Ealing Borough Summer School

In Spring 2020, when the first Coronavirus Lockdown began to take full effect, it became apparent just how hard children and young people were being and would be hit. School closures meant that children across the country were left without vital support - their educational needs, their wellbeing, and even the ability to form meaningful friendships and relationships, were suddenly cut away.

At the Znaniye Foundation, we knew that the most vulnerable in our communities were being left behind. We switched our focus to providing a platform and services that would allow each child to access stimulating and enjoyable lessons online, whilst keeping their connection to the community strong. For six weeks over the Summer of 2020, we held daily lessons for students aged 3-18 in core subjects, the arts, and wellbeing. Overall, we saw over 2300 sign-ups, and a huge success and approval rating; however, we could not have done any of this without support.  Everything from funds to materials were only possible to access and allocate through the support, generosity, and word-of-mouth of you – the community.

Following the success and enjoyment of our online learning sessions, we have continued our online-learning service, with the aim of ensuring that students in our Borough would continue to have the opportunity to learn equally along with their peers, regardless of circumstance.

In Easter 2021,  we were delighted to receive the Ealing Council's HAF funding, which provided four days of physical, in-person activities to children on free school meals in our Borough.

The experience was eye-opening for us all. Not only were the children delighted to finally be back in a real, tangible space, they were also exposed to various different activities, lessons, and friends. Despite the school holidays, the kids were able to play outdoors, learn new skills, and receive a full, healthy meal, which they likely would not have been able to receive were it not for the camp.

No one wanted it to end, from the students to the volunteers – and we knew that there was more that we could do, for even more children, and even more families. With this determination, motivation and passion, we are taking what we learned from our previous Summer School and our Easter Camp to create The Ealing Borough Summer Camp.

Our goal is to run four weeks of in-person services, incorporating learning, exercise, socialising, and fun - ensuring the support of children's physical and mental wellbeing when they need it most.

Many families in the community rely on school services for their most basic needs, and as such holiday periods can be daunting and worrying for many; coupled with the delays caused by COVID-19, and the slow resuming of physical services, means we urgently need to put our programmes into action. This will make sure children are succoured, in all possible aspects in which we are able to offer assistance.

To be able to do this, we need help. We need to ensure that we have enough resources for the various ages we aim to support and are able to provide them with enough activities, nutritious meals, and emotional support over the month-long period; we need your help to make sure kids are taken care of.