southwick neighbourhood youth project registered charity ... report 2016.pdf · new photos of...
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Southwick Neighbourhood Youth Project
Registered charity no. 1044254
271 Southwick Road, Southwick,
Sunderland, SR5 2AB
01915491179
www.snyp.co.uk
Our funders
BBC Children In Need
Esmee Fairbairn Foundation
Ballinger Charitable Trust
City of Sunderland Council
Sir Tom Cowie
Virgin Money Foundation
Garfield Weston Foundation
Ernest Cook Trust
Trusthouse Charitable Trust
The Joicey Trust
Chapman Fund
I am Important
Volunteers, staff and students
Terri Middleton
Lil Edminson
Trish Dennis
Lesley Lawson
Meg Robertson
Kayleigh Richardson
Julie Foster
Dave Mitchell
Sandra Rößler
Chris Brown
John Robertson
Becky Simpson
Ruth Oxley
Gemma Tunstall
Katy Barrigan
Shona Sloanes
Sanda Simkis
Adam Gorzelanczyk
Daniel Mills
Jessica Farquhar
SNYP Management Committee
Claire Williams
Su Kaur
Ann Russell
Clair Roper
Kayleigh Brown
Becca Johnson
Joleen Lumsden
Miles Elliott
Sue Callaghan
Partners
The All Together Consortium
SNCBC
Sunderland City Council
The Cranfield Trust
Southwick Community Primary School
Bizzy B’s
Eon Arts
National Glass Centre
University of Sunderland
City of Sunderland College
Redhouse Academy
As this year draws to a close, I find myself once again reflecting on how
successful and meaningful the work of SNYP has been. The funding climate
for a project such as ours remains difficult, however we are hopeful that the
supporters of SNYP can long continue to see the value of the work we do
and go on investing in the young people.
The successes of the project could not occur without the efforts and
commitment of so many people; our volunteers and Management
Committee who give their time freely, the students eager to learn and
develop their skills and knowledge and the young people who continually
give us the privilege of being part of their lives, letting us know how we can
support their needs and wishes.
The staff at SNYP are also dedicated and committed to their work,
providing the best possible outcomes and making a difference in the lives of
so many young people; this year two valued members of staff left the team;
Kayleigh Richardson and Julie Foster. Kayleigh began her journey with SNYP
as a young person who used the project and stayed with us for seven years;
Julie had been with SNYP for nine years, I would like to thank Kayleigh and
Julie for all of their work with the project, they’ll be missed, and I’d like to
extend my best wishes and luck to them for the future.
SNYP has been able to stay at the forefront of youth work in the area and
remains steadfast in it’s commitment to equality for the young people of
Southwick, reductions in council funding due early next year may cause an
increase in demand for our services and it is vital that we have somewhere
or someone for the young people who need us, I’m reassured by the very
high levels of commitment and dedication from everyone involved with
SNYP and I’m hopeful that next year will be successful too.
Claire Williams
Chairperson
What SNYP means to me…
By the Girls Group and the Lads Group
SNYP is an amazing place to come, the workers are all
lovely. I have met some amazing friends at SNYP. It’s a
great place to come and socialise at. I have made and done
a lot of lovely things at SNYP. The best time I have had is
going to flamingo land and light water valley.
I love having a laugh and being creative, for example
drawing, playing games and pool and computers. I enjoyed
the Italian kitchen for food, I had pepperoni pizza. A couple
of weeks ago all of the lads made a collage. We used old and
new photos of ourselves.
I love the sense of community and
what the youth club gives to young
people, the centre does loads of
amazing activities and projects. They
are fun to do and be involved in. I
think for the quiet young people, it
gives them a chance to socialise and
you meet some amazing people.
I have been coming since I
was eight years old and I
have done many things from
when I first came till now. I
have enjoyed many of the
simple things like walks alt-
hough I think the trip to the
mill was the best because
we had a starter, main and
dessert. This just so
happened to be the first
meal that was professionally
set up. I am very grateful for
all that SNYP has done for
me and I hope others show
some appreciation for the
group.
