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  • Dates for your Diary | LPCC

    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 1st 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 Higham Hill 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

  • Thank You Page | LPCC

    Thank you, Donor Name We are so grateful for your generous donation of £0. Your donation number is #1000. You’ll receive a confirmation email soon.

  • Grow Wild Bookings | LPCC

    Venue Bookings July 2026 Today Sat Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri 27 28 29 30 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

  • Contact Us | LPCC

    Find out how to contact us and visit our settings here. Contact Us General Enquiries: 0208 5319522 or info@tlpcc.org.uk Lloyd Park Centre Winns Ave Entrance , Lloyd Park, Walthamstow E17 5JW 020 8531 9522 lpc@tlpcc.org.uk Grow Wild Lloyd Park, Walthamstow E17 5JW (access is via the secret door, opposite the cafe in Lloyd Park) 020 8531 9522 lpc@tlpcc.org.uk Higham Hill Centre 313 Billet Road, Walthamstow E17 5PX 020 8527 1737 hhdc@tlpcc.org.uk The Grow Well Centre 7 Saxon Close, Walthamstow E17 8LE info@tlpcc.org.uk Anchor 1

  • Now Recruiting | LPCC

    See available post from across our charity. We regularlty recruit to positions in childcare, early years learning and developement, family support, and a variety of support roles. Current Vacancies We employ a range of positions across all of our teams including early years, family support, data and administration, catering, finance and site services. Safer Recruitment Please Read Applying online Please Read Need more help? To find out more about a role please email: recruitment@tlpcc.org.uk Latest Roles PLEASE NOTE: We receive a high number of speculative applications weekly. Unfortunately, we do not have the resources to respond to these applications. W e can only respond to applications for positions advertised below. Catering Manager Early Years Educator - Level 2 Early Years Educator - Level 3 Family Support and Outreach Worker Read More Read More Read More Read More

  • The Higham Hill Centre | LPCC

    The Higham Hill Centre Our Setting Our centre is a purpose built, inspiring space for young minds. The centre combines a space for under 2's, a sensory room, three connecting playspaces and a playground and courtyard for both outside and inside free-flow play. Our Community Located near Higham Hill Park, the Wetlands and local transport links, we explore our community through regular trips and adventures. Visitors, like the Police, Fire Fighters and musicians help celebrate our commuity in the setting allowing children to experience the wonder of their world. Learning through Play When children learn through play, they are like researchers, exploring and making sense of the world. At Higham Hill we work with parents to undersand children's interests and plan exciting and stimulating activities to inspire children on their learning journey. Our approach Childcare Services Monday - Friday Childcare: 6 months - 4 year s, 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 Hillyfield On The Hill and Whittingham Primary Schools - Term-time only Holiday Club: P rimary age children, 8am-5.50pm, during school holidays Apply Now Meet the Team Find us Higham Hill Centre 313 Billet Road, Walthamstow. London E17 5PX 020 8527 1737 hhdc@tlpcc.org.uk Open 8am – 5.50pm Monday-Friday Ofsted Ofsted rating - Good We have been rated Good by Ofsted (January 2023 ) - Read the report here "At the Higham Hill Cen tre, Children are "happy, they develop good relationships with staff and demonstrate that they feel safe and secure"

  • Social Prescribing | LPCC

    Request Help or Refer Early Years Social Prescribing Promoting good health and wellbeing for children and families What is 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. Who is it for? Families with children under 5yrs needing help to tackle a range of issues that might include: Mild or long term mental health issues (not in crisis) Social Isolation Becoming new parents Frequently attend primary healthcare provision Barriers to accessing local services Things we can help with: Child ren ' s Development and SEND Being Healthy Isolation and Loneliness Mental Health and Wellbeing (not in crisis) Trauma and Adversity Request Help or Refer How is it delivered? Our early years social prescribing is a 12 weeks programme of 1:1 holis tic support What to expect: Health professional and self-referrals made Initial contact with family - joint action plan is created Support to deliver action plan involves homes visits, phone check-ins and accessing community provision Parents given opportunities to create new needs-led activities in our settings 3 month review with families to assess outcomes

