Latest News
News and Updates from the CU team
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It July and Graduations are here !
Tue 18 Jun 2024Can you believe it’s July already? This month we will all graduate and celebrate your marvellous work, so don’t forget to be sure your hours are logged and are in via your coordinators.
Did you know, on average the warmest month in the UK, July is known as both Picnic Month and Ice Cream Month? Named after famed Roman Emperor Julius Caesar by decision of the Roman Senate in 44 BC, this month was originally the fifth month of the old calendar and because of this it was previously known as Quintilis, meaning fifth so it’s time to get out in Wonderful London and take part in some Free outdoor fun.
The month of July marks the midway point of the year. It's also considered a month of fun thanks to the biggest patriotic party of the year that starts the first week of July. It's also a favored month to take a vacation because of the consistently warm and sultry weather across much of the world and many of us will be traveling and exploring this July, so don’t forget to keep your journals and collect even more hours.
FREE Paddlesport
Gilbey’s Wharf, Oval Road, London
Experience paddle sport for FREE! Designed for young Londoners aged 8 to 17, these sessions run every Sunday from February 4 to October 27, 2024, 2pm to 3.30pm, even during school holidays. Perfect for beginners, with a maximum of 16 spaces per session.
Be sure to pre-book! Led by a skilled British Canoeing instructor team at The Pirate Castle, Gilbey’s Wharf, Oval Road, London. or call 020 7267 6605 for details and to reserve your spot.
Contact info@thepiratecastle.org
Address: The Pirate Castle, Gilbey’s Wharf, Oval Rd, London NW1 7EA
Wonderful Weeds Nature Walk
On July the 23rd Join the Royal Parks for free on a leisurely walk through the park discovering the beautiful botany and fascinating heritage of some of our most overlooked wild species, the ‘weeds’.
Our relationship to these wild plants has changed throughout history. What place do weeds have in our urban parks, and what lessons can we learn from them?
This walk will last up to 2 hours and is aimed at adults with an interest in learning more about botany and ethnobotany.
On this walk we will explore botanical identification skills, benefits for biodiversity and climate resilience, historical and cultural significance.
Find out more: https://www.royalparks.org.uk/whats-on/wonderful-weeds
Tuesday, July 16 · 10am - 12pm GMT+1 Macrophotography at Bushy Park for Parents only
Discover hidden worlds and nature's unseen beauty with a macro photography lesson led by guest expert Max Mudie.
Learn tips and tricks from a professional macro photographer before heading out into the park with the Help Nature Thrive team to see what images of nature we can capture using our mobile phones and macro lenses.
This 1.5-2hr interactive session for adults only.
It will involve an indoor ‘introduction to macro photography on mobile phones’ by Max Mudie, followed by an outdoor flora and fauna walk in the park with the Help Nature Thrive team.
Find out more: https://www.royalparks.org.uk/whats-on/macro-photography-beginners-max-mudie-junjul24
Free Discovery Days in Hyde Park Discover more about The Royal Parks at: https://www.royalparks.org.uk
Discovery Days: Wild About Water
Tue, 30 Jul, 11:00 + 2 more
Hyde Park Learning Centre
Free
Discovery Days: Meadow Madness
Tue, 6 Aug, 11:00 + 2 more
Hyde Park Learning Centre
Free
Tue, 13 Aug, 11:00 + 2 more
Creation Family Fun: Nature Tales
16th & 19th August 2024 10.00 – 12.00
Westminster Abbey, founded 1,000 years ago on Thorney Island, has long had a duty to care for and protect nature. Drawing on our ancient roots and Christian faith, this hopeful season of events brings together people from all faiths, and none, reminding us that we are all connected in one living world. Join us in our historic gardens to unearth our personal accountability, inspire communal action, and contribute to the global conversation.
