. The programme's emphasis on home learning, parent-child interaction and parental engagement appears to be effectively supporting children's language acquisition, confidence and readiness for school. Outcomes for children with SEND remain lower, reflecting the higher level of need within this group. While this is consistent with national trends, it also highlights an important area for continued development. Future work will focus on strengthening tailored support and identifying additional measures that capture the significant developmental progress made by children whose achievements may not be fully reflected through GLD outcomes alone. The strength of these outcomes is particularly significant when considered in context. All participating children live in an area of high deprivation, and many experience multiple and overlapping risk factors known to impact early childhood development. Despite these challenges, the programme consistently supports children to make progress towards age-related developmental expectations and key milestones associated with school readiness. Since 2021, outcomes have improved steadily and now meet or exceed national expectations. This suggests that the programme is effectively addressing barriers to development through its focus on parental confidence, relationship-based practice and high-quality support for learning in the home environment. These are all recognised protective factors that contribute to positive developmental outcomes. The stronger outcomes achieved by participating children when compared with the wider cohort provide further evidence that the intervention is making a measurable and meaningful difference. The programme is not only contributing to improved educational outcomes but is also supporting the developmental foundations that enable children to thrive beyond the early years. Conclusion The Ready for School programme demonstrates a clear pattern of improvement in outcomes over time, with particularly strong performance in the post-pandemic period. Results show that children supported through the programme achieve levels of school readiness that compare favourably with local and national benchmarks, despite living in significantly disadvantaged circumstances. Evidence suggests that the programme is successfully supporting children to achieve the key developmental milestones, particularly in relation to communication and language development, parental engagement, learning behaviours and overall school readiness. Continued development, particularly in relation to SEND outcomes, will further strengthen the evidence base and support ongoing improvement. Ready for School has also been recognised within independent research exploring effective early years practice, where it is included as an example of delivery contributing to strong outcomes within the local system (www.funding-futures.org/home).

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Jobs in childcare, early years learning and development and family support. Now recruiting Back to 'Join our team' page Early Years Educator Apprentice Location: Walthamstow Salary: £21,416 Hours: Fulltime - 36 hours per week Closing date: Description You will study with Pen Green Research and receive support to learn on the job at one of our settings. Your role will involve working with the team to provide high-quality, creative learning opportunities for young children, stiving to ensure every child has the best start in life. As an Early Years Educator Apprentice, you will play a vital role in creating a safe, nurturing, and stimulating environment. Job Description Apply Now Early Years Practitioners - Level 2 Location: Walthamstow Salary: £22,127 Hours: Fulltime - 36 hours per week Closing date: Description You will be part of an amazing team who provide high quality trusted Early Years experiences and education to all children in our care. Your role will be to implement the delivery of the Early Years Curriculum to ensure that all children reach their full potential. As part of a family group you will build relationships with children and families to promote children’s learning and development and wellbeing. Job Description Apply Now Early Years Practitioners - Level 3 Location: Walthamstow Salary: £25,197 Hours: Fulltime - 36 hours per week (40 hours can also be considered) Closing date: Description You will be part of an amazing team who provide high quality trusted Early Years experiences and education to all children in our care. Your role will be to implement the delivery of the Early Years Curriculum to ensure that all children reach their full potential. As part of a family group you will build relationships with children and families to promote children’s learning, development and wellbeing. You will be responsible for supporting the Senior Early Years Practitioner and supervising and nurturing level 2 practitioners, apprentices and students. Job Description Apply Now Casual/Assistant Playworker Location: Walthamstow Salary: Hourly rates Under 18yrs - £8.00 Aged 18-20yrs - £11.05 Aged 21 and over - £11.44 Hours: Part-time - 15 hours per week, Monday - Friday, 3-6pm, Term Time only Closing date: Description You will be part of an amazing team who provide high quality trusted Early Years experiences and education to all children in our care. Your role will be to support with the Tea Time Cub provision at The Higham HIll Centre, collecting primary aged school children from Whittingham school and Hillyfield on the Hill, supervising the children; providing fun activities, & serving a nutritious tea. Job Description Apply Now Cleaner Location: Walthamstow Salary: £21,715.20 Hourly rate: £11.60 Hours: 10 hours per week, Monday - Friday, 6am - 8am Closing date: Description You will be part of an amazing team who provide high quality trusted Early Years experiences and education to all children in our care. To carry out a full range of duties providing high standards of cleanliness and general security. To include cleaning activities under the direction of the Site Service Manager and Centre Manager. Job Description Apply Now Applying online All candidates must complete our employee application form. Use the job definition as a guide to structure your application and help demostrate your relevant experience. It lists the skills, competencies, talents and behaviours we are looking for. If you are new to the role you are applying for, tell us what you know about the role. Please read our Privacy Notice for Job Applicants on our policy page for info. on how we handle your data If you would like to discuss any of our open roles or arrange a visit to one of our settings, please email recruitment@tlpcc.org.uk

