Enjoying the summer with West London Zone
- We work with children and families both in and out of school, to provide holistic support all year round
- This summer, we hosted trips and activities across West London so the young people on our programme could create great memories and experiences
- As we begin our work this new academic year, here are some of the highlights from our summer
Capturing the fun at our Community Fun Days
A highlight in the West London Zone calendar are our Community Fun Days. Hosted in all four boroughs across our Zone, they bring together families to celebrate the academic year and the achievements made, as well as connect people within the community.
We erected a video booth so children could capture the moment and share their thoughts on their time on the WLZ programme. We also had fan favourites like football games with Queen’s Park Rangers, one of our Delivery Partners, cookie decorating (and eating), and jewellery making.
YouTube Video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ddyPWDrcVHk
We also welcomed supporters from across our Zone who came to see the work we do. A special thanks to: Young Westminster Foundation; Young Hammersmith & Fulham Foundation; The Kensington & Chelsea Foundation; MP for Kensington, Felicity Buchan; Kelly Jo Lihaven at Bank of America; Anu Holland at St James’s Place; and Councillors Catherine Faulks, Sarah Addenbrooke and Concia Albert.
"The Westminster Community Fun Day was a huge success! The whole day had a really wholesome feel and it was wonderful to see so many children and families there, from across all of the schools we work with. We were able to offer a range of fun activities for everyone to enjoy, including an art session with Kite Studios, tote bag decorating, football, team games, face and henna painting and more." Becca Farrell - Area Manager
Making summer memories
Alongside the work we do during term time, we also provide additional experiences and opportunities outside the classroom. This allows the young people on the programme to keep active, safe, and to socialise with other children from other schools in a fun and informal setting. To fund our summer programme of support, we took part in the Champions for Children match funding campaign, calling on our supporters to help us reach our target so that children could make new summer memories.
With their help, we reached our £50,000 target and invited children and their families to confidence-boosting trips and activities during the six-week break. 2,750 young people attended these, ranging from visits to the Science Museum and the Natural History Museum to attending activity days at local youth centres.
“I like going on trips because I get to do something new that I have never done before.” Primary school student on our programme
Spending time with the team
The summer term also allows the West London Zone team to get together more informally, to strengthen our understanding of each other’s work so that we can continue to deliver for our community. In June, we had our first ‘World Cafe’ in support of local refugee charity West London Welcome, where we connected over delicious food and raised money to fund their vital work.
We also had our annual summer social in Hyde Park. As our team continues to grow and as we reach more people in the community, these annual events allow us to catch up and make plans before the start of a new academic year.
After a great summer, we’re excited to be back in school supporting children and families to build the relationships, self-belief and skills they need to positively take on life. To find out more about new developments and to keep up to date with our work subscribe to our monthly newsletter, In our Zone.
