St Mark’s Stay & Play

St Mark’s Stay & Play is based in Delgarno ward in North Kensington.  Here over a third of residents experience deprivation and many areas are within the top 10% most deprived nationally.

Our Stay & Play gives isolated local families the chance to meet other families, make friends and access fun educational activities for their children.

 

Why this is needed

At Stay & Play we work with children aged 0-5.  The early years are crucial for children’s longer term learning and development.  Yet many families live in cramped accommodation with no outdoor space and few opportunities for their children to play.  Without support these children can struggle to develop important social and developmental skills, putting them at risk of underachievement at school and beyond.  At the same time parents can struggle with the demands of parenting and become increasingly isolated.

“A warm and welcoming environment to bring my children… If this type of free service were not available we would not have anywhere to go to play”

Mother of two children, aged 3 and 4

 

How we help

Our Stay & Play gives children the chance to run around in a safe open space and play with new friends.  We also provide a range of educational activities such as arts and crafts, wet play, reading stories etc. all linked to the Early Years Foundation Stage curriculum.

For many children this is the only chance they get to take part in activities such as riding bikes, playing with scooters or using climbing frames.  These activities enable children to develop physically and gain cognitive, language and social skills that put them in a stronger position to thrive and achieve their full potential.

“My grandson can play indoors and outdoors – there are so many creative/messy activities for him to do more freely than in a small flat”

Grandmother of boy, aged four

 

Parent support

Stay & Play gives parents and children the opportunity to end their social isolation, make new friends and feel part of a supportive community.  This often helps relieve some of the stress, anxiety and isolation that can be experienced by new parents.  Where appropriate we signpost to other support services, including children’s centres, speech and language therapists and Health Visitors.  This ensures hard to reach families can access the support they need.

“I am a first time mum and Stay & Play was lovely to come to for some adult company and for my baby to interact with other children…the staff are so friendly and helpful”

Mother of boy, aged 10 months

 

Contact    

St Mark’s Stay & Play
137A St Mark’s Rd
London
W10 6BZ

Phone: 020 8158 5446 or 020 3934 2431

Opening times

Monday – Thursday: 12.30pm – 4pm