The Duchess arrived accompanied by her assistant private secretary Laura Baker.
Place2Be provides emotional and therapeutic support to children in schools, working alongside school leaders, teachers and parents. The organisation is one of the Heads Together charity partners and a patronage Kate visits regularly.
The headquarters will provide state-of-the-art training facilities to enable Place2Be to train more counsellors, teachers and school leaders. The new facilities also provide a new home to the charity's research and evaluation teams.
An arrival video from Victoria Murphy.
The Duchess of Cambridge in another @SeraphineLtd dress as the arrives to open the new headquarters of @Place2Be pic.twitter.com/xPalMlNmhi— Victoria Murphy (@QueenVicMirror) March 7, 2018
Time for arts and crafts.
The Duchess chatting with pupils.
More from the Mail Online:
Speaking with children from Albion Primary School in Rotherhithe, who have worked with Place2Be for 16 years, Kate asked them: 'What do you think about it?
'What's the best thing about it?'
She also said to the children, who were drawing and sticking into the outline of a paper hand: 'I love what you are doing here.
'I should be putting things on that. Maybe I should take one home to do with George and Charlotte.'
You may recall, Place2Be merged with Kate's patronage The Art Room in January. The Art Room provides a group work intervention in schools using creativity and art to improve the wellbeing of pupils experiencing emotional or behavioural difficulties. William, Kate and Harry's Charities Forum aims to bring together their charities offering them the platform to update and collaborate. I imagine the Forum initiated communication which led to the bilateral partnership.
During the visit, the Duchess participated in a discussion with mental health professionals who have completed one of Place2Be’s accredited child counselling qualifications, as well as School Leaders who have participated in the charity’s Mental Health Champions programme. Kate meet staff and pupils from one of the charity’s longstanding partner schools, Albion Primary School in Rotherhithe, where Place2Be has been providing mental health support for pupils, families and staff for 16 years.
Kate chatting to school children asking them what the best thing about @place2be is pic.twitter.com/3IwASdpCYK— Victoria Murphy (@QueenVicMirror) March 7, 2018
They discussed how the charity uses evidence and research to inform and continuously improve practice.
During her speech, Kate praised Place2Be for being at the forefront of efforts to give every child the best start in life.
A video from Victoria Murphy.
Part of Kate’s speech at @Place2Be today pic.twitter.com/oT3rpuZVM2— Victoria Murphy (@QueenVicMirror) March 7, 2018
'Thank you so much for your warm welcome and for inviting me to open Place2Be’s new home.
Through my work with patronages like Place2Be, The Art Room, and other organisations which I support with huge enthusiasm, I've had the opportunity to meet with many school leaders, teachers and school-based mental health professionals. I have always been struck by their commitment to ensuring that children in their care receive the very best possible support. Their dedication to integrating emotional understanding and wellbeing into all areas of the school environment is extraordinary.
We know that schools have a vital role to play in creating an emotionally healthy culture for children. In spite of often-challenging circumstances, and the ever-present focus on academic achievement, I have witnessed the determination of many teachers and head teachers, in schools across the country, to prioritise the mental health and social development of children in their care: to help them build social skills; to help them build emotional skills; and ultimately to teach them life skills that will last a lifetime, and be the foundation for becoming mentally healthy adults.
Schools, however, cannot and should not have to manage all this alone. School leaders and teachers need expert guidance and training to develop their own approaches to supporting children’s mental wellbeing. They also need access to a pool of experienced, well-trained mental health professionals, who can step in when things are more complex or serious. As its Patron, I am incredibly proud of the contribution that Place2Be is making towards exactly this.
They are training and guiding thousands of counsellors, and many hundreds of school leaders, teachers and staff, based on the evidence and experience gathered from their frontline work. In my years of working with all of you at Place2Be, I have seen at first hand the leadership you provide: you are at the forefront of efforts to give every child the very best start in life.
That's why this new Centre of Excellence is so crucial, not only for Place2Be to continue their outstanding work, but for all the school leaders, teachers and children it helps now, and undoubtedly will help in the future years to come. I congratulate Benny, Catherine and all of you who have contributed to making it such a success. This Centre of Excellence is a new, and significant, step to helping those who will raise the next generation of mentally healthy children.'
Finally, Kate officially opened the new headquarters by unveiling a plaque.
The video below offers a nice overview of the engagement and a good portion of Kate's speech.
The Duchess wore the elegant Seraphine Marlene dress she debuted in Oslo last month.
From the product description:
'Worn by the Duchess of Cambridge, Seraphine’s Marlene Maternity Cocktail Dress is a true statement piece, perfect for special occasions. The soft woven skirt sweeps elegantly to the knee, creating a flattering A-line silhouette that’s perfect before, during and after pregnancy. The stunning lace bodice is lined in comfortable stretch jersey, while the elegant long sleeves are made in stylish peek-a-boo lace, with subtle bell detailing at the cuffs. Velvet ribbon detailing at the empire waist, cuffs and collar complete the look.'
Kate wore her Stuart Weitzman Power pumps.
And carried her Mulberry Bayswater clutch.
Kate accessorised with her sapphire and diamond earrings.
We'll see Kate on Monday for the Commonwealth Day service.
