My initiative is designed for and delivered in London
Yes
I am 18 years of age or above, by the application deadline.
Yes
My organisation is a registered UK entity and has a London-based address.
Yes
My organisation is a non-profit (e.g. school, university, or local authority) — not a for-profit, which can only join as a partner.
Yes
If there is a for-profit organisation as a partner in my initiative, they work on a cost-recovery basis only.
Yes
My solution is implemented at scale, or if not, I have a clear business plan, a minimum viable solution (prototype, pilot, or proof of concept), evidence of access to a lease for the space you are leveraging, and evidence of work or impact in London within your coalition.
Yes
I am aware that, if I am submitting more than one application to a Challenge run by Ashoka and Go! London, only one of them is able to progress through the stages.
Yes
Are you an employee (and their children and grandchildren) of Ashoka or any of its respective affiliates and participating advertising and promotion agencies?
No
I have read and accepted the Challenge Terms & Conditions.
Yes
First Name
Kristina
Last Name
Simpkin
Pronouns
She/Her
Email address
I would like to receive notifications and updates about Go London!, Ashoka, Ashoka Changemakers, and other Ashoka opportunities.
1
Are you an Ashoka Fellow?
No
Are you applying from an organization founded by an Ashoka Fellow?
No
If you are applying from an organization founded by an Ashoka Fellow, please specify the name and organisation of the fellow below.
Lead Organisation Name
London DJ & MC Academy CIC
Year that you started/ registered your organisation
2008
Initiative Title
SKATE! With DJMC Academy
My initiative is designed for and delivered in London
1
Website URL(s) or Social Media Handles
https://djandmcacademy.com/ @djmcacademy
Initiative Stage
Growth (You’ve moved past the very first activities; working towards the next level of expansion.)
Sectors/Themes: What topic does your project most directly relate to?
Children & Youth
Initiative Summary: Describe your initiative in one sentence
SKATE! With DJMC Academy transforms housing estate forecourts, school gates, parks and shopping centre plazas across Enfield and Haringey into scheduled, supervised roller-skating sessions, turning spaces where young people are routinely moved on into spaces where they are welcomed, coached and active.
The Problem: What problem are you helping to solve and who will benefit the most from your solution? How close are you to the problem and/or community impacted?
Across North London, young people who skate in shopping centres, car parks and public plazas are regularly treated as a nuisance rather than participants in sport. Security teams and residents respond with warnings or dispersal, which discourages physical activity and increases tension between youth and authority figures. At Edmonton Green Shopping Centre, groups of young people skate unsupervised and face regular confrontation with security. Young Black skaters we work with have told us directly that they are treated more harshly and moved on more quickly than others. Recently, a woman was trampled during unsupervised skating in the centre, prompting local police, Edmonton Community Partnership and the shopping centre itself to request that DJMC Academy come in specifically to create an intervention with the young people involved. Enfield, the 9th most deprived London borough, and Haringey, ranks 49th of 317 authorities nationally for deprivation. In Enfield, 41.5% of Year 6 pupils are overweight or obese, yet some young people present in these spaces are already moving. They just lack consistent permission, supervision and a structure that signals legitimacy to the wider community. Many of the young people we work with also live with anxiety, additional learning needs or school-exclusion risk, which makes formal sports environments intimidating. Skating lets them progress at their own pace, on their own terms, in spaces they already know. Parks and estates have the surface and the footfall, but no equipment, no coaching and no permission. Without someone to bridge the gap between young people and the people who control these spaces, the energy on wheels gets shut down instead of supported.
Your approach: How are you/ will you addressing the problem outlined above? How does your solution unlock or reimagine access to spaces for sport and physical activity? What role do landowners, local authorities, or other decision-making stakeholders play in your approach? We'd love to know about the origin of your idea, and what was your "aha" moment" that led you to take action?
