60 seconds with… Sarah McCarthy
From Friday Stay and Plays to Trustee, Sarah McCarthy tells us about her journey with 1st Place.
What is your role at 1st Place?
I am one of the Trustees at 1st Place. There are 13 of us in total and we support the management of 1st Place to ensure that the charity continues to be true to its mission and values which were set up to support local children and families. We also have a role to ensure that as a business, 1st Place is financially secure so that we can go on delivering this work in the years ahead.
The Board is made up of parents representing all three nursery sites, the local community, and people from outside the organisation who bring additional skills and support. We also try to make sure that we have a Board which reflects the diversity of our community and our staff team.
How does your experience benefit 1st Place?
I currently work for Creation Trust, as Head of Engagement. We are a small charity supporting residents on the Aylesbury estate. As such, we do a lot of work with 1st Place, trying to make sure that local children and families can access the support they need to help them to reach their full potential. For example, we recently worked together to promote the Rose Voucher scheme to families. We have also worked together on an employment programme for local families to get their childcare qualifications and do their work placements at 1st Place. This makes complete sense, it addresses a recruitment problem for qualified nursery staff and provides a wonderful place to work for local people.
On a personal note, 1st Place was the most special place for me and my son when he was a toddler. Stay and Play was a regular Friday highlight for us and I have nearly nodded off on several occasions in the sensory room! One of my stepsons also actually works as a nursery assistant at 1st Place.
Why did you become a trustee?
When my son was tiny and on those days when I was feeling stressed or unsure about my parenting ability, the welcome and support that I received at 1st Place would ensure that I always left feeling more positive. All organisations should make people feel like that. The chance to be a Trustee was the opportunity to contribute to an organisation that has been so important to me. I could use my knowledge of working in the local area and engaging with sometimes hard to reach groups. Being a Trustee is also an opportunity to learn new skills and these have helped in my professional development.
What makes being part of 1st Place so rewarding and enjoyable?
For me, the best thing about 1st Place is the staff team. They genuinely care about the children and the families that they work with. I still bump into staff now that knew my son as a baby and they always remember his name and ask about what he is up to – he has just started secondary school! Even the staff at 1st Place who don’t directly work with children are completely dedicated to making sure that families are the heart and soul of what we do.
What would you say to somebody who was thinking about becoming a trustee?
Being a Trustee is a really rewarding experience, you have the opportunity to shape what we do. If you believe in the organisation and have skills that could be useful, or you have ideas about how we could improve, then do let us know.
When I first joined the board I would often think ‘I won’t ask that question’, it is probably stupid. Now I know that it is some of those ‘stupid’ questions that lead us to some really important discussions!
What does the future hold for 1st Place?
That is the big question! As trustees, alongside Nicki and the management team we are trying to predict things in the future and plan for them. Policy changes, funding cuts can all affect how we are able to operate. We need to plan for the ‘what ifs?’ to ensure that we can go on delivering an excellent service that puts children first.
We just had an away day with the Board and staff, and there were some really exciting ideas about future projects that will deliver even more for local families, so hopefully 2019 will see some of those coming to fruition.