  • Make donation | LPCC

    Donate to Lloyd Park Children's Charity. Help fund our vital work to support children and families under extreme pressure brought on by poverty. Make a donation Every donation makes a difference to children and families needing support, often at the toughest times in their lives! One time One time Weekly Weekly Monthly Monthly £10 £10 £20 £20 £50 £50 £100 £100 Other Other Donate £10 I'd like to add £0.29 to cover transaction fees. Gift Aid Gift Aid allows us to claim an additional 25% of the value of your donation from the HMRC. It won't cost you a penny but means your donation can go even further! Find out more here How we use your donations Unless otherwise stated your donations contribute to our unrestricted funds which we use to make all of our charitable activities more sustainable. Where we specify that your donations will support a particular campaign or cause they would become restricted funding that can only be used for that purpose. Your donations support children needing help We fight to overcome poverty using your donations to create the support services that families tell us they want, delivered when they need them most! Baby Bank is just one great example of our lifeline services that your donations make sustainable. Some of Baby Bank's day-to-day costs include: Cost-of-Living Support We work with families to link them to services that can help them with the costs of clothing, food and energy. Safer Sleeping Environments Cots Cot matresses Bedding Running Costs Rent Cleaning and m aintenance Salaries Resources and e quipment Refreshments for families Home from Hospital Bundles All the essentials needed for parents to bring newborn babies home from hopsital safely

  • Baby Bank What's Needed | LPCC

    Donating Items What's needed? New 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 Please note: We'd love accept all 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 where the current drop-off locations and times are Email Us

  • Current Fundraising Campaigns | LPCC

    Fundraising Why we need your help! Our goal is raise funds that enable us to work with our community to co-design grassroots, place-based support for children marginliased and disadvantaged by the system. To make this a reality we live by these three words; Fundraise, Fundraise and Fundraise! Our Current Campaigns Support Baby Bank! Baby Bank is a lifeline service that supports more and more families in urgent need of help. Escalating running costs constantly threaten the sustainability of this service, so we rely on donations from the community and grants. Donate What We Do Help us save Grow Wild! For over 12 years, our charity has been provding a safe and inclusive, green outdoors space for all local families. Thousands of local children rely on Grow Wild to get more active, experience nature and fire their imaginations! Check out our vital work here: Learn More As a charity the cost-of-living crisis has hit us particularly hard and we're now faced with the very real possibility of closing Grow Wild! Staffing, maintenance and resource costs have all shot up in recent years meaning that we must find additional funding to stay sustainable. We'd be heartbroken for this unique non-profit play space to be lost, so we need your help to raise ££££s to fight against closure! Please donate if you can! Even the smallest amount will help! Donate Fundraising Approach We've created our charity's first Fundraising Strategy which sets our fundraising goals for the coming years and guides us toward increase fundraising success. We will continue to build on our successful applications wit grant making foundations and trusts along with developing our digital fundrasing capability and exploring opportunities with corporate partners. Fundraising Events Our events are a great opportunity for families to get involved, see how you can support local community members, and most importatnly, have loads of fun! Regular Events: - Summer, Easter and Winter Fairs - Halloween parties - Bake sales and coffee mornings Donate

