Wiltshire County Council Youth Development Service
Resume of Achievements – April 2007 to March 2008
Wiltshire County Council Youth Development Service Resume of Achievements – March 2007 to April 2008 (Please note: this document uses blue and yellow highlights and therefore if printed off please use a colour printer)
Introduction This document has been produced to present highlights of the Service’s work ‘at a glance’. The Calendar format makes it easy to scan the when; the Emboldened Locations the where; the blue highlights the what; the Main Text the hows and why. In addition, the yellow Bulb Bar indicates how the work is enabling young people to achieve the Government’s Every Child (and young person) Matters FIVE OUTCOMES
Preamble Wiltshire Youth Development Service is a modern needs-led developmental youth service now functioning within the County’s new integrated Services for Young People. We specialize in working with young people in the context of their own communities – helping them to develop the wide range of skills, knowledge and understanding they need to make a success of their transition from child to independent adults and active citizen. We have recently joined with the Youth Offending Service and Connexions to provide young people with a more comprehensive ‘youth offer’. In so doing, we are confident of the continuing contribution that youth work will make. For the majority of these pieces of work – and all that they offer in terms of education, prevention and diversion - are not in a category of special events, but are in fact projects forged out of the day to day working relationships our teams have with young people attending our Centres or whom they work with on the streets. In this context, young people’s participation and involvement is always voluntary and their many resulting achievements & contributions (across a spectrum of developmental curriculum areas) therefore all the more commendable. Also, it is fair to say that working in close collaboration with other partners and specialists is nothing new. Building strong alliances with other groups and providers has always been a pre-requisite for effective and sustainable youth work - hence mention throughout the document of the various other partners we have been working with throughout this year.
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April Westbury:
with the aim of boosting young people’s engagement with positive developmental activities, the team worked with young people and others to plan and deliver a large scale taster event called Innov8. The brand ‘Innov8’ was developed through a competition at Matravers School and the event itself was held at Leighton Sports Centre. It offered young people free access to a wide range of opportunities chosen through consultation with them about their needs and interests including: sports, visual arts, music and performance. The team operated in ‘outreach’ mode throughout the day, engaging with young people ‘new’ and ‘known’; promoting awareness of on-going opportunities and exploring various curriculum issues using a specifically designated information area. Evaluations confirmed over 120 young people took part. Being Healthy
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Mere, Tisbury & Wilton: Momentum is a motorcycle project based on the NACYP’s ‘On Two Wheels’ scheme. It is delivered in partnership with Trident and Connexions one afternoon a week for 2 months. Young people learn about the legal and safety aspects of riding a bike on the road as well as basic maintenance. During the course, young people get to ride automatic and geared bikes in a safe supervised environment, with a final ‘off road’ session serving as a reward for successful completion. The safe and sensible ethos of this project tends to result in young people taking their CBT rather than riding illegally on the road. Referrals come from all agencies including schools and YPSS. Over the past year 27 young people have completed and gained accreditation. A couple of NEET young people from Tisbury have recently become ‘peer mentors’ on the project and are developing new skills and awareness as a result of being entrusted with this level of responsibility. Being Healthy
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Wiltshire Youth Arts Partnership:
A countywide cross sector partnership led by a coordinator managed within the Youth Development Service. One of WYAP’s largest projects is DramaXpress - a 24 week workshop programme targeted at Disabled young people and others who are recognized to be disadvantaged or at risk. The project is jointly funded by WYAP, Salisbury Playhouse, Pound Arts, and Wiltshire Teenage Pregnancy. The workshops are delivered by professional artists in an inclusive and celebratory style. They usually incorporate an exploration of developmental issues with an emphasis on relationships and sexual health. Throughout, young people are encouraged to contribute their own ideas for performances which they then work on together as a team. Over the last year DramaXpress has engaged eight groups across the County, amounting to on-going work with approximately 70 young people.
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Trowbridge:
The Youth Arts Night stemmed from a consultation with young people about ideas for Wednesday night projects. The first phase was focused on music, in response to young people’s interest in learning how to ‘MC’ and ‘mix’. This led to them staging their own performance at Court Mills (attended by 104 other young people) which in turn, led to them being invited to perform at ‘Blues and Zuz’ – a regular non-alcoholic dance night at a high street venue organized in collaboration with the Police and other agencies involved in reducing Anti-social behaviour. The second phase of the project was orientated around the visuals arts, with young people working together on a mural and various other individual pieces designed to update the ambiance of the centre. The project night is now an on-going feature of the programme and has been instrumental in enabling a new cohort of young people to develop their sense of belonging. The team is currently working with young people to plan phase 3. Being Healthy
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May Rudloe SBYW Team & WAYS:
YDS manages a team of street based youth workers jointly funded in partnership with Westlea Housing Association (WHA). In May, this team worked in collaboration with the Wiltshire Alternative Youth Sports Partnership (WAYS) to deliver a Young Men’s Alternative Sports Project . It was targeted at an older group of young males living in Rudloe - one of Westlea’s most disadvantaged housing estates. The group regularly spent time on the streets resulting in others labelling them anti-social. Once they realized the service was prepared to take their interest in street sports seriously ( and had specialists that could help them develop their skills), they became easier to engage. In the run up to the project, they met regularly with the team and the WAYS coordinator. After a series of in-depth planning sessions, a programme was agreed. Their planned chosen sports: mountain boarding; raft building; ultimate Frisbee; climbing; BMX tracking and Go-Karting. Their agreed learning objectives: team building, communication skills and building trusted relationships with adults. The project went according to plan and by the end, the young men had learned even more than they’d anticipated. It had given them shared experiences away from their community; encouraged them out of their comfort zone and acted as a catalyst for individual progression up the steps model of personal development. Being Healthy
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County Wide: Youth Steps Cohort 1 Youth Steps is national pilot involving Wiltshire Youth Development Service, the National Youth Agency, The Princes Trust & YMCA. It aims to provide an accredited pathway for young people into youth work, rooted in practice. The following examples illustrate it’s impact on those involved in the first cohort
Gemma:
a member of the original steering group who played an active part in designing the course content and went on to complete 3 separate placements with British Trust Conservation Volunteers, the Youth Development Service and Youth Action Wiltshire. Once she had completed the course and successfully gained her qualification, Gemma continued to work for YAW and is currently undertaking her level 3 qualification in Youth Work.
