Reflecting your Community – Who do we include? In reflecting your community the participants first drew up a list of the kinds of things to consider to make groups reflect our communities. This included things like Ethnicity, disability, gender, sexual orientation and social class. We then looked at four case studies in groups, of successful examples of inclusive work both in Woodcraft Folk groups and other organisations. Each group looked at one of the case studies and then fed them back to the whole workshop. We wrote up a list of general principles for inclusion [do you not have this? Perhaps Joe does?]. From these principles people then worked in pairs to do a SWAT analysis (identifying Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats) for their own district. From the SWAT analysis people then wrote down some individual actions for them to take to their group. Useful Link: http://woodcraft.org.uk/inclusion Full Notes We started the session with a discussion on groups that we could include, these are the groups suggested: BME - Black Minority Ethnic Ethic Gender Religion Sexuality Class Ability Working Marriage Status - Family Unit Pregnancy status Culture Social strata Age The group then paired up to look at a selection of case studies of good practices of inclusion from inside and outside of Woodcraft. The groups were asked to pick out the key principles of inclusion and transferable learning. Case studies notes A picture to show the key principles for a city centre Woodcraft groups, based in a park.
Woodcraft Values
Local Council Support
Young people ownership
Student for local University
Experienced WCF Leader
These were the points of transferable learning: 1. 2. 3. 4.
Allow the young people to have ownership of the space Work in partnership with local organisations Have shared values Decide if you’re doing youth work or play work
Keys to success of a local Woodcralf group working with a local partner to include disabled young people. Set up exchanges with a local disability group, this can be of games or group night activities Worked with local partner to enabled group to find disabled young people Set up First aid training focused on disabled young people Created group the guardians role to offer one:one support and parent contact What is transferable? Connections with other organisations Making arrangements for/adapting to people’s needs Notes from the playout case study Playout Meeter and Greeter role
Deprived area
Muslim Working Class
Experienced leaders
Advertised in schools x4 Training Headteachers
Leaflets with mixed race pictures Quota for more black families
Adult/leaders social x2 pa The points in bold are the ones that are transferable.
Help from local knowledge
Press, Youth worker, GP
SWOT mirrors After the looking at the case studies we asked the leaders to individually look at their group inclusion using a SWOT (Strengths, Weakness, Opportunity and Threats) analysis. Group 1 Strengths Buildings have good disabled access Could easily adapt to people with disabilities Weakness Accessibility to get to the building is not ideal Running around outdoors in dark or on uneven ground. Not suitable for blind/wheelchair users. Threats Religious clashes with other beliefs Religion/culture events eg. Sunday camps, eating during fasting Opportunities Could camp with diverse backgrounds easily Easy to adapt to new members Group 2 Strengths Rep. Community Accessible building Elfins on chairs Weakness Community not diverse Status quo is a threat Age - looking after young children Not being able to join in Group 3
Strength WeaknessIf willing to disclosure Wave/delay subs Cost of activities not a barrier Good support from parents Need more Venturers Raise awareness of WCF group Through out the workshop we created a list of Principles of Inclusion: Information - don't wait for people to ask - ask if people have needs to be met Resources/experience already in the community - parent - council Treat people as individuals Leaders need to be ready to set aside personal experience/prejudice to show tolerance (eg religion) Don't make cost a barrier A 'clique' is the opposite of inclusion. If you want to include a certain type of people go to them - partnership with other organisations Listen to what people say Non disclosure - no pressure on people to disclose backgrounds Allow people to self identify Involve somebody from inside target community Include parents - meeter/greeter Where/when you hold sessions practicalities - accessibility
Case Study 1 Overview: A Woodcraft group set up in a city centre park that is led by a collective of volunteer youth workers who are predominantly students or similar age to those attending the group. The group is a free space which is managed in a collective and democratic way. Problems are resolved by discussions and consensus decision making. Why was the group set up? The group was set up to work with a broader range of young in a different model to groups locally which were predominantly parent led. They had confidence in the peer led model so wanted to put into practice using young youth workers. The group would allow them to reach out to those who had not been involved with the movement before. They went where the young people were, the City centre because at the age of 12/13 the young people jump on them metro and head there. They were lucky enough to find a disused potting shed in a central park, which the park manager agreed they could use. The young people that attend come from a range of backgrounds such as homelessness, domestic violence, self-harm and alcohol problems, which has been a real eye opener to all those involved. The volunteers also have got involved for a range of reasons, some have Woodcraft background, some are DFs away from home and some have no link to Woodcraft. How did they make it assessable to those who wish to engage? The group created an opened door to a space and with young volunteers even reaching out to the surrounding park and city centre. While they do have more formal nights, most nights there is no sign up list and anyone is welcome to use the space as long as they are with someone linked to the space. To manage this space they have a very detailed safeguarding and risk assessment which covers the use of the city centre park space. They run a custom introduction to Woodcraft with each of our volunteers which involves elements of outreach training. What support did they get? They had a lot of support and encouragement from the local youth service and the city park service offered us the building. What benefits has it brought to the group? They had to invent support structures such as co-supervision with a focus on the values as inspiration and invent cooperative youth work practice. They have a small group of stable volunteers with support from a larger set of external volunteers such as child support and social services. Do they have any recommendations for those groups who are looking to be more inclusive? Don’t look to parents instead take a walk in the park or the city centre. Decide on youth work or play work and decide where your strength lies. If you choose youth work find a place (a building) that is “owned” and that means for youth “their space”. Remember to look to the values to guide your practice.