We load a mobile DJ van with roller skates, helmets, pads, cones and a sound system, drive directly to housing estates, school gates and Pymmes Park, and set up a portable roller rink in under an hour. Music draws attention. Free loaned kit removes cost barriers. Trained coaches and visible marshals remove the stigma of unstructured presence. The space is reimagined in real time: a forecourt becomes a rink at 3:30pm and returns to a forecourt by 5:30pm, with zero capital spend and no planning permission required. The turning point came after the monitoring and evaluation of our Sport England programme. Skating consistently outpaced football and dance on attendance and enthusiasm, while we watched young people skating through Edmonton Green unsupervised, clashing with security. We realised we could schedule the transformation. We now negotiate planned pop-ups with centre management, deploy visible skate marshals and set clear session times, replacing perceived disorder with recognised activity so everyone has a shared plan. Unlocking these spaces depends on relationships with the people who control them. Enfield and Haringey Councils grant us access to parks and estate pavement areas that most organisations cannot use. Edmonton Green centre management know our practice from past events, so we agree supervised sessions rather than blanket bans. Safer Neighbourhood Teams share intelligence on timing and locations. Edmonton Community Partnership opens doors to schools and parent networks. Each partnership turns a space that was either unused or contested into one that is active, safe and regularly available, without permanent infrastructure.
Collaboration with young people and the community: In what ways does your initiative engage young people and community members closest to the problem? What role do they play in building the solution you deliver?
Young people designed this project through their actions and their words. During our multi-sport programme, skating consistently drew the highest attendance. They voted with their feet. A group of skateboarders at Meridian Skatepark directly asked for coaching support in their setting, which is why this plan centres the combined skating offer they requested. Families who paused at pop-ups told us younger children wanted to join but felt crowded by older groups, so we created a dedicated Saturday family hour for 4-to-6-year-olds where parents stay close while confidence builds. We watched children waiting at the edge of sessions, eager to join but without skates or pads. That observation shaped the loan-kit model: cost never decides who steps onto the rink. Young people also pointed us to specific estates and parks where friends already skate, so session sites feel safe and known rather than imposed. Session times, music styles and progression challenges are shaped through ongoing consultation. A QR-code survey after each session and optional voice-note feedback let participants shape what happens next. Half-term route reviews with a youth advisory group decide which estates and parks the van visits. Coaches read non-verbal cues, noticing who hangs at the edge or who needs a quieter corner, and adjust layouts on the spot. Parents, carers and professionals from multi-agency meetings share guidance so sessions stay responsive. Older participants who enjoy supporting others enter a volunteer pathway as skate marshals, gaining responsibility and teamwork skills, shifting from being served to actively shaping delivery alongside the team.
Potential for/Evidence of Impact: How do you imagine your initiative will make a difference in unlocking spaces for and access to physical activity and sport so far? If you have already implemented it, what difference have you made so far? What is the impact your initiative has had , and or what impact do you envision having in the future?
Where supervised sessions have run, complaints from security and residents have dropped, relationships between young people and on-site staff have improved, and areas that previously generated tension have become places people are happy to see active. Participants report increased confidence, better mood regulation and stronger peer connections after regular skating. Across our wider programmes, 297 young people moved into education or employment through NEET pathways, and over 80% of our current staff first joined as participants before training into paid roles. That progression pipeline is central to SKATE!, where older participants enter volunteer marshal roles and gain references, teamwork experience and a route toward paid youth work. We expect to engage 80 children and young people, with at least 70 new to the organisation. We expect to take on at least 5 new youth ambassador or new members of staff from participants of the project. The request from local police, Edmonton Community Partnership and Edmonton Green Shopping Centre to intervene directly with young skaters in the centre is itself evidence of demand and trust. We already have the relationships, the vehicle and the credibility to deliver in the exact locations where the need is sharpest. Each estate pop-up is a proof point that public space can be reimagined for young people without permanent infrastructure. We will document the partnership template, covering how we negotiate access with councils, housing associations and shopping centres, as a freely available toolkit so other organisations can adopt the approach. The ambition is a network of pop-up spaces across London, each locally owned but connected by a shared model that turns contested ground into welcomed activity.