Mikkila:
another member of the original steering group, who undertook her placement with Devizes Youth Development Centre, where she was employed as a part time Assistant Youth Worker. Once she completed the course Mikkila secured full-time employment with an organization that supports young people with physical and learning disabilities.
Dan:
did his placement with YDS in Tisbury working as a volunteer on a bike project. At the time he was living in a caravan and dealing with numerous personal issues. Despite these, Dan completed his placement and successfully passed the course. He has subsequently moved to Melksham where he has managed to secure accommodation and full time work. He continues to volunteer in his spare time. Being Healthy
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SALISBURY: 6 Young Bridging Project volunteers received a Wiltshire Award for their sustained contributions to the scheme over many months. Bridging Projects are a countywide initiative run in a number of YDS centres to promote and enable the inclusion of Disabled young people. The projects are based on the ‘social model’ of Disability, which recognizes that Disabled young people are disadvantaged more by society’s attitudes and prejudices towards them than by their various impairments. In this case, Nadine, Shane, Tash, Ben, Luke and Caroline regularly give up Monday evenings to work alongside others and they are recognized by all to be key to its success. Being Healthy
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June Marlborough: a group of 6 young women were supported to take part in Race for Life – a national charitable event to raise funds & awareness for women with breast cancer. The group set their sights on this because they wanted to do something that would benefit others. In preparation for the event the team worked with them on a weekly training programme which involved healthy eating advice and regular local runs. When the day came,
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the young women found themselves among hundreds of other women in a unique atmosphere of excitement, fun and sadness. They came away with certificates, pride in their achievement and wide-spread respect from others for all they had done. Being Healthy
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D of E – in partnership with YOS YDS holds the operating license for Wiltshire’s Duke of Edinburgh Award and employs a D of E Development Worker to promote awareness and take up. The award is highly regarded by employers throughout the county, who regard it as evidence of young people’s employability. ‘Miss C’ was a troubled 15 year old at risk of being NEET who had been assigned a Youth Offending Service mentor. Her mentor, Liz, approached the D of E Development Worker to ascertain whether it was something that might benefit her client. After being given plenty of encouragement, Miss C cautiously agreed to enrol for the Bronze Award in the knowledge that she was already involved in activities that would qualify her for one of the sections. In March 2008 she completed two sections of the Award and was presented with her certificates during a school assembly. This so boosted Miss C’s self esteem, that she joined with others she had never met to train for her Expedition. By all parties working together, we have supported Miss C effectively in her progress through the scheme and are looking forward to presenting her with the completed Award. Being Healthy
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Bradford on Avon:
During a period of reconnaissance and consultation, young people in the rural village of Monkton Farleigh told the workers there was nothing for them to do and that they were constantly getting reported to the police for anti-social behaviour. This reflected interagency concerns about the level of aggravation between generations and prompted a partnership response centered around the team’s preparedness to undertake a more sustained period of street based youth work. The project enabled the team to properly get to know the individuals concerned whilst also developing work with the group as a whole. It featured in-depth discussions and debates around a range of related issues including: substance misuse, sexual health; and hiring the village hall as a venue for meetings to plan events for the summer. The partnership comprised YDS, Community Safety, Police, Extended Schools and the Parish Council. In total, 17 young people took part - 6 of whom progressed up the steps model by virtue of their preparedness to help organize opportunities for others. Over the past year YDS Teams have been increasingly valued across the County for their flexible methods of engagement - known as mix & match. This refers using a diversity of methodologies in response to young people’s ever changing needs and interests. In this case, as in others, the local partnership granted additional funding to increase the team’s capacity for this style of work. Being Healthy
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July Westbury: a group of 7 young people worked together on a 5 day theatrical project at Westbury Youth Development Centre, producing masks for characters in a play they were writing and hoping
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to perform. The young people spent days 1 & 2 working on their moulds and masks; days 3 & 4 developing their characters and writing the play; and the final day in dress rehearsal wearing costumes they had created from local charity shops. The group entitled their play ‘The
Phoney of Trowbridge’ It was finally performed in the drama studio at Matravers school to an audience of family and friends. Although the young people were an established group of mates, it was a new experience to be working so intensively together as a team towards a common goal. A post performance evaluation encouraged them to reflect on things they had learned. They identified learning a lot about themselves as individuals and about the processes they had needed to go through as a group to arrive at collective decisions. Being Healthy
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Wilton - Barford St Martin:
After several months of mobile work in Barford St Martin - young people started campaigning for a more permanent venue they could call their own. They initially approached the Parish Council about the possibility of erecting a youth shelter, but it was refused on the grounds that residents would object to its proximity to their homes. Although a little set back, the young people were supported to continue with their campaign. In July, a 6-strong delegation from the group attended a further meeting of the PC at which they were granted use of The
Shed - a small pavilion a long way from any houses on the outer edge of a field. The group has been using this as a venue for youth work ever since - cannily so, on one occasion, as the venue for their LYPIG meeting with LA senior officials. With there being no running water or toilet facilities, the point was eloquently made by one young man who, in response to suited concerns, piped up “if it’s good enough for us, its good enough for you!” This, combined with all round surprise at how well the young people have looked after the place, has led to the decision about the youth shelter being reviewed. It’s now likely that they will end up with both a youth shelter and continued use of the Shed – which, they admit to having grown quite fond of! Being Healthy
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August Coleman’s Farm - YDS/WHA SBYW Team: A mixed group of ten young people successfully participated in the Coleman’s Farm Dream Scheme. Their ages ranged from 1116, with the older ones being recognized as NEET. The Dream Scheme is a long-standing holiday project, led by the SBYW team, that rewards young people’s voluntary work with trips and visits of
