## **St
Peter’s
Summer
Project** 

## **Summer
2021
–
Report** 


**St
Peter's
Children
and
Young
People's
Activities
Group** Registered
charity
number
1182872 



## **Introduction** 

This
is
the
third
year
of
our
summer
project.
Our project
caters
for
Year
5
and
6
children
aged
9‐11,
with the
occasional
younger
sibling,
who
come
from
the four
primary
schools
in
St
Peter's
Ward,
Islington.
After a
successful
project
during
the
first
summer
of
the Covid‐19
pandemic
we
had
gained
the
confidence
to run
one
again,
using
all
the
mitigations
required
to keep
children
and
adults
infection‐free.
It
was
very clear
that,
as
last
summer,
the
children
had
suffered from
the
closure
of
their
schools
or
disruption
to
their classes
‐
the
self‐confidence,
mental
health
and educational
attainment
of
many
children
were
under strain.
Once
more
we
were
meeting
a
very
pressing need.
The
2021
project
had
high
levels
of
attendance and
was
judged
by
children,
parents
and
teachers
to be
very
successful,
perhaps
the
best
one
yet. 


**Kayaking lesson at Islington Boat Club** 

## **St
Peter’s
Ward
and
the
background
to
the
project** 

Children
in
our
primary
schools
come
from
vastly
different
backgrounds
in
terms
of
wealth
and advantage.
The
huge
disparity
in
Islington,
and
especially
in
the
project’s
local
area,
led
to
the establishment
of
the
St
Peter’s
Children
and
Young
People’s
Activities
Group
as
a
charity
in
2019.
The charity
runs
the
St
Peter’s
Summer
Project
for
4
weeks
in
August
at
the
ARC
Centre
in
St
Paul
Street. 


**----- Start of picture text -----**<br>
Making butter<br>**----- End of picture text -----**<br>


In
2021
child
poverty
continued
to
increase
across the
UK
and
in
London.
The
percentage
is
now
20%, considerably
higher
than
the
national
average.

A combination
of
factors,
including
high
housing
costs, the
impact
of
years
of
austerity
on
family
incomes and
the
additional
pressures
arising
from
the pandemic,
has
meant
that
demand
has
grown
for food
banks
and
holiday
projects
such
as
ours.
In Islington,
36%
of
primary
school
children
are
eligible for
free
school
meals
‐
in
England
only
Blackpool
has a
higher
percentage
of
eligible
children. 

The
primary
schools
with
which
we
work
all
have
a higher
percentage
of
children
eligible
for
free
school meals
than
even
the
average
in
Islington.
Indeed, two
schools
are
the
highest
and
third
highest
in
the borough
on
this
measure,
with
over
50%
of
children qualifying
for
free
school
meals.
Due
to
the forthcoming
boundary
changes,
St
Peter’s
Ward
will 

cease
to
exist
in
its
current
form
but
we
will
continue
to
take
children
from
the
local
area. 

Islington
Council
was
a
pioneer
in
introducing
free
school
meals
for
all
primary
school
children
and for
its
holiday
hunger
schemes.
We
try
to
offer
a
greater
range
of
activities
for
the
children
who
take part
in
our
project.
By
definition
they
are
children
in
need,
nominated
by
their
schools
as
amongst the
pupils
who
most
warrant
a
scheme
that
offers
stimulating
learning
opportunities,
skills
to
help 




## **Art sessions in the Arc Centre** 

socialisation
and
enjoyment,
nourishing
food and
a
caring
environment.
We
employ
qualified and
experienced
teachers
from
our
local primary
schools
as
well
as
volunteers. 

This
year,
as
in
previous
years,
our
cohort included
children
with
special
needs
and children
in
receipt
of
free
school
meals,
as
well as
children
where
family
circumstances
meant that
a
holiday
project
was
likely
to
be particularly
helpful.
We
aim
to
make
them
feel valued,
to
have
fun
and
to
learn,
especially
in the
core
programme
of
sport,
cookery,
arts
and 

crafts,
literacy,
numeracy
and
speaking
skills.
And
we
hoped
to
build
their
self‐confidence
to
enable them
to
fulfil
their
potential.
We
want
them
to
start
the
new
school
year
without
the
fall‐off
in
basic skills
that
can
occur
when
children
don’t
have
the
chance
to
reinforce
them
over
the
long
summer break,
let
alone
with
the
impact
of
Covid‐19
shutdowns.
These
are
big
ambitions
and
we
are
only able
to
report
the
judgements
of
all
of
those
involved,
rather
than
in‐depth
measurement
of educational
attainment
over
the
longer
term. 

