Ackroyd Community Association manages the Ackroyd Centre on behalf of the local community. The Centre provides activities for young and old with a consistency that provides support which enables them achieve. In so doing it also assures people that there is a safe place for future generations to learn, enjoy and achieve. 

Many organisations are resident at the Ackroyd, delivering activities as diverse as a nursery and after school club, to healthy living and lifelong learning for elders in the community. The Centre operates seven days a week, providing something to suit most interests.

To see what's on offer, please look around the website or download our Latest Annual Report  here.

Vision Statement
Ackroyd Community Association work to help local people of all ages achieve their full potential.

Mission Statement
Through a combination of services we run and services we host and support, we empower people to achieve prosperous, healthy, active and enjoyable lives. In doing so we also support the London Borough of Lewisham in achieving the aims and intentions of its Community Strategy, Children & Young People’s Plan, Health & Wellbeing Framework and Ageing Well Strategy. We foster an attitude of empowering people to help them fulfill their potential by providing services that enable them to support themselves and their families, improve their health & wellbeing and to be actively involved in their local community.


Legal Status
Established in 1977, the Ackroyd Community Association is a Registered Charity and a Company Limited by Guarantee. It manages the Ackroyd Community Centre, supports and promotes the activities provided. The Centre enjoys solid and long standing support from the London Borough of Lewisham who, are our principle funders.

Aims
The Association aims, through the Ackroyd Centre, to provide facilities for Social Welfare, Leisure and Education for the people of the local area. The Association aims to do this in ways which actively promote equality of opportunity and which actively undermine poverty, exclusion or isolation.

Brief History
A group of local people set up a public meeting in 1977 to determine whether there was general support for the idea of converting a disused church into a community centre. A well-attended meeting gave a clear indication of both need and support. A steering group was set up and went on to develop the centre, with considerable help from the local authority.

Management Structure
As a Company Limited by Guarantee, it is run by its Directors, who are local people or representatives of affiliated groups. The Directors meet monthly to make decisions about policies, financial matters, staffing and service provision.

Staffing
The Association employs a Manager, a part-time Administrator, a Caretaker, a Project Co-ordinator and Project Support Worker (who both work with the Elder People’s Support Project). A number of resident organisations also employ staff from their own resources, for whom the Association has no direct responsibility.

Current Activity
The Centre provides the base for a range of young people’s services including a nursery, toy library, family support services, breakfast and after school club and holiday play schemes. It is also the meeting place for groups such as Alcoholics Anonymous, Honor Oak Park Residents' Association. In addition, a broad range of other self help groups use the Centre to provide services including under-fives, babies/toddlers groups (involving parents/carers) and childminders' groups. The Centre is the base for cultural organisations and a variety of groups offering ways to develop healthy lifestyles and creative interests - including yoga, aerobics, dance, music and the arts. Local Borough Councillors use the Centre for their surgeries.

The Association also oversees the Elder People’s Support Project (EPSP). The project provides a programme of activities four days a week to members and non-members. All activities focus on helping older people remain healthy, active and independent in the community. The activities are planned to suit a variety of interests and abilities, making it  accessible to all. The project also facilitates integration to reduce isolation and loneliness which is a major cause of depression in the older population. EPSP serves a multicultural and diverse local community, which represents the range of cultures and backgrounds of the elders of Lewisham.

The Centre recognises and values the cultural diversity of our local community: the composition of our user groups attests to our commitment in this respect. We provide a base for services that seek to improve the well-being of people in Lewisham and to promote independence and participation in community life. The provision of affordable childcare helps those Lewisham residents who might otherwise struggle to return to work. The work undertaken by various groups at the Ackroyd also supports parents and carers of children with special needs.  Through this provision the Centre contributes to many of the key aims of the Lewisham Children & Young People’s Plan and the Children’s Centre, Childcare and Play Service (CCCP) plans. These are aimed at reducing child poverty and improving the health, education and well being of young children and their families, and supporting parents in parenting their children.