Here at The Future Focus Network we have taken some precautions to tackle and prevent the spread of coronavirus. We are doing all we can to prevent the spread of coronavirus. We have enforced social distancing & have placed sanitiser dispensers in each room.
• All of our staff are required to have on a face mask at all times.
• Social distancing is required throughout the workplace.
• Office, Reception area and classrooms are thoroughly cleaned.
• All staff are required to apply hand sanitiser before and after every lesson.
In order to prevent the spread, we require students to comply with our rules:
You and your child must wear a face mask on our premises at all times
Use our sanitiser dispenser upon entry
Try to stay at least 2 metres (3 steps) away from others
We hope that those taking part in this holy month have a great and blessed time!
What is Ramadan & why do Muslims take part in it?
For those who are unsure about what this month means for Muslims around the globe, it is a month when Muslims fast for either 30 or 29 days. This is because it was ordered by God in the Holy Qur’an. However, what many people do not know is that it’s not only about staying away from food & drink…it’s also about refraining from bad behaviour, such as swearing, wasting time and arguing with others. So it is a month which helps Muslims strengthen their self-discipline and most of all, their connection with God.
The day begins very early, with a pre-dawn meal known as ‘Suhoor’. After this meal, they will no longer eat until sunset. Yes that means no water as-well…
They then break their fast at sunset. This meal is known as ‘Iftaar’.
The end of Ramadan is marked by the celebration Eid Al-Fitr. Muslims attend the Eid Prayer, wear new clothing, greet other family members and receive & give gifts.
After a tough period for our students, staff and volunteers, it has been lovely to welcome them back learning at our centre. In the pictures you can see our great teachers helping out our students. The picture above shows the students’ plan of their version of Little Red Riding Hood. Everyone got involved and it’s fair to say they had a great bit of fun & gained a good amount of knowledge about plays!
Testimonies from our students:
Student A:
‘I enjoy coming to these classes because it means I am able to focus more on my favourite subject, Science. The teaching is fantastic as everyone equally gets attention. I think because the classes are small this also helps. After 5 years here I can confidently say I have improved in all aspects of English, Maths & Science thanks to all the teachers here”.
Student B:
“Since I’ve joined the booster classes, I’ve never felt any regret because every week is a new, fun experience where I learn something new. I specifically focus on English Language & Literature and I feel I have improved massively in my creative writing”.
In February 2021, during the period in which our Branch closed due to Covid, we carried out some major refurbishment works, which included repainting the walls, replacing old desk & chairs and fitting fresh new carpet. We reopened our centre in April 2021.
We also renewed our old equipment, such as the printer shown below.
Our students come first, so we believe they should have access to equipment which helps them do the best they can.
[Rest assured, we are still maintaining social distancing rules in our classrooms]. The images above are how it looked when we began the refurbishment works and below are the stunning results!
The Future Focus Network held a fun packed 5-week summer camp for 6-12 year olds from July 26th – August 27th. During these 5 weeks’ students were involved in various educational activities based around creative writing, arts and crafts and teamwork. It’s fair to say the Future Focus Network has been pretty busy!
As seen in the images, the kids had plenty of fun!
The students were given a task of designing a 3D sculpture of a landscape of their choice. Below you can see their superb designs, there were jungles, farms, rivers and many more!
This was a great way for the kids to express their imagination and improve on their creative skills.
The kids also had great fun using their imagination to create their own masks. Many were also inspired by superheroes! On the last day all students received certificates and various gifts for their hard work over the 5 weeks.
As seen in the photos, all kids received certificates & various prizes based on their hard-work over the 5 weeks; ranging from ‘future writer’ to ‘most hardworking student’ and many more. Everyone thoroughly enjoyed the awards ceremony on the last day especially our staff. It was truly a lovely experience for everyone and we look forward to holding another one next Summer!
As a part of the Summer Camp we had an ‘express your culture day’ where all kids dressed up in their traditional clothing & made posters about their ethnicities. It was a great opportunity for everyone to learn some interesting facts about different countries!
