Celebrating Two Years of Family Cricket: Our Second Year of Impact in Newcastle's Outer West

In February 2026, we officially completed the second year of our Newcastle Family Cricket project — an 11-month programme that brought families together through sport, community, and shared ambition. Funded by the North East Combined Authority under the UK Government's Shared Prosperity Fund, this second chapter built on everything we learned in year one and took it somewhere new: deeper into the community, across more venues, and into the lives of even more families.

Expanding Our Reach Across Three Venues

This year, our sessions ran across three locations in the outer west of Newcastle: Children North East in Cowgate, Leisure United Blakelaw, and Sport@Kenton. Each venue brought its own community, and together they gave us something we hadn't had before — the chance to serve families from across the whole of outer west Newcastle, not just one neighbourhood.

At Children North East in Cowgate, our Tuesday sessions carried on the connections built in year one. At Leisure United Blakelaw, we found a midweek rhythm that worked for working families. And at Sport@Kenton, Friday and Saturday sessions quickly became a real hub for families discovering cricket for the very first time. As the year progressed, the community itself began shaping the schedule — when families told us they wanted weekend sessions, we introduced Saturday mornings at Kenton, and a wave of new participants came through the door.

Over the course of the year, 67 participants attended sessions across all three venues, with around 16 families attending regularly at our peak. Our sessions were genuinely diverse — with more White British, Black Afro-Caribbean and South Asian families joining throughout the year, reflecting the integration we set out to achieve from the very start.

Alosh, the Project Lead, said: "Year two showed us that when a community takes real ownership of something, incredible things happen. Families were not just attending — they were shaping what we did, suggesting changes, bringing new people along, and giving us the confidence to keep going."

More Than Just Cricket: Stories That Show the Real Impact

The numbers only tell half the story. The other half belongs to people like the Khan family, who have been part of our sessions since the project's early days. Their journey this year was nothing short of remarkable.

Their eldest son, Mohib, came to our sessions with no formal cricket training — just enthusiasm and natural ability. By the end of year two, he had earned a place in his school cricket team, becoming the first in his family to represent his school in sport. But the story did not stop there. Mohib is now one of our volunteer coaches, helping younger children find their footing with a bat and ball, and passing on the same sense of belonging the sessions gave him.

Meanwhile, Mohib's mother used the funded training opportunities available through the project — completing courses in Mental Health First Aid and working with children with Special Educational Needs. She has since secured a job as a supply teacher. Cricket brought her family through the door. The sessions changed her life.

Their story was recognised far beyond our sessions. Cricketqube was invited to speak at the Newcastle City Council Christmas Event, part of the Shared Prosperity Fund showcase — and we brought the Khans along to share their experience in their own words. To have a family stand up in front of council representatives and speak about what a community cricket project had meant to them was one of the proudest moments of the year.

What Families Said: Hearing It Straight from the Sessions

We collected feedback directly from parents and children at the sessions, and the results speak for themselves.

Among parents, the average satisfaction score was 4.7 out of 5. Every single parent said they would attend again and would recommend Cricketqube to other families. All the parents agreed or strongly agreed that the sessions were safe and well organised, and that the sessions had helped their child be physically active. Two-thirds said their child felt more confident after the session, and the same proportion strongly agreed that their family felt more connected as a result of coming. One parent summed it up: "All good! Excellent sessions."

The children's feedback was just as encouraging. All children who completed the survey gave the sessions a perfect 5 out of 5 for fun, said they felt safe, and said they would come back. Their favourite parts? Batting and games. And when asked what we could do better, their answers were "more cricket skills" and "more time" — which we think is about the best feedback a cricket session can get.

Creating Pathways for Volunteers and Coaches

Investing in people was a central part of year two. This year's volunteering pathways included:

• St John's Ambulance Level 2 First Aid — ensuring our sessions are safe, well-managed spaces for every family that attends
• Cricket Coaching Qualifications — our coaches completed formal cricket coaching awards, building a stronger and more skilled local delivery team for the long term
• Youth Assistant Coaches — teenagers who began the year as participants ended it as assistant coaches, helping to run sessions and mentor younger children

By the end of the project, we had created five volunteering opportunities and supported nine volunteering placements in total. Watching young people step from participant to leader has been one of the most inspiring things about this second year.

The Impact and What's Next

This second year reinforced something we believed from the very beginning: that family-friendly, culturally inclusive sport has the power to do far more than keep people active. It builds confidence, creates connections, opens doors, and gives communities something they can be proud of and call their own.

Alosh said: "Seeing the same families come back week after week, bringing new people with them, watching young people step up as coaches and leaders — that is what this project has always been about. We have built something real in the outer west of Newcastle, and we are committed to making sure it continues."

Thank you to every family who came along, every volunteer who gave their time, every coach who turned up in the rain, and every partner who believed in what we were doing, such as the Newcastle City Council and the local community board. Family cricket in Newcastle's outer west is not just a project. It is a community. And the game is far from over. We're continuing our Saturday Kenton sessions even after the end of the project - a testament to the lasting legacy of the funding.

Read more about the Khan family's journey: From Family Fun to School Selection – The Inspiring Journey of the Khan Family at CricketQube.

Read about our appearance at the Newcastle City Council Christmas Event: Celebrating Impact and Community