Innovation: What is different about your initiative compared to other solutions that are already out there? How is your approach original and innovative?
Most sport-for-development projects bring young people to a fixed venue. We bring the venue to young people, and in doing so, we change who public space is for. The initiative blends street sport, music culture and supervised outreach into one recognisable format that shifts public perception of skating from disruption to organised activity. Instead of building new facilities, it creates scheduled transformation: a housing estate forecourt becomes a roller rink for two hours and resets with zero capital spend. This approach changes norms around how public spaces can be shared without permanent structural changes or high cost. The originality lies in stacking three innovations together. First, mobile infrastructure: a DJ van that carries everything needed to create a pop-up rink anywhere with a flat surface and permission. Second, a mediation role that transforms hostile spaces into welcoming ones. At Edmonton Green, we replace the ban-or-ignore binary by positioning ourselves as the bridge between young skaters and centre management, negotiating planned pop-ups with visible marshals and clear session times. Third, a loan-kit system that eliminates cost entirely, so the only requirement for participation is showing up.
Viability and Scalability: How are you setting your initiative up for success, and what is your plan to ensure operational sustainability of your solution and its impact? What are your ideas for scaling your initiative to the next level?
The model is lean and repeatable. Our mobile DJ van is already operational, loaned kit is budgeted, and venue costs are zero because every site is provided in-kind through council and partner relationships. Staffing is anchored by a Lead Coach supported by assistants drawn from the same community, keeping overheads low while building local employment. Sustainability comes from three sources. First, the volunteer pathway: older participants train as skate marshals, reducing the staff-to-participant ratio over time while gaining transferable skills and references. Second, partnership infrastructure: once we establish an access agreement with an estate or shopping centre, that agreement endures beyond any single funding cycle. Third, income diversification: DJMC Academy has eighteen years delivering music, mentoring and accredited programmes, giving us multiple revenue lines that underpin resilience. For scaling, the model is mobile and repeatable, adapting to different boroughs, estates and parks. We plan to document the partnership negotiation process, covering how we secure access to council land, estate forecourts and retail spaces, as a freely available toolkit. Growth involves additional trained coaches, extended council partnerships and shared session templates that allow other communities to replicate with local ownership. Short term, we add sites across Enfield and Haringey. Medium term, we partner with organisations in other boroughs to seed pop-up rinks using our template. The ambition is a London-wide network of mobile skating spaces, each locally owned but connected through a shared model.
Roles and Responsibilities: Describe how responsibilities are shared among your team or partners.
DJMC Academy (Lead Applicant): Overall project management, delivery coordination, safeguarding oversight and monitoring. Provides the mobile DJ van, session equipment and loan-kit pool. The CEO leads strategic partnerships and funder relationships. The Project Manager oversees day-to-day operations, scheduling and data collection. Lead Roller-Skating Coach: Designs and delivers all skating sessions across estates, parks and schools. Responsible for progressive skill-building, session safety, warm-ups, drills and cool-downs. Manages assistant coaches and sessional staff on site. Assistant Coaches and Sessional Youth Assistants: Support session delivery, manage participant flow, provide one-to-one encouragement and ensure equipment is distributed and returned safely. Youth assistants are recruited from the local community, many progressing from participant to paid role. Mobile DJ Lead: Manages music, announcements and session atmosphere. Creates the audio identity that signals to surrounding residents and passers-by that an organised activity is taking place. Safeguarding Lead and First Aider: Present at every session. Responsible for DBS compliance, incident reporting and liaison with multi-agency partners where concerns arise. Edmonton Community partnership Haringey Councils: Grant access to parks, pavement areas outside council estates and other public land. Support permissions and logistics for estate-based delivery. Supports referrals through schools, youth hubs and parent networks. Shares local intelligence to ensure sessions reach the most underserved families. Safer Neighbourhood Teams: Provide information on location timing and community dynamics to help plan safe, well-received pop-up sites. Edmonton Green Shopping Centre Management: Collaborate on planned, supervised skating pop-ups near the centre, replacing unmanaged skating with structured sessions and shared expectations around safety and noise. Volunteer Skate Marshals (Young People): Older participants who progress into volunteer roles supporting session delivery, crowd management and peer mentoring, with travel support and references provided.
