Tag: children

MIX UP Theatre: Fringe Festival Summer Camp

THE MIX UP THEATRE FRINGE FESTIVAL SUMMER CAMP 2019! Ages 5-16 

Monday 29th July – Friday 2nd August: 10am-4pm on The Pleasance.

Still a handful of spaces left so book in now at: www.mixuptheatre.com/fringefestival

Here’s the full programme for this year!

AGES 5-12 (Age 11+ will go to Seniors in afternoons):

MONDAY 29th July

AM – Puppetry Workshop with Ditto Theatre Company (Rocket Girl)
PM – Ceilidh Dancing with Ceilidhkids
PM – Stand-Up Comedy with Comedy Club 4 Kids

TUESDAY 30th July

AM – Bubble Making Workshop with The Highland Joker (The Bubble Show)
AM – Kafka for Kids Workshop with The Kafkateers (Beetlemania!)
PM – Mime Workshop with Bric à Brac Theatre (Mustard Doesn’t Go with Girls)
PM – Rap / Spoken Word with Mark Grist (Down with the Poetry King)

WEDNESDAY 31st July

AM – Electronic Music Movement Workshop with The New Victorians (Rave + Behave)
AM – THEATRE TRIP: A Midsummer Night’s Dream by Rubbish Shakespeare Company
PM – Comedy Animal Acting Workshop with Goblin (Hey Diddle Diddle)
PM – Shakespeare Comedy Acting with the Rubbish Shakespeare Company

THURSDAY 1st August

AM – Word and Story Workshop with Dan Serridge Storyteller (Feast of Fools)
AM – THEATRE TRIP: Mustard Doesn’t Go wtih Girls by Bric a Brac Theatre
PM – Singing Workshop with Nonsenseroom Productions (Shark in the Park)
PM – Clowning Workshop with Stickyback Theatre (Sunshine)

FRIDAY 2nd August

AM – THEATRE TRIP: Games with James
PM – Storytelling Workshop with Flossy and Boo (Ned and the Whale)
PM – Circus Skills Workshop with Dummies Corp. (Splashtest Dummies)
PM – THEATRE TRIP + Meet & Greet with Cirque Berserk UK

AGES 11-16: AFTERNOONS (Seniors Class)

Monday 29th July + Tuesday 30th July

PM – Rehearsals

Wednesday 31st July

PM – Spy Comedy Acting Workshop with Paprichoo (Number, Please)

Thursday 1st August

PM – PERFORMANCE: Murder on the Dancefloor by Spies Like Us Theatre
PM – Physical Theatre Ensemble Workshop by Spies Like Us Theatre

FRIDAY 2nd August

PM – SHOWCASE PERFORMANCE – Royal Mile, Mercat Stage

The students will perform a short performance on the Mercat Stage of the Royal Mile as part of the Fringe Street Festival. This will take place at 3pm and will last approx 15-20 minutes.

Families will be invited along to meet us there (beside St Giles Cathedral).

Added to this our students will also be reviewing for Families Edinburgh Magazine as part of the Wee Reviewers team!

Don’t miss out! Book NOW!

www.mixuptheatre.com/fringefestival

Wheely good! Youth projects celebrate Young Start funding

Fifteen fantastic youth led projects are today celebrating their share of over £700,000 in dormant bank account monies from the Young Start Fund. Amongst them are a bike lending library and an off-road motorcycling project, both aiming to build the confidence and employability skills of young people. (See below for full list of awards).

Edinburgh-based Dunedin Canmore will receive £60,000 for a youth programme. This group will provide a range of services and activities for young people aged 12-18 in the Gorgie and Dalry areas. Services on offer will include Health Respect drop-ins, one-to-one support sessions and outdoor learning activities. The project will work with around 390 young people and involve 11 volunteers.

Thanks to a grant of £30,000, The Knightsridge Adventure Project, in Livingston, will be able to take ‘The Vennie Bike Lending Library’ to the next level. Young volunteers will take ownership of the project and will be trained to manage the bike lending library, maintain bikes, and lead cycle rides across the community.

Welcoming the funding is young volunteer Scott Forbes, 16, (below) who joined the project seven years ago. He said: “I started coming along to The Vennie when I moved to the area – I didn’t know anyone so it really helped me make friends and provided a place to go after school when my parents were working.

“Volunteering has boosted my confidence and taught me how to engage with, and run activities for my peers, which I think will be useful for future employment. This place is so important for many of the young kids who can’t afford a bike of their own and who need somewhere to go after school.

“With this money we’ll be able to refurbish more bikes and run more cycle led rides across the community, which is what young people have been asking for. My hope is that these cycle trips inspire them as much as it’s inspired me in terms of ideas for the future.”

Thomas Heron (above), project lead at The Vennie Bike Project, said: “We are over the moon to have received this funding. Young people have demanded and driven this project and their opinions and ideas have led to the creation of the bike lending library, so I feel this epitomises what Young Start is all about.

“Now we can employ someone to co-ordinate the cycle led routes, maintenance workshops and help the project grow. Seeing the young people, many of whom can’t afford bikes, getting out and experiencing fresh air is wonderful and we can’t wait to see where the project goes.”

Meanwhile, young people at risk of offending will get their lives back on track as Fife based KORMC receives a Young Start grant of £42,803. The funding will be used to combine off-road motorcycle coaching with teaching young people valuable life skills.

David Paton, KORMC Programme Manager, said, “Wow, we are absolutely delighted to hear about the award from the Young Start Fund. It gives us an opportunity to continue the good work we have started. Also, to start new work on a motorcycle mechanics and maintenance programme. 

