Brymbo detached team operates under a Service Level Agreement between Wrexham County Borough Council and Brymbo Community Council. The aim of the project is to support young people through youth work intervention, developing services where young people regularly meet and socialise.

Young people have been integral to all programme delivery in Brymbo. “Dickies Bench” developed because the young people asked for a space to talk confidentially with staff. Dickies Bench developed naturally – it is a park bench that has been “adopted” by the young people near the MUGA area in the community. If young people need support or a confidential chat, they sit on the bench and the workers know they are needed.

Dickies Bench allows young people to ask for support, even if they don’t particularly want to ask for it. Sometimes the young people need a bit of support and they don’t want to ask for it outright. In addition, when young people are with their peer group, they may not want everyone involved in the conversation. Dickies bench is close enough to the MUGA area for staff not to become isolated, but far enough away to facilitate confidential conversations.

Dickies Bench is an integral part of the youth service delivery in Brymbo and is a focal point of provision in the area.

Dickies Bench allows young people to discuss any issues that are effecting them. It provides enough privacy for confidential conversations as well as maintaining the concept of still being in a bigger group. Young people (as in building based provision) are free to discuss any issues that are effecting them and allows staff to offer guidance/support and signposting if required.

Dickies Bench has been beneficial in providing evidence that young people can adapt to a variety of youth work methods and covering several important issues affecting young people.

Dickies Bench has provided the opportunity for young people to access support on a number of issues, some of which include:

• sexual health and advise
• information on drug/substance misuse
• Loneliness & Isolation
• All sorts of COVID concerns including bereavement.
• Sometimes, leaflets have been left on Dickies Bench as young people have asked for information that they want to read on their own.

Dickies Bench will continue as long as the need is still there and endure as long as the partnership does.

The aim of the provision is to provide a support service provision for young carers across Cardiff and the Vale of Glamorgan, working in partnership with the Support 4 Families Team in Cardiff and Families First in Vale.

Young carers are often unseen and unheard, they are often children & young people 7 to 18 years old who help care for a family member who lives with them. The family member could be experiencing difficulties with one or more of the following: disability, illness, mental health issues and drug and alcohol issues.

Meaning many young carers are unable to interact with friends, are socially isolated and can have some anxiety issues and are taking on adult responsibilities at an early age.

The project offers young carers a number of opportunities such as mentoring and support focusing on health and wellbeing, educational support, support for families of young carers and life skills development for young carers and adult young carers, alongside fun group respite activities to increase social opportunities, meet other young carers and have some fun!

For the Cardiff project, in October 2019, the views of Young Carers who accessed support via the YMCA and their parents were sought on the support that is currently available and their perception of any gaps in provision. This information was collated and presented to Cardiff Council officers to inform decision making. The main areas of deficit in current arrangements were reported as low-level emotional health and wellbeing support, transport, and support for young carers as they transition from childhood to adult life.

In the Vale the project is young person led with several evaluation methods being used to inform future service delivery and activities. We also have a young carers youth forum called AVAH (All Voice Are Heard).

Both projects over the same support services, activities and young carers youth clubs.

The project as young person led and they are involved in the design and evaluation of the curriculum of activities and in the evaluation of its impact upon them. We take a holistic approach and ensure young people are true stakeholders.

Young people learn coping strategies to improve their emotional intelligence, socialisation leading to making friendships enabling them to overcome feeling so isolation. They also learn how to become emotionally resilient and confident.

Participants in the project have become empowered as stakeholders of the development of resources and activities. They are free to play an active role in the project and contribute to its success.

The project is totally inclusive and is open to all young people who have a caring role in their family and we ensure we cater for all specific needs, abilities and cultures.

Young people have expressed how they feel about being a young carer via media and animated stories.

Many lessons have been learnt and we have evolved since 2008 through regular consultations with the young carers on the project. We continue to learn and one outcome is identifying more and more ‘hidden’ young carers over these years. We now support over 350 young carers and young adult carers across both local authorities.

Over the last year we have developed a whole family approach and have launched the young carers ID card. Plus developed online approaches to keeping in touch. Benefits include:

• young Carers/families accessing personalised support
• young Carers able to fulfil their educational and employment and personal development potential
• improved mental and physical wellbeing.
• reduced isolation through increased social opportunities for young carers and their familie
• young carers increase confidence, self-esteem and belief in themselves to build resilience
• improved support at school via drop-in sessions and Carers Champions, improved partnership working between the projects and the schools to offer a wrap-around support to young carer pupils
• experience and knowledge of young carer’s issues alongside increased knowledge of relevant legislation
• during the period of the provisions lifetime we have supported several youth work university student placements some of which have resulted in employment

The service has an active offer for young carers who wish to receive services in Welsh. In addition, the service makes reasonable adjustments to enable young carers who also may have additional needs or impairments to ensure they are able to access services as a young carer. The Service continues to improve identification of young carers and young adult carers, including black Asian and minority ethnic families.

Both projects are commissioned through the local authorities.

The provision aim is to offer Duke of Edinburgh opportunities and support to young people with ALN and disabilities who find it difficult to access the mainstream open award groups.

Our main priorities are to ensure:

• we provide a safe environment where young people can develop the skills needed for them to achieve their award/s with their peers
• to provide opportunities and experiences that are tailored to meet the needs of the group

The need for the provision arose from Young people being identified initially through conversations with teachers and parents who had initially completed Bronze, however there were no opportunities at that time for them to progress to Silver.

We involved Young People in a consultation to develop programme content and planning of activities and in drawing down funding with support of youth work staff. Young people also gave presentations in Annual DoE Award Ceremony Evening to over 500 people to further their cause. Through this consultation process young people became empowering young people and able to push their own barriers and limits to achieve things they didn’t think were possible.

Staff tailored their approach to meet the physical, medical, and emotional and communication needs of the group. This enabled the group to grow and develop their confidence and sense of worth and achievement. The staff provided and environment of inclusive practice. Ensuring equal opportunities to protected characteristic young people disadvantaged by their circumstances.

Our approach included the fundamental use of youth work principles and practices e.g., Voluntary engagement, starting at where the young people were at, the young people choosing their own levels of engagement.

COVID meant that the support provided was done so virtually for a period of time. This enabled young people to engage with peers and trusted adults to overcome social isolation as many group members were required to isolate during this time.

The project is flexible and tailored to needs of young people with a new cohort currently coming on board. The provision is constantly evolving as a result to meet needs. We have made adjustments were needed to ensure that all young people were able to complete and benefit from access to the project.

We have learnt how the award is achievable and how the project can be expanded and delivered to more young people with ALN and disabilities.

There are numerable benefits to young people including developed confidence through learning to socialise with their peers in out of school environments supported by youth workers. Young people have been able to develop their confidence enabling them to meet and interact with new people within their local communities and wider afield. The project has provided new opportunities and experiences for young people to be able to access with their peers and friends. The project has helped to break down barriers previously faced in accessing mainstream DoE provision. The experiential learning has transferred to other aspects of their lives including education, personal and social.

The project also highlighted the benefits of undertaking the DoE Award regardless of barriers/issues faced by young people and the flexibility of the award enabled the young people to achieve something beyond their wildest dreams.

Feedback from parents/guardians has been extremely positive and reports of the project enabling young people to be able to cope with lockdown and social isolation. Project breaks down barriers for staff and misconceptions in terms of supporting and enabling a group of ALN and disabled young people.

The projects has raised the profile of the need for youth work intervention for all young people and the benefits that this brings. Has raised the profile of the work of the YSS. The group of young people gave a presentation during the Annual awards ceremony and captivated an audience of over 500 people including local dignitaries and have received extremely positive feedback.

As young people finished school the project has provided invaluable social opportunities for the group to meet with their friends as they all have moved to individual destinations in the next stages of life.

This project has given a range of equal opportunities and access to provision for ALN and disabled young people that wouldn’t ordinarily be available to them. It has also provided a safe space for these young people to interact with their peers and trusted adults.

The Youth work approach has had to be adapted to enable young people with language/speech difficulties to be understood and benefit from intervention.
Young people have been able to demonstrate to others that they’re able to overcome barriers, learn new skills such as BSL, be dedicated to a project over a number of months and in some cases years to complete the highest accolade of the award.

The project has continued and adapted during lockdown to ensure that young people were able to continue to access vital support from youth workers and their peers. The work continues to be supported by the YSS and the school. Funding is an issue of concern and continues to prove on an ad hoc basis.

This year the projects is being offered to a wider reach of young people in the hope that more can benefit from this project.

The organisation developed a Club Handbook to help support volunteers who were volunteering at Boys’ and Girls’ Clubs of Wales member clubs. The Club Handbook needed to be clear, concise and be easily understood.

To accompany the Club Handbook was the design of two E-Learning modules. These were titled: (a) How to set up a BGC Wales affiliated club and (b) Supporting young people in a Boys’ and Girls’ Clubs of Wales affiliated youth club.

This project involved all stakeholders within the organisation. Young people were key to this and were represented via the Youth Forum. At Forum meetings the young people were keen to provide their views of how the Club Handbook should look and what areas were needed to be included.

Even though the Club Handbook was developed using numerous youth work methods, the resource encompasses a variety of youth work methods that are made available for leaders and aspiring volunteers to learn about prior to working with young people or undertaking further youth work training.

As an Organisation we recognise that volunteers start working with young people before they have completed the Level 2 Award in Youth Work Principles and as such both the Club Handbook and the E-Learning modules help them with providing key information to help them support young people.