On Wednesday 25th of August TFFN held its first Sports Day Event at Valence Park, RM8. Many people attended and it was a fantastic atmosphere.
The young participants were divided into 4 teams and undertook a number of sports activities including Football drills, Relay racing and matches of Rounder’s.
The event was also attended by two representatives from LBBD council; councillor Kangethe (Parsloe Ward) and Councillor Maureen Worby (Valence Ward). Both attended and gave out the awards to the children to conclude the event.
From a young attendee:
‘I had so much fun at the Sports Day. It’s the first time I’ve attended anything like this outside of my school and it’s really nice that Future Focus are doing these sorts of activities. I’m really excited to be part of this club and I cannot wait to take part in their other programmes”. To make the day even better, we were featured in an article in the Barking & Dagenham Post!
Reading is fundamental to learning. Every child should be reading daily and most of all, they should enjoy reading. Our mission at The Future Focus Network is to help increase the reading age of children by one academic year. We aim to accomplish this by holding workshops with many different authors, creating role plays, working on literacy skills and many more fun activities every week! If you would like to!
The ‘Readers are Leaders’ Book Club (“RRL”) started off with a simple yet bold ambition; to raising the reading age of every student by one full academic year. Since starting RRL in 2020, our observations confirm that we are well on track to achieving this ambitious goal. In addition to increased reading standards, we have helped our students develop their confidence, public speaking and creativity. Many of our students have reported of a newfound love of reading! And undoubtedly, we believe this will translate positively on our students’ student’s overall attainment levels.
Our weekly sessions consist of fun and engaging activities such as; creative writing, roleplays and constructive debating. Since starting in 2020, we our students have reviewed and worked on a number of texts including numerous short stories such as; “The Grimm’s Tales”, extracts from ‘The Woman in Black’ and more extensive reading from books such as ‘Billionaire Boy’ by David Walliams. Using these texts, our students have engaged with new vocabulary and literary techniques whilst improving their reading and writing skills. Skills such as inferring information effectively from a text, identifying literary and linguistic techniques and, of course, reading more confidently.
We have also had guest speakers attend our workshops, including authors, giving our students the opportunity to interact with professionals in the literary world and get inspired!
There’s still a few spaces left on our RRL sessions. If you would like to enrol your child please contact Nelima Islam: nelima.islam@tffn.co.uk
The Future Focus Network, in partnership with London Excelsior Sports Club (LESC) launched a brand new Sports and Recreation programme in August 2021.
With funding from Sport England, this programme provides a range of sports and recreational activities for local residents in East London including; Football, Cricket, Badminton, Athletics and much more. The programme is an inclusive one with a mission to make sport accessible to everyone; regardless of their background or ability. There is a particular focus on people from BAME communities and those ages 6 to 25, although the club intends to run specific activities for adults and seniors in the community, too.
LESC aims to inspire, motivate and encourage kids to stay active and get involved in a range of sports in hope that we can produce the next generation of healthy athletes!
Here’s some background to LESC:
LESC was formed in early 2021 and was set up as an initiative by The Future Focus Network, a long established community organisation, for which the founder is Abdul Hamid. LESC is based in Barking & Dagenham although we also serve local boroughs.
Abdul Hamid is the Chair of LESC alongside a fully constituted management committee. Here’s what he had to say:
‘I decided to set up LESC because of the lack of accessible multi sports facilities within the Borough of Barking & Dagenham. As a qualified Cricket Coach myself, I’ve been involved in community sports and coaching for a number of years and have seen how beneficial sport can be, especially for young people”.
The Club’s Goals:
LESC aims to provide a range of sports, recreational activities and coaching opportunities for local residents. Some of our services include;
1. Regular sports based activities and coaching including football, cycling, cricket, badminton and general fitness sessions.
2. Coaching & Leadership Courses for young people with strong leadership potential
3. Youth Athletics Programme
4. Mental health & Wellbeing Workshops
We will be starting a weekly after school Athletics Programme for 6-12 year olds, if you are interested please contact Yahya at: info@londonexcelsior.org
