Youth Serviceannual report

2011 – 2012

www.youthunltd.comwww.southglos.gov.uk

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ForeWorD

Iam very pleased to be introducing this annual report which provides a snapshot of the

many and varied activities offered by the South Gloucestershire Youth Service.

I would like to thank the committed, skilled and energetic staff from both the local authority and our voluntary sector partners who have contributed to the strong performance of the service this year. I would also like to thank the many young people who have engaged so

positively in these activities. I know that many have also contributed through volunteering their time including helping to plan and deliver activities. Many more have contributed by sharing their views to influence decision making on a wide range of issues important to them.

The council remains committed to contributing where possible to the positive experiences that young people can access in South Gloucestershire. This includes a rich offer from a wide range of places including schools, creative arts and activity clubs, leisure centres, and many more. We also know that we will have less resources available to us in the future and we need to rethink what we do. Proposals for change were developed early in 2012 for consultation and stakeholders including young people were invited to give us their views. We shall be reporting the outcome of the consultation to our new Children and Young People Committee in late July. Therese Gillespie – Director for Children & Young People

❱ IntroductIonIt’s a great pleasure to be introducing this annual report profiling the highlights of the work of the South Gloucestershire Youth Service over the past year. We know many young people value the many opportunities made available to them through a wide variety of

projects and activities – we know because they tell us but also because of the high ‘footfall’ of young people throughout the year. There was an overall footfall of 78,632 comprising of 11,843 individual young people aged 13-19 engaged with the service. 75% of those participating achieved recorded and accredited outcomes as a result of their participation. Harder to quantify are the many young people who received individual support and advice from youth work staff and who may have been diverted from less positive activities.

Of course, the one thing that is certain is that things change and we know that we face some new challenges in the future in terms of resources. But as with all change, there will also be opportunities for improvement and for finding new ways of doing things in a way that is still valued by young people and maximises their engagement. Through the hard work of staff and the positive engagement of young people already, we have much to celebrate and learn from for the future. Geri Palfreeman – Service Manager, Preventative Services

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❱ Youth BoardWelcome to the annual report 2011-12!A year on with South Gloucestershire Youth Board and we are making good progress with the Sounds Positive campaign mentioned last year. We attended a photography skills workshop and are working towards a photography exhibition and publicity in this area. We also began work on a Political Education campaign aiming to increase young people’s knowledge of politics, this included a training session from a member of the Parliamentary Outreach team. Another project we have been involved in was mystery shopping in Youth Centres to give feedback on them.

We have represented the Youth Board at events such as the British Youth Council (BYC) Conference, the Equal People Conference and the recent consultation on the proposed Integrated Youth Services. For Local Democracy week we held a youth network event with various young people’s groups and local councillors. The BYC’s, “Shadowing a local councillor” award was launched here. During half term we took the opportunity to publicise our work via a radio slot on Multi FM.

We held quarterly meetings with Therese Gillespie the director of Children and Young People’s Services and Sheila Cook the executive member for Children and Young People. Youth Board members

open AcceSS Youth Work

Youth work takes place in a variety of settings including youth centres, schools, parks and

other areas where young people gather. Youth workers offer a wide range of activities to young people aged 11-25 with a particular focus on 13-19 years old.

Youth work provides a safe environment for young people to socialise, have fun and address issues important to them. Using activities such as crafts, cooking, sports, music or trips, youth workers give young people the opportunity to try new things, develop skills and confidence, raise aspirations and empower them to take part in decision making.

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❱ MuSIcLittle Stoke Youth Centre and Bradley Stoke Detached Project worked with Creative Youth Network to plan and deliver a concert in Bradley Stoke Community School. Eight of Patchway Youth Centre’s Soundz Club members are now in bands regularly gigging at well known venues. Staple Hill Methodist Youth Project teamed up with the Old School Youth Centre and “The Musicworks” to offer young people the chance to play to paying crowds, leading to 20 young people performing in a night club in Munster, Germany!

