Family Shadow Puppets

Our final shadow puppet workshop included children and parents from across the partnership schools. There were some wonderful creations, click through the photos to find out. Thanks Alice and Catherine from Little Angel Theatre for helping families over the last few weeks.

Forest School Celebration

This term Reception-aged children from Redlands and Smithy St have been enjoying the Forest School experience!

Forest School takes place in the (rather amazing!) garden at Redlands; sessions encourage children to explore the outdoors in a child-led, independent way.

Over the last three months, children have been making mud-paint masterpieces, smelly potions, forest faces, digging for treasure and fending off the Forest monsters!

We had a family celebration today by cooking bread on a real fire. The weather was freezing cold, but the fire and hot chocolate warmed us up.

An Owl, Mouse, Caterpillar and Butterfly!

Our last of five shadow puppet parent workshops (at Redlands School) produced some amazing puppets including the hungry caterpillar and a beautiful butterly!

Well done to the 100+ parents who attended the five workshops. We look forward to seeing the shadow puppets you have made with your children in January! And thanks to Alice and Catherine from the Little Angel Theatre for running the workshops.

Stepney Maths League - Heat Two

Well done to all five teams who took part in the Stepney Partnership Maths League at Halley last week. There was real improvement from the last heat in children working together as a team. Well done to Redlands who won the heat, and to all teams for taking part. Next heat at Smithy Street on Thursday 12 February.

Shadow Puppet Workshop at Halley

Artists from Little Angel Theatre have run some amazing shadow puppet parent workshops across the partnership schools this week.

The aim is for parents to learn how to make puppets so they can do it with their children over the holidays for the 'light' themed family homework.

Parents' creative talents have been revealed - we have seen amazing puppet creations including elephants, mermaids, mosques, woody (from Toy Story) even a Batman!

Check out photos from the Halley parent workshop on Thursday.

Fire Family Workshop

Well done to our families who braved the rain last night to take part in first of two Stepney Partnership 'fire' themed family workshops. Taking place in Redlands garden (in the dark!), the workshop was attended by families from Redlands and Smithy Street Schools.

Activities included lantern making, an outdoor treasure hunt (finding glow in the dark sticks and secret messages!), dough making and cooking bread in a real fire.

Thanks to PATH (Play Association of Tower Hamlets) for running the workshop. Next workshop at Ben Jonson School on 6th December for other partnership families from Ben Jonson, Cayley and Halley.

Shadow Puppet Play - Luminous Tales

Stepney Partnership has organised a special performance of 'Luminous Tales' - an amazing shadow puppet play on Tuesday 3rd January at Half Moon Theatre.

The performance is for families across the six Stepney Partnership schools. See details in school for how to apply for your tickets.

The play links with the family homework theme of 'light'.

Shadow Puppet Workshops for Parents

We are so exicted that artists from Little Angel Theatre are coming into each of the five partnership primary schools to run a shadow puppet workshop for parents!

During the sessions, parents will be taught to make shadow puppets so they can work with their children for the family homework about light over the holidays.

Participants will be given the opportunity to make their own shadow puppets and will be taught as many methods as possible (white card/felt pen/oil, black card, joints, coloured inserts, how to attach rods).

Workshops take place on the following dates:

Tuesday 6th December @ Cayley
Wednesday 7 December @ Ben Jonson
Thursday 8 December @ Halley
Friday 9 December @ Smithy Street
Thursday 15 December @ Redlands

SENCO collaboration

Earlier this week, the Special Educational Needs' Co-ordinators (SENCOs) across the six Stepney Partnership schools came together to think about how schools can collaborate in the future. It was a great meeting, and we are planning future events for staff and parents across the partnership - so watch this space...

Year 5 Family Taster Day at Stepney Green

Another successful Year 5 Family Taster Day at Stepney Green. The day brought together parents and children across the partnership primary schools to experience life in a secondary school.

Big thanks to Emad, Alom and Sami - Year 9 boys at Stepney Green who helped to make families feel so welcome. Well done to Mr Chowdhury (Science), Mr.Hanson (Music) and Mr Mohan (Maths) who delivered excellent family lessons, and Ms Scourti at Stepney Green for pulling things together so well.