What's On RolePlay Magazine Live Service Updates Dates for Your Diary Bookable Activities Holiday Activities Autumn '26 - Issue 59 Read Listening & Learning If your child is aged 0-8, what matters most to you in making Waltham Forest a great place for them to live? Your Voice Our Community Drop Your Ideas Here! Building A Brighter Future Calendar View and book activities Check our Live Service Updates before travelling! Check Here Scroll to see more Walthamstow Chingford Leytonstone Leyton Bookable on Eventbrite Click link in event details Bookable Activities View our bookable activities with limited spaces. Also viewable on our calendar, above. View Role play Edition 59. Autumn 2026 Our termly magazine full of interesting local stories, events and campaigns, plus our activities timetable. Read Dates for Your Diary View Important dates such as closures, holidays and training days School Holiday Activity Timetable View Live Service Updates Planned Closures None Dates Follow us on our socials for updates on scheduled activities and sessions

The Lloyd Park Centre Inspiring Surroundings Nestled in a leafy corner of Lloyd park, our centre is a vibrant, purpose built, childcare and activity centre. We enjoy free-flow play both indoor and outdoor, with open-plan rooms and magical outside adventure spaces, designed to engage and inspire young minds. Nature and risk-taking play The Lloyd Park Centre is a fantastic place to learn about our natural environment, take managed risks and have fun too. This connection with nature can foster a sense of respect and care for the environment . The range of sensory experiences help children gain greater physical control of their bodies, and builds resilience, confidence and independence. Our Community The Lloyd Park Centre was developed by local families over 40 years ago and we're proud to be rooted in our community. The centre offers a range of additional services for children and families including a BSL interpretor for deaf children, a community living room, community events and parent SEND support sessions. Community Services Childcare Services Monday - Friday Childcare: 6 months - 4 years, 8am-5.50pm (full and part-time available) Sessional Provision: 3 - 4 years and eligible 2 year olds, 9am-12pm - Term-time only Teatime Club: P rimary age childre n, 8am-5.50pm, pick-up from Wi nns Primary School - Term-time only Holiday Club: P rimary age children, 8am-5.50pm, during school holidays Apply Now Meet the Team Find us Lloyd Park Centre Winns Ave Entrance, Lloyd Park, Walthamstow, E17 5JW 020 8531 9522 lpc@tlpcc.org.uk Open 8am – 5.50pm Monday-Friday Ofsted Ofsted rating - Good We have been rated Good by Ofsted on our last inspection (16th September 2022 ). Read the report here .

