 Attendees at the Child-Friendly Medway Annual Report Launch
We launched our 2024-2025 annual report, at MidKent College, Gillingham on Thursday, 2 October.
Guest speakers included Cllr Vince Maple, the Leader of Medway Council; Richard Hicks, Chief Executive and Cllr Adam Price, Portfolio Holder for Children's Services.
We were joined by over 50 attendees, including Medway Council teams and community partners. Guests also included the Mayor of Medway, Cllr Clarke; Cllr Murray; Cllr Nestorova and Cllr Tejan.
A special visit from our Child-Friendly Medway mascot, Mojo, made the launch even more special, and brought a smile to everyone’s face!
Child-Friendly Medway launched in April 2021 as a platform to listen and respond to the voices of children and young people in Medway. Providing an opportunity for children and young people to share their views about where they live, go to school and play, helping to shape the future of Medway.
In its fourth year (24/25), CFM reached 129,188 children, young people and families in Medway, delivered, supported or sponsored 437 free events and activities while working with 80 Medway Council teams and community partners, creating opportunities for participation, engagement, and above all - joy.
Our annual report encapsulates everything we do as part of Child-Friendly Medway, and looks back at our 2024-2025 financial year. This includes our For the Love of Reading Initiative, partnership working, school programming, funded projects, and much more.
You can read the 2024 to 2025 Child-Friendly Medway annual report here.
We would like to extend a huge thank you to all that attended our annual report launch event, and to those that support Child-Friendly Medway throughout the year.
Watch our annual report launch
 Entertainer playing games with children and young people at our Trick or Treat event
Child-Friendly Medway were joined by over 600 children, young people, and families at MidKent College on Monday, 20 October for our Trick or Treat event – celebrating all things spooky.
We ran a spooktacular Halloween photo opportunity, where children, young people and families could strike a scary pose and snap a photo! They were also invited to take part in our ‘Children and Young People Survey 2025’, receiving a free book upon completion.
Many partners joined us and provided a fun activity for children and young people to take part in, including:
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Kent Police provided colouring sheets and shared information how to stay safe while trick-or-treating, with spooky stickers and notepads.
- Medway Council’s Fostering Service provided Halloween themed glow-in-the-dark temporary tattoos, and a scratch art activity where children could share a positive message. The team also gave out bubble wands, glittery bat stickers, pens, and keyrings.
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Medway Adult Education invited children to add a drawing to their Halloween 2025 banner, using their spinning wheel to select something to draw, from ghosts to pumpkins. The team also gave out pencils, rulers and building cubes.
- Medway Council’s Oral Health team brought along their popular tooth brushing model, with free toothpaste and a toothbrush for every child.
- Medway Council’s Tri For You team ran an “eat well guide” activity with fruit and vegetable tasting and gave away free fidget poppers.
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Medway Parents and Carers Forum brought along their ‘trick’ and ‘treat’ box, as well as free giveaways of stickers, bubble wands, and transfer tattoos.
- Medway Council’s Healthy Families and Bump Club provided spooky colouring sheets.
Other activities included children, young people and families having the opportunity to meet Wednesday Addams and Frankenstein and Mojo, our Child-Friendly Mascot, and take part in games, songs and dancing with a spooky entertainer.
We had a special visit from Mojo, our Child-Friendly Medway mascot, wearing their Halloween witch’s hat; they had a dance and gave lots of high-fives to children.
This event provided a safe alternative to door knocking, with children, young people, and families visiting each partner stall to take part in activities and giveaways.
Funded by The Medway Family Hubs and Best Start in Life programme.
To learn more about your local Children and Family Hub visit their website or download the Medway Family Hub app to find out more about what is on offer, including free activities and events for the whole family.
Families attending our Autumn Soft Play & Storytelling Corner
Child-Friendly Medway were at The Pentagon Shopping Centre on Thursday, 23 October for our autumn soft play, where over 250 children and families joined us.
Children aged 0-5 years old could enjoy the soft play set up and bouncy castle. Other activities included ‘decorate your own autumn wreath’, quizzes and word searches, and block building. The Child-Friendly Medway team were also on hand with bubbles, music, and games.
As part of the Best Start in Life project, the Child-Friendly Medway team used our Story Corner as an opportunity to support parents and carers with storytelling. This included how to use puppets, showcased examples of books, and provided handouts. This was extremely busy with parents and carers picking up hints and tips to make home learning fun, whilst supporting reading and literacy.
Children and families could also make use of our Book Swap Shelf, where they can swap a book they have for a new title they haven’t read before.
Partners joining us on the day included Medway Parents and Carers Forum, Medway Adult Education (who brought along their very popular parachute game!), Medway Council’s Healthy Families and Bump Club, and the NHS Immunisation team.
Children and families could also say ‘hello’ to Mojo, our Child-Friendly Medway mascot who visited, dressed in their witch’s hat and cape.
Funded by The Medway Family Hubs and Best Start in Life programme.
 Families watching the 'Anton Ghoul' show at ScareFest
Our final event for the October half term, and rounding up our Halloween fun, was ScareFest at The Pentagon Shopping Centre on Saturday, 25 October.
Over 600 children, young people, and families joined us for craft activities, spooky trails, and ghoulish comedy and magic shows.
Children made their own trick-or-treat pot, to follow the ScareFest trail around The Pentagon Shopping Centre, to collect stamps and bag some goodies from local shops. Once completed, children visited the Scare Zone to take a photo and enter the competition by D&A Toys to win a prize.
Guests could also take part in a Witch Trail, looking for witches hidden around the shopping centre, with the chance to win a goody bag.
Anton Ghoul’s comedy and magic show had children and families entertained. Meanwhile, we ran our Child-Friendly Medway 'Children and Young People Survey', giving away a free book to those who took part.
Partners joining us on the day included Kent Police, who provided colouring sheets and shared information on safety; and Medway Parents and Carers Forum who ran their spooky ‘trick-or-treat’ box game!
Delivered in partnership with The Pentagon Shopping Centre.
Funded by The Medway Family Hubs and Best Start in Life programme.
 The Child-Friendly Medway Team delivering an assembly at Temple Mill Primary School
The Child-Friendly Medway Team have been visiting schools to deliver assemblies for our 'Children and Young People Survey 2025', where we have supported children and young people to complete the survey, sharing what it is like to grow up in Medway.
Our team delivered assemblies at The Rochester Grammar School on Friday, 4 July to school year seven; Temple Mill Primary School on Wednesday, 8 October to school years three-to-six; and The Robert Napier School on Tuesday, 14 October to school years eight and nine.
The team is continuing to deliver school assemblies and community outreach throughout November and December to gather feedback from Medway’s youngest residents’ on what is important to them and what it is like being a child or young person in Medway.
We have also visited Medway Park Sports Centre to run our survey at the Mini Youth Games hockey tournaments, as well as Medway scout and youth groups, to ensure that as many children and young people as possible have their voices included in the survey.
If you would like the Child-Friendly Medway team to visit your school to deliver a Children and Young People Survey assembly, or if you run a youth group and would like a visit from Child-Friendly Medway, please email childfriendly@medway.gov.uk.
Children and young people can complete the survey using this link.
The survey closes on Monday, 15 December.
Have you been to one of our events?
Don’t forget to share with us on our social media channels: @ChildFriendlyMedway on Facebook, Instagram, and X.
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