Both the Club Handbook and E-Learning modules are resources that will continue to be updated annually so that they remain current. As a team at BGC Wales we learned a lot through this process, and we were keen to take on the views of the membership. This included young people, Club Volunteers, Staff members and Trustees.

The resources which were developed have a benefit on clubs and their ability to better support young people through Youth Work programmes.

By improving the structures within Clubs and the standard of volunteering we will provide a better experience for young people so they can fully understand the rights they are afforded within a Boys’ and Girls’ Club. The resources explain what Youth Work is and how young people’s involvement is integral to the process and that their voice is encouraged. These are just some of the ways in that this project is benefiting young people and will continue to benefit young people in the future.

The whole organisation has benefited from its role in this project. Volunteers who supported the production of the resources have learned about other areas that can support their development. As a national organisation, our member clubs have been supportive of the resources and have valued the support and efforts of the staff members.

All these three themes were addressed within the project. All these are key areas for running a BGC Wales Youth Club.

This project will evolve and the resources will be updated on an annual basis to ensure that they still meet changing Government or policy guidelines. So far there are two E-Learning modules but there are plans for additional resources.

The provision was established to offer support to young people with ALN & disabilities who find it difficult to access social opportunities after school hours without parental supervision. To provide a safe environment where young people can develop life skills & access opportunities that they may not be able to access otherwise.

Young people are identified initially through conversations with teachers & parents. The young people are not open to Statutory services. The development of the provision included Young People involved in consultation to develop programme content & planning of activities and what worked for them in following evaluation practices at end of a cycle of provision.

Consultation with young people, empowering young people to develop links within their local communities, enabling young people to develop self-confidence and self-esteem. Facilitating opportunities for young people to develop life skills and independence. Giving equal opportunities to protected characteristic young people disadvantaged by their circumstances.

The use of youth work principles & practices in a formal school setting. Young people are allowed to express opinions and views, participate in the construction of activities that meet their needs, the provision is both empowering and educational as it improves the personal wellbeing of those who are involved.

The project brings many benefits to young people:

• Young people receive peer support provided by Clwb Hwyl project.
• The project has expanded to include young people who receive statutory services support. The initial project identified the need for this type of provision wider than original scope/purpose.
• Project is flexible and tailored to needs of young people e.g. single sex groups/mixed groups/group numbers/behavioural needs/medical needs etc.
• Young people developed confidence through learning to socialise with their peers in out of school environments supported by youth workers.
• Young people have been able to develop their confidence enabling them to meet & interact with new people within their local communities & wider afield.
• The project has provided new opportunities & experiences for young people to be able to access with their peers & friends.
• The project has helped to break down barriers previously faced in accessing mainstream youth provision.
• The experiential learning has transferred to other aspects of their lives including education, personal & social.

Feedback from parents/guardians has been extremely positive and reports of the project enabling young people to be able to cope with lockdown & social isolation. The project has also provided extra time for parents to ensure their own wellbeing is cared for.

The project breaks down barriers for staff & misconceptions in terms of supporting & enabling a group of ALN & disabled young people. The projects has raised the profile of the need for youth work intervention for all young people & the benefits that this brings. Has raised the profile of the work of the YSS.

It has provided equal opportunities & access to provision for ALN & disabled young people that wouldn’t ordinarily be available to them. Provided a safe space for these young people to interact with their peers & trusted adults. The Youth work approach has had to be adapted to enable young people with language/speech difficulties to be understood & benefit from intervention another positive of the interaction with youth workers.

The project has continued and adapted during lockdown to ensure that young people were able to continue to access vital support from youth workers & their peers. Something which has been welcomed by young people and parents.

The provision continues to be supported by the YSS and the school however consistent funding continues to be a problem.

The focus group initiative aims to increase young people’s involvement in the development of the youth service curriculum and accreditation offer, ensuring it’s engaging and relevant to young people, and, responsive to current local and national needs, trends and issues in youth culture.

A Focus group of young people from across the borough are engaged with the project at least once a month through meetings, workshops and accreditation opportunities. Young people are representative of the full range of open access and targeted provision.

During these sessions young people are consulted with on each curriculum area or a specific topic, for example, what information is needed, what learning is required for young people to be informed? Young people help to design resources and review workshops and accreditation workbooks that are delivered as part of the curriculum.

The C&A team develop curriculum content with young people both at the start and end of development ensuring young people have inputted their ideas on topics covered, delivery methods, and the resources used, including the wording used in workshops or curriculum packs. The group also have the chance to review the paperwork we use to register accreditation or when collecting feedback at the end of any work delivery.

All young people who engage do so voluntarily, working in a small group to allow us to focus on their personal development whilst developing the curriculum.

We use the principles of participation, and work alongside the Youth Forum. We have found that listening to all of the young peoples’ ideas and fully exploring them (even when it’s initially thought that such ideas may not work) has allowed us to empower them and to input more in the future. It also enables them to explore how they can communicate their ideas in a different way to allow their voices to be heard and achieve maximum impact.

After a recent review of the group, we found that the similar age grouping of members may have not had the resulting benefit of varying the curriculum and content to a broader age range of wider youth service users. We decided that it would be good to change the way the group runs, allowing young people to sit on the group for 2 years (therefore enabling them to develop their skills and experience) and then when they leave we invite participation from young people representing an area or age group that isn’t included. This has allowed us to have a more diverse membership, which enriches the outcomes being worked towards.

The group initially started with an approach based on a more sit-down discussion based session, and although we had good input from members, the group felt that it would be better to become more interactive. As a result we now run through suggested activities to see how they might work, we move around a lot more, we remove seats when needed, we get creative and mobile when brainstorming etc.

The final lesson we have learnt is that whilst young people had significant input into the curriculum content and workshops provided, we weren’t always getting the level of usage of newly developed resources from across the service. After discussion with the group they felt that it would be good to look at more interactive methods to deliver the curriculum. For example, we now have a termly project that the focus group designs and facilitates with the idea that everyone engages across the service.

A recent example as part of the curriculum area around Healthy Eating and Cost of Living the focus group asked all youth centres and projects to put together and trial a recipe that young people can use for the youth service recipe book – the response was overwhelming, and we recently printed the Caerphilly Youth Service Recipe book made up of contributions from across all provisions.

The focus group also run competitions to get more young people involved in curriculum development. This has had a large impact and feedback from staff has highlighted that because the competition was something their young people had been involved with, it resulted in them wanting to deliver the related curriculum content more than if it had developed for them/given to them to deliver.

Young people engage with the knowledge they are there to put forward the views of young people from their area. Young people engage with curriculum workshop development often from the start to the end of the piece of work. This gives them the opportunity to learn what is required when designing an educational resource and they are encouraged to provide their own views throughout.

We try and develop their social, communication and teamwork skills and build their confidence. The termly projects have been designed to run in a way that encourages young people to slowly take charge of learning the skills they need such as research, editing, organisation and time management. The plan is that with each project the youth workers take more of a step back in the work done with the aim of the group deciding on their own project and workers being there solely to provide the space and support.

The young people also have the chance to gain national accreditation during the sessions including the Youth Cymru Youth Achievement Awards and Agored units. The benefit to the wider service, includes, having curriculum content and resources that best support staff and young people, having the young person’s voice included throughout and allowing them the chance to develop the workshops makes it relevant and credible.

It also helps showcase the work young people do giving them a feeling of pride and ownership of the work they are actively doing rather than the work they are receiving.

The main benefit to the youth service is having a wide range of resources designed with young people, we have found that often these are the resources that get used more often. It also provides us with the opportunity to learn where the gaps are in our curriculum and get unique ideas of how we can tackle them. An example is a workshop on Vaping. The original plan was to design a poster but after discussions with the group they wanted to design a comic book to engage young people in year 6 and 7.

As staff we are benefiting from the input that allows us to be challenged on the resources we design, opening ourselves up to get feedback from the group allows us to continually develop our skills and reflect on things we may not have considered in the past. It gives us the opportunity to get ideas from a group of young people that are really creative.

We ensure that all workshops are available in both Welsh and English.

Throughout this year we have been working with the group to develop resources around the theme of ‘challenging discrimination’.

We continually look at how we can develop, we’re currently exploring the idea of a residential for members to further develop skills to create their own resource with less support from ourselves, and the idea of giving the experienced members more responsibility on how the sessions may look.

We feel that the project will always be adapting and developing to fit the needs of the young people involved in both the group and within the wider service.

The project aims to engage disengaged young people who have been anti-social in their local community and aims to develop new skills, build relationships and as a result decrease the anti-social behavior.

The young people have been instrumental to all the planning for the bench and since the original bench the young people have changed some of the designs to make it more aesthetically pleasing. Egg Seeds the provider gave the young people a task and then they used their problem solving and team work skills to design the digital bench.

The young people have also developed their woodwork skills and have completed all of the necessary skilled labor to complete the bench. Although this is supervised by the staff the young people have become self-efficient and independent at these skills over time.

The young people have also been involved in choosing the destination of the bench and have spoken honestly about how it would be cared for and respected in their current community, so much so that the young people chose a more affluent area that had good CCTV coverage and area that the young people felt it would not be damaged. One young person quoted “I am not doing all this hard work for someone to come along and burn it down”.

Like any youth work practice we try to develop a supportive environment, which is safe and where the young people are able to express their views and opinions. This has been key to the success of the project and through active listening the young people have developed their own community.