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their choice. This year the young people specifically wanted to do something that would improve the way they were being perceived by older people who they were concern were afraid of them. In negotiation with Westlea Housing Association it was agreed they would design and build a decorative bench for residents of a local sheltered housing scheme. The task was not as easy as they’d thought, but they stuck at it, working to overcome the inevitable technical difficulties associated with producing a piece of furniture that was safe to use and fit for purpose. In return for their efforts, the group chose a camping residential at the Tile Barn Outdoor Centre in the New Forest. By this stage they had become practiced at working together as a team and so took the related decision-making processes in their stride. This not only included planning the programme, agreeing ground rules and divvying up the domestic chores; but also thinking through the sort of things they may learn. During the residential the young people went on a trip to Splashdown Water Poole, did Kayaking and cooked for each other on bonfire BBQ. The project had a positive developmental impact on the group. They have sustained friendships made; are noticeably more communicative and self supporting; and have gone up in the estimation of older local residents for the gift they worked so hard to make. Being Healthy
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Calne: Alternative Youth Sports
- The young people involved with this project having been meeting on a weekly basis in a local indoor school-gym environment that allows them to practice their Parkour safely. Parkour is an energetic outdoor sport dedicated to achieving continuous uninterrupted human movement through the Urban landscape. The sessions – that are run by the group themselves with support from the WAYS Coordinator - have been open to all who are interested. The group has been successful in applying for grants to fund equipment and coaches from various bodies including: WYPOF; the Local Network Fund and North Wiltshire District Council. Through this, they have gained skills and awareness relating to financial and project management. It is purely through their determination and hard work that they have been able to achieve so much. Peer mentoring also plays an important part, with the young people supporting and encouraging each other to learn and develop new techniques. They have recently undertaken a first aid course to minimize the risk of injury and are keen to set up Wiltshire’s first Parkour
Academy to promote the sport and benefit others. Being Healthy
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Westbury:
prompted by last month’s production of ‘The Phoney of Trowbridge’ there had been a surge in young people wanting to perform and indicating drama as a choice of activity on the summer activities consultation form. As a result the team put on a 3 week programme of Youth Drama Workshops. During this young people worked on warm ups, improvisation skills, character building and staging a soap opera. The first session created ‘an issue’ and explored how issues can be exaggerated; the second session looked at developing the story and how people’s misperceptions can influence it; whilst the final session looked at resolving the story and conveying a clear message. The moral of the story was how our behaviour can influence other people’s opinions and judgments about us, and how it is within our gift to change these. Being Healthy
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September Corsham: this year’s Corsham Alternative Sports Event C.A.S.E attracted over 500 people 200 within our target age range - 13 to 19. Young people from the Locality Young Peoples Issue Group (L.Y.P.I.G.) helped to organize the event which also receives support from Local Schools; County, District and Town Councillors and Voluntary Sector Organizations. The event offers members of the public a rare chance to experience challenging sports under professional instruction; and the planning process provides learning opportunities around all aspects of event management and community involvement. At a recent presentation by the C.A.S.E. Group to the Area 4 Committee, many praised the event and offered their continuing support for next year. Being Healthy
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Countywide - Wiltshire Youth Arts Partnership:
WYAP is a countywide cross -sector youth arts partnership led by a coordinator managed within the Youth Development Service. MusicXpress2 was a music technology project for 13-18 year olds, run by WYAP and the Wiltshire Music Centre in partnership with YDS, Salisbury College, St Laurence School and Salisbury Arts Centre. More than 250 teenagers took part in workshops in Youth Centres and other settings. They also attended intensive holiday courses in Salisbury and Bradford on Avon. Many had limited previous experience of making their own music and so the opportunity to compose using computer programmes, recording equipment and DJ decks gave them a sense of rapid achievement. Others who were more acoustically inclined were supported to form bands and write their own songs. The project culminated in a live music technology showcase at Salisbury Arts Centre which celebrated the young people’s success. Needless to say the process was extremely developmental for many of the young people in a number ways – not least the new skills and interests it gave them, but also the motivation and confidence to perform. Being Healthy
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Trowbridge:
Also during this month young people from various localities took part in a
countywide week long music and dance project called Roots people the chance to work alongside arts professionals in dance and music workshops designed with young people to celebrate cultural diversity and explore people’s attitudes to race and religion. For example, two young women who took part were from Wilton. The girls developed and practiced a wide variety of new dance and complementary communication skills. However, through the evaluation it was clear that of equal importance to them was the change to develop friendships with other young women from diverse backgrounds from around the County Being Healthy
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And Motion. This gave young
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County Wide: Youth Steps Cohort 2 Jess:
studying public services at Chippenham College, felt the need to develop a better understanding of how to work with young people. During the course she ran a girls group in Calne and worked as a part-time youth worker for her local church. On completion of the course Jess moved to Wootten Bassett where she continues to volunteer with the church whilst waiting for the chance to take up a paid post.
Jake: prior to joining Youth Steps Jake was NEET. During the course he completed a placement at Corsham Youth Development Centre that gave him a number if different youth work leadership experiences, from music to sport. He is now not only in full time employment, but is continuing to work with young people on a voluntary basis in his spare time - supporting MusicXpress and working in his local community centre as a Summer Scheme Assistant.
Andy: was originally recruited from Bath and supported to undertake a placement with Radstock youth centre. This gave him the experience he needed to complete the course. He is now at university studying for a degree in Outdoor Education & Youth Work whilst also volunteering for the church in his spare time.