There were 12 families in total
Cayley = 3 families
Halley = 2 families
Redlands = 4 families
Smithy Street = 3 families

Selection of comments from Parents/Children:

Children
“I put my hands up and and the teachers made me feel welcome"
"I enjoyed playing the piano and playing the maths game with my mum"
"It made me more confident by feeling that if I go to secondary than it will be a little easier"
"I enjoyed spending time with my Mum"

Parents
“I think it helped my niece a lot, she confident now, after today"
"Taster day help me to know the school (secondary) very well. How does school run and how helpful the school is and how the teacher is helping students. It help me and my children very much."
"My child got confident and not worried about new school"
"It has helped my child a lot, he feels he has learnt a lot in one day and feel more confident.

Family Homework - Light

The Stepney Partnership has lots of exciting things planned to support families for the upcoming family homework theme of light.

Little Angel Theatre will be running a shadow puppet parent workshop in each primary school to help parents create shadow puppets with their children.

PATH will be running a light/fire workshop at Redlands and Ben Jonson school which will include lantern making, outdoor treasure hunt, and sitting around a real fire!

Chinwag Theatre Parent Workshops

Chinwag Theatre has now run a parent workshop in each of the five partnership primary schools. The theatre workshops have explored issues around equality and divirsity through scenarios, role plays and hot seating. Over 90 parents attended the sessions, and the feedback has been great.

The workshops are part of Stepney Partnership's theme of 'celebrating difference' in 2011/12.

Almost £5000 raised so far!

Fantastic news and well done to our Stepney Partnership families. Sponsorship money is still rolling in, and so far our bike ride has raised almost £5000 for UNICEF's work in Somalia.

Check out this video that our friends at UNICEF have made.

To sponsor us, visit our online fundraising page.

Sutton House

An excellent day at Sutton House which included storytelling, mask making, dressing up and a king's banquet! Almost 500 years old, Sutton House is a National Trust property in Hackney and is the oldest building in East London.

Families from Redlands and Smithy Street school travelled to Hackney Central from Whitechapel on the London Overground. The trip was part of Stepney Partnership's holiday and weekend programme.

Spooky Cells at Centre of the Cell

Families from across the partnership schools had a fun afternoon at Centre of the Cell in Whitechapel. The trip was part of Stepney Partnership's half-term holiday programme.

Families started off in 'the pod' for an interactive science show all about cells - including computer games, challenges and videos. We then had an art workshop where families worked together to create pictures of cells.

Remember, families can visit Centre of the Cell for free, and it is open on Saturdays too!

Museum of London Docklands

(photo of family playing in the 'Mudlark' area)

A busy day for Stepney Partnership families at the Museum of London in Docklands today! We took the DLR from Limehouse to Canary Wharf, and then walked over the pedestrian bridge to the museum.

Our time in the museum started with an interactive storytelling session - hearing about the adventures of Dick Whittington in London. We then explored 'Sailortown' a series of dark alleys and passages which recreated London in the Victorian era, even the smell! Finally we ended up in 'Mudlark' - a mulit-sensory play area for younger children. A great adventure!

Stepney Maths League - Heat 1

Well done to the 20 children across the five partnership primary schools who took part in the first ever heat of the Stepney Maths League at Cayley School.

It was a really close run thing; Redlands school ended up pipping Ben Jonson at the post! But every team deserves congratulating for trying to work their way through some challenging questions.

We are all looking forward to the next heat at Halley in December!

Chinwag Theatre Session for Parents

Chinwag Theatre are running theatre workshops for parents in each of the six Stepney Partnership schools.

Including actors, role-play and 'hotseating' the sessions encourage parents to explore issues around diversity and difference.

The sessions are part of Stepney Partnership's year of Celebrating Difference.

Celebrating Difference Banner

Look out for this giant banner across each of the six partnership schools...it measures about 10 metres!