Older young people from the group have also supported younger members, sharing their own knowledge and experience of making the first digital bench in Wales (see link below) to help build the second bench.

The project was run originally indoors as part of a youth club session but due to Covid-19 regulations the project was forced outside, where it now runs more freely and more visible to the local community.

The lesson learned resulted in an increase in anti-social behavior, young people need stimulation and positive activities to engage in, I know Covid-19 stopped so much, but statistics proved that when we resumed the digital bench and youth engagement in the community the levels of anti-social behavior decreased. This sends a clear message that we must work hard to provide a service to young people despite the struggles and strains that may be thrown at us. The introduction of the YEPS purpose built mobile youth vans have been an instrumental part of the RCT Youth Service operating at full capacity.

The young people involved have a developed more respect and consideration for their community, this has not just been done through the digital bench but also through involving the local school and the Crimes and Consequences team to also educate the young people.

A group of young girls who have engaged in the digital bench have noticeably developed in confidence and also acquired a good level of wood work skills which they have told us they have even used at home and helped other family members.

The more hard to reach young people who have been very honest about their anti-social behavior in the community are now more interactive and comfortable talking to the youth workers about their own life challenges, and often come to us when life becomes difficult.

One of the older young people who engaged in the 1st bench has now become a young volunteer with the project and she enjoys sharing her knowledge and experience and supporting younger members.

Finally the young people have also developed relationships with key partners in the community which has allowed them to access more provision, for example the young people are now comfortable and confident enough to access the local food bank as it is run but a member of staff who they have been introduced to as part of the project. So the young people interpersonal skills have improved.

Newydd Housing who are a key partner to the Digital bench, along with YEPS RCT and Egg Seeds have also raised awareness and understanding to local residents. The ASB officer for Newydd Housing shared information on social media about positive activities the young people were involved with and also encouraged residents to not dump rubbish at a known fire site as this was encouraging the young people to set those items alight.

This partnership with all key partners has further strengthened and this has allowed some of this work to continue in the local Secondary school.
Staff and volunteers, like the young people involved have also developed their own wood work skills and it has given them a sense of purpose for engaging with the young people without the usual barriers that have been in place during the detached street based sessions.

The provision has been structured around the needs of the young people, offering open access, where no young person feels discriminated or isolated as a results of their disability, sexuality, nationality, social-economic status, special needs, mental health religion or any other characteristic.

The project has continued to thrive, so much so that an application for additional funding has been put in to offer the opportunity to several sites in RCT.

The young people involved in the current bench are already thinking about their next bench and next project and Hapi through Newydd Housing have secured additional funding to support this, along with the continued support from YEPS RCT staff.

The digital music project gives young people an understanding of different types of music and instruments. The project supports learners to develop their musical skill set and their ability to build creatively. The project has included group work and 1-1 sessions online and face to face. The project has improved self-confidence and musical skills and reduced isolation during the pandemic. Young people have also worked towards achieving the Music Appreciation Agored Cymru Unit.

The young people participated in a successful music recording and performance project based at the YMCA hub in Barry. They performed a Christmas showcase to their peers and the Vale Youth Service team members. Unfortunately we had to stop these sessions due to Covid public health crisis. However the the young people involved wanted to continue to develop their skills.

The tutor from the previous project and myself thought it might be possible to facilitate a music project online via Microsoft Teams. We consulted the young people to find out how much interest there is in the project and to get feedback on any experience the young people have had working with music online.

The young people engaged fully and contributed on the collaboration on the design of the project. We decided to set up a shared Google doc and they would work together on the lyrics for the song that they produced. They also worked together when choosing the different backing track sections to arrange in the GarageBand application when the tutor was sharing his screen.

There was in issue recording the singing online due to a delay. To solve this the young people recorded their parts at home on their phones and emailed them to me to add to the song. As lead for the project I emailed and called all of the local schools and released regular social media posts to raise awareness of the project. At the end of the project we had CDs professionally duplicated using the artwork that the young people had designed throughout the term. I then sent this to the Schools, local music tutors, local radio, and music shops along with posters with the aim of increasing attendance for continuation and development of the project. Due to changes in Covid regulations we have developed the provision to be facilitated outside using our mobile youth club.

The project has given young people an opportunity to explore new ways to express themselves during these difficult times during lockdown. It was a way they could learn new skills and knowledge in the areas of song writing, music production and relating music to film. The young people were ultimately empowered to writing exactly what they feel about the pandemic in the form of a song which gave them a platform to relate to others in the community by featuring on YouTube, social media and from being interviewed in a local paper and on local radio.

The Vale of Glamorgan Council released a press release on the project which resulted in the interest from the local press and radio. This is positive publicity. As the project has continued with the mobile provision it has been seen in the community and has been met with a positive response from the public and also other local services such as the Police.

The young people have expressed their opinions on their own feelings and experiences and the impact of the pandemic across the world within their song lyrics and CD artwork. They explore issues such as climate change, Black Lives Matter and American politics.
The project initially continued as part of the Summer of Fun School holidays offer that the youth service were offering in St Athan and Barry but due to the popularity of the programme the project is continuing weekly in the areas of St Athan and Rhoose.

During this challenging time dealing with COVID, many of our partners have been juggling with implementing online solutions, furlough and redeployment and young people have struggled with all the well documented effects of lockdown. Our technological response has been multifaceted and is underpinned by our existing digital system eDofE.

eDofE allows young people to enter details of their activity and demonstrate their progress online. The app introduced in 2019 has made this easier, especially during COVID, so young people can add their information using their phone, for example taking and uploading pictures as evidence instantly.

Using eDofE, Leaders can easily access the information for their groups and are alerted when young people interact with the system. DofE can analyse where activity occurs and where further help may be needed, as well as easily quality check Awards from across Wales. We have a Business Information manager and our operations team can call on various reports and breakdowns of the information to enable them to track and best support their centres.

eDofE allows records to be easily swapped between groups, so that a young person’s activity can be continued no matter if they transfer from centre to centre. E.g. going from secure estate back to school or transferring from a school to a voluntary group.

Using eDofE as our base we were able to layer in further changes and virtual alterations to allow many young people to continue or start an Award:

• We introduced flexibilities to the programme to enable young people to continue their DofE within COVID restrictions. Our ‘#DofE with a Difference’ campaign was quickly under pinned by changes in eDofE to facilitate the temporary changes.
• We introduced a new temporary Certificate of Achievement (CoA) which would be emailed direct to the participant and encouraged young people to complete the Skills, Physical and Volunteering sections of their award during lockdown. To do this they could take advantage of changes which allow them to swap their activities more than once, mentor family members and we advertised lists of activities which could be completed at home. The CoA recognises young people’s progress through the programme and over 3,000 have been awarded in Wales so far, but they are still able to gain a whole award when Residentials and Expeditions can be completed.
• We also introduced a unique virtual award presentation (“Presentations with a Difference”) for groups of young people who had completed their Silver Awards. We enlisted the help of Welsh celebrities to record video presentations which were released on social media for young people, their families and centres to celebrate their achievements.
• We implemented a new training platform using Adobe Connect and created materials which would allow us to conduct online training while leaders were not able to travel and had time to consider upskilling. We trained 244 people in 2020-21. This new way of delivering courses continues to be offered and will remain our main way of ensuring that existing leaders are kept current with developments and new leaders receive the training they need to successfully deliver the DofE.

Evaluations rated the training experience at 4.5 out of 5 stars with young people trainees sharing quotes such as:

• "Brilliant easy to follow interactive enough to keep you engaged”
• “This was a really useful in-depth course. I am excited to get started in my school as a leader.”
• “Clear and excellent delivery, great content and enjoyed the interactive aspects. Particularly like the anonymous multiple choice sections.”

We released new recruitment and delivery toolkits to help leaders and young people find all the resources they would need to participate and introduced lots more virtual resources including videos in Welsh and English to help substitute for face to face recruitment presentations when young people were learning from home.

For the first time, we introduced virtual parent/carer information sessions which aim to take pressure off leaders and give information direct to parents/carers about the DofE and how to best support a young person through their Award.

To support young people who will be finding it harder than ever to move into the workplace, we were proud to undertake a 5 day social media campaign for our Employability Week, featuring bespoke video content, support materials, and insights from business leaders, employers and DofE Award holders from around Wales. These valuable resources remain available on our website.

https://www.dofe.org/notice-boards/wales/resources

In addition to our eDofe Initiatives we have been busy supporting our inclusivity agenda. Please see examples of our work:

Equal opportunities are central to The Duke of Edinburgh’s Award with one of our 10 guiding principles being “Achievable by all” – the programme is achievable by any young person who chooses to take up its challenge, regardless of ability, gender, background or location.

DofE programmes are youth led and based on the needs and starting point of each individual, this makes them uniquely flexible as a tool for engagement for all young people whatever their circumstances. The programme is ultimately adaptable for all needs and is delivered through youth work in statutory and voluntary groups as well as in schools and specialist settings including Pupil Referral Units, The Secure Estate and businesses. Wherever DofE is delivered the programme can be adapted to suit the individual needs of the young people without reducing positive benefits for those taking part.

Young people choose for themselves what activities they undertake in each section and are fully empowered to pursue interests and activities which are personally relevant and achievable. No two DofE programmes will be identical and this flexibility underpins the enduring attractiveness of the programme for young people over the past 65 years.