Upcoming Milestones: Please provide an overview of the milestones that are required for your initiative to come to fruition/to grow.
Pre-delivery: Finalist and Refinement Phase (March to August 2026) Participate in 8-week capacity-building programme (mid-March to end of April) Develop detailed project plan incorporating programme learning Formalise written access agreements with Enfield and Haringey Councils Begin recruitment for Lead Coach and sessional staff roles Confirm partnership commitments with Edmonton Community Partnership, Safer Neighbourhood Teams and Edmonton Green management Months 1 to 2 (September to October 2026) Complete DBS checks, safeguarding training and first aid certification for all staff Purchase and hire roller skating kit, safety equipment and session materials Conduct youth consultations on preferred session formats, music and locations Finalise site risk assessments for priority estates and parks Months 3 to 4 (November to December 2026) Launch Saturday hub sessions at Pymmes Park (family hour, coached sessions, open practice) Begin weekly pop-up rotation across two priority housing estates Activate referral pathways with Edmonton Community Partnership and youth hubs Set up monitoring system and conduct baseline surveys with first cohort Months 5 to 8 (January to April 2027) Add after-school Wednesday sessions at partner schools Expand estate pop-up rotation to additional sites based on demand and youth feedback Pilot supervised pop-up at Edmonton Green Shopping Centre with centre management First half-term route review with youth advisory group First cohort exit surveys; analyse and share early findings with partners Months 9 to 12 (May to August 2027) Holiday programme delivery pattern activated Recruit and train first cohort of volunteer skate marshals from older participants Trial sessions at Meridian Skatepark responding to skateboarder interest Mid-point impact review covering attendance, behaviour and community response Begin drafting partnership access toolkit Months 13 to 18 (September 2027 to February 2028) Embed volunteer marshal pathway as sustainable delivery model Expand to additional borough sites if partnership interest emerges Complete and publish partnership access toolkit for replication Community showcase events demonstrating progress to partners and funders Final evaluation and legacy planning
Capacity-Building Participation and Support Funding: If you were to make it as a finalist, you will be required to participate in an 8-week capacity building programme. If funding/ cost is a barrier to your participation, we may be able to offer up to 10,000 GBP of grant money available to support you. Please break down below, if it is the case, what costs you would incur and you would need covered. (Please note that there are restrictions on how the grant money may be used; please refer to the T&Cs for further details.
Capacity-Building Participation and Support Funding As a small CIC, participation in the capacity-building programme would generate project development costs we could not absorb without support. We would request up to £10,000 to cover: Direct project costs connected to project development: Prototype pop-up rink materials for testing layouts, surfaces and boundary configurations across different estate and park settings: £2,200 Research visits to existing skating and pop-up sport projects in other boroughs to inform delivery model: £600 Travel to capacity-building programme sessions across London: £500 Site survey and risk assessment costs for priority delivery locations: £800 Printing and production of partnership access toolkit (documenting how we negotiate use of public and private land): £900 Childcare and caring responsibilities cover to enable programme attendance: £400 External expertise and services: Consultancy from an experienced roller sport coach to develop our session progression framework and coach training plan: £2,000 External safeguarding consultancy to design protocols specific to pop-up delivery in unsupervised public spaces: £1,200 Independent evaluation consultancy to design the project's monitoring and impact measurement framework: £1,400 Total requested: £10,000 Though we would be open to guidance on your preferred expenditure.
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User Email
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