Martin: was young adult from the North East of England who having moved down to Wiltshire found himself NEET. He is a natural communicator with young people and once on the programme worked with the YDS/WHA SBYW team on the ‘Dream Scheme’. This gave him the necessary experience to build his portfolio and pass the course. He now has a 12 hour contract with YDS as an Assistant Youth Worker and remains involved with Youth Steps – both as a Support Worker on the Residential and as a member of its steering group. He is about to start his Youth Work NVQ level 3. Being Healthy
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October Bradford on Avon:
As a means of increasing contact and participation, especially among young women, the team carried out a person-to-person community-based consultation at a local Street Party which engaged a total of 69 young people. The top 3 Project Night ideas were a Pamper Project, a Creative Arts Project and a Textiles Workshop. All three ideas were put into practice and each project ran for a period of 4 to 5 weeks. This attracted many new female members who each gained certificates evidencing recorded outcomes. Although initially less interested in the concept of a project night, the young men soon started demanding some of the same. This gave the team the opportunity to engage the young men in a more developmental style of work negotiated around their own needs and interests. Replicating the good practice established with the young women, the young men were duly consulted on their chosen project themes and came back with Cooking; Boxing and DJ-ing. The young men’s cooking project ran for 4 weeks and was a great success. They are now preparing to embark on a 6 week training programme run by instructors at a local Boxing & Fitness Club. Being Healthy
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Marlborough: Young People’s Presentation Evening
- a locally organized annual event, dedicated to celebrating young people’s achievements. During the evening 20 young people received formal certifications in the form of Wiltshire Awards and D of E, and/or announced ‘feedback and thanks’ for the numerous ways they had helped themselves, others, and the centre as a whole to develop over the year. Within this, there was an emphasis on recognizing young people’s individual progression up the Steps Model of Personal Development through sustained participation in various projects or demonstrating a clear shift from ‘challenging’ to ‘cooperative’ behaviour. Throughout the evening, awards were presented to the young people by Mr Richard Martin, the Operations Manager for the Service who has recently sadly passed away. His presence at these events was always highly valued by staff and young people alike, and will be remembered fondly for years to come. Being Healthy
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North Wiltshire: During Local Democracy Week an event was organized in partnership with North Wiltshire District Council with the aim of giving Disable young people a voice within in the decision-making process. The project was called Activ8 – Play your part and it involved 45 young people including 4 Young Leaders. The participants identified the key issues in their area and learned about how to lobby and campaign for change. A series of workshops featuring the Blue Bus, arts and crafts and group work enabled young people to discuss and illustrate their experiences and opinions on a range of issues from facilities and transport to ‘a day in my life.’ The day ended with questions being put to a panel of Local politicians reflecting the spectrum of issues and concerns raised. A film was made to capture the event and document young people’s views. Being Healthy
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Tidworth:
In October the theatre company Blah, blah, blah visited Tidworth Youth Development centre as part of a countywide tour of youth centres. They performed a play called ‘The Piano Man’ - based on a real life news storey about a man suffering from amnesia who turns up on a beach able only to play the piano. The play was performed at close quarters in a ‘young person friendly’ style with actors who were confident enough to accommodate the occasional interruption and comment. After the play all 30 of the young people present were encourage to participate in role-play workshops designed to explore with young people the play’s various themes. The performance sparked off follow-on work at the youth centre around the concept of identity and also stimulated an interest in performing arts. At their next LYPIG the young people planned a theatre trip for the New Year and agreed to start work on a drama project for the summer. Being Healthy
Rowdeford:
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a joint project between WAYS and Rowdeford School enabling disabled young
people to take part in a range of accessible alternative sports. The three 6 week programmes were designed as a challenging lunchtime activity focusing on Ultimate Frisbee, Power Kiting and Skateboarding. The uptake has been fantastic with many developmental spinoffs in terms of young people’s social and spatial awareness; mobility confidence, communication skills and team work. A positive all round evaluation has meant that the project is set to continue well into the Summer term with new sports on offer. Being Healthy
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Wilton:
The team has been working in partnership with Youth Action Wiltshire to enable a group of rurally disadvantaged young men to develop their football skills in a structured training environment. The Football Skills Project runs for 1 session a week with monthly trips to play teams in other centres. Initially the young people were hard to engage and used ‘kicking the ball around’ as a means of expressing their disinterest in discussion or other activities. However, they have responded well to this project and are now taking charge of their own warm ups, match sessions and tactics. They have developed quite a sophisticated approach to this, with each member of the team taking his turn to lead and manage the process. 2 have put their names down on coaching courses and all have recently shown an interest in working towards accreditation through ASDAN. Both parties in the partnership have been encouraged by its impact and are keen for it to continue. Being Healthy
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November Countywide:
as a result of Wiltshire’s long standing youth exchange links with Germany,
Wiltshire young people were invited to Stude to take part in the
German Battle of the
bands.
The project was open to young people (13-19) throughout the county. Three bands asked to be considered and were invited to go through a tough selection process which involved them having to produce and perform 2 twenty-minute sets. In the run up the bands took whatever opportunities they could to perform in public, including at youth centres, village fetes and Salisbury City Hall. One band from Warminster followed the example set by Durrington the previous year, by successfully bidding for funds from WYPOF to set up a music studio in their local youth development centre. The band that was finally taken forward was “Anatomy of me”. They continued to rise to the many challenges posed by the event itself including overcoming the language barrier; relating to other bands from a diverse range of cultures and holding their own among many who were more familiar with the music industry processes. Being Healthy
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Ludgershall:
It was identified that a group of young women from Ludgershall had very low self esteem and were not positively engaged - either in or outside the youth centre. One way of addressing their needs was to offer them the added social safety of a single-sex environment or Girls’ Night. The idea was well received and they tentatively started to discuss the sort of things they would like to do. One of the most popular ideas was a ‘beauty night’, where they would get the opportunity to talk with professional beauty therapists about various products and their applications. They were encouraged to do much of the planning for the evening themselves, from what beauty treatments they would like to what food they were going to prepare and share. The session was run at Pewsey YDC. This added the value of getting away from the area and made the evening feel more special. During the session the girls got a lot of ‘hands on’ experience and were seen to be highly cooperative. They all participated and offered each other loads of positive affirmation. Following this session the group started to become more assertive and self determining; and recently spent time working together on an application to WYPOF for other project ideas. Being Healthy
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Mere,
Tisbury and Downton: Residential opportunities are something that young people enjoy and frequently ask for more of. It gives them a brief taste of life away from their families and the chance to practice the skills needed for independent living. Because of the longer time frame, it also means that more can sometimes be achieved in terms of developmental group work than would ever be possible back home over a series of fragmented sessions. On this occasion the team made use of the County’s own 13
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Outdoor Education Centre to combine a residential experience with Locality planning. The group of 12 young people who were invited to attend this Locality E Planning Residential at
OXENWOOD
came from all corners of the locality and had each been previously involved in LYPIGS. The programme was designed to balance a number of explicitly ‘work’ related sessions (focused on evaluating programmes against the ECM 5 Outcomes and planning future projects) with other fun activities such as mountain biking, a trip to the cinema and Go-Karting. As is customary, the young people worked in teams to cook for each other and complete the usual domestic chores. This experiential approach brought the planning process to life. It cleverly provided young people with a real-time experience of youth work that could be reflected upon there and then, to expand their expectations of what youth work could offer them in the future. They made new friends and gained credits towards their Youth Achievement Award. Being Healthy
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Purton & Cricklade: as
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is becoming standard practice across the Service, 4 young people
were offered the opportunity for
involvement in Assistant Youth Worker
interviews.