Operations Officers review the need in each centre and help identify and provide support/funding based on individual centre need and have funding available, due to our amazing supporters, to target disadvantage and help break down barriers for marginalised young people. We target and regularly achieve 25% of our participants each year to be from disadvantaged backgrounds.

DofE has an Additional Learning Needs (ALN) working group who combine knowledge and experience to bring best practice across the field and facilitate ALN resources being made available to encourage and support centres who need to adapt the programme to support their young people. This group have recently created an ALN Handbook for DofE staff and a series of masterclasses and independent training for staff is being introduced which will also be embedded into induction for all new staff.

Our ALN Centres and groups are able to reflect the diverse interests of the participants and the ingenuity of their leaders working with the flexibility of the programme to overcome all barriers and surprise even their own parents at times. An Award putting them, sometimes for the first time, on an even playing field with their siblings and peers.

A research report for the DofE charity by Chrysalis Research published in March 2021 on “Participation in and impact of the DofE on young people with additional needs” noted that:

“Evidence captured for this research contained a lot of feedback from teachers and others working with ALN young people, highlighting that the programme design and its guiding principles were crucial in making it possible for their students to access it and truly benefit from their experience.

The programme’s focus on the individual and making sure that each participant’s DofE journey is personalised and is a challenge unique to them was the principle that was highlighted most often. The resulting flexibility of the programme as well as its openness to adaptations, to maximise it inclusivity, were mentioned equally often.”

Ysgol Cedewain in Powys have been very successful in embedding DofE into their school:

“All of the pupils at Ysgol Cedewain have learning difficulties, but many also have physical and medical needs. The Duke of Edinburgh’s Award is so inclusive, that all our pupils are able to take part and enjoy the benefits that the award has to offer, whatever their ability. We have seen our students grow in self-confidence, and all aspects of the Award help with this.

The volunteering is sometimes very daunting for our participants, but as the weeks go on, they gain so much in confidence. One volunteering activity that we do is to visit a residential home for the elderly. They have cleaned, and tidied, for the old people, they have enjoyed chatting to them, and these things were very beneficial to our students. But, on top of that, they organised and ran regular bingo sessions for the residents, who thoroughly enjoyed it. The significant thing is that our students are usually the ones who are having the help and support; so for them to be able to help others in a clear and tangible way, was a joy to see.

We have had a wide variety of skills, from filming, car mechanics, learning board games, camp craft and cooking, to name but a few. We adapt the skills depending on their disabilities, but all of them gain new or improved skills.

Many of our students do not enjoy physical activities! They have to be encouraged to improve their fitness, but they all take part in the expeditions we do with the DofE. Even those that need a lot more encouragement in the beginning seem to understand the importance of the actual expedition and push themselves more. This is also when the team-work, that we work hard to instil, comes to the fore, with all students encouraging and helping each other.”

Portfield School – Pembrokeshire
A participant from Portfield School, Pembrokeshire undertook weightlifting for his Physical activity section at Strength Academy Wales. He trains 3 times a week for an hour and a half each time. The club are so impressed with him that following his first competition, the club hope to enter him into Special Olympic Powerlifting competitions and have been liaising with ‘Special Olympics Wales’.

Woodlands School - Cardiff:
The school purchased specialist equipment for their visually impaired pupils enabling them to get the best experience whilst on their expedition. Jess Rumble, Operations Officer says: “The funding for a talking digital compass had a huge impact on the ability of a visually impaired student to participate fully in and enjoy the Bronze qualifying expedition in July 2019. When used with the voice recordings and the braille route booklet produced by the school, the compass meant that the young person could play a full part in navigating the trail and taking ownership of their own expedition. The compass also proved popular with some of the other young people in the group, and was a useful navigational tool that they were able to use with the route booklet. It’s a simple piece of equipment that can really add to the expedition experience of young people with additional needs, and will add great value to the school’s expeditions for the future.

Ysgol Bro Dinefwr - Carmarthenshire
Ysgol Bro Dinefwr has two learning resources for pupils with severe and complex needs, and recently offered a group of students from its specialist resource base the opportunity to do their Bronze DofE.

Although initially unsure whether the DofE was for them, the students decided to embark on a ‘Donkey DofE’, supported by their school-based youth worker.

They incorporated learning about, and caring for, animals into their activities to build their confidence, volunteering at an animal-assisted therapy centre and following a programme of weekly animal care sessions for their Skills section. For their expedition, the group travelled with two donkeys, caring for and prioritising their welfare throughout the journey.

The Bronze participants reported an increase in their confidence and self-esteem as a result of doing their DofE – and their attendance at school has also improved as a result.

Coleg y Cymoedd
Coleg y Cymoedd’s School of Vocational Access has launched a brand-new bike maintenance scheme to help staff and learners with any bike-related issues they may be having.

The course, which has been introduced after the learners expressed an interest and in response to growing numbers of staff and learners cycling to college, will see them develop skills in bike maintenance and then offer out their services on a voluntary basis.

As part of the programme, staff and learners will be able to bring in their bikes to the Nantgarw campus where the learners, assisted by Vocational Access support staff, will be on hand to help fix any issues. They will be able to provide a range of general bike maintenance services from lubricating chains to checking for faulty gears, brakes, handlebars, and moving parts.

The three learners involved in the scheme are all completing the course as part of the skills and volunteering section of the Duke of Edinburgh’s Award. With Covid restrictions making many volunteering opportunities difficult, the college created the bike maintenance course as a way for learners to fulfil this element of the award while developing valuable skills.

The aim of the project is to support young people aged 11-18 who engage in self-harming behaviour with the aim of reducing readmission rates to hospital for self-harming behaviours.

There are different elements to Inspire including:

• one to one support for young people who are referred into the project. This holistic support is based on voluntary engagement, and is led by what each young person feels would help them at that time. Sessions take place at a venue of the young person’s choice and can include work on confidence and self-esteem, coping strategies/alternatives to self-harm, resilience, managing emotions, exposure work to e.g. public transport or café’s, introduction to hobbies and interests, support with education, training and employment, and signposting to more specialist services among other things.
• Wards – Inspire visit hospital wards each day to support any young people aged 11-18 who have been admitted offering them generic support, signposting and resources to borrow during their stay.
• Youth clubs -Inspire run 2 youth clubs for young people who have engaged in one to one support and who would benefit from group work. One is a generic youth club and the other, named Inspire pride by the young people is for young people who identify as LGBTQ+. The youth clubs assist young people in developing social skills, reducing social isolation and give opportunities to develop friendships while engaging in activities in a supportive environment.
• Diversionary activities are offered to young people who have engaged in one to one support and who are appropriate for and would benefit from groups. They are a variety of activities such as horse riding, mountain biking, rock climbing, cinema, football, and a variety of other trips. They give young people a sense of achievement and are an opportunity to develop social opportunities while experiencing activities that they may not otherwise have the chance to do.
• Education sessions-Inspire deliver universal education sessions to schools and youth groups on emotional health and wellbeing, body image and self-esteem and coping with stress. Inspire also deliver targeted groups when required focused on identified needs.

All young people consent to be referred to Inspire for one to one support and to engage in any activities within it. Young people are regularly consulted on what support they would like with identifying and reviewing goals during one to one work, which diversionary activities they would like, the content of youth club sessions and on the general running of the project. All young people are asked to complete evaluations for their one to one support and also for education sessions. Feedback on these then informs future support.

An example includes Inspire pride – it was identified that Inspire were supporting increasing numbers of young people who were identifying as LGBTQ+, and some of them wished to know who else felt like them. Workers were unable to tell them due to confidentiality but a separate youth club for LGBTQ+ young people was suggested which they said they would like. The young people then named this Inspire pride, which has been online during Covid and will move to face to face as soon as possible. The young people decide on the content of the sessions through consultations, and the progress of some of the young people since attending Inspire pride has been inspirational.

The nature of the voluntary engagement and the relationship between the young person and the youth worker has proved essential. The workers are able to develop very effective professional relationships with young people very quickly, making them feel at ease even when they may have previously struggled to engage with other agencies. By the work being led by the young people this empowers them, making them feel in control, with informal sessions being led by each young person’s needs and wishes.

Learning from the Inspire model over the years, the value of youth work in health settings has been recognised widely, and in 2017, the paediatric diabetic team bought in 8 hours a week of an Inspire worker to support young people who are miss-managing or struggling with their diabetes and other areas of their life.

More recently, in 2019, Inspire were approached by Flintshire county council and commissioned by them to expand Inspire provision into Flintshire. This has been a great success and continues to grow, with many young people having benefitted from this support.

Due to Inspires ongoing success, Inspire are now in the process of expanding into further health settings such as into CAMHS to support young people transitioning to adult mental health as this has been highlighted as a need through partnership work. In addition, the work with young people who have diabetes has been so successful that Inspire have recently been approached about the possibility of having a youth worker within the adult diabetes department working with older young people with diabetes.

Through engagement with one to one support and group activities such as youth clubs and diversionary activities this reduces Young people’s social isolation, increases confidence and self-esteem, gives young people a sense of achievement, assists them to develop their social skills and helps them to develop helpful coping strategies / alternatives to self-harm. Young people are able to learn about and address their anxieties around situations that they find difficult, and those which may restrict their contact with peers, education or in the community such as on public transport or in community venues such as café’s. By engaging in support this helps young people to engage better with education and has shown to increase attendance and improve behaviour. Young people are able to learn ways to cope and to build their resilience with skills they can use throughout their life. Many young people have also reported improved relationships with family and friends, improved mood and general health and wellbeing, greater awareness of and engagement with other services and reduced self-harm.