Girls group means where you feel safe
around good people, spending time with
people. I have enjoyed that I have met
the best staff and getting on with others,
I like cooking things
Project Co-ordinator’s overview
The report has highlighted some of the fantastic work undertaken at the
project during the last year, many more memories have been created and a
great deal of young people have benefited from the youth work we’ve done.
We’ve undertaken more partnership work, during the Easter and Summer
school holidays we worked with SNCBC to provide additional provision to
young people and with an aim to reduce holiday hunger. We have worked
with the Bizzy B’s to deliver a community fun day, the Southwick
Illuminations and to share some of the costs associated with Flamingo Land
and Lightwater Valley.
Our environmental work this year has consisted of community litter picks,
some of which were with The Marley Park fire station and Sunderland City
Council, Councillor Miles Elliott and we also recycled old tyres during the
summer where young people made garden furniture, planters, see saws and
dog beds; all of the young people involved received an ASDAN award to
reinforce their achievements.
We were once again invited to do a project with the National Glass Centre;
some young people made instruments during a very intensive week which
culminated with a wonderful performance I was lucky enough to attend.
As we move forward into next year we will be concentrating on our
fundraising efforts in order to continue the positive work we do, we are
also working more collectively with other youth projects across the city so
we can be stronger together and create a robust network of support
centred around common goals; we are also hoping that young people can
have a stronger voice in the city they call home, we will ensure that they are
represented and part of the City of Culture bid ; we will continue be their
champions and make sure they’re heard.
Ruth
I Am Important
Just over a year ago we were introduced to John and Louise from I am Important;
they wanted to make a difference to lives of children and young people in
Southwick - to show them that they ‘are important’ and should be cherished and
valued. They chose to invest in our project and give the young people a years
worth of activities that they wouldn’t usually be able to access.
We were able to have Christmas parties in SNYP during December 2015, thanks
to I Am Important the young people aged from 8-19 were able to come together,
share food, play party games and have a whole lot of fun and silliness. Every young
person also got to take home a selection box as a thank you for spending their
time with us.
During 2016 we were able to plan at least one outing per month for the different
young people that come into SNYP, I Am Important helped us to visit Southlake
Safari Park, Restaurants, Whitley Bay Ice Rink, Laser quest, Sunderland Climbing
Wall, Gravity Force, the Stadium of Light and Broomhouse Farm. We also had
parties in the local park, a chef out to the project to teach the young people to
cook and new XBOX games and accessories for the many evenings that young
people spend with us.
The I Am Important project has given many young people the opportunity to take
part in fun and positive activities and outings over this last year. We are truly
grateful and it has meant a great deal to the young people involved.
Girls group means I can interact
and make new friends. It is a safe
place to go to hang out with your
friends. The staff are kind and
considerate, they are people who
you can get attached to.
I have enjoyed doing the different
activities as a group. It helps build
up confidence in each other
SNYP is a great place to come,
especially Girls Group! Because
it’s a place to make friends, have a
laugh, create things and lots more.
I really enjoyed when we made
bath bombs. I also enjoyed when
we went to Loui Loui for our trip,
it was a laugh! The workers are
lovely and make you feel welcome
each week
I really enjoyed just dance. Everyone
was saying I have been practising
dancing for the night, however I
haven’t been. I felt like this was an eye
opener to something I was good at.
Throughout the time this year I have
had a lot of eye openers that the youth
workers have realised and supported
me to develop.
Environmental project was fun
because we made lots of plant
pots and see saws and many
other stuff (from tyres)
I’ve been coming to SNYP and
enjoyed doing the pool tournament
and I like the Just Dance on the Wii
Girls group means that I feel happy
because you get to socialise with
different other people and do
different activities each week, I
have enjoyed creating Christmas
things such as the snow globes
The Southwick HACKS
The newspaper has recently published issue 30 and over the past year the
newspaper work witch has continued to make a positive impact on those
young people involved within the different groups. The evidence of this is
in the continued participation of individual attendance, publications
completed and the quality and progress of individual work from participants.