Case Study 2 Overview: A national project to support groups of “unheard” young people from across England to run campaigns on issues that affect them. The project worked with 29 different groups including LGBT young people, young carers, young people in care, young refugees, young parents, young people affected by domestic violence, those not in mainstream educations and BME young people. Why was the group set up? The project original idea came from the charities youth board as they felt the charity and the youth sector as a whole were missing working with these young people. All young people in this country struggle to have their voice heard but the young people had extra barriers. So the project worked with the young people to overcome these and in most cases campaign on the very barriers that were blocking them. How did they make it assessable to those who wish to engage? Flexibility and listening to the young people was the key to making the project accessible to all. They would take all the young people involved as individuals and do whatever was needed to put them all on a fair level. This could be anything from allowing young carers to keep phones on them to make sure everywhere was wheel accessible. Also at no point did we highlight the young people’s background, if they wished to share this with others that was down to them. What support did they get? As the project linked up with groups from across England it meant it worked closely with the group’s youth workers who were able to give background information and more specialist support when needed. This allowed the projects main worker to focus on the campaigning elements with the young people and treat them all as equal. What benefits has it brought to the group? The project was both successful at running campaigns that made a different and showcasing youth led work. None of this would have been possible without the diversity of the young people involved. The friendships and the new understanding that was formed in that a group was something special, and something society as a whole could learn a lot from. By the end of the project there was countless training days on youth led campaigns based around a resource and the project finished with a youth led campaigns award. Do they have any recommendations for those groups who are looking to be more inclusive? Be flexible, listen to the young people and treat them as individuals. There’s no one answer for inclusion, there’s no one answer for young people full stop. That’s why you should listen to them and support them the best you can like any other young person.
Case Study 3 Overview: A London based charity that engages with some of the UK’s most excluded and deprived young people who are most in need of support but least likely to access it. The model takes mental health into their territories on their terms to promote positive mental health through innovative youth led projects and one-to-one Street Therapy work. Why was the group set up? The shocking statistic that one in three offenders have an unmet mental health need at the time of offence, their founder was keen to change this situation in London. The north London estate where the charity began is a deprived area renowned for a high level of crime, gang violence, poverty and unemployment. They wanted to use a youth led approach to start up a project that would enable mental health to be accessible to young people and their community. How did they make it assessable to those who wish to engage? Its approach is entirely youth-led and ethos underpinned by the charity’s aim to make mental health accessible to some of the UK's most deprived young people - those who may need help the most, but get it the least. The charity works very intensively with up to 30 young people aged between 14 and 30 for up to two years. These young people lead a range of activities including cooking, gym, football, theatre and music while engaging on a 1:1 basis with the team for Street Therapy. They choose what to attend and when but generally meet with staff at least once a week and in some cases daily. What support did they get? The charity has support from a range of sources. They gain funding from foundations and trusts, larger charities and local and national government. They work with local and nationals partners. They also have a board of trustees from a range of backgrounds from clinical psychologists to young people that were involved in the project in the past. What benefits has it brought to the group? Three years on, the charity has an expanding team and a large body of volunteers who support its work on an individual, community and policy level. Of the original group of young people who were said to be on the road to prison, 75% are now in education, training or employment. Three have set up their own social enterprise working in local schools. 25% are receiving medical care within the NHS. Do they have any recommendations for those groups who are looking to be more inclusive? Work with the young people directly, as they will know what will work for them. Never give up on a young person, they all deserve a chance and some positivity.
