A guide for Looked After ChildrenLiving in Hackney black

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Introduction 4

Hackney Gets Heard 5

Young Hackney and Youth Hubs 6

Entertainment 8 -9

Parks, Playgrounds and Outside Spaces 10 - 11

Sport 12

What else can you do in Hackney? 13

Museums & other places to visit 14

Contents

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Introduction

Did you know...• Hackney is home

to almost 250,000 people from 6 continents and a wide range of ethnic backgrounds speaking over 100 different languages!

• Hackney has more parks and outdoor spaces than any other inner London borough!

• From buses to cycle paths and the Overground rail or National Rail, Hackney has excellent transport connections to the rest of London. Getting out and about is easy.

In this booklet you’ll find information about some of the great things you can get up to as a looked after child or young person living in Hackney.

You may have moved to live in Hackney from another area, and we want to welcome you to the borough and to make sure you are aware of all of the activities and fun things that are available in Hackney.

We want you to feel safe and happy here. It’s a great place to live and hang out, and we’re sure you’ll find something here to interest you.

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Hackney Gets Heard (HGH) is our Children in Care Council. HGH organises lots of fun activities and trips all year round and we’d love for you to come along.

These include table tennis, ice skating, bowling, indoor rock climbing and a whole lot more.

If you’re looked after by Hackney Children’s Social Care, you’re automatically a member of HGH. This means you can contribute to the work we do in Hackney Children’s Social Care by telling us your views and letting us know what’s important to you and looked after children.

Hackney Gets Heard

As well as organising one-off events, HGH meets monthly to socialise, play games, discuss issues and get your views. HGH member enjoy other opportunities to have their say such as being involved in youth inspections. Some of our members helped design this booklet!

If you’re a child or young person looked after by another local authority but living in Hackney, you won’t be able to join in our activities to improve Hackney Children’s Social Care, but you are still very welcome to join us to take part in our many other fun activities.

To get involved with Hackney Gets Heard or for more information:

Email: hgh@hackney.gov.ukTel: 020 8356 7404Website: www.younghackney.

org/getinvolved/get-involved/hackney-gets-heard.php

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Young Hackney is the Council’s service for all 6 – 19 year olds, and up to 25 years old if you have disabilities or learning needs. Young Hackney is there to give young people opportunities, support, advice and information, plus, it runs 5 new, state-of-the-art youth hubs in the borough alongside community-based provision. Each hub has a team of workers who run activities in the centres, give guidance and work with young people needing support. The centres have IT rooms where you can surf the internet for free, and each has different specialities, like arts and performance or health and fitness, or facilities such as video gaming or pool tables and, at Forest Road, an indoor climbing wall!

Find out how you can get involved at www.younghackney.org/getinvolved/young-hackney-youth-centres2.php or on Twitter at https://twitter.com/younghackney

Young Hackney and Youth Hubs

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The 5 hubs are...

The hubs are a

safe and exciting

place for young

people to relax,

have fun and

make friends.

Young Hackney at Hoxton Hall, 130 Hoxton Street, N1 6SHYoung Hackney The Edge, 7 Woodberry Grove, N4 1SNYoung Hackney Stoke Newington, Chaucer Court, N16 8TSYoung Hackney at Concorde, Kingsmead Way, E9 5PPYoung Hackney Forest Road, 29 Forest Road, E8 3BY

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WOODBERRYDOWN

STAMFORD HILL WEST

SPRINGFIELD

CAZENOVE

HACKNEYDOWNS

LEA BRIDGE

HACKNEY WICK

KING’S PARK

VICTORIA

LONDON FIELDS

HACKNEYCENTRAL

HOMERTON

DALSTON

SHACKLEWELL

DEBEAUVOIR

HOXTON EAST& SHOREDITCH

HAGGERSTON

HOXTONWEST

STOKENEWINGTON

BROWNSWOOD

CLISSOLD

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A

D

C

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Youth Hubs

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Entertainment

And if you prefer moving images, there are cinemas,

including the landmark Picturehouse on Mare Street with

its mix of Hollywood blockbusters and less common films.

Hackney has a thriving art scene, such as the Council’s Art in Empty Spaces programme where local artists (maybe even you!) use empty areas across the borough.

Visit: www.hackney.gov.uk/art-in-empty-spaces

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Hackney’s outdoor and sporting facilities are matched by its excellent cultural life. There’s no shortage of art galleries and venues throughout the borough.

Check out the link for a list:www.destinationhackney.co.uk/places-to-go/art

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Music has been one of Hackney’s strong points for a long while. The borough has opportunities to learn, practice and play no matter what your musical style, whether you play an instrument, DJ, sing or produce. Have a look at the Young Hackney website for some of the many groups and spaces helping children and young people become the musicians, singers and producers of the future:

www.younghackney.org/organisations/music.php

There are loads of opportunities to learn music, get involved in drama, practice your painting skills or perfect your photography, anything really. Speak with Hackney Gets Heard if you want to learn or develop your artistic skills or check out the Hoxton Hall Youth Arts centre which runs programmes in art, drama, dance and music:

www.hoxtonhall.co.uk/youth/youtharts

Perhaps Hackney’s most famous building is the Hackney Empire, a theatre built over a hundred years ago. It regularly stages plays, music and dance events, as well as a pantomime each year, but the Empire is probably most famous for the many comedians it hosts.

