Q&A Kingsley Hall: bringing the community together
Kingsley Hall Church & Community Centre has played an integral role in the local community for the last 90 years. It recently extended its nursery with the help of a Charity Bank loan.
Social Problem
Children from disadvantaged backgrounds are more likely to struggle in education. By the time they start school, they may already be over a year behind those from high-income families.[1] Quality childcare has numerous benefits and can help to address the inequality, but it isn’t always accessible to poorer families.
Solution
Kingsley Hall Church & Community Centre is located in a disadvantaged area of Essex. It’s been bringing people together for the last 90 years and now offers a wide range of activities, from parent and toddler groups to tea parties. Kingsley Hall is also home to a nursery, which has proven very popular with local families.
Loan
With the help of a £750,000 Charity Bank loan, Kingsley Hall has been able to extend its nursery to provide childcare for a further 40 children. It’s also built four self-contained apartments for key workers who contribute to the local community.
Impact
The nursery extension means that local parents can benefit from an extra 60,000 affordable childcare hours every year. By offering flexible nursery hours from 8am to 6pm, Kingsley Hall is helping parents to get back into work, safe in the knowledge that their children are happy, safe and learning. When they get older, the children will be able to take part in other activities at Kingsley Hall, including youth clubs.
“As soon as we met the team at Charity Bank, we could tell there was an excellent alignment of values and we were really keen to work with them. We didn’t want to simply take out a loan from a commercial lender but rather to develop a partnership with a lender that understands and shares our sense of community and social impact. This has been clear with Charity Bank throughout the whole process and it’s been really rewarding working with them.”
Chris Kapnisis, Director and Church Leader, Kingsley Hall Church & Community Centre
“My daughter’s development skills and learning abilities have increased dramatically and she is always showing us new things she has learned. I am so happy with her progress.”
A parent, Kingsley Hall Church & Community Centre’s nursery
About Charity Bank
Charity Bank is the loans and savings bank owned by and committed to supporting the social sector. Since 2002, we have used our savers’ money to make more than 1280 loans totalling over £500m to housing, education, social care, community and other social purpose organisations.
Nothing in this article constitutes an invitation to engage in investment activity nor is it advice or a recommendation and professional advice should be taken before any course of action is pursued.
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