Community
Engagement
Westminster Community Homes is committed to providing support to the Community, particularly in areas we have properties.
Since 2011, WCH have provided over £200,000 of funding into various community projects ranging from sports activities, environmental schemes and those designed to aid educational attainment.
WCH have worked with the City Council’s Economic Development & Regeneration Team to review the current programme and provide proposals which deliver social value, which are:
Leverage / Additionality - wherever possible, we will invest with others to support greater outcomes.
Influence and advocacy to suppliers and the sector - WCH as a purchaser of goods and services and through our wider connections with the sector can and should be a force for good. Working with others delivers more for our investment and ultimately for our tenants.
Addressing identified needs - programmes respond to needs identified by the community and our tenants and that we work in partnership with the Council’s Economy Team to develop our understanding and knowledge of need and interventions.
Measurement - that we quantify the benefits of our programme to help tell our story and aligning to our mission and purpose of Building a Brighter Future for All. KPIs will be incorporated into our Board Reporting.
Localised - where possible, our Social Value programme is directly benefiting the lives of our tenants.
WESTMINSTER COMMUNITY HOMES CONTINUE TO FUND
HOMEWORK AND BREAKFAST CLUBS IN WESTMINSTER
With the closure of St Stephens Primary School in the summer of 2023 we are now funding just five homework or breakfast clubs in Westminster. All five clubs continue to operate successfully and are proving very popular with both parents and children alike.
Between both clubs 156 children are being supported throughout the year.
What schools are saying:
"Breakfast clubs continue to flourish and are a crucial service for many of our families."
"At breakfast club our pupils are welcomed by staff they know well every day and offered a breakfast of bagels and cereals."
"Homework club offers the chance for children to complete their homework in a safe place, with peers and an adult to support them, should they need help."
"Three smaller clubs are being run by one to two staff members in each. This allows the staff members to have more one-to-one time with each pupil."
"The parents are all keen for the children to do an hour of homework on a Monday as they can see the benefits to their child"
MBS Girls Youth Club
The girls youth club runs on Wednesday and Saturday and has an average of 15 girls attending each session. The girls are involved in various activities such as art, sports, health and wellbeing.
Organised trips during the school holidays have been a good opportunity for them to enjoy mixing with friends. Activities include bowling, theme parks, trips to the cinema and local parks.
Workshops have been arranged with the girls on keeping safe, staying fit and mental health. The workshops covered things like keeping safe when out (especially at night), e-safety and cyber bullying.
The workshops were well received, with the girls participating and taking it very seriously.
The older girls have been encouraged to get more involved in planning and and running activities with the younger girls, helping them to build their confidence, independence and gain new skills.
Westminster Wheels
Westminster Community Homes continues to support this fantastic project, serving the local community.
Since opening:
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Westminster Wheels has offered jobs to nearly 50 previously unemployed Westminster residents - of which 15 were employed in 2023.
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75% of those people who complete their training and placement in Westminster Wheels go on to find longer term employment, most in the cycle trade - this is 80%+ for 2023.
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Westminster Wheels has given a brand new life to over 2000 bikes that were destined for waste - of which circa 700 in 2023.
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Westminster Wheels has donated 400 bikes to individuals and groups in Westminster - of which 150 were in 2023.
Find out more about the project here.
Westminster Community Homes Continue
Football Clubs
Over the last year 160 children aged 9 to 11 have engaged in weekly football sessions. As a result of these sessions three teams have been competing in the Regents Park League and Middlesex Youth League (U9 from Lisson Green Estate, and U11 and U14 from Churchill Gardens Estate).
This is giving young individuals an opportunity to participate in a well organised league, pitting their skills against various football clubs across London. It also gives them the chance to venture beyond their immediate surroundings.
The sessions have played a pivotal role in fostering an environment that encourages these young individuals to step outside their comfort zone; bolstering their self confidence and forging new relationships outside of the confines of their respective estates.
In May 2023 the U11 team triumphed over four other football teams in a local tournament hosted at Lisson Green. Their success continued in July, being placed runner up in a 12-team tournament.
Budding football stars in the making!
Community Engagement End of Year Update
31/01/2023
The six funded homework and breakfast clubs are all continuing to prove very popular and post Covid, most of the schools seem to be encouraging and promoting their support provisions more than ever, as numbers engaging are increasing. Many of the schools run two or more clubs each week, generally for different age groups and in the case of the breakfast clubs, for the same children each day of the week.
There are over 200 children engaged in the 6 supported Westminster homework and breakfast clubs.
A few words from the schools:
"Children across the school find homework club really useful, as at times they may not be able to complete their homework at home for numerous reasons, sometimes parents/carers may have difficulty helping so this is the perfect opportunity for them to access additional help with in the school and parents are very grateful that we can provide this for their children.
On talking to the children, they enjoy the club because it gives them the opportunity to work with class friends."
"The homework clubs continue to be extremely positive and helpful for the cohort of parents that we have here at St Augustine’s Primary as well as the pupils. The teachers have also commented that it is lovely to know that pupils who attend homework club will have their homework completed and can see that their academic confidence is improving in class because of it. The majority of our homework club is filled with lower ability pupils or children whose parents do not speak English at home. Therefore, this does come with some challenges so having more adults running the club has been really positive."
2020-22 Funded Projects
This is a great place to add a tagline.
The funded homework and breakfast clubs are all proving very popular in each of the schools supported. Burdett Coutts stopped their programme of after school provision in 2021 when a new Head Teacher joined the school. The 2 clubs at St Gabriel’s and St Stephens that stopped the homework clubs during 2020/21 have both fully resumed the provision.
As schools have been responding to the lost learning hours suffered by many children over the extended period of remote working, the homework clubs have if anything grown more popular and important, as is reflected in some of the school comments.
The numbers engaged in the 6 supported homework and breakfast clubs are as follows:
St Mary Magdalene’s:18
St Gabriel’s: 30 (15 & 15)
St Stephens:20
St Augustine’s:38 (16 & 22)
King Solomon KS2 breakfast club:21
King Solomon KS1 breakfast club:40
Our Breakfast Clubs provide a welcoming space for pupils each morning. Pupils receive breakfast and can do activities as well. For some families this means they can manage their work commitments and drop their children off to school before they need to go to work. For other families it means their child is receiving breakfast each day, and for others it is about supporting their children to be organised and in school on time every day.
Westminster Wheels
Westminster Community Homes are supporting this fantastic project helping young people who are not in education or employment train to gain a City and Guilds
Level 2 Mechanic qualification.
After their trainees become qualified they get them to work in the workshop and out front at their shop - you'll likely be served by them if you pop in!
This year we took kids from King Solomon primary school to Oxfordshire to visit a working farm and see the animals up close. Our staff members Hannah and Sophie traveled along for the day out. The children were thrilled to feed the sheep and we all witnessed a new born calf who had been born that very morning.
College Farm
2019
“These trips have been a wonderful part of the Y1 curriculum perfectly linked to the children's learning about animals. As a school we have benefitted from these wonderful trips for the last 6 years and they are so well run and the hosts are brilliant.
Both staff and children alike value theses funded trips and we would recommend them continuing for as long as possible! "- Lisa Eyre, Assistant Head Teacher, Ark Paddington Green Primary Academy
In 2016/17 we funded the following projects:
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Greening of the playground at St Edmunds Primary school
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Primary school farm trips
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Youth Clubs
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Football clubs
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Breakfast clubs for primary school children
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Homework clubs