Case Study 4 Why was the group set up? I joined another district after the closure of a group I was involved in a deprived area. When the new district started talking about setting up new groups in less 'middle class' areas they all started pointing the finger at me, I did live in the deprived area after all. I was keen to help Woodcraft be relevant to a wider group of people, as was the District Leader, so we worked together on the project. We decided to start with two groups, a Woodchip and an Elfin. How did they make it assessable to those who wish to engage? We chose an area that was very deprived which had just lost it's youth club. We ran two Playouts, one in a big park and one at the local Playcentre. Straight away we had the firm interest of the parents of 16 children. The second Playout was advertised by leafleting 4 local primary schools that opened the door for us by contacting their Heads and telling them what we were doing and who we were. The schools were particularly pleased that we bundled the leaflets into packs of 30 to help their distribution to classes. When the Groups were filling up, we made it known that we wanted to leave space for more black families and parents responded by inviting friends who might be interested. What support did they get? We were given tremendous help at the beginning from a local Headmaster whose children went to Woodcraft. He introduced us to some local parents who he thought would be interested and helped negotiate a cheap deal for us to meet in a Community Centre. The district "donated" two experienced Leaders to help the Groups start off, and three DF's have been helping run groups regularly. London Region helped by training up 5 new Leaders, 3 had been in Woodcraft years ago, and one was an parent who worked nearby. One was completely new to Woodcraft and had found out about us by contacting National Folk. London Region also gave us start up grants. The local district also helped us with sharing camping equipment and will host the new groups on camps. What benefits has it brought to the group? We have a new group of very enthusiastic parents who really value Woodcraft. This is in contrast with many parents who just drop their kids off as if it was a Youth Club. For example, many of our parents came to help at our tent repair day, which was good for the District's morale. The group is more working class and we have half a dozen Muslim children which broadens the experience for the children. Do they have any recommendations for those groups who are looking to be more inclusive? I think it's crucial to get the support right from the beginning from someone who is in involved in the area you have targetted. It could be a teacher, youth worker, community activisit or even a GP. We are about to get the local paper to write an article and take pictures. I suspect that when readers see the group is mixed, they are more likely to be interested in contacting us. I also really recommend the Meeter and Greeter role. This allows space for new parents to sit and talk to someone about Woodcraft, have their questions answered and be made to feel welcome. Often, Group Leaders are just too busy to do this. The role also allows for follow up if people have stopped coming as a good relationship has been established very early. We have had a number of the less confident parents come back after such an intervention, they really appreciated being contacted. We also run two socials a year which are popular with the parents and helps cement the groups. Sometimes their friends come and join Woodcraft as a result.
Case Study 5 Overview: A local Woodcraft district that has been working in close partnership with a local organisation to work with disabled young people in the area. The district has linked up at all ages and done a range of activities from one night sessions to camps. Why was the partnership set up? The partnership was set up when a member of the Woodcraft district who works closely with the local youth service became aware that a local youth organisation were looking for partners to work with disabled young people and children locally. After the Woodcraft district worked closely with the partner they became inspired and saw how easy it was to overcome the barriers that they had previous thought were there when working with disabled young people. The district thinking there were many barriers was in some ways the biggest barrier. So the district worked closely with the local partner to put everything in place for disabled young people to attend in a safe and enjoyable way. They also gave some support in finding the disabled young people so they could be invited along. How did they make it assessable to those who wish to engage? One of the key things they did was set up the Group Guardian role in each group, a person who doesn’t lead but instead is on hand to support with individuals and be a point of contact for parents. They made sure that the role was clear and didn’t cross over with others. Each of the guardians received training from the local partner and our supported by the part time staff member the district employ. They also have regular meetings so everyone can talk, share experiences and feel supported. As well as the role they also did a few simple things to make sure they were ready for the disabled young people. We ran specific first aid training with a focus on working with young people with disabilities, as well as inclusion training from the local partner. This training helped us to overcome the barriers and have practical ways to include disabled young people in activities. We found funding from the local youth development fund which we have used for safeguarding training from the Folk House team and plan to use it for future training. Members were encouraged to volunteer at disabled young people camping trips, to learn through doing. All this was about making sure our members were confident in working with young people with disabilities. What benefits has it brought to the group? The Venturers have been on disability camps and were blowed away by the experience. They were able to extend their understanding and with many feeling like they “get it”. They could see what disabled young people are able to do and offer rather than seeing their disability. It really brought out the best of them around their disabled peers and it was a fulfilling time. The Woodchips have created a link with a local group with a huge range of disabilities and regularly meet up to swap sessions.
Do they have any recommendations for those groups who are looking to be more inclusive? Go meet people where they already are. Say Hi and ask to join in, find out more and see what we can do together. Make sure members get some training so they feel confident and able. Local councils are a good place to ask for free training. While disabled young people have as much to give as others, they also have very busy life where much is program, so they may just be looking for somewhere to chill out and be a kid.