Step back in time at Westminster Abbey’s medieval walled garden to start your journey into their story safari. Hear beastly bygone tales, create art inspired by imaginative creatures, and spot arty animals in one of central London’s most peaceful habitats. This event is free,to book and find out more go to
https://www.westminster-abbey.org/events/summer-season
Discovery workshops throughout the holidays
Hyde Park Learning Centre
Free
Discovery Days: Peter Pan
Tue, 13 Aug, 11:00 + 2 more
Hyde Park Learning Centre
Free
Discovery Days: Life Underground
Tue, 20 Aug, 11:00 + 2 more
Hyde Park Learning Centre
Free
Discover more about The Royal Parks at: https://www.royalparks.org.uk/
QPPC Summer Festival
First SATURDAY IN August
QP Gardens Ilbert street 10-6
Queen’s Park Summer Festival
(Every August, Queen’s Park Community Council hosts the Queen’s Park Summer Festival, a free and fun-filled celebration of our local community. Summer Festival features live performances, interactive activities for residents of all ages, food vans, stalls hosted by local organizations and residents. These include advice and support on recycling, health, well-being, and introductory workshops to sports, gardening, and creative arts. There is a special over 50s space in St Jude’s Hall during the festival, across the road from the Queen’s Park Gardens.
QPCC is always looking for performers, stall holders, caterers and activity providers, and enthusiastic volunteers without whom the events would not be possible. If you would like to get involved, contact us by emailing info@queensparkcommunitycouncil.gov.uk
Medieval Soap Making
Activities take place in our Learning Centre (EC1V 4JJ) which is situated over the road from the Museum
museum@sja.org.uk
Using medicinal herbs from our garden, make your own medieval soap to take home! With Storytelling from Margaret Bateson-Hill 13:30-14:30.
Museum of the Order of St John
St John's Gate 26 St John's Lane London EC1M 4DA
Show map
About this event
•Our programme is recommended for 3-10 year olds but siblings and babies are very welcome.
•This activity is for families only; however, we welcome community groups and large parties to contact us for separate bookings and activities.
•For any larger groups than 10 persons, please contact Amie at amie.hampsheir-gill@sja.org.uk before booking so we can anticipate your arrival.
•Children must be accompanied by an adult for the duration of the activity.
•Activities take place in our Learning Centre (EC1V 4JJ) which is situated over the road from the Museum.
•If you can no longer attend the activity, please let us know so that we can give another family the opportunity to participate.
•If anyone in your group has sensory needs please contact us (museum@sja.org.uk) and we will ensure that your table is located in a quieter environment, provide you with a visual story or talk through how else we can best assist you on the day.
FREE Apple Store Workshops
Discover free and entertaining activities for kids in London at Apple’s workshops, where you can create your own emoji, code your first app, or compose a theme song. While these workshops are entirely free, remember to secure your spot by booking in advance.
The diverse London locations, including Battersea Power Station, Regent Street, Brompton Road, White City, Brent Cross, Stratford City, Bromley, Regent Street, Bentalls Centre, and Covent Garden, offer convenient options. For more details and to book a session, check the provided
https://www.apple.com/uk/today/calendar/?topics=kids-and-families&showHero=true
The Microsoft Experience Centre
Address: 253-259 Regent St., London W1B 2ER
Immerse yourselves in the ultimate gaming experience at The Microsoft Experience Centre‘s Xbox Lounge. The lounge is open daily from 10 am to 7 pm (Mon-Sat) and 12 pm to 6 pm (Sun). Add excitement to your Saturdays with the Minecraft Build Challenge for kids aged 8 and above, running from 1 pm to 2 pm! Your kids might even win a cool prize! While the Minecraft gaming challenge requires pre-booking on the website, feel free to walk in at any other time.
Virgin Media Gamepad at The O2
Address: Peninsula Square, London SE10 0DX
Located at The O2 in London, the Virgin Media Gamepad offers the finest in the gaming world. It’s open to everyone for free, but if you’re an O2/Virgin Media customer, you can secure a spot through the O2 Priority app.