Children and parents representing over 8 countries across Stepney Partnership schools came together to create the banner. Countries included Algeria, Bangladesh, China, England, Montserrat, Morocco, and Somalia.

Families created the banner in the Art & Design Faculty at Stepney Green School. Families brought in objects and photos that reminded them of home. They traced round the objects, scanned images into the computer, and then coloured the images using computer software.

The banner was made to celebrate the range of nationalities across the six Stepney Partnership schools, and is part of the year of ‘Celebrating Difference’ in 2011/12.

The Sponsored Bike Ride

Well done to all the children who took part in the sponsored bike ride this afternoon. We had well-over 100 children who cycled, scootered, ran and walked around Stepney Park. We were raising money for UNICEF for their work in Somalia. To sponsor us, visit our online fundraising page.

Online page for sponsorship

Please sponsor our Stepney Partnership children who are taking part in a bike ride to raise money for UNICEF’s work in Somalia!

Visit the online fundraising page here.

Family Homework – London

The first meeting of the year about family homework brought together Deputy Heads and Assistant Heads across partnership schools. The next family homework for the October will be themed on ‘London’ and will have loads of fun activities to get children and parents doing things together.

We are famous!

Photographers and a camera crew came down to Stepney Park this morning to take publicity shots for our sponsored bike ride taking place on Wednesday 28 September.

We are doing the bike ride to raise money for UNICEF's work in Somalia! We were joined by Charlie Simpson who raised almost £250,000 for UNICEF’s work in Haiti. Charlie gave lots of advice to our children about preparing for the bike ride.

You can see a report on BBC Newsround here.

Support group for parents/carers for children with autism

We had the first meeting of the Stepney Partnership support group for parents/carers of children with autism this morning at Redlands. Around 12 parents from across the partnership schools attended which was a great start!

At the meeting Richie and Dani from National Autistic Society and Catherine McNerney from Phoenix outreach team talked about their work. Parents shared their views on what they wanted from the support group.

The next meeting is on Friday 30 September (9:30-11am) at Halley Primary School where Andru Kyle from Disabled Children’s Outreach Service will lead a discussion about how parents cope when their child is diagnosed with autism.

On Friday 4 October we will visit a Mindbuilders’ Parent Session led by Sibylle Janert – a psychologist with 16 years experience of working with families, young children and autism.

Fun at Hampstead Heath

18 of us went over to Hampstead Heath in blazing sunshine earlier today. We took the London Overground from Whitechapel to Gospel Oak (changing at Canonbury). The camera died, so there are no pictures to share! But we had an epic game of cricket, fun in the paddling pool and playground, and a quick game of twister.

UNICEF and Stepney Partnership

Earlier today, Somali families from across Stepney Partnership schools and representatives from OSCA (Ocean Somali Community Association), met with the fundraising team at UNICEF. We discussed ideas for how the Stepney community can raise funds for the crisis in Somalia. The children came up with amazing ideas including a sponsored bike ride or skip in Mile End Park and a toy sale in schools. Check the blog for more updates...

Families win awards at Houses of Parliament

Big congratulations to six Stepney Partnership families who won an important national award at the House or Lords last night. The families were:

Ben Jonson – Laila Ali - Liban, Sahra, Llyas
Cayley – Aysha Islam, Aadam, Safiyya, Aaliyah
Halley – Andrea Phillips, Jane, Jadie
Redlands – Mohammed Rasel, Rahina Begum, Eshetha, Norrien, Yunus
Smithy Street - Rukia Khanom, Haneefah
Stepney Green – Bodrul Ahmed, Mr. Ullah

The families received their award for the huge impact that parents/carers have had on their children’s learning and the wider community. The Youth Achievement Awards were organised by the Universal Peace Federation and included inspiring stories from young people across the UK.

We had a real adventure which started with a boat trip from Tower Bridge to Westminster. Families then received their awards from Lord King. Finally, and with huge exictement from the families, we had a special tour of the House of Commons from Rushanara Ali (MP for Bethnal Green and Bow). Rushanara was very proud of the families, and we are all very grateful for the time she spent talking to children and parents.