The newspaper has continued to be a platform and successfully give young
people a voice and promotes young people in a positive light.
All the young people involved in the different groups have benefited in
various ways and have learnt different skills relating to computer,
communication, creative writing which has had a positive effect on their
individual progress within their educational achievements.
During the year we have had six satellite groups running, one here within
SNYP; which is the main group that collated all the stories together. Two
within the local primary school; one with a specifically targeted group with
low self-esteem, poor literacy skills and concentration and the other an
afterschool club for year 5’s & 6 which young people interested in writing
stories attend. There are two in the local comprehensive school for year 10
& 11 young people within the alternative education programme and one in a
local youth facility.
Each group had the opportunity to insert stories into the newspaper that
raises the profile of young people in a positive light, this raises the young
people’s confidence and gives them a sense of belonging and of being heard.
After each issue has been produced the young people involved and its read-
ers are asked to evaluate it, the general outcome of the young people’s
evaluation is that they like to see the good things that young people in the
area are doing.
Young people have improved personally and academically, parents and the
individual young people have come in and informed us that they have moved
up sets at school and the parents believe that it’s as a result of being
involved in the newspaper group and the support they have received.
Drop-in Youth Work
The drop-in sessions have been very well used by the young people of
Southwick; 96 individuals have chosen to spend their leisure time with us at
SNYP.
The young people have engaged in conversations about issues of importance
to them, the range of topics is exhaustive however, some of these
conversations centred around homelessness, university, death/bereavement,
money, exams, CV’s/careers, politics, work experience, school proms and
stop smoking, body piercings, racism, sexual health, guns, substance misuse
and feminism.
There have also been numerous activities within the drop-in session
including the use of beer goggles, cooking, table tennis, pool and board/
computer games and a wide range of art and craft sessions such as
Christmas crafts, drawing, handmade decorations, paper crafts, pancakes for
Shrove Tuesday, trinket box dolls, decoupage unicorns, glass painting and
plaster of paris.
The young people have also enjoyed some outings away from the project,
they’ve been to a football match at the Stadium of Light, ice skating at
Whitley Bay, beach party at Roker and more recently a small group went
along to the Sunderland Youth Parliament State of the City Debate where
they were given the opportunity to debate on issues for young people.
The drop-in has given the young people a safe space to call their own - it has
been their choice to attend and we have been able to engage them in a
positive and meaningful youth work process which will hopefully leave a long
and lasting impression.
“Youth Clubs have a unique role and one that should be valued and supported as they can make a
big difference in the lives of many young people and their communities. Club based work can provide
the warm, safe, friendly space for young people that they say they want, it can give them real power
and ownership. It can be a place where they develop new skills, try out new things, where they are
seen and judged differently from the school or home, where their talents and idiosyncrasies are ap-
preciated and where they can have fun. “
Sue Robertson—Youth & Policy
Junior Youth Work
The juniors have been very busy over the last year, 28 young people have
attended the session with the majority attending for a significant length of
time.
The junior group meet at SNYP every Tuesday and Friday straight after
school, there is usually an average of 10 young people at each session and
they all get involved in planning their six-weekly programmes.
The programmes are designed by the young people with support from the
staff and they all give the young people a chance to work together, build
relationships and friendships and generally have fun.
Over the year there have been so many fun activities and outings that the
juniors have done; they've spent their time indoors doing art and craft
projects including tie-dying, scrapbooking, glass painting and costume
making; they’ve also done plenty of cookery sessions including making food
with the social chef, baking cakes, biscuits, and making ice cream sundaes.
Other indoor activities have included games sessions, computer sessions,
having the bouncy castle and watching films. During the warmer months the
junior group spent a lot of time outside, often in the backyard at SNYP
where they whizzed around on scooters, played footy and basketball,
enjoyed giant games such as snakes and ladders and jenga. We also made
use of the local play park and the riverside.