They were joined in this process by two young people from another youth Development Centre and existing representatives from the Locality Team. Prior to the event, the young people were brought together in preparation for the interview and to agree on the skills and qualities needed for the job. Three candidates were short-listed and on the day each young person was empowered to ask their pre-prepared question. The process was scored and at the end of the interviews the young people were involved in deliberations about which candidate to appoint. During the evaluation of this process, young people were quick to recognize how much they had learnt about youth work and were clearer about what was expected of people in interview situations. It is reasonable to anticipate that this will no doubt be of benefit to them in future when they find themselves being interviewed by others. Being Healthy
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Countywide – Voice & Influence Team: The Voice & Influence Team work across the county to promote young peoples involvement in decision-making processes. They take the lead on county wide initiatives, such as Wiltshire Assembly of Youth, Democracy
Week
and the training of Young Assessors. They also offer support to Locality Teams who retain a responsibility for ensuring V & I opportunities are embedded within the work at a local level. The 11 Million Takeover Day was the brain child of the Children’s Commissioner who conceived of it being a way to celebrate the 18th Birthday of the signing of The United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC). Leading public sector organizations throughout the country were persuaded to invite young people in to shadow Senior Officers and, with their support, take over the running of high level strategic functions. Here in Wiltshire - where the young person’s rep on the Children’s Trust Board has already been officially elected to the role of Vice Chair – the opportunity to further young peoples
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understanding of Local Government was quickly seized. As a result, 42 young people suddenly appeared working shoulder to shoulder with The Leader of The County Council, Cabinet Members, Directors, Assistant Directors and others in strategic level posts. During the day the young people found themselves embroiled in the full range of complex processes associated with governance including: setting budget priorities; producing policy and meeting with front-line staff. The climax of the day came in the afternoon when both young people and elected members met to attend a full meeting of the Cabinet in the Council Chamber. This meeting reviewed the following 3 key areas of policy concern to young people: ‘Post-16 Transport’; Recycling & Land Fill; and Facilities for Young People. As a direct result of this meeting, young people wrote to the Prime Minister outlining their concerns about the impact of excessive supermarket packaging. Being Healthy
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December Calne:
One of the issues arising from a joint youth consultation with Springfields School, was the need to increase the provision of basketball coaching - as it is a very popular sport within the town. One option was to buy in coaches for a limited period, but it was recognized more sustainable and empowering to train up young people to pass on their skills to others. This has worked well. Two young people were supported through a coaching course by Springfields Sports Development Officer and North Wiltshire County Council Sports Development Worker. As planned, they are now peer coaching other young people through the youth centre programme using new equipment funded by Calne Town Council and supported by workers in the team. Being Healthy
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YDS/WHA SBYW team:
Economic wellbeing
A Young People’s Business Plan meeting was held by Westlea Housing Association to establish young people’s feelings about youth provision on the Hill Rise estate in Chippenham. The SBYW Team supported the event and encouraged those they were working with to participate. The group engaged well - presenting their views and opinions clearly and were subsequently invited to make a presentation to WHA’s Management Board at their Head Office. Bolstered by feedback received, the young keenly accepted this invitation and immediately set to work on an innovative presentation that used drama techniques to convey their representation of other young people’s views. During the process which became known as the Hill Rise Youth Democracy Project the young people developed all sorts of new skills and understandings that amounted to clear progression in terms of personal and social development. In their own words, it was about getting their views across; getting people to change their minds about young people; and making
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things better for the future. The SBYW Team and Westlea Housing Association share a continuing commitment to this type of work and are in discussion with YDS Voice and Influence team about how best to accredit it. Being Healthy
Staying Safe
Enjoying & Achieving
Making a positive contribution
Economic wellbeing
Mere & Tisbury: Built on the established success of Leisure Credits, M&T Young Peoples Community Volunteers is a project run in partnership with the Parish Council and BTCV that equips young people with the skills and enthusiasm to carry out nature conservation work on the Long Hill site in Mere. The site is an area of natural chalk downland that has been allowed to become overgrown with alien scrub and trees. From the outset it was agreed that the project should be targeted at disadvantage young people who were at risk of becoming NEET and/or involved in crime. Initially they showed little interest in the cause, but over time have grown passionate about the value of restoring the area to its original natural state. In the process they have picked up a good deal of county-side awareness, together with a collection of certificated skills in ‘Footpath construction’ ‘brush-cutting’; ‘handtool felling’ and ‘safe use of pesticides’. Recently their efforts have been praised by various external parties (including funders Sita Trusts and Greenprints); and their work has been nominated for 2 separate environmental awards. Members of the group regularly comment on how much they enjoy the sessions and say they would be only too happy to do more if they could. They have gained confidence, skills for work and become positive role models for others. Two of the older members in particular, have stepped back from their involvement in crime and are now officially recognized as Peer Mentors within the scheme. They are being coached in this role by the Senior Youth Development Coordinator and are becoming increasingly thoughtful in their dealings with younger members of the group. Being Healthy
Staying Safe
Enjoying & Achieving
Making a positive contribution
Durrington:
Economic wellbeing
The Disability Project is a youth work curriculum opportunity for young people in Years 9, 10 and 11. The project is led by the Youth Development Service in the Durrington Community area. The Project gives Young People the opportunity to come to the Youth Development Centre for 2 hours a week, where they engage in programmed activities which promote communication, confidence building and social skills through arts, music and drama. The Young People are all referred to the project on a needs basis via schools and community networks. Feed back from parents and schools suggests this is highly valued by both the young people who attend and the community as a whole. All young people receive accreditation through the Wiltshire Award, and are working towards the arts award which is a positive mechanism for raising self-esteem and confidence. All parties are committed to the project developing and growing.