Dads at Parliamentary Reception

Seven dads and eleven children from Stepney Partnership schools went to the House of Lords yesterday for a Parliamentary Reception about Fatherhood.

Dads had a chance to talk to David Lammy MP who is chairing the All Party Parliamentary Group on Fatherhood, along with other MPs, Peers and Policy Makers. Children took part in reading and writing activities put on by Ladybird Books. We arrived in style! We took a boat from Tower Pier to Westminster.

The event kicks off Stepney Partnership's activities about Fathers taking place this week for Father's Story Week.

Stepney Partnership Dads go to Parliament!

Next Monday, seven Dads and their children from Stepney Partnership schools are going to the House of Commons to attend a celebration of fatherhood! There will be MPs, Peers and policy makers from the All Party Parliamentary Group on Fatherhood and people from family charities and companies.

Ladybird Books will run a book corner with bunting, cushions, story telling etc for our little guests.

Full report to come...

Kite Making at Mile End Park

An amazing turn out for today’s session with over 70 people pond dipping or making kites. There were some amazing kite designs, and it was great to see parents and children working so closely together.

The activities were part of Stepney Partnership’s half-term family programme.

Little Angel Theatre

After a wet day at Greenwich Park yesterday, it was fitting that today’s play was all about making a big rain storm go away!

We visited the Little Angel Theatre, and it was a truly magical play today, with amazing actors and puppetry. Everyone came out of the theatre with huge smile on their faces. The play is on until 10th July, and we recommend that you go!

We started at Redlands by making our own puppets. Then we travelled to the Little Angel Theatre by going on the Overground from Whitechapel to Highbury and Islington, and then walking 15 minutes to the theatre.

The trip was part of Stepney Partnership’s half-term family programme.

Greenwich Park - rain won’t stop us!

Despite the torrential downpour and the fact that Greenwich Park is being dug up in preparation for the Olympics, the families ended up having a great time today!

Over 50 of us walked up and down the hill of the park taking in the lovely views, and we all huddled under trees when the rain came! We visited the Astronomy centre near the Observatory.

As you can see from the lovely photos, at the end of the day, we dried out by playing games with a giant parachute, frisbees and football.

Greenwich Park was really easy to get to – we took the DLR from Limehouse to Cutty Sark, and it was a short walk from there.

The trip was part of Stepney Partnership’s half-term family programme.

Centre of the Cell

An amazing turn out for today's trip to Centre of the Cell (in fact a few too many people turned up, so big thanks to the parents who waited patiently while their children went into the pod!).

Families learned so much today...apparently we have 10 000 taste buds and we produce a litre of saliva per day - urgh! And who would have thought when you eat a hot chilli your body temperature goes down, and when you eat a cool mint your body temperature increases? And finally we have about 70 trillion cells in our body - mind boggling stuff.

The trip was part of Stepney Partnership's programme of holiday activities. Why not check out Centre of the Cell by yourself. It is an amazing place to learn about science, it is free, and we are lucky enough to have it on our doorstep!

Thames Barrier Park

A lovely day next to the Thames Barrier. Over 90 parents and children across Stepney Partnership schools brought rugs, picnics and games for an old-fashioned day in the park. We took the DLR from Limehouse to Pontoon Dock. Football, cricket, rounders, frisbee and a kite that almost reached the aeroplanes taking off from nearby London City Airport!

The trip was part of Stepney Partnership's programme of holiday family activities.

Shadwell Basin

The bracing wind blowing off the Thames didn't stop over 25 families (70+ people) coming down to Shadwell Basin to take part in canoeing, kayaking, climbing and high ropes. A memorable day with the mainly Year 5 and Year 6 children proving what they can achieve with courage, grit and determination. Only a couple of people ended up in the Basin itself - including a Dad from Halley and a child from Ben Jonson!

Big thanks to Jan and Will and the rest of the team at Shadwell Basin for making it such a great day. The trip was part of Stepney Partnership's programme of holiday family activities.