Our action group promoting sustainability in Waltham Forest Working towards a greener future Led by one of our dedicated trustees our 'ecO' action group is making the postive changes urgently needed to safeguard the planet for our children. Join Us! A history of being green Built to last We purchase high quality toys and equipment designed to last Re-use We re-use recyclable materials for arts and crafts activities Eating more plants We've created menus with a healthy balance of vegetarian and plant based foods Using less energy We have conserved energy by turning off lighting and devices when not in use Fewer plastic bottles We've used water coolers to reduce plastic bottle use Shorter supply chains We buy from local suppliers wherever possible Taking Action We appointed a dedicated, trustee-led 'ecO' working group to drive our work and provide good governance 2023 Eco-Audit After identifying that we wanted to go fruther to be more sustainble, we realised that we needed some expert assistance to assess just how sustainable we were. We needed an eco-audit! We bid for and were awarded funding from the City Bridge Foundation allowing us to bring in '3 Acorns' environmental consultants to perform a full eco-audit with our teams. Our eco-audit analysed everything from our energy and water consumption, consumables usage and waste output through to ingredients used in our menus and even the greenness of our banking suppliers! Responding to our eco-audit Actions we've already taken to reduce our carbon foot print Food We've increased the number of plant based options in our menus and completely removed the most polluting meat, beef. Water We've replaced plastic water syphons with filter jugs in our staff rooms and we're also exploring ways to: completely eliminate plastic water bottles usage collect rainwater safley for gardening and outdoors cleaning. use cistern blocks and water usage awareness campaigns to reduce our consumption. Finance Most of our financial arrangemetns are now placed with ethical and eco-friendly providers. We're exploring ways to bank more sustainably and ethically as a priority. Waste We've installed more recyling bins and made it much easier to spearate out the various materials Composting bins are also now in place cutting out any food wastaging that would've gon to landfil. Nappies We are working hard to replace disposable nappies with reusable nappy kits in our centres and are currently piloting the switch in our Higham Hill Centre with a view to rolling out at the Lloyd Park Centre too. Our Community Services team are also promoting resusable nappy usage in other community support sessions across Waltham Forest. We couldn't have achieved this without the support of three amazing organisations; Waltham Forest Cloth Nappy Library , the Women's Environmental Network (WEN) and Nappy Ever After. Many, many thanks to them, we're looking forward to continuing our work together! See our dedicated Cloth Nappy page here Working with our community to address the climate crisis We want to go much further in working with our local community to build a greener, brighter future for our children, and we need your help! Whether you're an interested parent/carer, a local service provider, another organisation working on sustainability or an individual with expertise to share, we want to hear from you! If you have ideas to share or want to join our action group please email us to find out more! Email our Team

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Wellbeing Support Our aim A parent's wellbeing and that of the wider family is the foundation for a child's healthy development. Parents' and carers' own wellbeing often comes lower down their list of priorities as they putting their children's needs first. Many aren't aware of their own wellbeing needs. With this in mind; we offer a range of services that have wellbeing support at their core. Early Years Social Prescribing Our early years social prescribing team works with families to connect them to community services that meet their practical, health and wellbeing needs. Learn More Flourish Post-natal Support Improving the maternal mental health in safe, group spaces where mothers can talk about how they feel, be less isolated and get support. Learn More How to access our wellbeing support? We accept both self-referrals and professional referrals Request Help or Refer Please note: To be accepted referrals to our Flourish sessions must be made by a health professional and include an EPDS score. For more info. contact our wellbeing coordinator Email Wellbeing Team Telephone: 0208 527 1737

Partner with us Change a child's life We can build brighter futures together! By partnering with us you'll be supporting our mission to build brighter futures for children across East London facing the challenges of living in poverty. Your company could play a key role in helping us create positives changes for families. Whether you'd like to donate, fundraise for us or share your expertise, there are lots of ways you could support our mission! Get in touch Ways to get involved Donate Volunteering Payroll Giving Staff Fundraising We support hundreds of families each year yet we receive no statutory funding. Every pound you donate goes to sustaining our services supporting children in the most need. Corporation-tax relief: Claim tax relief for charitable donations of money, equipment, sponsorship and more GOV.UK Donate Volunteers are the heartbeat of our work. By volunteering with us your team can support local families, meet new people and gain new skills. Your expert skills could help us on a pro bono basis with a range of topics including finance, marketing, law, data protection, the environment or health & wellbeing. Learn More Payroll giving schemes can be set up easily, they're HMRC-backed and give employees immediate tax benefit by donating to our charity from their gross wage before tax. Schemes are usually free to set up through an HMRC-approved Payroll Giving Agency (PGA). Read our policy on using links to 3rd party sites GOV.UK Offer your staff fun opportunities to fundraise for us. Whether it's coffee mornings, social events or physical challenges, your team can do lots to help us support the most in-need children. Consider match-funding your team's efforts if you can. It will double the impact of your company's fundraising! Learn more Read our policy on using links to 3rd party sites We'd love to hear your ideas for making a difference and increasing our social impact together! Get in touch