  • Breaking Barriers | LPCC

    Breaking Barriers Breaking Barriers: Bringing Families Together, Building Confidence and Connection Breaking Barriers is a parent-led, community-based approach developed in 2018 to support connection, confidence and belonging for children and their families. It was created in response to evidence that families experiencing disadvantage often face multiple barriers to accessing support, including isolation, low confidence and wider inequalities. The model focuses on creating safe, welcoming and non-judgemental spaces where families can build relationships, access support and gradually connect with their community. It is grounded in the understanding that many families, particularly those with children with SEND, refugee and migrant families, young or single parents, and fathers, may feel excluded from traditional services without more intentional and inclusive engagement. A key strength of the approach is its gradual, relationship-based design. Families are first supported through small, tailored sessions that build trust and confidence in a relaxed, play-based environment. Their feedback is central to shaping how services develop, with a strong emphasis on co-production and responsiveness to lived experience. As confidence grows, families are supported to access wider provision, often with practical help such as accompanied visits or financial support where needed. Over time, parents are encouraged to build networks, contribute to activities and play an active role in their community. Delivery at Grow Wild, a natural play space, is a distinctive element of the model. Outdoor, play-based provision encourages parent–child interaction, builds confidence and helps reduce the stigma sometimes associated with more formal services. It also creates opportunities for connection across different communities. Consultation with over 200 parents highlighted the importance of inclusive, flexible and accessible services. Families valued welcoming environments, opportunities for outdoor play and practical support such as transport, appropriate timings and culturally relevant provision. Evidence from practice shows strong outcomes. Parents report increased confidence, new friendships and stronger engagement with services, while children benefit from improved wellbeing, learning and enjoyment. The model has also been effective in engaging underrepresented groups when delivery is tailored and culturally responsive. At its core, Breaking Barriers works by reducing practical and emotional barriers, building relationships and supporting confidence. This leads to stronger social connections, greater engagement and improved outcomes for families, alongside reduced isolation and increased community integration. Overall, the project demonstrates that inclusive, relationship-based and community-led approaches can make a meaningful difference. By combining targeted outreach, co-production and play-based provision, it offers a flexible model that can be adapted to improve access, strengthen relationships and reduce inequalities across early years services. Acknowledgement This project was developed under the leadership of Max Jervis Read, Chair and Trustee of The Lloyd Park Children’s Charity. His commitment to social justice and belief in inclusive, community-led approaches were instrumental in shaping Breaking Barriers and its focus on reaching families who are often excluded from support.

  • Educator Level 3 | LPCC

    See available post from across our charity. We regularlty recruit to positions in childcare, early years learning and developement, family support, and a variety of support roles. Early Years Educator - Level 3 Location: Walthamstow Salaries 36 hours per week - £25,197 or 40 hours per week - £27,997 Closing date: n/a Overview 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. This role is exempt from the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 and therefore subject to an enhanced DBS certificate; this is a requirement of the DBS code of practice. Job Description Apply Now

  • Donate | LPCC

    Donate to Lloyd Park Children's Charity. Help fund our vital work to support children and families under extreme pressure brought on by poverty. Donate to help us fight poverty! Record numbers of families are under extreme pressure brought on by the cost of living crisis Join Our Sponsored Walk May 2026 Take part in our National Walking Month sponsored walk and enjoy a fun adventure together. Visit local landmarks while raising funds. Pick up a sponsorship pack and get involved in this fun, family‑friendly challenge. Pick up a pack here and join in! Current Campaign: Baby Bank Appeal We receive no funding for this lifeline service. Your generosity helps to keep our doors open for families in crisis! Please donate to our GoFundMe fundraiser Donate Here Make a donation Make a one-off donations, or Set-up weekly and monthly donations Pay in your fundrasing Held a bake-sale, run a marathon, climbed a mountain or thrown a party? Pay in your fundraising here Gift Aid Gift Aid allows us to claim an additional 25% of the value of your donation from the HMRC. It won't cost you a penny but means your donation can go even further! Find out more here Your donations support children needing help We fight to overcome poverty using your donations to create the support services that families tell us they want, delivered when they need them most! Baby Bank is just one great example of our lifeline services that your donations make sustainable. Some of Baby Bank's day-to-day costs include: Cost-of-Living Support We work with families to link them to services that can help them with the costs of clothing, food and energy. Safer Sleeping Environments Cots Cot matresses Bedding Running Costs Rent Cleaning and m aintenance Salaries Resources and e quipment Refreshments for families Home from Hospital Bundles All the essentials needed for parents to bring newborn babies home from hopsital safely Please note: Unless otherwise stated your donations contribute to our unrestricted funds which we use to make all of our charitable activities more sustainable. Where we specify that your donations will support a particular campaign or cause they would become restricted funding that can only be used for that purpose.

