Skate Haven hosts open weekly sessions at Decathlon (on the 1st floor) at Canada Water Station. Sessions are on Fridays and Mondays, from 5:45 - 7:45 pm.

Weekly sessions are £6 without equipment, and £8 with rental gear (skateboards, pads, helmets).

These are supervised, beginner-friendly group sessions in our mobile skate park. They are not structured lessons, and they are not complete free-skates. Our space has some rules, called “skate park etiquette”, which apply to any public skatepark. Coaches are on-site to provide some instruction to complete beginners, give tips to people trying to improve their skills, and ensure that everyone is safe and engaged during the session.

Click the link below for more info or to book a session.

Skate Haven has organised dozens of group trips to skateparks across London. Skateparks are an important part of skate culture where young people get the opportunity to hone their skills, meet new people, and have a chance to become part of a strong community. We teach young people about skate etiquette and how to use parks safely and in a way that does not cause hindrances to others. Skateparks can be intimidating places, especially for beginners, and having experienced coaches as stewards can make these spaces more enjoyable for those who are learning.

Skate Haven are also proud members of Concrete Jungle Foundation’s Edu-Skate Worldwide Network. Concrete Jungle Foundation is an international charity that builds skateparks and runs youth programmes in the global south (Jamaica, Peru, Morroco, and Angola). Edu-Skate is a youth development programme that is based on the psychological theory of Self-Determination. As Edu-Skate providers, we tailor our sessions to develop 11 essential life skills (including confidence, resilience, and creativity) through a structured programme that is based on research.

Edu-Skate is a structured programme that we have offered in the form of summer camps or longer programmes for young people who are looking for a larger commitment. We are open to requests to deliver this programme.

We report our sessions to the wider network and we gain inspiration for session activities from similar programmes across the world. One exciting activity is an international pen-pal programme where young people from our sessions can be partnered up with young people from other Edu-Skate programmes worldwide.

Read more about Edu-Skate below!

We pride ourselves on safe, engaging, and competent coaching practises. We go above and beyond in training coaches, gaining experience in diverse skate session settings, and providing safe and rewarding sessions.

Skate Haven draws from its partnership with RicoSkateSchool. Coaches have the following certifications and trainings:

Certified and insured by the national governing body (Skateboard GB)

Child safeguarding certification

Level 3 certified in emergency physical first-aid

DBS checks

The nature of sessions varies and coaches adapt to different roles flexibly depending on the circumstances. In general, session planning and activities involve a high level of coproduction with participants.

Skate Haven can provide such services safely for participants with additional needs. Coaches with extensive mental health-oriented training are available as well. Coaches may additionally have the following training:

Mental health first-aid certification (MHFA Enland)

Mentorship and neurodiversity training (Step Out Mentoring)

Trauma-informed skate practices (GoodPush Alliance)

Suicide awareness & prevention (Raemers Foundation)

We provide students with appropriate gear if they don’t have their own. This includes boards, helmets, and pads (elbows, knees, palms & wrists). Students will have to bring appropriate shoes. We have enough equipment to fully host groups of max 15 students provided that the right sizes are available.

We also have a series of skate obstacles (two kickers, two quarter pipes, a small launch ramp, and a ledge). We are able to transport these obstacles to and from sessions. These obstacles enhance session activities and enable us to keep engaging participants who are progressing in their abilities. Our mobile skatepark can be preferable to actual skateparks because of the safe and beginner-friendly environment our coaches provide.

Young people who have consistently participated and engaged with our programme over a long period of time are eligible to receive their own skateboards and helmets.