Summer Screens: Family Gaming – Canary Wharf
18 August 13:00 – 15:00
https://canarywharf.com/whats-on/film-club/ June
Check out the free Family Gaming sessions where participants can engage in a variety of family-friendly games on big screens. All gaming events are free, and attendees can simply join in, with friendly stewards available to explain the rules. Player numbers are limited and will be offered on a first-come, first-served basis. These sessions are aimed at children aged 5+ and their families. More info here.
- Tues 4 June - Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle (12) - 7pm
- Sat 8 June - Shrek (U) - 10:30am
- Mon 10 June - Pride (15) - 7pm
- Tues 11 June - Jaws (12) - 7pm
- Sat 15 June - Fantastic Mr Fox (PG) - 10:30am
- Sun 16 June - Clueless (12) - 5pm
- Mon 17 June - The Wizard of Oz (U) - 7pm
- Tues 18 June - Black Panther: Wakanda Forever (12) - 7pm
- Sat 22 June - Coco (PG) - 10:30am
- Mon 24 June - But I'm a Cheerleader (15) - 7pm
- Tues 25 June - Groundhog Day (PG) - 7pm
- Sat 29 June - How to Train Your Dragon (PG) - 10:30am
- Sun 30 June - Wonka (PG) - 5pm
- Tues 16 July - The Dark Knight (12) - 7pm
- Sat 20 July - Monsters Inc (U) - 10:30am
- Tues 23 July - Romeo+Juliet (12) - 7pm
- Tues 30 July - Crazy Rich Asians (12) - 7pm
- Tues 13 August - Barbie (12) - 7pm
- Sat 17 August - The Little Mermaid (PG) - 10:30am
- Sun 18 August - The Incredibles (U) - 5pm
- Tues 20 August - Bajrangi Bhaijaan (12) - 7pm
- Sat 24 August - The Super Mario Bros Movie (PG) - 10:30am
- Tues 27 August - Grease (PG) - 7pm
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Kew, STEM and Topsy Turvy
Mon 03 Jun 2024
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It's June
Mon 03 Jun 2024It’s June!
May seems to have gone by so quickly we had a great time during STEM week with art at the Canal Cavalcade and even had reading on the beach. Now, we are getting ready to look forward to June and even warmer weather as well as getting ready for graduations. It’s a sunny and exciting time and there is still plenty more for you to do with WCU.
Thanks to Lets Localise and Cognizant we are still experimenting with our free TWIN engineering and coding kits. I has been great fun and we are determined to keep the fun and exploration going. We have made a fruit salad of electric pianos-banana, grape and strawberry- and learned how circuits we use all the time work. We are working on coded sustainability projects and creating work in scratch too.
Now is a great time to start collecting your hours together in a list to get ready for graduation, if you need any help in school with this please let us know ,we’d be happy to help.
Archimake workshops are fun short courses in creativity, drawing, model making, problem solving and teamwork, for children aged over 7 to explore design & the built environment.
If the weather has put you in the mood for outdoor arts, the Kaleidoscope Festival is back! The event, on Saturday the 13th of July, will once more feature a packed programme that promises our customary mix of live music, DJs, comedy, and a host of entertainment for families around the festival site, including interactive theatre, workshops and more at London’s highest festival. All set within the beautiful Alexandra Park with views right across London. It’s shaping up to be a lovely day with plenty of family activities to take part in too!
WCU can also offer Art Award an ultimately GCSE equivalent national qualifications certified by Trinity College London Come and join us at Archimake, at QP from 4-5 on Mondays to meet architects and d=create your own designs. Signing up is easy just let us know you’re coming and we will see you there.
Meanwhile gardens is a great local venue and we will be there every Wednesday 4-6 PM in June, working with the floating classroom to get you all involved in forest school. This summer the Floating Classroom is offering 8 weeks of free Forest School activities at Meanwhile Gardens for children aged 8-11 from schools taking part in the Westminster Children's University extra-curricular scheme.
Forest School is a fun, child-centred learning process that uses regular outdoor sessions to connect children to the natural world. This is a brilliant opportunity to learn about the environment, build confidence, and explore the outdoors.