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Early Years Social Prescribing Early Years Social Prescribing: Our Evidence Base Our Commitment to Evidence-Based Practice At Lloyd Park Children’s Charity, our Early Years Social Prescribing Service is grounded in a strong and growing evidence base. We recognise that children’s development is shaped not only by healthcare, but by family wellbeing, relationships, and the wider social factors affecting everyday life. Our work focuses on supporting families experiencing challenges such as developmental delay, financial hardship, parental wellbeing needs, and social isolation. Why the Early Years Matter Research shows that the early years are a critical period for children’s development. Parenting and the parent–child relationship play a key role in shaping children’s emotional, social, and long-term health outcomes. Parental mental health is particularly important: Mothers are around twice as likely to experience depression during childbearing years Children of parents experiencing poor mental health are more likely to develop anxiety and depression Parenting stress can influence how difficulties are passed between parent and child. Importantly, research highlights that many of the risks affecting children are modifiable within the family environment, meaning timely support can make a real difference. What is Social Prescribing? Social prescribing connects families to community-based support, activities, and practical resources to improve wellbeing. Studies show this approach can: Reduce loneliness and isolation Improve mental health and emotional wellbeing Increase confidence, resilience, and coping skills Strengthen community connections and support networks It also helps address the wider determinants of health, such as housing, relationships, and financial pressures, which are often at the root of many challenges families face. Why Social Prescribing for Families? Supporting parents is one of the most effective ways to improve outcomes for children. Research shows that: Parent and child mental health are closely linked and influence each other Interventions that support both parent and child together are more effective Strengthening parenting capacity improves children’s development and life chances By improving parental wellbeing, social prescribing helps create more stable, nurturing environments for children to thrive. The Power of Community and Connection A strong sense of belonging and connection to others is essential for wellbeing. Evidence shows that when people feel part of a community, they experience: Greater emotional support and resilience A stronger sense of purpose and identity Improved overall health and wellbeing This is why our service focuses on building local connections and supportive relationships, not just providing services. Co‑Production: Working Together with Families Our approach is co-produced with families through our CoCo East project. This means parents and community members actively shape the support available. Research shows co-production: Improves engagement and relevance of services Builds confidence, empowerment, and independence Reduces social isolation Leads to more sustainable and effective support It also recognises that communities understand their own needs best, and that tailored, local solutions are more effective than generic approaches. Tackling Inequality Early Children growing up in disadvantaged circumstances experience poorer health and developmental outcomes due to social and economic factors. Social prescribing helps to address these inequalities by: Providing early, preventative support Reducing reliance on crisis services Improving access to community resources and opportunities This approach supports fairer outcomes for children and families. How Our Approach Works Research highlights that effective social prescribing services are: Person-centred and holistic Built on strong partnerships across services Focused on co-producing solutions with families Designed to build long-term resilience and independence Our Early Years Social Prescribing model reflects these principles in practice. Measuring Our Impact We use evidence-based approaches to understand the difference our service makes, including looking at: Sense of belonging within the community Levels of social support Experiences of loneliness or isolation Overall wellbeing and quality of life This helps ensure we are continually improving and delivering meaningful outcomes for families. Summary The evidence is clear, supporting parents, strengthening relationships, and connecting families to their communities can have a powerful and lasting impact on children’s development. Early Years Social Prescribing offers a preventative, holistic, and evidence-informed approach that improves wellbeing for the whole family and helps children get the best possible start in life. Our Evidence Base This work is informed by a range of research, including: Daundasekara et al. (2021) – parental mental health and child outcomes Thomas et al. (2021) – social prescribing and co-production Hassan et al. (2023) – social prescribing systems and implementation Wakefield et al. (2022) – social connection and wellbeing Goldfeld et al. (2017) – social determinants of child development Waylen et al. (2008) – parenting and child health outcomes Kuckertz et al. (2018) – parenting and child mental health