In February, the Old School Youth Centre MultiFM radio station hit the airwaves once again for another successful week with 60

hours of live shows, 500 young people, a Bristol Rovers football star and ‘Out of the Ordinary’ from Chipping Sodbury Youth Centre performing live music.

❱ Skate & ScootPatchway and Little Stoke Youth Forum organised a skate festival which attracted over 50 young people while St Nicholas and Cadbury Heath Youth Centres ran very popular weekly scooter sessions. Badminton Road Methodist Youth Centre supported young people in resolving maintenance issues in their local skate park.

Young People from Brimsham Green Youth Wing, Yate Detached and St Nicholas Youth Centre came together to form the “Friends of Peghill Skate Park” and met with the manager and local councillors to discuss improvements to the park.

Young people from Fromeside Youth Centre worked with skate park designers, helped to write a business plan and fundraised for the installation of an indoor skate park in the centre.

❱ trIpS & reSIdentIalSTrips were very popular with Little Stoke Youth Centre organising two residentials, and several youth centres

including Cadbury Heath and Hanham Youth Centres taking a total of 30 young people to PGL.

St Andrews Methodist Youth Centre teamed up with Brimsham Green Youth

Wing to take a group of young people with Learning Difficulties or Disabilities (LDD) to the Calvert Trust which

enabled everyone to take part in a wide range of activities. Other trips included a

visit to Wembley Stadium and a trip to Alton Towers jointly organised by Bradley Stoke, Little

Stoke and Patchway Youth Centres.

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promoting poSitive choiceS

❱ Be healthYMade for Ever and Little Stoke Youth Centres ran a healthy meal cookery project, whilst Oldland Youth Centre offered very popular cooking sessions. With a grant from the SITA land trust, Fromeside Youth Centre renovated the derelict sports pitch enabling young people to access a range of outdoor sports sessions whilst around 50 young people from Brimsham Green Youth Wing enjoyed a 6 weeks sports project. Bouldering, climbing and archery continue to be popular activities at Made for Ever Youth Centre.

Themes such as a dental health can also be given a fun twist as St Nicolas Youth Centre proved with a workshop enjoyed by all. Well-being was a strong theme for the centre with regular head massage sessions to learn to relax and de-stress. Oldland Youth Centre also provided support and coping strategies around exams.

Badminton Road and Staple Hill Methodist Youth Projects (SHMYP) worked with young people around safe drug and alcohol use, resulting in the group being better able to make informed choices, stay safe and look after each other when using substances. SHMYP also used their studio to deliver sessions focused around crime, relationships and employment. Yate detached team supported weekly sexual health clinic drop-in sessions at the Yate Westgate Centre. Youth workers also regularly ran sexual health sessions, supported by the No Worries scheme, resulting in young people gaining the confidence to have individual discussions with staff, often contributing to the reduction of teenage pregnancies. SHMYP sexual health project resulted in a young woman whose ambition was to have a baby at 16 to delay and apply for a college course

❱ enJoY & achIeVeArt has been a particularly strong theme this year. In Patchway Youth Centre young people got involved in theatre, participating in short plays around conflict resolution, animation, music and photography, with some talented young people giving serious consideration to photography as a career choice. Young people from the Old School Youth Centre worked with a local artist on designing art work for the Kingswood hub. St Nicholas Youth Centre started regular table tennis sessions while Pyramid Youth Centre organised a table tennis competition attended by several clubs including Cadbury Health Youth Centre whose members swept two trophies!

The Armadillo Youth Venue and Café in Yate opened its doors in May 2011, followed by the official opening by Prince Edward. Young people were involved in choosing equipment and furnishing and the venue now boasts a disco area, games and internet access as well as a band practice room and a cinema.

❱ StaY SaFeYoung people from Bradley Stoke Detached were involved in the National Road Safety Week campaign. Oldland Youth Centre ran sessions around fire safety while Chipping Sodbury Youth Centre organised sessions in school with a police community support officer and a fire officer, looking at their roles and issues that affect young people.

