Where, this week, to find Stella Creasy MP for Walthamstow

• Sunday 18th December- helping to host a christmas party for Walthamstow Labour Party. 
• Thursday 22nd December - attending the Community Hub Christmas Lunch for older residents. 
• Friday 23rd December - attending the Salvation Army party for volunteers. 

My office will close on Friday 23rd December for the Christmas and New Year period. It will re-open on Tuesday 3rd January 2017. During this time if you need to contact me in an emergency please call the Waltham Forest Direct service on 020 8498 3000 and they are able to contact me. The e-newsletter service will return in the new year- best wishes for this festive season and for the New Year to all Walthamstow residents.

Walthamstow CLP members - don't forget - festive social this Sunday (18th)

Stella Creasy MP for Walthamstow invites you to join her and Cllr Chris Robbins, 

the Labour Leader of Waltham Forest Council, for a festive afternoon tea party on 

Sunday 18th December between 3-5pm in central Walthamstow 

This informal social event is open to all members of our local Labour party and their friends to join us as we look back on 2016 and ahead to 2017. Whether our work to help the refugees in Calais, helping to get Sadiq Khan elected as a Labour London Mayor, making the case for Britain to stay in the European Union or winning the campaign to save the Butterfields residents from eviction it’s been quite a year! 

As well as lots of festive food, there will be entertainment and a visit from Santa Claus...

To help us plan for this event please RSVP for full details of the venue. Children are very welcome and to help us plan for Santa Claus when you RSVP please let us know the ages and number of anyone under 10 coming with you. 

Finally, we would appreciate help with catering so if you can bring cake or mince pies please do let us know- all contributions gratefully received. 

We hope you will be able to join us for this festive and fun event next weekend, 

Where, this week, to find Stella Creasy MP for Walthamstow

• Monday 12th December- in parliament to support legislation to help credit unions in the Savings (Government Contributions) Bill. 
• Tuesday 13th December- starting work as a member of the Children and Social Work Bill Committee. The time this committee will take means I will be in Westminster for most of the week until mid January. Please see below for the details of the legislation I am tabling as part of this process for child refugees and sex and relationship education.
• Thursday 15th December- in parliament for the Children and Social Work Bill Committee.
• Friday 16th December- in parliament to support private members legislation on ratifying the Istanbul Convention and then holding a party to introduce the residents of Butterfields to their new Landlord Dolphin Living. 
• Saturday 17th December- attending the bazaar to raise donations for child refugees.
• Sunday 18th December- helping to host a christmas party for Walthamstow Labour Party.

Putting Consent on the Curriculum: 

Providing Sex and Relationship Education to Safeguard Children 

This week I tabled legislation in parliament to make the provision of sex and relationship education part of safeguarding all children in schools in England. This follows on from the work I have done for many years with residents in Walthamstow about how to support all young people to make positive choices about their relationships with each other. 

Currently composting and recycling are part of our national curriculum. However, whilst children are taught about the mechanics of reproduction, concepts such as consent and equality are not required learning. It’s time to change this- One in three young girls say they have been sexually harassed in school. There have been 5,500 assaults reported in schools in the last three years alone. Sex and relationship education which covers consent, sexual violence, healthy relationships and domestic violence is a crucial part of preventing harm.

The proposal I have put forward would ensure all pupils were given lessons not just in the biology of sex, but healthy relationships and consent. It would also require these lessons to be age appropriate, balanced, inclusive and religiously diverse - and give young people themselves the right to say if they want to take part in these sessions. 

Teaching these skills isn't about replacing the role of families in guiding young people - it is about ensuring the peers of every child share the same respect for other students any parent would wish for their child. If you would like updates on this proposal which is for the Children and Social Work Bill or to discuss it please do get in touch. You can also watch my speech on this, and the child refugees campaign here.

What's Your StowStory? We17 Campaign

We17 Part 2: What's Your StowStory? 

Community Social Saturday 10th December 

As part of the We17 campaign to tackle the impact of the brexit vote on the local community, on

Saturday 10th December at 2pm Walthamstow Labour will be holding an informal social event to share the stories of how different communities came to live in Walthamstow and their role in the history of our area. This event will hear in particular from representatives of several different refugee communities living in Walthamstow about their life stories and how they came to be part of our local community. 

This informal event is open to all local residents and hosted by Hibo Wardere, a local award winning campaigner. It is free to attend and informal, but participants are asked to bring an item of food to share with others - if you would like to take part in this event or learn more about this project please email.

Where, this week, to find Stella Creasy MP for Walthamstow

• Saturday 3rd December- launching the StowXmas Business Map as part of Small Business
  
  Saturday at Today Bread in Central Parade at 3pm. Details below.
• Sunday 4th December- attending the Poets Corner Christmas Fair and the E17 Designers Market.
• Monday 5th December - please note my office will be closed for staff training. I will also then be speaking in parliament in the debate on the Children and Social Work Bill.
• Tuesday 6th December - attending the Waltham Forest Asian Seniors Club AGM
• Wednesday 7th December- Dj'ing at the Labour Women's Network Christmas Fundraiser
• Thursday 8th December- holding an appointment only residents advice surgery. To book an appointment please call 020 8521 1223.
• Saturday 10th December- taking part in the StowStory community cohesion event.

Chingford & Woodford Green CLP fundraiser quiz with Neil Gerrard - Sunday 11th Dec

 Come and join Chingford & Woodford Green Labour Party on Sunday 11th December 2016 for a bit of fun and the opportunity to raise money for the local Party

All Saints Church Hall, Church Avenue, Highams Park E4 9QD

• Doors open at 7.30pm 
• The quiz starts at 8.00pm
• £10 per person (Light refreshments included but do bring your own drinks and glasses)

Former Walthamstow MP, Neil Gerrard, will be quizmaster for the evening

Booking essential to reserve your place. Pay on the door.

• phone 07504 739520, 02085319836 
• or email m.dore27@ntlworld.com 

Organised by Chingford and Woodford Green Labour Party, E4 6LP