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January Calne: During a termly programme planning session, young people voiced an interest in setting up a drama group. When they first spoke about this they said they wanted it to be out of school hours, relaxed and cheap. But when they later met up with workers to talk about it in more detail, it transpired they also wanted it to help them learn about acting and stage production; develop the confidence to say things in front of others and explore issues that happen in real life - like they do in Eastenders. Because there were no drama specialists within the team the youth workers encouraged the group to put in a bid to North Wiltshire District Council to pay for a drama tutor. It was at this time that they decided to call themselves Acting Up! Their bid was successful and after much debate and discussion they decided on working towards a play that would explore the issue of alcohol misuse in families and how it affects different members. Youth Development Workers led the sessions to ensure that the young people worked well together as a group and made all their own decisions; whilst the drama tutor concentrated on showing them how to act out the things they had been discussing. The group recently went on a trip to the Arc Theatre in Trowbridge to watch a performance titled ‘Dyin To Be Drunk’. This gave them some new ideas about how to handle the issue. The curtain went up on April 17 th 2008. Being Healthy
Staying Safe
Enjoying & Achieving
Making a positive contribution
Economic wellbeing
Devizes: Southbroom Youth Development Centre is situated on a shared campus with Devizes School. Opportunities for joint working have been explored and actualized over the last two years. The school identified a small group of year 10 pupils who were at risk of exclusion, and for whom they developed a targeted pastoral support programme. As part of this, the young people can request a daytime session with the Youth Development Coordinator to discuss the problems they are facing in school. With the school’s agreement this has developed into and on-going piece of work referred to as the Inclusion Project. The sessions focus on the issues that young people bring; and on practical strategies that they can use in school to reduce the risk of conflict and exclusion. In many cases the underlying cause of these problems relate to young peoples lack of self confidence and social awareness, which it has been recognized are more easily addressed in the evenings through their involvement in the youth work programme. This project is a good example of how the interface between youth work and schooling can be developed to into a collaborative venture that fulfils the aims of both to the benefit of individual young people. Being Healthy
Staying Safe
Enjoying & Achieving
Making a positive contribution
Melksham: Here the team started to use the concept of Hot Chocolate Nights as a mechanism to engage young people in regular developmental group work sessions focused on important curriculum areas and preventative work. One of the team members came up with the idea of having Hot chocolate on tap to encourage young people to join in and feel more relaxed. Each session was planned around a different subject and lasted between 6090minutes. The team used a mix of discussion work and interactive group activities to maintain young people’s interest, with an emphasis on them exchanging thoughts
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Economic wellbeing
and feeling about the subject with each other in equal measure to receiving reliable factual inputs. Initially, Hot Chocolate Nights covered Alcohol Awareness (linked to the launch of Wiltshire’s Alcohol Strategy); Drugs Awareness (in response to a local increase in young people’s use of solvents); and Sexual Health and Relationships (following staff training in ‘No Worries’ and ‘Delay’). However, this approach has gone down so well with young people that Hot Chocolate Nights are now used to explore any issues that arise in the course of the work or that require more intensive group discussion. Being Healthy
Staying Safe
Enjoying & Achieving
Making a positive contribution
Economic wellbeing
Devizes:
The purpose of the Young Parents Group is to provide a day time youth work session for local young people who can not access the provision in the evenings because they have responsibility for child care. The programme focuses on positive socialization and the development of peer support through positive activity and group work. Practical sessions on such things as baby massage often go down well, and are provided by NHS PCT Health Visitors. The programme is also augmented by regular inputs from Connexions who offer valuable information, advice and guidance - especially in relation to things like college courses and employment. The group have recently undertaken accredited training in First Aid delivered by St. John Ambulance, and currently comprises 10 young women and 2 young men. Being Healthy
Ludgershall:
Staying Safe
Enjoying & Achieving
Making a positive contribution
Economic wellbeing
A professional artist was brought in to
help young people design a graffiti mural for the inside of the youth centre. This was part of an on-going strategy to increase young people’s sense of connectedness to the provision. It provided a focus for them discussing the things they had in common and that they felt were important to them in their community. As the process went on the more young people got involved, and the more important it became. They wanted it to be good and they wanted it to be something they could show off to others who came in to their centre. Being Healthy
Staying Safe
Enjoying & Achieving
Making a positive contribution
Economic wellbeing
Purton & Cricklade: A large group of young people, primarily young men, were identified as a priority for Street based youth work & substance misuse education due to their anti-social behavior and ritualized misuse of substances. Although they were wary of being engaged, they started to respect the workers’ patient interest in them. The time of contact was brought forward to late afternoon - when they were less drunk and stoned - and a focus was placed on delivering the only other activity they seemed interested in, which was football. During periods of contact most have been receptive to receiving credible information about the substances they believe themselves to be taking. This has included the latest information on long term effects and how dangers become amplified through polly-use. Soon, they were asking for the length of sessions to be extended and the content diversified to include basketball and tennis. By March it became apparent that they were spending less time on their old rituals and were even talking about wanting the chance to do DJ mixing and rapping. Recently, a handful of the young
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men pulled away from the hard core of the group to go on an ice-skating trip with others; and two have expressed an interest in representing their mates at a CAYPIG. Gradually the dynamics are changing and without loss of face, young people are being enabled to step back from the risks associated with heavy misuse. Being Healthy
Staying Safe
Enjoying & Achieving
Making a positive contribution
Economic wellbeing
February Bradford on Avon: Throughout the county, open access drop-ins are an integral feature of youth work programmes, as they symbolize the informal nature of our work and young people’s universal access to the Service. Needless to say they are quite a challenge to get right. Too much structure and young people feel they are being denied the right to be themselves; too little, and the environment can become counter-productive and unsafe. Usually it is a bit of a roller coaster, with periods going well and then a sudden change that throws the whole concept into question. Here in Bradford on Avon it feels like we have finally reached our tipping point. After some particularly testing times - with staff feeling they had to take a stand and numbers tailing off - the Tuesday night Open Access Drop-in is starting to refill with a new group of ‘buzzy’ young people who are engaging to work with, respectful of the centre, and very much fun to be around. Being Healthy
Staying Safe
Enjoying & Achieving
Making a positive contribution
Economic wellbeing
Calne: The Extended Salamander Project
is an alternative curriculum and community development programme for young people who are in various ways ‘at risk’ or ‘hard to reach’. Although in Calne it is delivered very much in partnership with the local YDS team, it retains its Wiltshire Fire & Rescue Service branding from the time when it was a one week course, solely delivered by them with funding from Crimebeat. The extension of this scheme was in direct response to young peoples expressed desire to take part in a wider range of activities that could benefit themselves and others in the community over a longer period of time. It now lasts for three months culminating in a residential and offers young people accredited learning across a range of curriculum areas including: emergency first aid; food hygiene; team work; Canoe building and community-based volunteering. These awards were presented to young people at a special celebration event by the High Sheriff and Chief Fire Officer. At this event also attended by the Chief Constable and other Senior Managers from WCC - the young people put on a practical demonstration of the new skills and knowledge they had gained. Being Healthy
Staying Safe
Enjoying & Achieving
Making a positive contribution
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Economic wellbeing
Chippenham & Corsham:
Over recent years, YDS teams throughout the County have worked hard to embed the Locality Young Peoples Issue Groups into their core programmes. When they have worked well, they have provided young people with a regular opportunity for mutual exchange with Elected Members about activities they are involved in issues they face. Now with the move to One Council time has come to make these opportunities even more numerous and ‘local’ by holding them in each Community Area. In Chippenham the shift from LYPIG to CAYPIGS is well underway. Voice & Influence sessions are taking place with 5 young people on a weekly basis in preparation for each quarterly meeting; and the process has been recently been enlivened by an activity day in the Mendips which helped hone their ability to communicate and solve problems. In Corsham, 8 young people were involved in its new CAYPIG (representing Corsham, Rudloe, Potley and Pockeridge). This group have just completed their first political task, which was to help Corsham Town Council decide how best to spend its budget for play in Spring Field park - and where exactly the new equipment should be sited. Following the hard work the group put into their very informative presentation, the TC has since written to the group praising them for their community involvement and inviting them to the council chamber to hear of the projects progress. Being Healthy
Staying Safe
Enjoying & Achieving
Making a positive contribution
Countywide - YDS, Children’s Rights & Teenage Pregnancy: Following the success of an earlier project targeted at Looked After young women, YDS agreed to design and deliver a similar programme of developmental singlesex group work to benefit Looked After Young Men. This Looked After Young Men’s Project runs on a fortnightly basis and works with an assembled group of 16 young men from a spread of placements around the county. It blends a range of off-site activities with intensive sessions of developmental group work, exploring issues pertinent to their personal and social development. The approach conforms to the principles of ‘anti-sexist work with boys’. It therefore majors on emotionally intelligent group discussions about what it means to be a man - and what choices there are in this for them about how they think and respond. It addresses most issues head on, including relationships, sexual health, substance misuse, violence and what life has been like for them in care. The project is also designed to promote the groups access and inclusion. The venue for each session is therefore rotated around the County so that the young men are introduced to provision in own area and may feel more able to access it of their own accord at other times. By involving a male worker from each hosting centre in the session on the night, the initiative also serves a coaching function to
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Economic wellbeing
equip them with confidence to try a similar style of work with their own young men. Being Healthy
Staying Safe
Enjoying & Achieving
Making a positive contribution
Downton: YDS & Trafalgar School:
Economic wellbeing
Here, the recently appointed YDC is working in
liaison with the Extended Schools Coordinator towards setting up a
Building Bridges
Study Support
service. This will focus on literacy, numeracy and ICT as well as self esteem and confidence. The learning will be delivered through the medium of outdoor activities and sport, and is to be directly linked to the learning that takes place in the classroom, which accounts for the project’s title, ‘Building Bridges’. The school will be providing a teacher to support the project, which will also include the provision of weekly drop in session. Due to the rurality of the area and the wide coverage for the YDS, it is envisaged that this will also prove a very effective way for this new worker to build relations with the population of young people who at other times are dispersed often to the point of being beyond reach. Being Healthy
Staying Safe
Enjoying & Achieving
Making a positive contribution
Economic wellbeing
Melksham: Sign Language Course.
This initiative is run along similar lines to the one established in Calne last year – and as such, demonstrates how the service encourages workers to replicate each others best practice. Demand for the course among young people was high. The 15 young people who attend represent a fair cross section of the user group and were all delighted to be given the chance to take part. They were keen to learn in the first session of its benefits to both Deaf and hearing people. In another of the early sessions, they were challenged to consider how they would feel if reliant on somebody else to interpret for them - especially in very personal scenarios such as attending a appointment with their Doctor. After only just a few sessions, they have started to grasp the basic building blocks of the language and their determination to retain all that they are being taught is evidence of their committed approach. Reports are even coming in of them using it to communicate in class – much to their teachers amusement, as its easier to spot than a text! Within the group there are 4 young people with mild to severe learning difficulties, spanning asparagus, autism and diagnosed attachment disorder. For them, the prospect of developing additional methods of communication is proving to be hugely exciting. At the end of this course, the young people will have the opportunity to progress to level 2, and once competent enough they have already expressed a desire to consult with Deaf young people about how together, they can make the centre’s programme more accessible . Being Healthy
Warminster:
Staying Safe
Enjoying & Achieving
Making a positive contribution
Economic wellbeing
As part of the targeted group work project with Looked After young women,
they took part in a Teenage Pregnancy Prevention weekend that used electronic babies to help the young women develop a more informed view of the challenges associated with being a teenage parent. Throughout the weekend, they were each individually tasked with providing a constant and consistent level of care for their baby - wherever they went and whatever they did. This meant taking the babies with them into real life settings such as shopping malls, restaurants and on bus journeys, where they had to contend with many prejudicial and belittling
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responses from members of the public who, in the main, would have assumed them to be carrying their own real off-spring. The project was filmed and will be edited by the young women themselves to capture the elements that they feel were most significant. Being Healthy
Staying Safe
Enjoying & Achieving
Making a positive contribution
Economic wellbeing
Countywide: The Vibes Project was a day long arts event at the Wiltshire Music Centre specifically targeted at BME young people and families. The event was made possible through the collaborative efforts of a partnership comprising: YDS; the Ethnic Minority Achievement Service (EMAS); the Wiltshire Youth Arts Partnership (WYAP); Wiltshire Music Centre, and the Wiltshire Music Service. The key aim of the day was to raise self esteem and confidence through activities that celebrated a diversity of cultures from around the world. EMAS facilitated an important discussion about young people’s attainment that many parents bought into. Other other activities included: a voice workshop from singer Kizzy Morrell; Music technology from Tony Briscoe; DJ Infinity mixing up the decks with Samba musician Claudio Kron; and dance Artists Olu Tiawo and Irven Lewis. Being Healthy
Staying Safe
Enjoying & Achieving
Making a positive contribution
Economic wellbeing
March Trowbridge, Melksham & Bradford on Avon:
A standing concern of young people attending all three centres, as in other areas, is the way that they feel they are discriminated against within the community for being young. It was an issue that they repeatedly raised in LYPIGs and one that the team wanted to help them address. As a result the Hoodie
Syndrome Project
was conceived of, which although still in the planning stages, aims to provide a young people with locality-wide mechanism for exploring and conveying this concern. To date, 45 young people have been involved in the planning and the ideas they have come up with include: a filmed debate with local politicians about intergenerational tensions and what it means to be a ‘citizen’; drama and role plays depicting the various situations young people find themselves in; video work and photography along the lines of a video diary; and use of other creative media and resources such as spark site and spark radio. Being Healthy
Staying Safe
Enjoying & Achieving
Making a positive contribution
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Economic wellbeing
Corsham: For the past 9 months the YDS team have been carrying out rural street based youth work in Colerne. This was prompted by a needs assessment questionnaire that drew attention to the village’s isolation from the main town and stark lack of amenities for young people. There had also been recent concerns relating to anti-social behaviour in the village resulting in police arrests and cautions. One of the outcomes of this work was young people’s attendance and articulate contribution to an inter-agency meeting involving representatives from the Police, Parish Council, Church, Extended School, and local adult residents. At this, it was agreed that a safe indoor facility was needed to allow young people to meet and socialize with the Old School Hall being offered up by the P.C. as an appropriate possible venue. Subsequently an organizing group of 10 young people have applied to WYPOF for equipment they have identified and costed. As yet, they don’t know if they have been successful, but they are hopeful of it being favourably appraised by young people from other parts of the Locality when it gets put before them at the next LYPIG. Being Healthy
Staying Safe
Enjoying & Achieving
Salisbury: Grosvenor House in Connections and ‘db8’. The
Making a positive contribution
Economic wellbeing
Salisbury is best known for being the home of
Base
former being the Service’s highly successful youth music project and the latter being its much acclaimed ‘for young people by young people’ quarterly youth magazine. However as YDS’ most central City venue, efforts have been made to diversify its use in order to maximize its potential benefit to other young people. The following are 2 examples of these newer initiatives:
Street based youth work.