Every Wednesday afternoon in the 2024 summer term: 15th May - 10th July at Meanwhile Gardens (156 - 158 Kensal Rd, W10 5BN) (not half-term - 29th May)
You can sign-up using the link to the form here. If you have any questions or need help completing your sign-up form: call 0203 951 7376 or email cameron@thefloatingclassroom.co.uk
Please note: this activity is for children from schools participating in the Westminster Children's University extra-curricular programme.
Current member schools are: St Augustine’s, Kilburn Park, St Thomas' Primary School, Edward Wilson Primary School, Our Lady Dolour’s Primary School, St Joseph’s Church of England Primary School, St Joseph’s Catholic Primary School, Oakington Manor Primary School, Middle Park Primary School, Rathfern Primary School, St Paul's and All Hallows CofE primary school, Soho Parish School, Queen's Park Primary, Essendine Primary, Hallfield Primary, St Mary of the Angels, St Peter's Primary, St Luke's Primary, St Stephen's Primary, Holy Cross Primary School, St Marylebone the Bridge.
The month of June also sees us celebrating Butterfly Education and Awareness Day, or BEAD for short, is an annual event organised by the Association for Butterflies (AFD) to raise awareness about the importance of butterfly conservation.
BEAD is designed to help educate the public about the importance of butterflies in the pollination process and why it's important to create and protect butterfly habitats. This event is also a great opportunity to learn about metamorphosis and the environment.
BEAD is a yearly event that happens on the first Saturday of June. In 2024 BEAD will be on the 1st of June.
Pot Gang have sent us growing kits and we have had several community days planting and growing too ,it's so rewarding seeing all the growth happening this time of year.
How can you create a habitat for butterflies?
The best way to create a good habitat for butterflies is to add lots of butterfly biodiversity to a sunny patch of garden. There are a number of ways that you can make butterflies and caterpillars feel more at home:
- Plant wildflowers - long grass, wildflowers and nettles are great for butterflies and caterpillars.
- Plant other nectar-rich flowers - such as Buddleia, Red Valerian or Verbena
- Use the sun - plant flowers and place rocks or large stones in sunny corners to encourage basking
How can you get involved in Butterfly Education and Awareness Day?
Use some of these lovely, butterfly-themed resources when celebrating the day in school or at home:
- Horticulture and Growing Plants Activity Pack
- Caterpillars and Butterflies Discovery Sack
- Paper Butterfly Craft Activity
- Butterfly Colouring Sheets
- The Very Hungry Caterpillar Maths Activity
- Butterfly Symmetry Worksheet
What is the lifecycle of a butterfly?
The lifecycle of a butterfly is made up of 4 different stages:
- Egg
- Caterpillar (or larva)
- Chrysalis (or pupa)
- Butterfly
5 Fun facts about butterflies!
- All butterflies have 4 wings, even if it looks like they only have 2!
- Butterfly wings are actually made up of tiny scales that reflect light to form beautiful colours and patterns.
- It is estimated that there are between 15,000 and 20,000 different species of butterfly in the world! How many have you seen?
- Butterflies can cleverly camouflage themselves to avoid predators.
- Butterflies flap their wings at least 5 times every second!
- If you would like a trip to Kew with your class, we have tickets to their community day so get in touch and maybe you’ll be on your very own Kew butterfly hunt soon.
When is Child Safety Week 2024?
In 2024, Child Safety Week runs from Monday 3rd of June, to Sunday 9th of June.
Child Safety Week is an annual campaign created by the Child Accident Prevention Trust (CAPT). Child Safety Week is intended to instigate conversations around child safety and spread awareness of how parents, carers and educators can prevent accidents through proactive dialogue and promoting awareness through activities. The campaign is led UK-wide, and also focuses on educating children on different approaches to accident prevention and how they can keep themselves safe.
How Child Safety Week can help parents, educators and children
CAPT’s main incentives are to prevent the number of accidents to children in the UK; one of the leading causes of children’s death behind cancer. Although they recognise that children need to experiment and take risks in order to learn, they strive to impart practical knowledge, solutions, and strategies to minimise risks and accidents in common circumstances, such as on the roads, online, and at home.