Organisation - The organisation has benefitted through developing a very strong partnership with CAMHS which has now led to the development of a youth work post to be based within CAMHS to support young people’s transition to adult services.

Staff - The Inspire staff speak of having a very rewarding and varied job, supporting many young people on their journey, seeing them progress and reach their potential. Staff are able to develop their skills and experience around many areas, in particular mental health by working within such a specialist area of youth work.

Volunteers – some young people who have been involved in Inspire have gone on to volunteer with the project giving them excellent experience. Following this they have progressed, with some now being youth workers themselves, police officers, social workers and other valued roles. There are also a couple of members of Inspire staff who started as volunteers with the project.

Over the past couple of years it has been identified that Inspire have been supporting increasing numbers of young people who identify as LGBTQ+. Sometimes this is specified at point of referral where as other young people disclose this to their Inspire worker. This led to the development of the Inspire pride youth club.

Inspire started in 2006, going live in 2007, with initial funding from the big lottery fund. The project is now funded by a number of different grants and has grown significantly over the years.

Inspire continues on an ongoing basis with all elements of the project. In 2017 Inspire expanded into the paediatric diabetic department and in 2019 Inspire expanded to cover the Flintshire area as well as Wrexham. Inspire is now in the process of expanding into CAMHS and possibly adult diabetic services as well.

Inspire are regularly sharing information and experience with regional partners and supporting them to explore and develop hospital based youth work.

The Vale of Glamorgan Inspire to Work (I2W) project has been supporting young people, aged 16 to 24, since April 2017. The project is part funded by the European Social Fund and is made up of three delivery members of staff.

The aim of the project is to support young people who are currently not in education, employment or training, into education, employment or training. This is done through various methods, including one to one sessions, group sessions, training courses, work experience, etc.

Many of the young people that the team support have significant barriers to engagement, some of which include poor experiences of education, poor support structures within their life, involvement with the justice system, substance use, lack of stable home life and poor mental health.

I2W take referrals from professionals, both internal and external of the Council. These referrals provide an element of insight into the needs of the young person, but it is not until the Learning Coach meets and begins to develop a rapport with the young person that the understanding of their needs become clearer. Each member of staff is a qualified youth worker and they utilise this skill-base to build a meaningful relationship with the individual. The skills of the team have grown as a result of our learning more about the needs of young people we serve. Some of the team have attended additional training in counselling skills in order to provide another skill-base to support the young people. The project is based on voluntary engagement and does not force an individual to engage, meaning that any support provided is done at the pace the young person sets.

Each young person has an action plan developed, which is then monitored and reviewed as the support goes on. Even though some elements will crossover with other young people, each plan is set with the young person’s individual needs at the forefront. As part of this, barriers to engagement or things that may negatively impact their wellbeing are identified, with plans put in place to help address these.

The support each young person receives can vary massively, however this is adjusted based on the needs of the individual. This can include additional support with essential skills, ECDL and ESOL courses dependent on the young person’s learning deficits. It has been found that in situations where there is either poor, or non-existent, family support, or where there has been bereavement of any immediate support structure that the staff team have to build in an element of nurture to their engagement as this has been potentially missing from their lives for many years. In relation to wellbeing, addressing this basic need is fundamental as without this, it will make sustaining any progression to education, employment or training unrealistic. Each young person has a different starting point in their journey, meaning that some young people may not be ready to engage in support of varying levels immediately; it can sometimes take weeks or months of one to one contact before a young person is ready to engage in a training course or group session.

As a rapport is built with the young person, it may become evident that the individual has some wider barriers that could be impacting their wellbeing. Examples of this include financial issues, housing situation, substance use and mental health issues. The I2W project acknowledge that they are not always best suited to support in these more specialist areas but have a good knowledge of partners and other agencies who the young person can be signposted to for support. The team use an holistic and young person- centred approach which has the young person’s choice and voice as a key aspect in their journey in the project. The team regularly support young people to attend meetings with new agencies or when starting work experience placements, so as to have a familiar face in order to alleviate any anxiety around meeting new professionals. Depending on the additional support required and being offered, it may be appropriate for the I2W staff to withdraw support at that time however, in the majority of cases, the team continue to support in partnership with other agencies to ensure the best package and consistency is in place for the individual.

Part of the provision on offer is to attend training courses, which help to increase knowledge in areas of work they are interested in exploring, gaining work relevant qualifications and certification as well as building their confidence in both a group scenario and also with their own ability. This is particularly relevant to those who are long-term unemployed as they may not have been able to do this since leaving compulsory education. Within the training courses, the project supports the transport of young people to be able to attend and provides lunch and refreshments for all in attendance. By doing this, young people who cannot afford to pay for their own lunch are not singled out within the group, resulting in a much more positive environment and again, removing any anxieties these young people may feel. It also means that the young people have sufficient energy levels to actively take part in the learning on offer. The same principle is applied to supporting young people to attend work experience, college courses and employment. The project can assist with covering certain costs for these situations, where young people are financially unable to support themselves. The approach outlined is intended to empower the young people to become more resilient, independent and confident and able to cope with future challenges in their lives.

Young people’s lives can be highly erratic, with changes happening with little to no notice. This can be from them presenting as being homeless, becoming involved with the criminal justice system, physical health issues as well as financial concerns. With the support of the project, the team are able to flexibly adapt and support young people as these changes occur, adjusting priorities to focus on those that are most relevant to the young people at that time. Where needed, the team also seek support and additional funding from other sources, including local charities and teams within the Council, to help cover the cost of certain items. Examples that the project has purchased for young people include: bikes for young people to access employment and training opportunities; white good products to support young people moving to non-equipped buildings or when their own items break and; laptops to be able to access online courses and training, particularly since the Covid-19 pandemic, which in turn supports the young people to become less isolated.

Through the Covid-19 pandemic, support has continued to be given to the young people and this has been done through email, phone calls, online sessions through Microsoft Teams and also doorstep visits being undertaken for those who are especially vulnerable. During parts of the pandemic, food parcels and hygiene packs were delivered to support some of these young people who were particularly struggling, as well as meeting young people who were particularly isolated within their local communities.

The aim of our project was to provide opportunities for young people to gain a recognised ‘introduction to youth work’ qualification in the language of their choice.

Young people were consulted with, and identified the need for, an accreditation that acknowledged their volunteering and community engagement with Welsh language groups. Young people’s feedback shaped the delivery style and method of sessions leading to changes being made to some of the course content.

Young people provided feedback and created a video to encourage others to undertake the course, and outline the benefits to them.

Consultation with young people accessing the project ensured that we were able to tailor the project to best suit their preferred learning styles. Providing an opportunity for the young people to engage with their peers and a trusted adult in a safe space, either face to face, or online, enabled them to express themselves, and connect and socialise with others they usually wouldn’t have.

During lockdown, sessions were held virtually. Whilst this was successful, some of the more practical sessions would have benefitted from face-to-face work. The project currently runs using a blended approach, although consultation with young people on each course determines delivery style and type.

The project ‘Arweinyddiaeth Iau’ has created opportunities for young people to be able to engage with their peers in a safe space, in the language of their choice, with trusted adults. Partnerships have been developed within the local community, and within the voluntary and third sector to actively promote the Welsh language through supported youth work interventions. Young people have become more active and visible within their local communities, and are more aware of their rights and responsibilities. They are also actively engaging with other young people in the language of their choice, promoting and educating others about the positive impact and opportunities that youth work provides.

There has been a significant increase in partnership working and improved relationships with active Welsh language groups within Carmarthenshire. This has provided a greater focus on youth work and young people’s voices within local networks across Carmarthenshire, particularly in the voluntary and third sector.

The programme is delivered to voluntary sector partners focussing on accessing youth work via the Welsh language. Young people actively engage and volunteer in their local community, promoting the Welsh language, and access to youth work, whilst empowering other young people to participate in a wide variety of youth work interventions.

The project continues and partnership opportunities have increased in relation to the Welsh language youth work offer for young people.

The following links to social media gives a flavour of the project. In December 2022, we were awarded a Youth Work in Wales Excellence Award.

Identified Need: In a Llantwit Youth Council meeting, a consultation was held with the young people to develop a list of ideas for a potential project. Following the consultation and several discussions, youth council members identified a need for a project focusing on the ever-increasing litter in their local community.

Planning: Having identified the issue, a task group was then held to develop a plan for a possible litter project. In the task group, the young people identified several key areas in which litter is most prominent and discussed the possibility of upgrading bins in their community. LYC members then agreed to carry out litter investigations in the areas that they had identified.

Having carried out two litter investigations, the young people recognised a lack of bins in one of their identified areas. As a result, the young people suggested the placement of a bin in that area. LYC members and lead worker then worked together to design a bin and have it situated in the area.

Evaluations: The evaluation phase of the project involved the young people assessing if their bin had reduced the amount of litter in that area by carrying out another litter investigation. A final task group was then held, where it was agreed that the project had been successful, and they were extremely happy with their developments.

In addition, LYC members produced a litter report, summarising the litter project. This was then entered in the ‘Keep Wales Tidy – Young Reporters for the Environment’ competition. Llantwit Youth Council won 1st prize for their litter report entry, winning £100 which was used for a celebratory meal.