The group also enjoyed outings during every school holiday, they have visit-
ed Washington Wildfowl Park, Southlake Safari Zoo, the climbing wall,
laser quest, Broomhouse Farm, Shields and Roker beach, Silksworth and
Chester-le-street parks, and the centre for life. They were also included in
the project’s visits to Flamingo Land and Frightwater Valley.
Those in alternative education have improved in confidence and have
regularly contributed to each issue informing others about the projects they
have achieved. These young people are unable to function in main stream
school, they have low aspirations, poor attendance and often challenging
behaviour. They have been involved in community and enterprise projects,
they have received ASDAN Short course awards for their valuable contribu-
tion. As a result of this they have improved on their attendances especially
on the day newspaper is run. They have engaged in creative writing tasks
and designing front cover of a magazine challenge. Earlier this year all the
year 11’s have successfully sat their GCSE’s.
The lunchtime group specifically targets young people with concentration,
literacy, confidence and communication issues. These young people have
improved considerably and are very keen to write stories, they are often set
challenges to improve their creative writing and literacy skills. They have
improved in every aspect of the work and have grown in confidence.
Outreach Youth Work
The outreach has continued to provide a youth work presence on the
streets and in the parks of Southwick. We have engaged with 205 individuals
known to us and some young people who we are yet to build relationships
with.
Our main work has taken place predominantly on Thompson and Marley
Pots park which is where the young people choose to gather, they welcome
us on sight and often ask us to meet them again the following session or
week.
Many of the young people we work with choose to access SNYP centre
based sessions as a result of our interaction, others are happy to interact
outside for the moment, hopefully knowing that they are always welcome to
come into the project if the need should arise.
Over the past year we have worked with young people on a wide and
diverse range of issues that are personal to them; we regularly arrange to
meet young people interested in stopping smoking or signing up for C-Card
at the beginning or end of our sessions. Some of the conversations we have
had with young people include talks around local/national politics and Brexit;
we have promoted relevant events such as Summer Streets, the air show,
beach party and XL village as well as training opportunities such as the
North Area Committee youth work course, local apprenticeships and
Princes Trust.
During the warmer months we visited the riverside and the tunnels as well
as the quarries to engage with young people. We have worked with teen
parents to promote relevant services. We have talked with young people
around the dangers of setting fires after a spate at Marley Park. We have
worked with police and CSO’s around the anti-dispersal orders in the area.
We have continued to have effective working relationships with other
organisations too, during the outreach sessions we often visit the XL youth
bus at Marley Pots, to catch up, share best practice and keep up to date
with local issues.
Youth Careers Work
This past year we have supported 144 individual young people with their
employment, training and further education needs.
We have a Facebook page which we encourage young people to join as we
post live daily job vacancies meaning young people can apply and find out
about the latest opportunities and training courses in real time. This has
proved incredibly popular, particularly over the last 6 months and we now
have 1260 members making us the most liked youth project in Sunderland.
An increased amount of the support we now offer is via online
communication. There are times where those hardest to reach struggle to
come into the project, be it a lack of bus fair, no child care, other
appointments etc and we now offer support via social media and e-mail
requests etc. A young person may need a CV updating so send over the
relevant information so that we can update it and then e-mail back etc. It is
likely that this will continue to be popular as technology becomes more
widely available.
We have had an increased number of referrals from the local job centre as
well as word of mouth. Young people like the informal setting that we
provide as we are a full time project that has an open door policy meaning
that no-one requires an appointment, they can simply come and go as they
please. We approach barriers to employment holistically and on an
individual basis. We help give support and information around a number of
issues which could be barriers including, addiction, homelessness, benefit
and financial difficulties, childcare, lack of training and qualifications etc. We
help young people remove these barriers by signposting for specialist
support where required and encouraging them too.
We meet regularly with local training providers and have good relationships
with local businesses and employers too. We work closely with the Princes
Trust who deliver their 12 week Team Programme from our local
Community Fire Station and we have had some good success with young
people who we have referred there and supported throughout the course.