Following issues raised by young people around their dealings with the Police, detached workers from SHMYP supported young people to learn about their rights and

empowered them to handle situations responsibly and respectfully. Badminton Road Methodist Youth

Centre worked with a group of young people in conflict with security guards from shops in Emersons Green.

❱ Make a poSItIVe contrIButIonFrom volunteering to helping improving youth clubs, young people’s contributions have

been significant this year.

Kieran from Little Stoke Youth Centre received a Safer South Gloucestershire

Communities Award for all his hard work volunteering in the youth centre.

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Chipping Sodbury Youth Centre has three dedicated year 12 volunteers supporting younger members. Other members took part in two fundraising weekends raising £200 towards a project done in partnership with B&Q to build a pergola in the centre’s garden.

Brimsham Green Youth Wing saw an increase in volunteering with young people helping to support their juniors and LDD nights. They teamed up with St Andrews Methodist Youth Centre taking their young volunteers on a training week end to develop new skills and strategies and share their experiences as volunteers.

Young people from St Nicholas Youth Centre helped with painting and organising activities while in Cadbury Heath Youth Centre members created an art and crafts room, added their own art work following the repainting of the club by the Community Payback Team and started work on a media suite. In Badminton Road Youth Centre staff and young people teamed up to refurbish the whole centre including the development of a “cinema” space and media suite.

Young people from Little Stoke Youth Centre held a sponsored sleepover raising £130 for Children in Need while St Andrews Methodist Youth Centre fundraised towards a trip to St Vallier, France, with Filton Twinning Association.

❱ achIeVe econoMIc Well BeInGFrom coffee bar training to fundraising for activities and equipment, young people get opportunities to develop skills around money management and independent living. Chipping Sodbury Youth Centre held a stall at their town’s Street Festival doing tattoos and face painting whilst Little Stoke Youth Centre ran stalls at summer fetes.

Young people from St Nicholas Youth Centre ran a stall in a festival in Yate park, practising good customer care while other members trained to work in the coffee bar.

❱ Youth unlIMItedYouth Unlimited, www.youthunltd.com, is South Gloucestershire’s website for young people aged 13-19. The site provides information on a range of issues from youth centres details to cyberbulling and mental health and No Worries info in a young people friendly format. There is also a calendar listing what’s on in youth centres as well as an activity search to locate what else is available in the area.

News and the regularly updated homepage are also very popular offering a range of local information, surveys, stories and details on awareness campaigns.

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encourAging pArticipAtion

G iving young people the opportunity to have their voice heard is one of the key principles of

youth work and this year again opportunities were numerous.

30 young people from youth boards, forums and councils across South Gloucestershire met during local democracy week. The event was attended by Councillors James Hunt and Sheila Cook who helped launch the 10 hours “Shadowing a local councillor” Award. One of the young people who signed up had a very successful experience meeting with a Bradley Stoke Councillor.

Young people from the Youth Board participated in the recruitment of the Head of Integrated Children and Young People’s Services whilst young people from Chipping Sodbury Youth Centre music session developed a job description for a music youth worker and were involved in all aspects of the recruitment process including interview.

Young people from Bradley Stoke took part in a consultation process in September to inform the council on what they wanted to access locally. Later in the year 109 young people from 26 groups including LDD young people from across the authority took part in a consultation event on the council’s proposed changes to services to young people.After attending the event several young people from Brimsham Green Youth Wing explained the issues to their peers and encouraged them to take part in the consultation.

11 young inspectors were recruited to assess the quality of the Youth Service. They developed their own criteria and visited 50% of the centres concluding that generally youth centres were friendly and welcoming with a range of activities available but that improvements could be made around décor, signage and approach to buildings.

Two young people from Brimsham Green Youth Wing joined the Reach youth project to work with a small team across the South West to discuss and develop resources and training materials to address homophobia and cyberbulling.

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Working With LDD Young peopLe

South Gloucestershire Youth Service provides specific nights supporting young people with Learning Difficulties or Disabilities (LDD) to access fun and challenging activities in a friendly and supportive

environment, raising their confidence to join mainstream activities.