This is currently operating 2 sessions a week and, in effect, outreaches from Grosevenor house to engage with the young people who tend to group up in various central locations. Once this becomes more established it is anticipated that it will seed young people’s involvement in a number of new peer-planned projects and initiatives reflective of their needs and interests.
Girls Group.
This project has been set up as a result of young women expressing concerns about their conversations with each other being overheard and repeated by young men. Generally the relationship between the young men and young women in this setting is positive and respectful, although the environment is none the less dominated in terms of sheer numbers by young men. It is anticipate the this initiative will go some way to redressing this balance and improve the centre’s response to those young people –mainly young women – who are less actively involved in band rehearsal activity. Being Healthy
Staying Safe
Enjoying & Achieving
Making a positive contribution
Economic wellbeing
County wide:
On the 12th of March a group of assembled young people who had benefited from a new homelessness support Scheme for 16-17 year olds - provided by the cross-sector Homelessness Local Public Service Agreement (LPSA) - made a major contribution to the
Homeless Young People’s LPSA Regional Centre of Excellence Conference in Salisbury. A year earlier one young man Ben, had been a member of a previous group of homeless young people who had been supported through a programme of developmental group work to share their experiences with local politicians and make an awareness raising DVD entitled ‘Been There!’ This had not only made a huge impact on managers of local
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Housing Services, but had found its way, via a ministerial conference in Bristol, to the ears of Government. Now - one year on - Ben had progressed to play ‘Parkie’ in a follow on DVD interview with a new group homeless people, all of whom were – unlike Ben and the others previously – beneficiaries a the new level of support. They decided to entitle this second DVD ‘Been there 2’ and after it had been shown at the conference, the young people went on to lead workshop discussions with a wide variety of visiting professionals from across the region. During the evaluation, the group were taken aback by the positive feedback and thanks they received for their contribution to the day – a contribution that to begin with, they didn’t believe they would have the confidence to make. Being Healthy
Staying Safe
Purton & Cricklade:
Enjoying & Achieving
Making a positive contribution
Economic wellbeing
Four young people who expressed an interest in working with animals
Environmental Project at the Oak & Furrows Wildlife Rescue Centre. Their duties include feeding and mucking out the animals have started a twelve week
(including foxes, hedgehogs, badgers, deer, bats, birds of prey etc); constructing bird, bat and hedgehog boxes; and learning the basics of animal husbandry. This project will be accredited with a service section of the Duke of Edinburgh Award and one of the young people who is interested in pursuing this line of work as a career will be doing their work experience at the centre. Being Healthy
Devizes:
Staying Safe
Enjoying & Achieving
Making a positive contribution
Economic wellbeing
during an open access drop in session, workers responded to young people’s
comments and questions about sex by running a structured
‘No Worries!’ Sex &
Relationship Education Session.
‘No Worries!’ is a scheme that has been developed by the Health Authority and Wiltshire’s Teenage Pregnancy Partnership to provide young people with access to reliable information and advice about sexual health. During the session, young people learnt about the realities of STIs; had a fairly intense discussion about their values and attitudes; and practiced the safe use of condoms using condom demonstrators. At the end of the session - and in line with the Service’s policy guidelines – young people received a No Worries! pack which contained a condom card that they could present at local registered clinics and pharmacies in exchange for free top-up supplies. Usually, young people prefer to have these discussions in single sex groups, but on this occasion they elected to remain mixed. At the end of one exercise, young people were surprised to discover that the personal qualities they were each looking for in a sexual partner were little different from those they valued most in their best mates. Being Healthy
Staying Safe
Enjoying & Achieving
Making a positive contribution
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Economic wellbeing
Salisbury:
A WYPOF funded project, developed in partnership with Library Services and to
increase young people’s confidence to access the Library environment.
NYR Library Teen
Zone Lounge Project
is one of a number of initiatives across the county aligned to the National Year of Reading. It involved young people working with others to create a more youngperson-friendly area within the Library. As part of the planning process, young people conducted a consultation with their friends and school mates. The Lounge has been designed as a safe space where young people can chill out; enjoy books, magazines and other reading resources specifically for their age range; meet friends - and talk!. Already, young people who had never used the central Library before and used only to congregate on the steps outside are now coming in on a regular basis. The next phase of the project will be focused on developing inter-related use of reading resources with the Youth Development Centre itself. Being Healthy
Staying Safe
Enjoying & Achieving
Making a positive contribution
Economic wellbeing
Pewsey:
One of the clear messages from a recent consultation exercise with young women who had been tending to tail off from using the centre - was that they wanted the opportunity to do more active and exciting things such as self defence. When this was discussed with them in more detail, it also became clear that they wanted the opportunity to do stuff together on their own away from the lads, because they saw the lads as having more to do there than them. The resulting programme of Girls Only Self Defence Sessions have proved popular and are acting as a catalyst for increasing numbers. Although the initial focus was on the Martial Arts, discussions and group work are being weaved in to establish the group and broaden the curriculum content. Being Healthy
Staying Safe
Enjoying & Achieving
Making a positive contribution
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Economic wellbeing