For Child Safety Week, you can get involved by facilitating sessions with staff about child safety, and include children in lessons about how to keep themselves safe. Have a nosey at some of our fantastic resources that you can use either at home, or in your learning environment, in order to instigate awareness and conversation about child safety.
You could get involved by playing the Think! Road Safety Game https://www.think.gov.uk/resource/take-the-lead-game/
Or visit https://capt.org.uk/ for free resources lessons and games.
June is a truly busy month and all month long it is Pride Month from June 1, 2024 - June 30, 2024 .Pride Month takes place every year in June and is a celebration designed to recognise the influence of the LGBTQ+ community. Celebrating diversity and people's right to live how they choose without discrimination, Pride Month promotes positivity and equal rights for all.
Pride Month helps raise awareness of issues facing the LGBTQ+ community and provides an opportunity to celebrate the culture of inclusivity, with parades, street parties, community events and more. Designed to help educate people, Pride Month events are attended by millions of people worldwide.
The history of Pride Month
Pride Month is celebrated every year in June, as this marks the anniversary of the Stonewall Riots. These were a series of equal rights demonstrations held by members of the LGBTQ+ community against oppression. This was in response to violent police raids on LGBTQ+ establishments in New York in June 1969.
Considered a pivotal moment for LGBTQ+ civil rights, Pride Month is celebrated in June to mark how far the movement has come and what still needs to be done to help ensure fair treatment for all without discrimination.
You could create a beautiful classroom display with the help of these gorgeous rainbow posters, bunting, flashcards, colouring puzzles and Pride Flags Chart. Learn all about the pride flag on this Pride Flag Teaching Wiki! For more ideas, try:
You could even arrange your very own pride party by using our Pride Party Packs and beautifully-illustrated Pride Greetings Cards. Or you could do some colouring information sheets, these feature sports people and athletes who identify as LGBTQ+. Great for displays or for allowing children some valuable mindful time. You might also like these simple Pride Month Sports Star Colouring Pages.
KS1 Pride: Celebrating LGBTQ+ Composers and Musicians PPT - This PowerPoint is aimed at KS1 children and is intended to celebrate composers, artists and musicians from the LGBTQ+ community who have made a contribution to music in the world today.
KS2 Pride: Celebrating Contributions of LGBTQ+ Artists PPT - This resource is perfect to celebrate diversity in art. It is a fantastic and informative PowerPoint to use at any time of year, and an excellent resource to recognise significant contributions of LGBTQ+ artists during Pride month.
Caring for and respecting each other is one of the most important things we can do and June is also the month in which empathy day falls. Who are EmpathyLab?
Empathy Lab are a social enterprise with a mission to raise an empathy-educated generation, inspired to create a better world for everyone. Our aim is to reach and benefit 1 million children and young people a year by 2026.
Why is empathy important?
Empathy is being able to experience and understand other people's feelings and points of view. It is a crucial life skill every child and young person deserves the chance to develop, and a force for social change. We are not born with a finite amount of empathy, and this skill can be developed at any time.
What is Empathy Day?
Empathy Day is a national event, which inspires children, young people, and families to develop their empathy superpower and put it into action to change the world.
- Learn more about empathy and build specific empathy skills: perspective-taking, empathic listening, naming, and sharing emotions and social action.
- Experience empathy through rich encounters with books, authors and illustrators.
- Be inspired to drive change by putting empathy into action.
- Empathy Day is underpinned by scientific research showing that we can all learn to be more empathetic, it's a learnable skill. Plus, research shows that books are a powerful tool – when young readers identify with book characters, they learn to see things from others' points of view (http://empathylab.uk/research).
By taking part in Empathy Day, children, young people and the wider school community will:
When is Empathy Day 2024?
This year, Empathy Day is on Thursday 6th June, with run-up activity taking place from May.
What is the theme for Empathy Day 2024?
This year's theme is MISSION EMPATHY. We are asking children and young people to choose and complete one creative activity each from Read, Connect and Act, to boost their empathy superpower.