Musical Climbers & Creators A year of exploring music with some wonderful SEND children In 2023/24 we were delighted to bring this wonderful project to life in our Grow Wild adventure play space with the support of Youth Music. This fun and uplifiting session was co-produced by the Lloyd Park Children's Charity's SEND and outdoors play practitioners, parent/carers, children and the amazing music-making charity, Soundcastle. The project delivered unique music-based outdoor learning and sensory experiences for children living with SEND who are often excluded from music-making and outdoors adventure play. Sounds from the Forest Stomp in the Forest 00:00 / 09:06 These beautiful tracks were composed by Soundcastle using vocals, sounds, beats and music made by the children, recorded as they explored the space and made music together. Meditation in the Green Space 00:00 / 09:22 Magical Memories Outdoors music-making in our inspiring 'Grow Wild' adventure playspace Real musical instruments to play led by musicians Freedom for children to play and join in at their own pace Music-making combined with creative play Inclusive music-making for SEND children and their siblings Breakthroughs for SEND children in socialising and personal confidence Building more confidence to jump and tumble with drum beats Children discovered a passion for music-making Parents saw leaps in their children's development Feedback from parents and carers I cannot enthuse about this playgroup/adventure playground and staff more. It is SUCH a supportive environment for not only my son but my daughter too aswell as myself. Staff have gone above and beyond for both my children as they often run in opposite directions and I physically can't keep an eye on both of them! The staff are unfaltering in their care for both the children, this is so important to me as often siblings can sometimes not be so welcomed in my experience which is very difficult for me. The musical element to the session is genuinely magical. At first the musicians would play musical instruments as my children played and slowly but surely my children have actively taken part in playing the musical instruments themselves which they both adore. I feel like my children get so much out of this sen session, they both have gained so much confidence in the setting since coming and both get so excited when they realise we are going to Grow Wild I myself, as their parent, really enjoy coming too! I can never usually relax in other settings as my son can be unpredictable with his behaviour at times, but here I can just breathe and let my children have fun with staff who are always enthusiastic to see them. Thank you so much! We have truly enjoyed our sessions on a Tuesday. My son loves to be outside and to be able to enjoy all the instruments in this free way has been so enriching for him. The musicians are wonderful with the little ones completely working at their pace and direction! Tirelessly playing “train” and offering different instruments and sounds occasionally so he gets a varied experience. All done in a respectful way so he hasn’t felt overwhelmed or too directed. If I had to think of something I’m tempted to say it would be nice to have some more performance group playing from the musicians with flute etc but perhaps that’s more my wanting as the simpler instruments have been generously shared and given access to and the children lead the way!! Thank you all and hope you can keep going …. We will keep coming!! Since we started attending in May my son has made huge progress in his speech, language and communication and these sessions have been a huge part of that. He finds communication challenging and this usually prevents him from interacting with other people. He became very comfortable very quickly at Grow Wild and very quickly started to interact with the musicians and it has been an absolute joy to see. He then repeatedly talks about Grow Wild at home throughout the week so not only is the session beneficial when he's there, but he loves it so much that he wants to talk about it all week, so it's been fantastic for his development at home as well. My daughter has also just started to come out of her shell. She usually only speaks to me but this week she spoke to three different adults at the session too and was much more confident and independent. I also love how safe these sessions are. Being able to run around outside in a safe space with other children and parents who understand his differences is priceless. These sessions are by far the best SEND sessions I have been to in Waltham Forest as they tick so many boxes. A safe outdoor space, access to a wide range of activities like climbing, water play, painting etc. all alongside the musical elements and an energetic, kind and enthusiastic team of adults running the sessions. ....So many of my son's sensory needs are met in one session which helps him to feel calm and regulated throughout the rest of the day. There is something available and beneficial for every child and it's fabulous to see every child enjoying themselves week after week. So thank you so much for everything. I hope that you can secure funding for September as it'll be a huge loss to the SEND community if these sessions were to stop. Both my children have both asked me if they can go to Grow Wild three times today already and this will happen every day until next week 😅 We have a home education journal and at the end of every day, we write down what we've done and my son often likes looking back at the photos of him at Grow Wild and asks for his own musical instruments. Just wanted to say how fantastic the musical element to the play has been and how much both my 19month old and I have enjoyed coming to those special sessions. It has given my son great exposure to music and to different and unique instruments we would not normally come across in our own play. The musicians are all so very talented, professional yet friendly and have a natural ability to connect with the young ones. I feel very fortunate to have attended the sessions we have with you, which have really enhanced my son's learning through song, tune and creativity. This group has been a lifeline to us from the start until now. We attend whatever the weather and my ASD child has thrived and grown from being in such an accepting and accomodating environment. He has gone from a child who was extremely uncomfortable around people, particularly adults, to somebody who seeks out interactions from the Grow Wild and Soundcastle teams. He's changed from being crying and anxious on arrival to shouting "go to see Zoe!" the minute he sees the tree. He has developed a tolerance for other children, for group singing and for music. He has developed so many social skills and even shown a keen interest in making music himself. He gets all of his sensory seeking needs met, has the freedom to explore without any pressure and we are truly fortunate to be able to attend this group. My child has developed and grown into somebody who can be in public without severe discomfort and who actually enjoys the company of other people, and I believe Grow wild has played a massive part in that.....