Little Stoke, Made for Ever Youth Centre, Brimsham Green and St Andrews Methodist Youth Centres have staff trained to work with a range of learning difficulties and physical impairments to enable all young people to develop their full potential and join in with other young people. Star Kids at Little Stoke Youth Centre, for instance, have been involved in a similar range of activities as their peers on mainstream nights, including sport sessions, cooking, music making and trips getting the chance to learn vital independence skills, try new things and cope away from home while the Bridging Club in Brimsham Green Youth Wing saw a number of new members making a total of about 30 young people attending each week. LDD young people at Made for Ever Youth Centre designed a new name and logo for their night.

St Nicholas Youth Centre works with several young people on the autistic spectrum to enable them to access mainstream sessions and improve their social skills.

Young people with learning difficulties from projects across South Gloucestershire formed the Young People United youth forum to represent LDD young people. The forum meets monthly to discuss common issues and is a great place to make new friends. Members were also involved in producing a video to promote the LDD youth centres within South Gloucestershire.

St Andrews Methodist Youth Centre ran a weekly session for Filton College (now South Gloucestershire and Stroud College) for 10 LDD students. The social and life skills course covered a whole range of subjects including Safety, Drugs & Alcohol, Relationships and Sexual Health and Healthy Living.

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Supporting inDiviDuALS

Youth workers are also involved in working with young people identified as needing extra

support through one to one mentoring and group work, whether in partnership with schools or through referrals from partner agencies.

Over the last year Staple Hill Methodist Youth Project has been working with local schools, and other agencies to offer one to one work to individual young people in need of extra support. Fromeside Youth Centre continued its partnership with the Youth Offending Team (YOT) supporting young people with supervision and reparation orders, involving them in preparing the centre for the forthcoming indoor skate park. This led to one young person deciding to apply for an apprenticeship at the centre. Patchway Youth Centre also worked with the YOT and the Family Intervention Project to provide opportunities for young people to learn new photography skills.

Fromeside Youth Centre also supported the Family Solutions team in running two 10 week Strengthening Families courses providing supportive and therapeutic group work for young people and their parents which led to an increased involvement in CAFs.

Badminton Road Youth Centre offered apprenticeship opportunities in partnership with the City of Bristol College. Students completed NVQ Level 3 in Youth Work and gained qualifications in English, Maths and I.T. as well as practical skills.

Several centres including the Old School and Thornbury Youth Centres also offer mentoring or one to one support to individual young people while 27 young people in care were supported by the Youth Service. St Nicholas Youth Centre supported young carers through their Saturday club, offering a space to meet, support each other and just be teenagers for a while.

❱ neet YounG peopleThere are several projects around South Gloucestershire specifically supporting NEET young people (Not in Employment, Education or Training). Staple Hill Methodist Youth Project used its studio to offer support around employment, C.V. writing and interview skills and recently started a job club for the Soundwell Community Trust. Thornbury Youth Centre set up a very successful Late Late Breakfast club getting 80% of young people back into employment or education. At the Old School Youth Centre, young people built a raised garden to grow their own vegetables to use in the cooking sessions during the independent living skills programme.

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Working With SchooLS

as part of the targeted work the Youth Service is involved in, workers offer a range of support to

schools.

Chipping Sodbury Youth Centre runs fortnightly sessions with an inclusion group working towards COPE & STEP UP Awards as well as weekly lunchtime sessions in the Pod offering a safe haven to young people experiencing bullying or confidence issues.

The Old School Youth Centre continued working with the Kingswood partnership delivering work2learn courses on parenting, healthy eating and choices around behaviour. Thornbury Youth Centre ran a ‘reduce the risk’ course with 12 young people while Little Stoke Youth Centre delivered work2learn courses and 1 to 1 work around music production.

St Nicholas Youth Centre works with excluded young people around behaviour issues while Badminton Road Methodist Youth Centre started running successful courses on self management, controlling anger and how to cope in difficult situations and is looking at expanding the range of courses they offer to schools.