Rip Fold Scrunch @ Half Moon Theatre

Families went to see a fun play all about getting creative with paper at the Half Moon Young People's Theatre. The actors made kites, umbrellas and lots of other things. After the play, children came on stage and made their own things with paper. The trip to the theatre was part of Stepney Partnership's programme of family activities during the holidays.

Year 5 Family Taster Day

• “I enjoyed that I and my Mum were spending time together and seeing what I do” (Year 5 student)
• “I meet different people from schools and it will make me more confident to attend secondary school” (Year 5 student)
• “I am feeling very proud. I am confident that when my son comes to secondary school he will have no problem” (Parent)
• “Today has helped me understand and learn how secondary school works, the different kinds of lessons there are an how long each session is” (Parent)
  
  Families from Ben Jonson, Cayley, Halley, Redlands and Smithy Street had a great day at the Year 5 Family Taster Day at Stepney Green. There were 3 family lessons - English, Music and Science followed by the all-important lunch.
  

Next Family Homework

The theme for the next Stepney Partnership family homework is going to be 'The Environment'. The homework will be given out before the Easter Holidays. Get ready for recycling, nature walks and more! Teachers from Cayley Primary are creating the homework which will be distributed to families across the partnership.

Step Forward

I visited 'Step Forward' today in Bethnal Green. It is an excellent resource for young people aged 11+ including counselling, anti-bullying and holiday activities. Halley school are working with Step Forward to pilot a new transition programme for Year 6 families in the summer term.

Family Walk

What a beautiful day for a walk! Families took a walk from Redlands School down to Stepney City Farm, and then back via Stepney Park. The walk was part of Stepney Partnership's programme of half-term activities.

I think we have discovered some budding photographers - all photos were taken by children from partnership schools.

Big thanks to Get Walking, Keep Walking who chose the route and walked with the families.

Family Games Session

Lots of fun at our family games session at Stepney Green School Hall. 50 parents and children took part in activities including den building, clay sculpting, dressing up, not forgetting the giant parachute. Oh and the Carrom Boards were a big hit with the Mums! The day was part of Stepney Partnership's half-term programme of activities.

At first, girls created a den for 'girls only' which prompted boys to make their own too. But it was nice to see that by the end of the session boys and girls were co-operating and made a den for everyone!

Thanks to the Play Association of Tower Hamlets (PATH) who helped to plan and deliver the event.

Try Something New

What an amazing turn out! We had 40 families (120+ people) who came to our 'Try Something New Day' at Stepney Green School Hall. The day was part of our half-term programme of activities.

Families got a chance to try out lots of different skills including badminton, table tennis, henna, arts+craft, sign language, smoothy making, martial arts and more.

Thanks to the Lifelong Learning Team based at Shadwell Basin who provided a couple of family learning tutors for the afternoon. And thanks to parents, and our volunteer Saif who helped out on the day.

With so many people, next time we might need to ask for some more parent volunteers!

Happy and Healthy Family Homework

Thanks to teachers at Halley for creating the next family homework all about 'Health & Happiness' . There are loads of ideas for parents and children to work together including going on a family walk, and planning a happy day. We look forward to seeing what you have done when you come back to school next term!

Family ICT Celebration

Parents and children who took part in our ICT project came together at Stepney Green to share the Powerpoint Presentations they had made.

The presentations were excellent. And we found out for some parents it was the first time they had held a computer mouse!

Parent Voice Sessions

The Stepney Partnership is coming to the end of its original funding, and we are thinking about applying for new funding from different places. Before we do, we want to find out the views of parents.

Ben will be running a 'Parent Voice' session in each of the partner schools over the next few weeks to find out views. He will then present views to Headteachers and other staff at a Stepney Partnership Away Day on the 15th February.

In the sessions, parents will be asked four questions:
1) What learning opportunities will help prepare your child for adult life
2) Which of these learning opportunities are responsibility of (a) family (b) school (c) both together?
3) What challenges do you (and other family members) face in supporting your children to learn?
4) What will be the main opportunities and challenges for families living in Stepney in the years ahead?