1st Place

What 1st Place does

1st Place Children and Parents' Centre is a registered charity (Charity No. 1120124) and Company Limited by Guarantee (No. 5424738) operating in Southwark, London, providing early years education, family support, and community services to families with children primarily aged 0-11. Founded in 2003 by local parents and the Aylesbury Sure Start team, the organisation operates three physical sites — a headquarters and nursery at 12 Chumleigh Street in Burgess Park, a family hub at Elba Place behind Victory Primary School in Walworth, and a nursery at 15 Hampton Street near Elephant and Castle opened in Summer 2023 — and employs over 90 staff collectively speaking 13 languages to serve a diverse Southwark community.

The core service portfolio comprises Ofsted-rated nursery care (Chumleigh Gardens and The Elephant, guided by the EYFS framework and inspired by the Reggio Emilia approach), the Rose Vouchers for Fruit & Veg Project (a voucher scheme distributing £1 weekly vouchers per eligible child to low-income families), free Stay & Play sessions, free parenting courses and workshops (including EPEC, HENRY, and Fathers Group), Forest School outdoor learning, a free crèche service for course attendees, and one-to-one family support covering housing, benefits, debt, and immigration advice. 1st Place holds Ofsted Outstanding ratings for early years provision from 2010 and 2012, and is designated as the first Family Hub in Southwark under the national Family Hubs programme.

Revenue is generated through four streams: donations from individuals, trusts, and foundations; nursery fees supplemented by government-funded 15 and 30 hours free childcare places; room hire at the purpose-built Children and Parents' Centre; and fundraising events including online platforms such as Easyfundraising. Go-to-market is community-led, with families accessing services via self-referral, word-of-mouth, referrals from health professionals and social services, and partnerships with Southwark Council and the borough-wide network of Children and Family Centres. The organisation holds Cyber Essentials accreditation, is GDPR-compliant, and is governed by a Board of Trustees including parent and community representatives.

Name

1st Place

Legal name

1st Place Children and Parents' Centre

Website

https://1stplace.uk.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2003

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

1st Place Children and Parents' Centre is a Southwark-based registered charity providing Ofsted-rated nursery care, family support, parenting courses, Forest School, and the Rose Vouchers food scheme to families with young children across three London locations.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Community Family & Early Childhood Services

NAICS

Child Care Services (62441)

SIC

Services-Child Day Care Services (8351)

akta.pro primary industry

Center-Based Infant Care (0–18 months) (EDACAGAA)

Keywords

• Early years education
• Family support services
• Nursery childcare
• Community family hub
• Parenting courses workshops

Headquarters

HQ city

London

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices3 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Donations and Charitable Funding: As a registered charity (No. 1120124), 1st Place relies on donations from individuals, trusts, and foundations to fund free services including learning opportunities, outreach, and family support programs.
2. Nursery Fees and Funded Childcare: Revenue from nursery provision including both paid placements and government-funded childcare places (15 and 30 hours free childcare). Families may pay for additional hours beyond funded allocations.
3. Room Hire: Purpose-built Children and Parents' Centre spaces are hired out for meetings and events, with revenue reinvested into charity services.
4. Fundraising: Various fundraising activities including events and online fundraising through platforms like Easyfundraising.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

1st Place is a community charity in Southwark, London delivering integrated early-years and family support services through Family Hubs. Core offerings include Ofsted-registered day nursery care for under-fives, Stay & Play sessions, Forest School, parenting and family courses, a Crèche service, and the Rose Vouchers for Fruit & Veg healthy-start scheme. The organization co-locates wraparound support services alongside childcare to serve families from pregnancy through age five.

Product overview

1st Place is a registered charity and Family Hub providing early years education and family support services in Southwark, London. The organization operates as a unified service portfolio centered around its core nurseries (Chumleigh Gardens and The Elephant), combined with family support programs including the Rose Vouchers for Fruit & Veg scheme, Stay & Play sessions, free courses/workshops, Forest School experiences, and a creche service for course attendees. Additional services include room hire for external events.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Rose Vouchers: A project providing families on low incomes with vouchers to buy fresh fruit and vegetables at local markets in Southwark.

Products and services

• Day Nursery (Ofsted-registered)

Named customers1 record

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Twelve partnerships are on record, tiered core, major and minor.

• Alexandra Rose CharitycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerLead partner for the Rose Vouchers for Fruit & Veg Project, helping families on low incomes to buy fresh fruit and vegetables at local markets in Southwark.
• Southwark CouncilcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerSupported by Southwark Council as part of the Family Hub programme and Children and Family Centres network. Provides funding and strategic alignment for services in Borough, Bankside and Walworth.
• Guy's and St Thomas' NHS Foundation TrustmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerHealthcare partnership providing access to health services and specialist support for families including through the HENRY programme.
• Community SouthwarkmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership with Community Southwark to strengthen community connections and provide integrated support services.
• Coin Street Community BuildersmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerWorking in partnership with Coin Street to provide services in Borough, Bankside and Walworth locality through the Children and Family Centres network.
• Evelina LondonmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership with Evelina London (part of Guy's and St Thomas') for the HENRY health and wellbeing programme for families.
• South London NHSminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerNHS partnership for health-related support services for families.
• Learning UnlimitedminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerEducation and training partnership supporting learning opportunities.
• Southwark PlayhouseminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerArts and cultural partnership providing enrichment activities for children and families.
• Friends of Burgess ParkminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerLocal community partnership connected to the Burgess Park location.
• Creation TrustminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerLocal charity partnership in Southwark.
• Bede HouseminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerLocal charity partnership.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves12 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• Action for Children: Large UK children's charity delivering nurseries, family support, and early-intervention services nationally. Overlapping service mix but at a materially larger scale and broader geographic footprint than 1st Place.
• Bright Horizons Family Solutions: Large international nursery chain with significant London and UK presence. Competes for the same government-funded childcare hours but as a commercial operator; useful as a competitive benchmark for occupancy and pricing.
• Home-Start UK: National UK family support charity offering parenting programmes and early-years family help via a federated local network. Comparable in family-support mission and local-volunteer delivery model, though broader geographic scope and less nursery-centric.
• Coram: London-headquartered children's charity group (Coram's Fields, Coram Life Education) running nursery, family, and early-years services. Comparable integrated early-years + family support portfolio in London.

Others

• Alexandra Rose Charity: UK charity running the Rose Vouchers for Fruit & Veg Project that 1st Place leads in Southwark. Strategic partner and supplier of the voucher scheme that is a core differentiator for 1st Place's family support offer.

Emerging players

• N Family Club: London-focused nursery chain that has rapidly expanded sites across the capital, including Southwark-adjacent areas. Comparable as a centre-based nursery operator in London competing for the same funded-hour families.
• Fennies Nurseries: Growing independent nursery group with London and South East sites accepting government-funded childcare. Comparable as a London nursery operator competing for the same parent segment.

Direct peers

• Coin Street Community Builders: Southwark/Lambeth-based community charity providing family and children's services in the same Borough, Bankside and Walworth locality. Already a direct partner to 1st Place and operates an overlapping family-support and childcare programme.
• London Early Years Foundation (LEYF): London-based social enterprise operating around 40 nurseries with a charitable/community mission serving lower-income families. Most direct comparability: London-only footprint, mixed funded/paid model, and explicit early-years social purpose.

Regional players

• Bede House: Southwark-based charity offering family support, training, and community programmes in the same borough. Already a listed partner of 1st Place and operates overlapping family/community support services.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UCy28yUe5Ug-VAae9p87UhCA
• Facebookfacebook.com/1stPlaceCentre
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/1st-place

Compliance3 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about 1st Place