There has been an increase in the confidence, self-esteem, and the voice of the young people as a result of the project. Through engaging in task groups, meetings and consultations on a voluntary basis, young people had an active voice in issues which affect them. Through the ‘Keep Wales Tidy – Young Reporters for the Environment’ competition, the young people received recognition for their involvement in the project and acknowledgment by other organisations.

In addition, through the assignment of specified project roles and responsibilities, the young people were afforded ownership of the project, this encouraged natural engagement and a feeling of empowerment. By being given the roles, young people were encouraged to consider risks and consequences of their actions and make informed decisions and take responsibility.

Throughout the development of the litter project and the process of designing and finding a suitable placement for the bin, it was clear that when having to liaise and reply on/with other organisations/establishments/councils, meeting deadlines can become an issue.

An example of this, having finalised the design for the bin, the bin was then sent to the establishment who would then process the design and make the bin. In this initial stage of communication, it was stated that the bin would take 3-4 weeks to be delivered. That timeframe then passed; the establishment was then contacted. In their reply, they stated that the bin could potentially take another 8-12 weeks.

This left Llantwit Youth Council and Llantwit Major Town Council frustrated as it meant that the date set for the bin instalment had to be pushed back. Through our work we learned that when setting deadlines and relying on third parties, there is a possibility that those deadlines can be pushed back. Moving forward when undertaking any work where we will be required to liaise with additional organisations, we will ensure we plan for any setbacks.

Educationally: In the early stages of developing the project, members stated they would like to learn more on the effects litter has on the environment. As a result, the lead worker planned visits from guest speakers and a visit to a recycling centre to further develop the young people’s understanding on the impacts of litter.
Young people also gained some personal learning from the project as outlined below:

Personally: Having visited a recycling centre and visits from guest speakers, LYC members developed their understanding on the impacts of litter. Through developing a better understanding on the issue, young people stated they feel confident enough to engage in conversations regarding the issue. In addition, young people gained a sense of pride through designing their own bin and having it placed in their local community. Additionally, through winning £100 from the ‘Keep Wales Tidy – Young Reporters for the Environment’ competition entry, young people were given the opportunity to go out for a celebratory meal which some of them may not have the opportunity to do so.

In addition there is a Community benefit. The litter project was focused on improving the litter issue in the local community. Following two litter investigations, LYC members recognised a need for a bin in an identified area. The young people then worked alongside the lead worker to design a bin, the bin was then made and placed in the area the young people had identified. This proved to be of benefit to the community, as the litter in the area reduced and the environment improved.

Through the development of the litter project, the organisation (Youth Service and Llantwit Youth Council) has benefited through developing their relationship with the council (Llantwit Major Town Council). The town in which the project took place.

When designing the bin, Llantwit Youth Council worked in partnership with Llantwit Major Town Council to finalise the design. In addition, both the Youth Council and Town Council had to come to an agreement on the placement of the bin.

Having agreed on the bin design and placement of the bin, the Town Council were extremely complimentary towards the litter project and the additional work that had been completed.

Through entering and winning the ‘Keep Wales Tidy – Young Reporters for the Environment’ competition, the awareness and reputation of organisation, staff and youth council was enhanced.

YAG groups have a code of conduct which ensures inclusivity of all YAG members, respect and equal opportunities.

The litter project has not been continued or further developed, as the youth councillors decided to start work on an alternative campaign. That campaign being a Period Poverty Campaign, focused on providing free sanitary products to young people in their local community.

Although the litter project has not been further developed, the young people’s passion for the environment and reducing waste remains so the young people ensured that any sanitary products provided are environmentally friendly.

The aim of the project is to raise awareness of Period Poverty and to overcome the stigma related to this issue. To provide products to schools and community groups across Carmarthenshire to try to ensure that products are free, accessible and available regardless of location.

YOUNG PEOPLE identified Period poverty as an issue within Carmarthenshire as a result of Mark Your Mark ballots. Subgroup established and gained support of elected members. YOUNG PEOPLE campaigned, publicised, got local and national business on board and were responsible for marketing. The project was launched in Youth Council AGM.

Once the project was established a Welsh Government grant followed and has been a vital support in sustaining the project.

Consultation with schools was conducted to find out what products were needed/preferred by YOUNG PEOPLE.
YOUNG PEOPLE were involved and became responsible for commissioning of products as a result of consultation.
YOUNG PEOPLE were central to decision making processes and distribution of products.
YOUNG PEOPLE designed marketing materials and wrote correspondence with support of youth workers.

From the feedback received the products used were changed the following year.

The project had an impact on young people by increasing their confidence through learning how to network and conduct themselves in a meeting with professionals, elected members, and company representative.

They further learned about the processes involved in project design, development, implementation and evaluation. About tendering process. They have gained a sense of achievement in raising awareness of Period Poverty as an issue in trying to breakdown the stigma related to this.

The project has raised the profile of the Youth Council, Children’s Rights and participation within the Local Authority and Wider afield within the community.

The project was bilingual and addressed issues of equality and human rights and broke down barriers and the taboo related to issues of period poverty.

Project is ongoing and continues to go from strength to strength with continued funding allocated via WG on an annual basis.

Aims of the concept

• To evidence activities and achievements of young people.
• To record and monitor activities, including feedback from young people.

The Scrap books are used as a guide to new members of the club to showcase what activities take place and what the young people say about them.

They also provide as a reflective practice tool and a means of evaluation of provision for both staff and young people.
Scrap books are designed, owned and built by young people on provision as a reflection of their ownership of the provision.

Every week evidence is gathered of the activities taken place such as pictures, evaluation, work product, feedback sheets etc. and these are then inputted into the scrapbooks by the young people over the next few weeks.

The pictures are printed out and added by the young people and staff to the scrap books. Young people are asked what they enjoyed/didn’t enjoy and this feedback is added too.

While the scrap books are being evidenced with photo’s pictures and comments, we ask young people to plan how to present the page, What to add and how to plan for the next session.

Young people usually want to look back at themselves and their peers from previous activities. Young people will often comment how much they enjoyed something, and this is fed back during reflection and added to the planning.

Scrap book activities prove to be great way for us to plan and reflectith young people. They have the opportunity to be creative and present their club in whatever method they choose.

We encourage creativity and evaluation with young people and the scrap books will reflect this

Some groups of young people participating in completing our scrap books will need high levels of support during the session, but where possible we give independence and decision-making opportunities to those who feel they want it.

Scrap books are a good indicator to staff that they are fulfilling all the needs of all the young people. Young people are often very proud when they look back at their achievements and see how well they club is doing and what is available to them if they chose to participate.

Scrapbooks are an ongoing reflective and evaluative tool so the impacts of learning are applied almost immediately. When evaluating the activities using the scrap book feedback is gained as to the effectiveness of the activity, what levels of engagement were like, what could be improved and what could be done better next time.

Over a longer period of time scrapbooks provided a longer history of activities so new members of young people and staff understand what has gone before the. This enable all to learn from any areas for improvement, the story of the provision and what has provided to be effective, well received and also what didn’t go down so well.

If, for example, activity participation is low in numbers we evaluate whether the activity was pitched at the right group, at the right time in the evening etc.

Young people are able to evaluate and have their say on how to present their photographs and evaluations of their activities. This gives them a sense of belonging to the club and a wider sense of community.

It enables them to be creative and showcase their artistic talent. It enable all young people to contribute to the extent they want to and can. It Helps young people to celebrate their role within the provision and the wider community and recognises their successes.

Scrap books give young people a sense of achievement and reinforces wellbeing. Looking back through older sessions demonstrates learning and highlights their development and progress they have made through the club.

The scrapbooks reinforces friendships, give a sense of group cohesion and shared experience through enabling reflection, personal journey, confidence growth and skills growth.

The scrapbooks contribute to the creation of a safe space to tackle difficult discussion in an inclusive and positive way

As a result of scrapbooks being an ongoing process of evaluation and reflection (and are a kept as hard copies on site) they are key tools to effectively planning future activities. Staff can quickly gain an understanding for the young people and the nature of the provision and what has been effective previously.

The scrapbooks are a great tool to create opportunities and a safe space for discussions. Staff and young people can reflect on issue-based workshops for example or talk about a tough time when the provision faced challenges.

They also provide a great opportunity to generate 1:1 discussion around a range of issues. Young people can be confident that what they are seeing, and feeling is fine and that many young people who have gone before them have experience similar things. They help contribute to a feeling of safety and community.

The scrapbooks are a great reminder of what we have done and showcases the club in all its glory. It’s heart-warming to be able to look back at the impact the provision has had on young people, staff and volunteers.

This is what we do, this is how we do it,

This is what young people thought of it

The scrapbooks in of themselves are a reflection of the young people who attend the provision and are shaped by the young people as a reflection of their needs, interests and desires. Within the LGBTQ+ youth club the scrapbooks presents issues and activities that support young people to explore and express themselves in a safe environment. The young carers scrap books help young people to show how youth provision helps to combat issues of isolation.

Events and activities that are aimed at encouraging diversity and inclusivity are reflected in the scrapbooks, such as St David’s Day activities, racism awareness events etc.

Young people require differing levels of support to engage with the scrapbook process, so staff respond accordingly, this ensuring they are a true reflection of the range of inclusive activity that is offered across the whole service.

The scrap books are ongoing projects and continue to evolve weekly. Some provisions are into multiple additions of scrapbooks. Scrapbooks look different depending on the nature of the provision, some of more journal based, some photo based, and some activity based etc. all in response to the young people and how they want them to look.