## **The
programme** 

Fortunately,
we
were
able
to benefit
from
the
experience
of
our teaching
staff,
all
but
two
of whom
had
worked
with
us previously,
and
from
the
use
once again
of
the
ARC
Centre,
with
its numerous
amenities
and
excellent location
near
parks,
ball
courts and
garden
squares.
We
decided to
apply
for
the
new
Department for
Education
funding
for
holiday activities
and
food
for
those entitled
to
free
school
meals
or with
additional
needs,
channelled through
Islington
Council.
The priorities
aligned
closely
with 


**----- Start of picture text -----**<br>
Tag rugby in Shoreditch Park<br>**----- End of picture text -----**<br>


ours:
engaging
the
most
vulnerable
children
and
providing
a
programme
underpinned
by
the provision
of
healthy
food,
with
at
least
an
hour’s
exercise
every
day. 

The
programme
of
varied
activities
replicated
many
of
the
strengths
of
the
first
two
years
but
with an
even
greater
emphasis
on
outdoor
activities.
Tag
rugby
was
added
to
the
list
of
sports
played
and more
use
was
made
of
Arlington
Square
gardens,
in
a
Green
Man
project
and
in
the
making
of
dream catchers.
Again,
cookery,
arts
and
crafts,
mindfulness
and
team‐building
exercises
were
key
features of
the
project.
These
were
enhanced
by
a
Black
Lives
Matter
theme
linked
to
the
Olympics,
yoga
and basic
Spanish
taught
by
one
of
our
new
teachers,
herself
a
native
speaker. 

This
year,
too,
we
increased
our
stock
of
reading
books
for
the
children
so
that
they
had
a
wider choice.
It
had
the
effect
of
a
greater
uptake
of
books
over
the
four
weeks,
with
more
children electing
to
take
a
book
home
at
the
end
of
the
project.
Our
focus
on
literacy
and
oracy
was
enhanced 



by
a
second
year
of
creative
writing sessions
led
by
local
author
Elise Valmorbida.
And
so
that
the children
did
not
forget
basic numeracy
over
the
holiday
period, there
were
lots
of
maths
puzzles and
quizzes,
devised
by
one
of
our new
teachers. 

The
children’s
evaluation
of
the project
overall
was
the
most positive
to
date,
despite
the
impact of
Covid
on
restricting
off‐site activities.
A
large
majority
had enjoyed
the
programme
and
many would
have
liked
longer
hours.
The 


**----- Start of picture text -----**<br>
Yoga memory game<br>**----- End of picture text -----**<br>


most
popular
activity
was
kayaking
–
we
give
every
child
the
opportunity
to
have
a
day’s
training
at the
Islington
Boat
Club
‐
with
learning
Spanish,
cookery
and
the
Green
Man
project
sharing
second place.
When
asked
which
aspect
of
the
project
was
most
important
to
them,
‘having
something different
to
do
each
day’
and
‘making
new
friends’
were
equal
first
with
‘learning
new
skills’
next
on the
list. 

## **Our
cohort** 

Our
final
tally
was
39
children
overall,
an
increase
of
38%
from
last
year.
We
attracted
19
Year
6s
and 20
siblings
and
friends
from
Years
3‐5,
with
a
good
gender
balance
of
20
boys
to
19
girls,
and
again we
split
them
into
two
age‐related
groups.
While
most
educationists
and
parents
approved
of
the idea
of
summer
catch‐up
classes
and
holiday
induction
sessions
for
Year
6s
transitioning
to secondary
schools,
the
arrangements
for
these
were
not
made
clear
until
long
after
our
project
dates had
been
confirmed. 


**----- Start of picture text -----**<br>
Delicious Lunches<br>**----- End of picture text -----**<br>


This
meant
that
quite
a
few
Year
6 children
missed
the
final
week.
In addition,
and
with
greater
freedom
from Covid
regulations
to
travel
this
year
than last,
more
families
had
booked
holidays. Nonetheless
the
attendance,
with authorisation
for
these
children’s absences,
was
82%. 

We
managed
to
attract
a
wonderfully diverse
range
of
children
again,
with backgrounds
from
almost
every
continent of
the
globe,
from
Colombia
and
the Caribbean
to
Vietnam,
the
Philippines
and Malaysia,
via
Bangladesh,
India,
the
Horn of
Africa,
Turkey,
Russia
and
Chechnya. 

Black
African,
Black
Caribbean
and
White
British
were
the
largest
groups
with
seven
children
each, but
Asian
and
Mixed
Heritage
were
of
only
slightly
smaller
size. 