  • Journal Club | LPCC

    Journal Club Overview This summary brings together learning from a collaborative Journal Club involving staff across Lloyd Park Children’s Charity. It draws on research from multiple disciplines alongside practitioner insight, creating a space to reflect critically on our work with families and strengthen how evidence informs practice. Rather than focusing on a single project, the Journal Club explored a wide body of academic literature in conversation with day-to-day experience. This allowed staff to question assumptions, test ideas, and think more deeply about what works. The overall aim was to review current evidence on early years, family support and wellbeing, while also identifying strengths in our existing work and areas where practice and services could be further developed. At its core, the process reflects our commitment to being a learning organisation, where practice continues to evolve in response to both evidence and lived experience. What Makes This Work Different A key strength of the Journal Club is the way it brings together different perspectives from across teams and services. By combining research evidence with practitioner experience, it creates a richer and more grounded understanding of practice. The focus is not simply on outcomes, but on reflection, learning and continuous improvement. Importantly, it also provides space to identify gaps in the evidence and consider where we can innovate or take a leading role. Throughout the process, a central question has guided discussion: What does the evidence tell us—and how can we do better for families? Key Themes from the Evidence A consistent message across the literature is that relationships are fundamental to change. Approaches that are relationship-based and strengths-focused, such as restorative practice and family partnership models, are shown to build trust, reduce stigma and support engagement. They enable families to take ownership of change, rather than feeling directed or judged. This strongly reflects an existing strength in our work: supporting families through respectful, collaborative relationships. The evidence also reinforces the importance of working with the whole family, not just the child. Children’s outcomes are shaped by parental wellbeing, family relationships and wider environmental factors. Ecological and systems-based models highlight that meaningful support must take account of both family dynamics and the broader community context. Poverty and inequality emerge as a major underlying influence across many studies. Disadvantage affects children’s health, development and long-term life chances, often in ways that accumulate over time. This highlights the importance of accessible and inclusive services that address the wider determinants of health, rather than focusing solely on immediate presenting issues. It also underscores the critical role of early intervention in reducing inequality. Another area of growing interest is social prescribing, particularly in relation to mental health and wellbeing. However, the evidence base for children and families is still developing, with limited established models and ongoing challenges around access and implementation. This presents an opportunity for the charity to strengthen and formalise its approach, while also contributing to wider learning and innovation in this field. The research also emphasises the importance of belonging and community connection. Feeling part of a community is closely linked to wellbeing, yet many families face barriers to participation, including low confidence, anxiety, stigma and practical constraints. Effective group work therefore depends on creating welcoming, flexible and non-judgemental environments, and on designing provision with families rather than for them. This points again to the importance of co-production and strong relationships. There is also growing evidence of the benefits of access to nature for children’s development. Natural environments can positively influence emotional wellbeing, behaviour, attention and cognitive development, supporting the continued development of outdoor and nature-based approaches, especially for families with limited access to green space. Finally, a clear message across the literature is the importance of listening, to both children and families. Services are most effective when they are shaped by lived experience, using participatory and creative approaches, and when they are genuinely responsive to what families say they need. Key Organisational Learning The Journal Club has highlighted important strengths in our current work. In particular, it reflects the consistency of our relationship-based, strengths-focused approach, our ability to work holistically with families, and our success in building trust with those who may not access more traditional services. At the same time, it has identified areas where further development would strengthen our impact. These include improving how we measure and evidence outcomes, especially for children, articulating our model of practice and theory of change more clearly, and developing tools and frameworks to support greater consistency across services. There is also an opportunity to expand our role in research and evidence generation, particularly in emerging areas such as social prescribing. Key Recommendations Taken together, the learning points to a clear set of priorities. These include developing clearer practice frameworks, strengthening data collection and evaluation, and increasing co-production with families so that services are shaped more directly by lived experience. There is also a need to continue expanding community-based approaches, including social prescribing, and to build stronger partnerships that address poverty and inequality more effectively. Underpinning all of this is the importance of maintaining a strong culture of reflection, learning and evidence use across the organisation. Summary The Journal Club has deepened our understanding of what works in supporting children and families, while also providing a valuable space for critical reflection. It confirms that effective services are grounded in relationships, take a whole-family perspective, and actively build connection, belonging and resilience. It also reinforces the importance of early action to prevent long-term disadvantage. Perhaps most importantly, it has strengthened our identity as a learning organisation, one that continues to reflect, adapt and improve in response to both evidence and the experiences of the families we support. Evidence Reviewed The Journal Club drew on a wide range of research across early years, family support and wellbeing, including work on social prescribing, restorative practice, poverty and health outcomes, nature and child development, barriers to participation, and the social determinants of child development. This included: Hayes et al. (2023) – Social prescribing for children and young people Lewing et al. (2020) – Early childhood services and family hubs Williams (2019) – Restorative approaches in family support Sammons et al. (2023) – Equity and Children’s Centres Schickedanz et al. (2015) – Childhood poverty and health outcomes Norwood et al. (2019) – Nature and child development Stuart et al. (2022) – Barriers to group participation Goldfeld et al. (2018) – Social determinants of child development Tabb et al. (2022) – Home visiting and parental mental health Gore et al. (2022) – Family support programmes and wellbeing