Pro Bono Skilled Voluntering: Many businesses and organisations have schemes allowing professionals to donate time to charities for the benefit of the community. Maybe you can donate time through one of these schemes or perhaps you are a self-employed professional allowing you more flexibility. Either way, we'd love to hear your ideas about how you could help us support local children in need with your professional skills and experience. Whether your backgorund is in legal, human rights, safety, finance, business or in eduation, health, menotring or the creative arts; we're always open to new collabortations that will improve life chances for local children. Drop us a line to start a conversation, We look forward to hearing from you! Email our team

Funded Projects Our Funding Partners We are delighted to be working with these major donors to deliver vital community work in East London Family Wellbeing and Support Project We were delighted to be awarded funding to run our early years social prescribing and co-production project by the 'City Bridge Foundation'. Working in partnership we are delivering a 5 year programme offering support to families with a focus on health and welbeing outcomes. The Community Wellbeing Support Worker helps families identify what matters to them and ways to achieve their goals. Families are supported to design and lead activities based on their 'living experiences'. This creates innovative and exciting resources for local children and families. Musical Climbers and Creators Memory Book Youth Music, funded this wonderful project via their Trialblazer programme. It provided unique music-based outdoor learning and sensory experiences in our ' Grow Wild' adventure play space. Activities focus on local children facing barriers in accessing mainstream music and outdoors provisions, particularly those children living with SEND. This fun and uplifiting session was co-produced with Soundcastle musical therapy charity, children, parents and our SEND team. Huge thanks to Youth Music for funding this wonderful SEND music-making project! Grow Active 'Grow Active' was delivered in partnership with the 'London Marathon Foundation'. Waltham Forest is home to a large number of marginalised children, many of whom have little or no outdoor space to explore. ‘Grow Active’ offered children a wide range of opportunities to improve physical fitness and self-esteem in our safe, inclusive Grow Wild outdoors adventure play space. Our aim was to inspire more children to take up physical activity in their early years, helping them to build the confidence to be more active in their future lives. Many Many thanks to 'London Marathon Foundation' for funding this amazing project for a whole year, between November 2023 and October 2024! Community Living Room & Kitchen “My child has been able to develop more social skills and interact with friends". "It’s a warming environment, everyone’s happy, they’re smiling, joking, that’s how it’s been since the beginning". "We’re all able to talk about the same problems”. Enjoy a hot meal, play and socialise Our Community Living Room & Kitchen is run in partnership with London Borough of Waltham Forest and has proved to be one of our most popular community resources over the last year. With our funding we have created a safe, invite only, welcoming space where families, with children ages 0-5yrs, can stay warm, socialise, play and enjoy a tasty hot meal. Our team are on hand during sessions to offer support and advice if needed. Contact us to see if you're eligible to attend using our 'Help Request' form button below. Request Help

Apply for a job with Lloyd Park Children's Charity here. Job application form

Donating items to our Baby Bank Help give vulnerable newborns and toddlers a better start in life by donating new or pre-loved essentials Items on our wishlist and this page's 'What's needed?' section are urgently needed by the families we are currently helping. Donating these items is a great way to support a child in immediate need. Essentials are requested by parents and carers in a number of ways: Using the Baby Bank section of our Help Request Form Asking a member of team for assistance Attending Baby Bank to choose what they need from our available stock 1. Donating new items online The quickest way to gift essentials to the most in-need babies and families is to donate items from our Amazon wishlist directly to us. 2. Donating items in person You can also help by donating new or high quality pre-loved items that you no longer need. Please note: We'd love accept all pre-loved donations but sadly can’t always due to limited storage. We can only accept high quality new or unmarked items in good condition. We cannot accept used matresses, car seats or jumble. Email us to find out current drop-off locations Email Us Donate now What's needed? New items Nappies and baby wipes Single or double buggies Books for under 5’s Moses baskets New mattresses Quality pre-loved Single or double buggies Books for under 5’s Moses baskets

Newsletter Role play Edition 59. Autumn 2026 Our termly magazine full of interesting local stories, events and campaigns, plus our activities timetable. Please Read: Important notice relating to activity timings Read Locations Map Subscribe Role play Archive Find past editions here Browse Please Note: All activity dates and times appearing on the printed and PDF versions of Roleplay are correct at the time of printing and we endeavour to adhere to these. However, occasionally these may change due to circumstances outside of our control. Please always check the Calendar and the 'Live Service Updates' section on our 'What's On' page for up to date listings before travelling. Follow us on Facebook and/or Instagram to receive announcements related to our activities.