## **Our
thanks** 

We
are
enormously
grateful
to
all
of
those
organisations
who
helped
us,
financially
and
in
kind: Islington
Council
for
their
Community
Chest,
Holiday
Activities
&
Food
Programme
and
Local Initiative
Fund;
the
Angel
Association,
the
Charles
French
Trust,
the
John
Murray
Foundation, Trusthouse
Forte,
the
staff
of
the
ARC
Centre,
the
heads
of
the
primary
schools
based
in
St
Peter's Ward,
Ellis
David
for
insurance,
Popham’s
for
treats
during
the
morning
breaks,
the
Felix
Project which
supplied
us
with
food
for
lunches,
and
the
many
individuals
who
donated
so
generously. 

Many
thanks,
too,
to
our
many
brilliant
volunteers:
Elise
Valmorbida,
Janice
Thirkettle,
Jennie Milward,
Claire
Zammit,
Laura
Raphael,
Chris
Houseley,
Hannah
Gibbon,
Annie
Thomas,
Olivia O’Connell,
Krystyna
Lazaro
and
Tessa
Smith.
We
also
greatly
appreciate
the
three
sets
of
parents who
are
part
of
our
advisory
group.
It
makes
such
a
difference
to
know
how
supported
we
are
by
the local
community. 

## **Feedback** 




## **Who
we
are** 

## **The
Trustees** 

- Prof
Sue
Richards,
Chair.
Sue
was
an
academic
in
the
field
of
public
policy
and
management
and latterly
a
senior
civil
servant
in
the
Cabinet
Office. 

- Helen
Schofield,
Hon.
Secretary
and
Treasurer.
Helen
is
a
retired
community
administrator
and adult
tutor
with
wide
experience
in
Camden
and
Islington
boroughs. 

- Linda
Shaughnessy,
Trustee.
Linda
worked
as
a
literary
agent
until
she
retired
in
2016.
Since
then she
has
worked
in
the
voluntary
sector
on
a
part‐time
basis. 

- Kathy
Bundred,
Trustee.
Kathy
has
worked
in
children’s
services,
in
local
government
as
a
social worker
and
has
managed
the
Children’s
Fund,
a
programme
for
children
in
need. 

## **Senior
Education
Adviser** 

- Vivien
Cutler
is
the
Senior
Education
Adviser.
She
has
worked
as
a
teacher
and
headteacher,
in Director
of
Schools
roles
and
as
a
local
councillor
in
the
ward. 

## **Finance
/
donations** 

Our
costs
for
the
2021
project
come
to
just
over
£22,200.
We
do
have
some
reserves
for
the
2022 project
but
hope
to
be
able
to
invite
more
children
to
take
part
and
that
will
increase
our
costs,
so we
still
have
a
need
for
further
funds.
All
new
donations
will
be
very
gratefully
received.
These
can be
by
cheque
made
payable
to
St
Peter’s
Children
and
Young
People’s
Activities
Group
and
sent
to
4 Union
Square,
London
N1
7DH,
or
via
BACS
into
our
account,
as
follows: 

- Sort
code:
23‐05‐80 

- Account
number:
33070251 

- Account
name:
SPAG
(short
version
of
St
Peter’s
Children
and
Young
People’s
Activities Group) 

- Reference:
your
surname 

Please
then
send
an
email
to
our
Treasurer
Helen
Schofield
(stpeterscayg@gmail.com)
and
she
will send
you
a
Gift
Aid
form
to
sign,
which
will
enable
us
to
claim
a
further
25%
from
public
funds. 

Thank
you! 



||St Peter’s Children & Young People’s Activities Group|St Peter’s Children & Young People’s Activities Group|St Peter’s Children & Young People’s Activities Group|St Peter’s Children & Young People’s Activities Group||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|||||||
||Financial Summary YE 31 Jan 2022||||£|
|||||||
||Receipts:|||||
|||Local Authority Initiative Fund|||10,600.00|
|||Grants|||18,000.00|
|||Donations|||8,950.00|
|||Fundraising|||0.00|
|||Other|||0.00|
||Total Receipts||||37,550.00|
|||||||
||Payments:|||||
|||Admin & setting up costs|||238.88|
|||Hire of premises|||6,000.00|
|||Staffing|||12,830.00|
|||Project costs|||2,550.00|
|||Additional materials|||361.48|
|||Insurance|||0.00|
|||Other  - Additional Food|||228.07|
||Total Payments||||22,208.43|
|||||||
||Net of Receipts/(Payments)||||15,341.57|
|||||||
||Cash Balance B/F||||17,070.28|
|||||||
||Change in Year||||15,341.57|
|||||||
||Cash Balance C/F||||32,411.85|
|||||||
||Balance per Bank Statement||||32,411.86|
|||||||
||Represented by:|||||
||Reserve for future years||||17,000.00|
||Available for 2022-23 project||||15,411.86|
||||||32,411.86|



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