Scrap books are hard copies kept on location.

The Sexual Health Outreach Team (SHOT) has been delivering a targeted sexual health service for young people, through Families First funding since 2013.

• Provide targeted 1-1 support and group sessions for young people at risk in relation to healthy relationships and rights and responsibilities regarding sexual behaviour including advice on sexual health that follows best practice.
• Provide training and advice to other professionals who work with young people, in schools and in the community, so that they are able to provide appropriate, quality support for young people, and to ensure that young people have access to best practice advice and information in relation to sexual health and behaviour.
• Collaborate with other professionals to ensure that young people have access to services that are appropriate to the nature and level of their needs.

We currently provide specialist targeted 1-2-1 and group work for young people in regards to their sexual health and relationship needs. We work with young people on a 1-2-1 basis and in groups, dependant on the need, at various youth settings in Cardiff. Such as youth clubs, training providers, schools, colleges, young people’s hostels and other youth organisations.

Referrals are received from across Cardiff and highlight many different diverse sexual health and relationship needs. For example, risk of CSE, pregnancy testing, STI screening, healthy relationships, gender and trans issues to name but a few.

Cardiff YMCA maintains a multi-agency approach to this service to ensure young people’s needs are fully met, ensuring that young people receive help and intervention that is safe and effective and that promotes positive outcomes in regard to sexual health and relationships. The need for this project was identified through our co-ordination of the C-Card Scheme working in partnership with Public Health Wales. The vision for the Sexual Health Outreach team was to fill in the gaps in provisions around sexual health and relationships. Young people were asking for more support and in many cases, professionals did not have the capacity, specific knowledge or confidence to provide it within their job roles. The young people were central in identifying the need for specific one to one support and support accessing local sexual health services such as the NHS Department of Sexual Health.

Young people created the logo for the project via a Cardiff wide competition in partnership with Cardiff Young Peoples Partnership. From the outset a person-centred approach has been fundamental and young people have shaped the project and continue to do so.

Young people are involved from the initial meeting, with the planning of sessions, locations, session duration and timeframe. Each session is reviewed verbally and/or written and young people can reflect on their learning, and plan for the following session with their outreach worker. At the end of intervention each young person completes an evaluation, their input feeds into the project as we are constantly monitoring and evaluating the services to ensure best meet the needs of young people. Each young person completes and initial assessment such as the Outcome Ladder at the beginning of intervention which is reviewed after 6 sessions and at the final session. This allows us to identify distanced travelled in regard to learning and also to identify any additional areas of work, or pathways to sign post on. All data is logged on our Charity Log system so we can track engagement, progression and individual evaluations of the service. Each contact is logged, and this information provides important data that enables us to continually monitor and evaluate.

Young people have played an active role with the C-Card Scheme from the initial stages. Their participation can be confirmed through involvement in voting on condom brand preference, deciding on accessible locations and the design promotional materials. Young people have opportunity to contribute to an annual consultation, which directly feeds into the development of the scheme.

Our youth work is underpinned by the 5 pillars of youth work and in line with the National Occupational Standards for Youth Work.

The team use a variety of methods and approaches when working with young people, as each young person is different, with different needs, learning styles and backgrounds. But the fundamental approach is voluntary involvement, person centred, and user led. We have been adaptable, flexible and are driven by young people’s needs. The project is outreach in nature, and we work across many different settings such as school, home and in the community, predominantly one to one but we also deliver group sessions. We deliver formal, non-formal and informal learning. We encourage young people to engage in active and reflective learning, to be involved in their own learning process and embed their learning into real life situations.

There have been lessons learned, one for example is that we have always offered a flexible engagement timeframe and have never set a limit on intervention, however during one stage we had a long waiting list we tried to offer a more structured intervention. We tried to implement a 6-session intervention, but what we found is that due to the varying needs of young people and the importance of building a trusting relationship due to the nature of the work involved this just wasn’t feasible for many young people. Some simply need more time, some need the learning to be covered more than once and in different ways to enable effective comprehension, awareness and ability to use their learning in real life situations. So, we quickly reverted to an unlimited timeframe for intervention.

Another example is that the needs of young people have evolved, prior to COVID but exponentially during the lockdown, online safely and awareness of risky online behaviour became the most prevalent reason for referral. Particularly around the sending of explicit images became the most prevalent reason for referral. So, although we endeavour to work proactively, we also need to be reactive to changing circumstances and issues effecting young people.

Each week we review new referrals and look at prevalent issues, discuss what young people are saying and look at how we can adapt and change to best support young people, families and other services.

The service ensures appropriate provision for the following priority groups:

• Young people at risk of CSE
• Young people displaying inappropriate sexual behaviour
• Young people in or on the edge of care, and care leavers
• Young people who are not in education, employment or training
• Disabled young people (physical, sensory and learning disabilities
• Young people with emotional and mental health problems
• Young people who identify as LGBT+

On a personal level young people can develop a greater awareness of relationships, by understanding healthy relationships and identifying personal or increasing their awareness of unhealthy behaviours/ traits they are empowered to make good choices for themselves, build their confidence and be more self-aware. This can also positively impact friendships and family relationships.

By gaining a greater understanding of risk, it has great benefits to the individual as they can consider situations, behaviours and actions in terms of risk and again are empowered to make choices that keep them safer, this is has positive impact on family, the wider community, other young people and other services. Knowledge of sexual health benefits the individual, other young people and positively impacts local sexual health services. For young people having someone to support and advise them with correct up to date information, offering a safe space to explore sensitive topics, ask questions and build their knowledge is beneficial for them in all aspects.

The informal and one to one nature of the service not only benefits young people, but other services also. This is no other project locally that offers specific support of this kind as a result children’s services, education and health providers benefit from being able to refer on young people who they feel need this target support.

Our reporting shows that of the 31 young people we have completed intervention in the last quarter;
100% of young people rated SHOT very good or excellent
100% of young people found the workers helpful and approachable
100% of the young people were appropriately signposted to relevant sexual health services

Experience in supporting young people with healthy relationships and sexual health needs.

Benefits for the staff, organisation and volunteers are that partnerships and multiagency working is paramount in this project, so we build close working relationships with other professional organisations, such as health, children’s services, police and teachers. We have worked in partnership with Cardiff Council Children’s Services ThinkAgain! Service, Promo Cymru, SwitchedOn and Cardiff Youth Service to name a few. We attend pop up events, freshers’ fairs and school PSE days. We deliver one to one and groups work sessions and each day is varied, this in itself offers continual professional development for staff and volunteers. We take on placements from Cardiff University Youth and Community Work degree, this can benefit the individual as offers an insight into targeted and specific youth work around sexual health and relationships.

The project has been nominated for a YMCA Youth Matters Award and got the finals. The CSE Steering group won an Excellence award and also an Award for Outstanding Engagement and Investigation to Safeguard Children from the Regional Safeguarding Children Board. It is a huge moral boost for staff and volunteers who have been involved and extremely motivating for all staff, for themselves and the young people they work with to receive this recognition.

The Service considers the following guiding principles for Families First services in delivery arrangements:

• Family-focussed – services should take a whole family approach to improving outcomes
• Bespoke – services should be tailored to individual family circumstances
• Empowering – services should seek to empower families to take control of their lives, to give them an increased sense of ownership and investment in their outcomes
• Integrated - services should be effectively coordinated and planned to ensure a seamless progression for families between different interventions and programmes
• Intensive – a vigorous approach and relentless focus must be maintained which can adapt to families’ changing circumstances
• Local – services should address the needs of local communities and, where possible, seek opportunities to link in with other local programmes, including Flying Start and Supporting People
• Pro-active – seeking early identification of need and securing appropriate interventions in a timely way
• Sustainable – services should always seek to provide long-term sustainable solutions. They should seek to address the root causes of problems and not just the symptoms to enable families to continue to progress after intervention has ceased.

Aim. Through collaborative working with the best of the statutory and third sector to provide youth work opportunities for young people in an isolated and economically deprived area of Torfaen.

Our stakeholders, Young people are central to the planning and development of the project and each aspect of the project has groups of young people volunteering, steering and planning the provision. This includes:

Open Access youth club – young people design the delivery programme, design the session criteria and set parameters such as junior and senior night. Young people design summer and holiday programmes. Young people contribute to the needs of the community.

They also contribute to the development of projects and provision, such as:

Projects –

• Senior members and young people apprentices help shape bids and work programmes that have resulted in training providers offering bespoke programmes to young people.
• Specific youth groups for care experiencing young people,
• A youth ambassador programme to encourage volunteers to celebrate the world heritage site in which they live.
• Young people designed and applied for funding for a creative photography mental health project.
• Young people have led and designed a programme (in partnership with ABUHB) to support young people with diabetes from child to adult service.
• Young people initiated and led (in partnership with Greggs) a food share programme supporting families in financial hardship.

Torfaen has one of the largest population of care experience young people in Wales, in response to this a looked after Children's group (care busters) was established in consultation with young people, providing a range of support and activities.

Participative and Empowering – a number of young people who began as attendees of youth provision went on to become senior members, then apprentices and are now employed fulltime by both the youth service and the Hwb, all of whom are working towards of have a young work degree. Many of these young people are now leading provision within the area and through the project. The Youth Ambassador group influence the national world heritage sector as a leading example of how to engage young people in world heritage sites.