The feedback from parents, referrers and young people has been amazing, this is letting us know, that we are On the Right Track. With this new financial support, we will continue to develop young people in a positive way, whilst also making our communities safer.”

Announcing today’s funding totalling, £747,452, Maureen McGinn, National Lottery Community Fund Scotland Chair, said, “Young Start aims to help children and young people across Scotland realise their potential while also building invaluable skills and confidence for the future.

“These brilliant groups reflect that aim by placing young people at their heart of project design, delivery and evaluation. It’s an absolute delight to announce this funding.”

Young Start Awards July 2019

 

New eco badge for Scotland’s Cub Scouts

Cub Scouts in Scotland are being encouraged to go eco as part of a newly revised badge to teach children the importance of getting involved in environmental conservation in their daily lives. Continue reading New eco badge for Scotland’s Cub Scouts

Consultation on incorporating the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child

The Scottish Government is seeking views on how best to incorporate the UN’s ‘gold standard’ for children’s rights into Scots Law and improve the lives of children and young people.

UNCRC_summary

Continue reading Consultation on incorporating the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child

New national resource to aid support for young people

The first ever national guidance for professionals giving advice and support to young people on healthy relationships and consent has been published. It means that whenever a young person seeks advice – whether from a teacher, a health professional or a youth worker – they should receive consistent, age-appropriate information. Continue reading New national resource to aid support for young people

Scottish Government announces investment in social media support

New steps to support young people’s mental health.

Steps to improve the mental health of young people, and directly target the impact of social media and body image on mental wellbeing, are to be supported through a new package of measures.

This includes £90,000 of funding to produce advice on the healthy use of social media and screen time, which will be created in partnership with young people.

In addition, a review of evidence on the effects of screen use on sleep and the implications of this for mental health will be commissioned.

The announcement follows the publication of new research from the Scottish Government which identifies social media, sleep disruption, body image and school pressures as potential factors in the reported worsening of mental wellbeing among adolescent girls in Scotland (see report below).

Minister for Mental Health Clare Haughey returned to her former school, Trinity High School in Rutherglen, to meet with pupils and discuss the research.

Ms Haughey said: “We know that many young people in Scotland, particularly girls, are unsatisfied with their physical appearance, and that high levels of social media use may be detrimental to mental wellbeing. We also know that adolescent girls in Scotland report higher levels of social media use than boys.

“Social media does have the potential to be used in a hugely positive way, but we want to ensure young people are properly informed on how social media promotes unrealistic expectations.

“During Children’s Mental Health Awareness Week we announced that we will be producing advice, specific to Scotland, on the healthy use of social media and screen time. We are now committing £90,000 to carry out this work as part of a package of measures to give young people the support they need. We want all young people to be able to grow up in a modern Scotland with good mental wellbeing.”

Exploring the reported worsening of mental wellbeing among adolescent girls in Scotland report:

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National Awards for local youth projects

Two local projects have scooped awards at this year’s National Youth Work Awards. Spartans Community Football Academy picked up the National Raising Attainment Award for their work with vulnerable youngsters in North Edinburgh, while the Action for Children Heritage and Inclusion Project has won the National Equality and Diversity Award, sponsored by BBC Children in Need. Continue reading National Awards for local youth projects

Nearly 7000 potential victims of slavery and trafficking reported last year

The number of potential victims of trafficking and modern slavery reported to the authorities has risen by more than 80 per cent in two years, according to figures released by the National Crime Agency today.

The National Referral Mechanism end of year summary (648 KB) shows that in 2018 6993 potential victims were referred into the system, up from 5142 in 2017, and 3804 in 2016.

Potential victims from 130 different countries were identified, and for the second consecutive year British citizens made up the largest nationality (1,625), with Albanians (947) and Vietnamese (702) second and third.

The number of British citizens reported was almost double the number from 2017, while the numbers of minors referred increased by 48 per cent. Both increases were driven by the numbers referred for labour exploitation, which includes those exploited for criminal purposes by ‘County Lines’ gangs.

Overall those referred in the labour exploitation category made up more than half of the total number.

NCA Deputy Director Roy McComb said: “The increase is undoubtedly the result of greater awareness, understanding and reporting of modern slavery and that is something to be welcomed.

“However, the more we look the more we find, and it is likely these figures represent only a snapshot of the true scale of slavery and trafficking in the UK.

“Of particular concern is the increase in referrals made for ‘county lines’ type exploitation. These are often vulnerable individuals – often children – who are exploited by criminal gangs for the purposes of drug trafficking.

“Our understanding of the threat is much greater than it was a few years ago, and modern slavery remains a high priority for law enforcement, with around 1,500 criminal investigations currently live in the UK.

“But we cannot stop modern slavery alone, we need support and assistance from across the public and private sectors, NGOs and most of all the public themselves.”

The National Referral Mechanism is a framework for identifying victims of modern slavery or human trafficking and ensuring they receive the appropriate support. It is also the mechanism through which data is collected about victims, helping to build a clearer picture about the scope of the threat.

Under the existing NRM process potential victims are referred by ‘first responders’, including police, public bodies and a number of specified NGOs to one of two competent authorities, the NCA’s Modern Slavery and Human Trafficking Unit for EEA nationals, and the Home Office for non-EEA cases, to make a decision about their status.

From 29 April 2019 this will change when the Home Office becomes the single competent authority for dealing with referrals. This is part of a package of reforms to the NRM announced by the government in October 2017 to improve identification of and support for victims of modern slavery.