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Parks, Playgrounds and Outside SpacesIt may be close to the centre of London, but Hackney is spoilt for parks. In fact, it has the largest amount of green space of any inner London borough. From the beautiful and historic Clissold Park to the 88 football pitches at Hackney Marshes where over 100 matches are played most Sundays. The Marshes were also the site of the Radio 1 Hackney Weekend in 2012, featuring Rihanna, Dizzee Rascal and Ed Sheeran.

Those of you that prefer wheels

to walking will find skate parks

at Frontside Gardens in Hackney

Wick and Clapton Park, and a

BMX track at Haggerston Park.

And after all that playing, cycling

and climbing, you can always take

a walk along the Regent’s Canal.

It’s a lovely 4-kilometre stretch

of water popular with locals.

There are also many outdoor play areas in Hackney with the usual fun of swings, slides and roundabouts, but also a lot more.

You can see a full list of play areas here: www.hackney.gov.uk/parks-play-areas

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Parks, Playgrounds and Outside Spaces Apples and Pears

Adventure Playground Pearson Street, E2 8EL

Evergreen Adventure Playground, Beehive Close, (off Richmond Road), E8 3JT

Hackney March Adventure Playground Daubney Fields (off Kingsmead Way), E9 5PP

Homerton Grove Adventure Playground Wardle Street, E9 5QG

Kidsactive Adventure Playground Hackney (KAPH) Spring Lane, Big Hill, Clapton E5 9HQ (open to all if spaces are available, but priority given to children with special needs).

Shakespeare Walk Adventure Playground Shakespeare Walk, N16 8TL

Shoreditch Adventure Playground Mintern Street, N1 5EF

And if you want something more daring, try the climbing nets or zipwires at these adventures playgrounds:

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Hackney was one of the host boroughs for the 2012 London Olympic Games, and it’s no surprise when you see some of the sporting facilities on offer.

Sport

If swimming’s your thing, we have London’s only Olympic-sized heated outdoor pool at the Hackney Lido in London Fields (along with four other public pools in the Borough), so there’s no excuse for not taking a dip, even in winter!

Football, cricket, tennis, rugby, athletics, snooker and pool facilities are all available in Hackney, along with plenty of sports clubs and facilities or training for disabled sportspeople. If you’re keen to try less common sports like archery, canoeing and fencing, they’re all on your doorstep, along with lots more.

For more information, check out the Young Hackney website: www.younghackney.org/whatson/sport.php

And don’t forget, we’re just up the road from ice skating at Lee Valley Ice Park and the Olympic facilities are even closer, including the famous VeloPark cycling track and the Copper Box Arena where you can book badminton courts, get fit in exercise classes or make use of the 80-station gym.

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If the sport, parks, theatres, youth hubs and Hackney Gets Heard activities aren’t enough, there’s still no shortage of fun and interesting things to do in Hackney.

ShoppingHackney is a fashion-lover’s paradise, with loads of independent shops all over the borough and high-street stores in places like Mare Street. There are some top brands on Morning Lane and the Boxpark shopping mall in Shoreditch, while just down the road in Stratford is the huge Westfield Shopping Centre, selling everything from t-shirts to TVs.

And don’t forget the street markets like Broadway Market and Hoxton Street Market. Whether it’s fresh fish or vintage clothes, they’re sure to have something you’ll want.

FoodIf you want to eat it, Hackney has a restaurant, café or market stall selling it. From Vietnamese noodles to Caribbean jerk chicken, Brazillian fishcakes to fish ‘n’ chips, it’s all here.

Or if you fancy cooking yourself, the borough’s shops and markets have fresh and healthy ingredients from all over the world, as well as some local ones, even honey made from Hackney bees.

What else can you do in Hackney?

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Hackney has several local museums, but one of its more famous is the Geffrye Museum of the Home, while just over the border in Bethnal Green is the Museum of Childhood which houses toys, games, clothes, anything really to do with childhood past and present.

There is also the Hackney Museum which offers a busy programme of events, exhibitions and activities and is co-located with one of Hackney’s many libraries, the Hackney Central Library.

Over a quarter of a million books, 57,000 DVDs and CDs just waiting to be borrowed, and all for free from all of Hackney’s eight libraries.

Museums & other places to visit

Hackney City Farm allows you to get up close to a range of farmyard animals including goats, sheep, chickens and donkeys. There are also many small animals such as rabbits and guinea pigs. You can even get fresh eggs!

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Football at Hackney Marshes

16Produced by Hackney Design, Communications • May 2015 • PJ59066