Hanham Youth Centre worked closely with Hanham High School delivering a variety of projects including a trip to Ashfield Young Offenders Prison, and a 6 week project called BMC, ‘Behavioural Management Course’. This course involved six students attending the youth centre one day a week and becoming involved in sessions on anger management, control behavioural reactions, accepting others and tolerance. The course was extremely successful with all six students dramatically improving their behaviour and attendance in school.

St Andrews Methodist Youth Centre meanwhile ran a 12 week programme for young women in year 11.

Hanham, Little Stoke and St Andrews Methodist Youth Centres are amongst the projects supporting Brook in running sexual health drop-ins in their local secondary schools.

The Youth Service also supported the work of Decipher Assist, a 3 year programme designed to reduce the uptake of smoking amongst year 8 students by training peer supporters in the benefits of being smoke free.

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Working With communitie SSHMYP has worked with several local agencies such as Safer South Glos and Our Place community flat to offer youth led activities sessions, and help young people have their voice heard in the community. Little Stoke Youth Centre worked with Stoke Gifford Parish Council to provide diversionary activities on a Friday night while the Youth Service jointly delivered a detached project in Bradley Stoke supported by Bradley Stoke Town Council. Following a pilot last year, Oldland Youth Centre opened Friday nights with partnership funding between Bitton Parish Council and PAYP.

The Rural Team used village halls and the urbie (mobile bus) to provide provision in rural areas including Charfield, Wick& Doynton and Marshfield. They successfully applied to First Light to run a film project in Pucklechurch, which experienced high levels of anti social behaviour. The film, based on image and low self esteem, involved 12 young people, the local young offenders’ prison and members of the community.

In Chipping Sodbury, members of Sodbury and Bloom supported young people to decorate plant pots which were displayed in the window as part of the In Bloom Competition.

Youth centres also provided a welcoming space for community groups and agencies such as Playlink, Family Solutions and parenting support to run courses, pre-schools and clubs.

❱ Work WIth traVeller YounG people Fromeside Youth Centre worked with the South Gloucestershire Link Forum to consult traveller young people around mental health and emotional well-being. Through facilitated workshops, young people shared some of the barriers that they faced, discussing sensitive issues, how they might deal with their stresses and what would make services more appealing and accessible to them. This led to an 8 weeks project building up supportive relationships with parents and resulting in some traveller young people attending the youth centre regularly.

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Working ArounD Anti-SociAL behAviour

Youth workers regularly address issues surrounding anti-social behaviour but also

engage in specific pieces of work at the request of other agencies.

Oldland Youth Centre assisted the Police and the Anti-Social Behaviour team in addressing levels of anti-social behaviour in the local parks and the area as a whole, by providing somewhere positive for young people to go on a Friday night.

St Nicholas Youth Centre worked with Abbotswood Action Group to minimise anti-social behaviour in the area. Outreach workers also prioritised working with young people at risk of being involved in anti-social behaviour.

❱ poSItIVe actIVItIeS For YounG peoplePAYP was a specific stream of funding designed to support work to reduce crime and anti-social behaviour.Successful projects included:w “Binge or cringe” detached sessions highlighting

the risks of using drugs and alcohol in excess and offering information to support agencies.

w Trips to quad biking, paintballing to enable young people to engage in “safe risk” activities.

w Residentials with disengaged young people to encourage community involvement.

w Bike club engaging young men in bicycle repair and cycle ride.

The U project emphasis this year was on enabling young people at risk of engaging in anti-social behaviour to join up with other young people to access a range of activities, develop confidence and self esteem and built up relationship with youth workers to encourage them to attend youth centres and benefit from on going support.

In Severnvale, young people chose between 2 four week projects based around horse riding, canoeing, photography, music making and residential.

In Yate, projects where developed around specific groups such as LGBTQ young people, travellers and LDD young people. Chipping Sodbury Youth Centre ran a 6 week course for young women referred from schools and social services.

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re cogniSing Achievement

t he Youth Service offers a range of awards to recognise young people’s progress and achievements. The accreditation team not only supports service users but also works in partnership with agencies such as

Barnados, KIDS, Kingswood Young Homeless Project, and social services after care team to name just a few.

