sport

Thames View Playing Fields receives goal posts and pitch lines

Thames View Playing Fields finally receives goal posts and pitch lines!

TWCP works alongside other community groups and its delivery partner Creative Wellness who were really keen to improve the surface of the site. After delivering successful girls football sessions via the Barking Sports For Change Coalition supported by Nike, the GLA and Laureus Sport, there were issues finding the group an appropriate, accessible and affordable space for this activity to continue to take place locally. Having run a number of successful sessions on the Thames View Playing Fields in the summer of 2021 the group needed to find a playing surface that was levelled, marked out with proper goals for their sessions to be able to continue.

TWCP began to explore the possibility of improving the surface of the Thames View Playing Fields to increase the organised sport that could take place there.

Previously exploring a number of different options which all seemed to present barriers that were impossible to overcome be it due to cost, availability or lack of clarity over who owned and operated the space and could give permission. We are happy that the site has now been made fit for community sport groups to use.

Local School Opens its Doors to Community Sport

Thanks to Thames View Junior School and its new Headteacher, James Smith, more community football will soon be offered to local residents, particularly girls and young people in the local area.

Thames Ward Community Project and its local delivery partner, Creative Wellness, have had a problem for several months which we just couldn’t seem to resolve. After supporting Creative Wellness and its founder, Barking Riverside resident Khushnood Ahmed, in running a number of very successful girls football sessions via the Barking Sports For Change Coalition supported by Nike, the GLA and Laureus Sport, we couldn’t seem to find the group an appropriate, accessible and affordable space for this activity to continue to take place locally. Having run a number of successful sessions on the Thames View Playing Fields in the summer the group needed to find a playing surface that was levelled, marked out with proper goals for their sessions to be able to continue.

TWCP staff explored a number of different options which all seemed to present barriers that were impossible to overcome be it due to cost, availability or lack of clarity over who owned and operated the space and could give permission.

A fortunate turn of events came via social media when staff realized that a local football club, Premier Kids Soccer, who were tagging the @ThamesWardCP account into lots of the excellent activity they were running at the Thames View Junior School presented an opportunity to connect with the club director and later the school headteacher. Both of these meetings were a breath of fresh air as the PKS Chairman and Club Manager, Bank, also works within the school and was able to introduce us to James Smith, the new headteacher. Mr Smith welcomed the opportunity to connect the school to the wider community with open arms and couldn’t have been more enthusiastic about the opportunity for his students to gain more opportunities to play football outside of school as well as offer up the school facilities for use by the wider community outside of school hours. For TWCP and Creative Wellness this has been the culmination of countless emails and phone calls and so to have such an outcome was really incredible after encountering so many obstacles.

TWCP will continue to explore the possibility of improving the surface of the Thames View Playing Fields to increase the organised sport that can take place there but, in the meantime, we want to send a massive shout to Premier Kids Soccer for the excellent work they do and thanks to Thames View Junior School for their commitment to the wider community it serves! We look forward to working with you both in the future.

It's a great breakthrough after countless efforts from myself and TWCP for the girls of Thames Ward. After a successful pilot, the girls wanted to carry on but due to lack of space we couldn’t continue. Their families noticed that they had increased in confidence and physical activity. The girls that attended didn’t get a chance to play in school because either they were not selected or lacked confidence. I am thankful to Thames View Junior School for giving a chance to our girls to learn, play and thrive.

Khushnood Ahmed Tweet

London Sport fund £10K for YCAG – Getting active after lockdown

YCAG received funding from London Sport to have some youth activities delivered to young people, which would be decided by the young people themselves. The purpose of funding the activities is to get young people active after lockdown ends.

What have been the key successes of the project so far?

The young people from YCAG (Young Citizen Action Group) designed an online survey to understand their peers experiences of lockdown, their physical activity before/during/after lockdown and what kinds of activities they would like delivered. The feedback from the online survey was tremendous with 700+ students of Riverside School. This will provide a baseline of activity before lockdown and before commencing the project to be able to measure the level of benefit after its delivery.

Following this, YCAG used the results from the online survey to decide which kinds of activities they would like to offer based on what their peers would most like to get involved in. A short video appeal was then produced by them to local community groups asking them in turn to create their own videos to share their offer and raise awareness of the opportunities to get involved in. Great video submissions were received from local community groups summarising their organisations and the activities they offer and these were shown in form time at Riverside School and voted on by students.

Thereafter, YCAG took the results of the vote and invited the top 4 to a “Dragon’s Den” style interview with them where the young people asked questions to confirm the offer available. These were led by the young people and were received very positively by the community groups involved who offered high praise for the approach in general and for the young people involved.

“It was great to be part of YCAG Dragon’s Den, and brilliant to see young people being put at the head of the table. Those involved were strong minded and came out with amazing and important questions.”

Kayden, Dance Instructor at BDYD, former Riverside School student

"I was very impressed with the young people's resourcefulness. Not only did they survey the needs and preferences of the other students, but also asked pertinent questions to establish whether an activity would be beneficial to them. Very professional throughout the process!"

Nikhil, Surya Wellbeing

"It was very good to see young people on a board, working together to provide enrichment opportunities for their peers, schools and community. Everyone was very welcoming and polite and asked good questions. A great example that when young people come together they can design purposeful and impactful projects."

Lamar, Right Development Foundation

What activities are being funded?

YCAG decided on the following community activities, which will take place at Riverside School:

BDYD (Barking & Dagenham Youth Dance) – Dance classes (to take place at Riverside School, 3-4pm once per week Thursdays for Years 7-9).
Creative Wellness – Cooking & Healthy Eating Workshops (to take place at Riverside School, 3-5pm once per week day TBC, for Year 7s ONLY, Max 20 students.
RDF – Basketball (Thursdays) & Boxing Clubs (Wednesdays) (to take place at Riverside School, 3-4pm once per week, for Years 7-9).
Surya Wellbeing – Yoga and Mindfulness (Online, 5-6pm once per week Thursdays for all Years but focused on older year groups with exams and stress from school).

When will the activities start?

Activities will start on the week commencing 10th May, and end on the week commencing 21st June.

Tag: sport