Expressive and Inclusive – the range of service available cater for a wide range of community needs. Post 16 employment support, young parents project, open access provision, mental health sports and wellbeing programmes, support for young people with disabilities etc. All are possible because of the flexibility in responding to needs as a result of the statutory and third sector partnership.

Educative – the partnership offering a range of educative experiences through exchange project to other world heritage sites, social and independence skill development through post 16 work, youth club, volunteering opportunities, The provision also hosts school based work for young people to develop a range of emotional social skills in youth work settings with qualified youth workers.

The project arose through a need identified by young people as a result of living in an isolated community. As such Torfaen Youth Service partnered with Hwb Torfaen to make the most of the physical resources the youth service had (building, vehicles etc.) and the flexible capacity of the Hwb to access other resources, (bids, national projects etc.) As such youth work activities, were in some cases combined, in others coordinated and rather then young people needing to overcome barriers associated with isolation, provision and resources were brought to them.

Through ongoing evaluation and participation, which is central to all activity, young people have continually identified and designed programmes that have result in £500k worth of resources in the last five years going into youth work activities and resources.

Through the COVID pandemic young people struggling with isolation and the lack of youth club facilities co-designed a programme to develop their photography skills through getting outdoors and capturing the nature and beauty around them. Through this youth workers could support their emotional and mental health issues.

Recently young people identified the need to a safe space, well-resourced and accepting being a priority and as such £200k worth of funding has been secured to renovate the youth centre, This was only possible due to the unique nature of the partnership.

Young people have benefited through this partnership in a number of ways.

Personally – young people aged 11-25 have had increased access to professional youth workers to support them with a range of personal matters. Young people have had a safe open access space to develop friendship, meet new young people and develop their sense of the world and moral/ethical stance on a range of factors. Young people have been able to access specific support in relation to their personal circumstance such as support with training and employment, volunteering and career progression, support to address financial barriers.

Socially – young people have contributed to community wide initiatives to encourage intergenerational work, address negative stereotypes of young people and take part if activities that promote their environment. Young people have been on residential experiences, tried new group activities and developed their social skills.

Educationally – young people accessing the provision are able to develop a range of skills from basic life skills within a young club setting like cooking a meal through to degree level placement and supervisory support and ongoing CPD as employed members of staff.

Community - young people have promoted the world heritage site status of the community by become trained, youth ambassadors. Young people contribute, sit on and present at community councils and community working groups, young people design and lead activities yearly at event such as World Heritage Day and have developed links with local care homes to encourage intergenerational work.

Staff – employment opportunities for staff have been offered through the project. Staff have been able to work on multiagency partnership projects through the provision. Staff have been able to develop bid writing skills, leadership skills and project management skills through the project.

Volunteers – similar that that of staff and including, opportunities to develop their knowledge of youth work, the variety and difference in the sector and the strengths each bring. Opportunity to be involved in local provision through Hwb and also Torfaen wide provision through the youth service and partners.

Young people’s individual needs, barriers and expectations are sort through ongoing relationship building, consultation and community connections. As such needs and barriers can be identified and programmes of support offered to assist with engagement into youth activities. Where relevant bespoke support has been developed for young people, transition support and inclusive provision has been developed as well as support into open access services.

Financial barriers have been addressed through accessing funding and good use of shared resources. Use of the Welsh language is promoted through Welsh speaking youth workers being involved in the delivery of services.

Social and economic and barriers have been reduced by providing access to transport, working in partnership with training providers to bring service to young people in the area and opportunities to participate in new activities has increased.

The partnership is now a centrally and grant funded aspect of service delivery for both the Youth Service and the Hwb. Training programmes are shared, health and safety duties are shared, as are line management and supervision of staff across the provision is shared. The Hwb successful applied to manage a larger community centre in the south of Torfaen and as such there is a wider pool of resources and expertise to ensure the continuation of services for young people in the area.

'Monday Motivation’ was a virtual wellbeing session held on a weekly basis from January – April 2021.

We identified the need for this project through discussions with young people who stated how much they were missing fitness sessions with us. Not only for physical health but also their mental wellbeing. As a result to this feedback and Wales entering another lockdown in January 2021, we developed an online wellbeing session which would:

• Introduce young people to the “5 ways to wellbeing” strands
• Participate in activities surrounding the 5 ways to wellbeing
• Complete an online workout together
• And support young people to connect with one and other during a time where face to face contact was not allowed.

Each week, young people participated in an activity online based on one of the 5 strands. 

They would be set a challenge to complete at home associated with that strand. The online workout which was delivered during the session would also be uploaded to our social media platforms as a video for young people to continue to engage with at home between our online sessions.

The overall aim of these sessions were to provide young people with the opportunity to exercise and participate in activities to support their health and wellbeing through tight lockdown restrictions.

Support calls with young people and parents provided opportunity for us to listen to them. This allowed us to understand what online provisions were needed and when. A consultation around sessions then took place.

During “Children’s mental Health Week”, we focused on how young people and parents could ‘express themselves’ to help support, protect and improve their mental health. A group of young people were also part of an online Participatory Budgeting Youth Grants Steering group to help identify and decide upon funding for projects in a local area. (One young person who took part has now gone on to win the Bay of Colwyn Town Council young volunteer of the year award.)

The virtual youth clubs were planned and evaluated by young people, including Conwy Young Carers. They had shared what they would like to do next which resulted in a variety of sessions being delivered. We could see that COVID-19 was affecting young people’s health and wellbeing. We hosted virtual wellbeing sessions for them covering topics such as Time for you, Body image/body talk, Mental health and nutrition. Additional virtual groups were created to support young people who wanted to keep active based on their identified need.

Conwy Youth Service has shown innovation, resilience and resourcefulness during an exceptionally difficult year. Our face to face work might have changed dramatically, but our youth work didn’t. We continued to support young people aged 11-25 in Conwy, contributing to improving their well-being, confidence and self-esteem while also giving them further opportunity to participate in different online projects that focused on improving their health and well-being. By maintaining this contact and providing this support, young people continued to engage with us.

Our online sessions were safe and accessible for young people to attend, and allowed them to participate fully and effectively and to be empowered to think differently. Sessions were also inclusive and gave young people the opportunity to have their say about what aspect of health, fitness and wellbeing they’d like to focus on. This enabled them to be creative and innovative in their thinking.

As a service we truly value the opinions and feedback of the young people who attend our session. Their input was valuable and helped develop the project over time.

When we started ‘Monday Motivation’ virtual project, we encouraged the young people who attended to keep their cameras on during the workout section. This was mainly so that we could ensure the young people were safe. However, we soon realised that many of the young people felt self-conscious exercising with the cameras on, and as a result they weren’t getting the full benefits of the session. We listened and adapted our delivery. We encouraged the young people to keep their microphones on in case they needed any help, and we checked in with everyone during regular breaks to make sure they were happy.

As the project progressed, we asked the young people to lead on the decisions for the workout format each week. We asked for their feedback, what they enjoyed and what they wanted to achieve and implemented those changes to the sessions moving forward. We used their feedback to improve the weekly exercise videos we posted on our social media platforms to encourage more young people to be active during the lockdown period.

I believe this project was of huge benefit for the young people who engaged. With increasing concerns surrounding how lockdown restrictions was impacting on young people’s mental health and wellbeing the project resulted in a huge range of benefits for the young people involved.

From a social aspect young people were able to meet virtually with other young people who were keen to take part in activities to support their health and wellbeing throughout lockdown. The enthusiasm and commitment from the young people made the virtual club a really positive place to be during a time of uncertainty.

Educationally and personally, young people learnt about the 5 ways to wellbeing and provided young people with the tools to support their own wellbeing throughout lockdown. One young person feedback at the end that the sessions:

‘During lockdown it made me see people, laugh and I learnt a lot about life’

Parents provided really positive feedback to the programme, one parent noted this was ‘exactly’ what her child needed as she was becoming increasingly concerned about how much time her child was spending alone in the bedroom and how little exercise her child was doing throughout lockdown.

The virtual sessions were a new way of working for the service. We had to learn how to engage with young people virtually, how to provide a fun and engaging session, while still giving the same support as we would if we were meeting in person. While this was very challenging, having to learn to adapt our service without compromising our standards has greatly benefited us as staff and the service. We can now offer virtual sessions which educate and encourage young people to invest time in their wellbeing. While we are returning to face to face sessions, the virtual sessions remain an important part of our provision.

Due to the success of the project, we have implemented a workout as part of our staff wellbeing program. Providing weekly online fitness classes that encourage time away from laptops during the day and remind staff to invest time in their own wellbeing.

The main themes for this project was to support young people’s mental health and wellbeing through physical activity and learning. Completing activities stemming from the 5 ways to wellbeing allowed us to deliver a wide variety of sessions to raise young people’s awareness of different topics. For example to promote equality and diversity one week we learnt how to sign language, whilst another week we celebrated neurodiversity week. Participating in the sessions we had Welsh and non-Welsh speakers therefore the sessions were delivered bilingually allowing young people to communicate through their chosen language. We also ensured the physical exercises were adaptable making it accessible and inclusive for all abilities. Finally the sessions were young person led, each week they would choose which strand they would like to learn more about and share their ideas as to what activities we could do.

As we now continue to plan and deliver more face to face provisions for young people, the online delivery method has taken a side step. However, the relationships we have built have allowed us to maintain so many positive links with young people and given them the confidence to attend our community and targeted face to face sessions. We can also revert to our online sessions when the weather is too terrible.