❱ South GlouceSterShIre Youth aWard celeBratIonThe celebration of Young People’s Achievement evening took place on 3 November 2011 and was attended by around 200 people. The event, sponsored by Merlin Housing Society, was a huge success with young people showcasing their talents as well as receiving awards.

Bands “Out of the Ordinary” and “Before the Storm” from Chipping Sodbury Youth Centre and Messed Up, a street dance group from Patchway Youth Centre performed on the night and made a big impression on the audience.

In St Andrews Methodist Youth Centre, 20 young people with a range of learning difficulties including downs syndrome, cerebral palsy, and autistic spectrum disorders, completed their ASDAN Towards Independence award. Four young people with mild learning difficulties took part in the ASDAN South West celebration day presenting a display and a Powerpoint presentation in front of 200 people about their ASDAN Activity Awards.

The accreditation team worked with schools and a Travellers group to design an E-safety award for young people to develop their skills around safe internet use.

1,121 accredited outcomes were completed, including 74 volunteers awards, 48 full South Gloucestershire Awards, 28 bronze DofE awards and 67 ASDAN awards.

290 young people started their DofE award over the last year making a total of 455 active participants, including 7 LDD young people. The demand to join the Duke of Edinburgh award is increasing and the accreditation team is actively recruiting volunteers to augment the offer from the 16 centres currently operating. Activities range from team sports to volunteering in a charity shop, to learning church bell ringing and doing a 3-day expedition in the Brecon Beacons.

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FActS AnD FigureS 2011/12❱ tarGetSDuring the reporting period 2011/2012 South Gloucestershire Youth Service exceeded all their targets. We worked with 11,843 young people ( 55% of the 13-19 population) reaching an annual attendance of 78,632. Out of the 4,397 young people aged 13-19 who attended youth centres regularly, 2,453 young people achieved a recorded outcome and 1,121 an accredited outcome.

❱ SupportInG Youth WorkThe 2011/2012 budget for the service included £280k to support and work in partnership with the voluntary sector. This funding was delegated to seven local groups to run a variety of youth provision in different areas. Voluntary groups are monitored and managed by a link officer from the local authority and are expected to meet the same targets as local authority youth centres. These groups also set their own operational targets.

❱ FInancInG Youth WorkSouth Gloucestershire Council’s delegated budget for the Youth Service was £1,915k. This equated to approximately £80 per 13-19 year old living in South Gloucestershire.

The service provides a wide range of staff development opportunities for youth workers in statutory and voluntary sectors including our own in house managed Youth Work qualification.

❱ contactSFull-time Youth CentresThere were eight full-time local authority youth centres and four full-time commissioned voluntary centres. Full-time centres are generally opened five nights a week.

Part-time Youth CentresThere were five part-time local authority youth centres and two part-time commissioned voluntary centres.Part time youth centres are generally opened one, two or three nights a week.

Mobile and detached youth projects.Mobile detached work was delivered from two vehicles (Urbies), one is funded by Yate Town Council for work specifically in Yate. We also commissioned detached projects in Staple Hill and jointly deliver one in Bradley Stoke. The local authority had a central detached team and rural detached teams that work through the area.

Youth CaféWe jointly commissioned the new Armadillo Youth Café in Yate in conjunction with Yate Town Council.

❱ partIcIpatIon and accredItatIonInvolving young people in decision making i.e. through the Youth Board.We also run several accreditation schemes, including ASDAN, DofE and local awards.

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❱ What YounG people haVe told uS

“I feel more confident now and people listen to me here.”

(student with history of exclusion)” Brimsham Green Youth Wing

“I feel I have become more calm and less agitated by being given a second chance at The Brockeridge Centre.”

“I have learnt to value myself.”

(From a young woman who took part in the Girls U project in Chipping Sodbury Youth Centre)

“I enjoyed taking part in the Issue Based topics as they helped me to understand and talk about any issues I may have.”

For further information please call ✆ 01454 86 8591