  • Funded projects | LPCC

    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

  • Applying Online | LPCC

    See available post from across our charity. We regularlty recruit to positions in childcare, early years learning and developement, family support, and a variety of support roles. Applying online PLEASE NOTE: We receive a high number of speculative applications weekly. Unfortunately, we do not have the resources to respond to these applications. We can only respond to applications for positions advertised on our 'Current Vacancies ' page. All candidates must complete our employee application form. Use the job description as a guide to structure your application. Tell us how your knowledge and experiences help you meet the skills, competencies, talents and behaviours we are looking for. If you are new to the role you're applying for, tell us what you know about the role. Please read our Privacy Notice for Job Applicants on our policy page for information on how we handle your data. Back to Jobs

  • test page | LPCC

    Support our cause Leave a one-time donation First name* Last name Email* Donate in the name of Honoree name Donation £10 £20 £30 How did you hear about us? Donate

  • Pro Bono | LPCC

    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

  • Flourish | LPCC

    Flourish Supporting Maternal Mental Health The aim of our service We want to support improved Maternal Mental Health by: supporting mothers in developing the capacity of their children to experience, regulate, and express emotion. . enhancing mothers' abilities to form close and secure relationships with their children , and building capacity to explore their surrounding environment and learn together. Who is it for? Created for women who have babies or toddlers up to 18 months, who are finding motherhood difficult in one or more ways such as: low level depression feeling anxious feeling resentful perhaps expecting 'perfection' from themselves. Request Help or Refer What can we offer? Postnatal depression (PND) is a common problem that occurs after pregnancy and affects more than 1 in 10 women within a year of giving birth. It can also affect dads and partners. PND can present itself in different ways, and many parents don’t realise they have the condition because it can develop gradually over time. Flourish Groups Flourish offers weekly groups the create a safe place where you can talk about how you really feel, and learn to have more fun with your baby. Gr oups run in each of the borough's family hubs: Walthamstow,Chingford, Leyton and Leytonstone. How to access our support At the moment referrals to Flourish must be made by health visitors. They must refer via our online 'Help Request' form using the button below. A current EPDS for the parent/carer must be entered, otherwise the form will not submit. On receving the referral one of our team will contact the parent/carer to make arrangements. If you any questions or would like more information please contact our wellbeing co-ordinator. Email: lilienl@tlpcc.org.uk Telephone: 0208 527 1737 Request Help or Refer Delivered by Working in partnership with London Borough of Waltham Forest's

  • Our Story | LPCC

    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

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