60 seconds with… Doug Buist
From parent to trustee, Doug Buist, shares his experience at 1st Place.
Hello, my name is Doug Buist and I was a trustee at 1st Place. My eldest son, Noah (who is now 10), was referred to 1st Place for osteopathy treatment as a baby. When we walked through the doors on our first visit we thought, wow this place is amazing and looks like so much fun. We put him on the waiting list there and then! A few months after Noah started, I heard that they were looking for new trustees, I thought that I might be able to help (and learn something myself) so I got in touch with Nicki, the Director.
There are about 15 people on the Board of Trustees, a mix of parents and people who volunteer their time. Along with the other trustees, I provided strategic guidance and oversight to Nicki and the team at 1st Place to make sure that the charity delivers its charitable mission and meets its legal obligations. Some of that is based on your own professional experiences, but it is also about good judgement. I started as a parent trustee (rules mean there have to be parents on the board) then was co-opted to stay on once my eldest left. For the last few years, I was the Vice Chair and I’ve been on the Finance & General Purposes and HR sub-committees.
The biggest challenge for us as trustees has been keeping a balance being accessible to families (both in our childcare and Family Support services), looking after the wellbeing of our staff and maintaining our finances in a changing world. We’ve had to make difficult decisions but I hope we’ve made progress on all of those matters too. I really enjoyed being part of a really interesting group of people using all their different skills to take 1st Place forward. We’ve had lots of productive and insightful interactions with the Senior Management Team and it’s been a privilege and a delight to support Nicki.
I would definitely encourage people to volunteer as a trustee and get involved. The skills you already have will be so useful and you will learn a lot. It doesn’t take up a lot of your time and it really can fit around your normal commitments. 1st Place needs a diverse range of experiences and voices in the trustee group so I’d encourage everyone to have the confidence to volunteer - you will certainly have a valuable contribution to make.
1st Place has been an important part of our life. Noah is autistic and 1st Place really helped him thrive during his pre-school years. It’s been brilliant to see how the team have embraced working with children with SEND (Special Education Needs and Disability) over the years. Being involved with 1st Place has informed my personal understanding around what we need to do to make communities places where our children have the best start in life, where they are all equal and free to realise their potential.
My most memorable moment at 1st Place was an AGM, hearing one woman (a mother for whom English was not her first language) describe how 1st Place had helped her and her child to escape from an abusive relationship. She first came into contact with 1st Place through the Family Support team, then brought her child to the nursery and it gave her the confidence to take control of her life. It was very moving to realise how important 1st Place is and how its work really changes lives.
I think 1st Place is in a good place for the future. During the pandemic, we saw how resilient 1st Place is both in terms of both its people and its finances. There are certainly challenges that are here right now - the Walworth area is changing and childcare/family services need to be better funded by Government. However, 1st Place has always put its commitment to the community at the heart of what it does, so I think it will adapt and play a vital role in the post-pandemic recovery and well into the future.
To find out more about joining 1st Place as a volunteer, please visit the ‘Get Involved’ section of our website.