Enriching Activities
Our HAF providers have delivered a wide range of experiences for children accessing the HAF programme. Clubs have also included other activities that develop new skills, friendships and hobbies; they introduced board games, craft activities, art and cooking.
Targeted Youth Services following the success of having Dave Taylor a local artist they welcomed him back to work with the children to design another mural for one of the rooms at Shoebury Youth Club. Staff and young people were involved in the painting and design; this engaged pupils and developed their confidence.
SAVS Turning Tides – has been delivering youth clubs for over 11 years in the most disadvantaged areas of Southend with the help of funding through BBC Children in Need and as an approved HAF provider since 2021. Over 96% of children attending our clubs are 8 from low income and get benefit related free school meals. This summer the children took part in a community project in partnership with Southchurch Hall Inspirational Parkers (SHIP). During the session children had the opportunity to create a bug hotel in the same style as Southchurch Hall Museum. The children worked alongside local artist and sculptor Dave Taylor to create a hotel which the Mayor of Southend later helped to unveil during a Wildlife Heritage event in the summer holidays.
Following the success of the Family Christmas Pantomime, we reached out to Trafalgar Entertainment Group to offer 400 children and families the opportunity to attend the Panto at the Cliffs Pavillion. We worked with the following partners:
Southend Association of Voluntary Servies (SAVS) Achieve Thrive and Flourish (ATF) Active Academy, Southchurch High School, Shoeburyness High School, Lancaster School SCC Youth Council South Essex Youth Club Early Help and School Attendance team who identified families who would benefit from this enriching experience at Christmas.
"We were delighted to receive the HAF panto tickets this year! T had a fantastic time seeing the show. He responds so well to music, it was lovely to see him moving about to the songs and enjoying the visual spectacle."
"Great memories made, quality family time was had. The show was outstanding very talented cast and costumes. It was the only family day out over the Christmas break."
"B and his family loved the panto- Mum said they would never have been able to afford to go and were thankful for the tickets. Mum said B sat all the way through which is huge due to his additional needs"
"T family (6) said they thought it was hilarious and all of them really enjoyed it again said thank you for the tickets as they would never be able to afford to go"
Witsend Childcare: Having a full day with the children allowed us to take them to London on the train to "The Shrek Adventure". On arrival we headed towards the river for a scenic walk before crossing the Millennium Bridge and arriving at our destination. The children were given a "Treasure trail" for the route so they could tick off the landmarks they saw. These included The Tower of London, Tower bridge, St Pauls Cathedral, the London Eye and much more. At the venue the children had a fantastic time in the interactive experience, some of them were even chosen to take part by the cast members meaning they could press buttons and join in. The tour involved a 4D experience on a Magical Bus which was a highlight for many of the children. After the tour had finished, we all enjoyed a meal at a restaurant and then headed home to Southend. On the train the children were each given a Shrek keyring to remember their day. They talked happily among themselves on the return journey about the best bits of their great day out and rested their legs as we had walked quite a distance over the course of the day. For some children it was their first visit to London and taking the train Christmas 2024