The launch of a new website, a presentation on GYC’s peer education project and an address by Children’s Commissioner Tam Baillie are among the highlights of Granton Youth Centre’s annual general meeting on 26 September.
Full details below:
Tag: youth
PYCP’s Gig Group to stage referendum sketch show
Pilton Youth & Children’s Project (PYCP) Gig Group is staging a drama sketch show about democracy and the independence referendum next week. Yes? No? Maybe So!! takes place in The Greenhouse on Tuesday (16 September) at 6.45pm.
Tickets are only 50p, and all proceeds go to a charity of the young people’s choosing – but hurry … places are strictly limited and tickets are selling fast!
“An outstandingly brilliant performance from the kids…this show will be a hit and these young stars will surely soon be appearing in West End shows…a must see!! ***** – PY Times
Now with reviews like that, can you afford to miss this show?
JASSing it up at Muirhouse
Junior Award Scheme for Schools (JASS)
Muirhouse Community Centre is pleased to confirm that the four Junior Award Scheme for Schools(JASS) clubs will start back on Monday (1 September) – see below for details. This is a joint venture with the City of Edinburgh’s C.L.D.
Each club has space for up to 16 young people in P4-P7. The young people in P4-5 will get the opportunity to start developing skills required to complete the JASS programme in P6. The P6-7 will have the opportunity to achieve the JASS programme in P6. The P6-7 will have the opportunity to achieve the JASS Bronze Award which is nationally recognised certificate.
The award is divided into 4 sections:
Group |
Time |
Begins |
Venue |
Monday JASS GroupP4-7 Girls |
6.00-7.30pm |
1st September |
MCC Youth Annexe |
Tuesday JASS GroupP4-7 Girls |
6.00-7.30pm |
2nd September |
MCC Youth Annexe |
Monday JASS GroupP4-7 Boys |
6.00-7.30pm |
3rdt September |
MCC Youth Annexe |
Thursday JASS GroupP4-7 Boys |
6.00-7.30pm |
4th September |
MCC Youth Annexe |
Reminder to the parents and boys and girls: The groups are free!
James McGinty, Muirhouse Community Centre
POP at PY
PYCP’s Preventative Opportunities Programme (POP) are now looking to receive referrals for young people aged 14-18 years to start now and continue until February next year.
It is a six month intensive support package for young people and their families. We will offer the young person 1:1 support, group work based sessions on a range of different issues and interests and possibly some outings.
We will also provide the parent/carers and siblings with support on what issues are affecting the family and opportunities to get involved in new experiences and activities together as a family.
If you have any young person or family who would benefit from this type of support or have any questions, please feel free to contact me directly on 332 9815 or send a referral to Katie@pycp.co.uk.
I have attached a referral form and a poster for families (see below) to look at as we do require the family to agree to the support before a referral is received.
Katie Grover
Senior Preventative Worker, Pilton Youth and Children’s Project
MYDG host annual Youth Work Games
MYDG host their annual Youth Work Games 2014
Sixty-five young people, by the banks of Loch Tay and the very enthusiastic staff and volunteers from Muirhouse Youth Development Group (MYDG), Granton, Citadel and State Street proved to be the perfect concoction for this year’s youth work games.
MYDG’s annual event brings together youth organisations from across North Edinburgh and Glasgow to compete in 10 events over the two-day residential hosted by our sponsors Wildfox events just outside Aberfeldy, at Kindorchit by Loch Tay.
This year the event took place in early July with a Commonwealth Games theme; the group were raring to go and the beautiful sunshine added to the enthusiastic spirits of those participating.
The first of the events was the cross-country run, followed by the tandem bike ride, then into some wetsuits for a swim and canoe in Loch Tay.
Evening entertainment was the amazing Corra ceilidh band with the participants creating a massive strip the willow right out the marquee and into the field, dancing the night away! As bedtime loomed none of the young people showed signs of tiredness, but went to their separate tents to tell stories and laugh until the wee hours of the morning!
As the sun rose on the second day so did the young people, sleepy but excited about the day ahead. With a buzz in the air, breakfast was eaten and the last events were well underway. Swamp football, tree climbing, archery, long jump and tug of war with the finale as a particularly fun assault course, involving balloons and blindfolds.
The swamp football proved to be one of the favourite events as the young people and leaders slid around the grass in an attempt to score some goals, additional water from the loch was brought in to make it extra soggy! With over 65 young people, volunteers and staff members all contributing to the games it was a great to see the teamwork camaraderie and sportsmanship throughout the two days of the games: everyone encouraged each other to participate and showed good teamwork, keeping energy up and motivation high for every event.
Pilton Youth and Childrens Project (PYCP) went on to win the games overall, with the other teams from other organisations claiming medals in each event. Bridging the Gap (from Glasgow) won the sportsmanship award for their enthusiasm and all round spirit throughout the whole event.
It was great to see relationships build up across various organisations and young people. Plans are beginning to take shape for an even bigger and better event in 2015, so watch this space!!
MYDG will be hosting a mini Triathlon on the 22nd July and a Commonwealth opening ceremony event on the 23rd July – for more information contact Katie Tuff 0131 332 3356.
Katie Tuff
CY4You: New service for vulnerable young people launched
CY4You, a one-to-one support service to help vulnerable young people, has been officially launched by the specialist relationships and sexual health charity Caledonia Youth.
Stacey Burns and Rachael Mulhern, two young women who have benefitted from Caledonia Youth services, helped launch the initiative and were joined by Kezia Dugdale MSP, Shadow Cabinet Secretary for Education and Lifelong Learning and the Caledonia Youth team for the CY4You launch at the charity’s city centre facility at Castle Terrace.
Representatives from education, social workers, the voluntary sector and funders heard Rachael (18) and Stacey (24) describe their experiences and explain how they were supported by the Caledonia Youth one to one service.
Rachael had suffered from serious confidence issues at a transitional stage leading up to her leaving school and moving into employment, and Stacey had experienced relationship difficulties, stemming from a brain tumour when she was just five. The service helped them cope with these problems.
“We are delighted that Rachael and Stacey shared their own stories to help us launch our innovative CY4You initiative, along with Kezia Dugdale MSP who has been most supportive of our services,” said Caledonia Youth Chief Executive Hawys Kilday.
“CY4You is a fundamental part of our overall strategy to ramp up the provision of preventative services in Scotland. It builds upon years of experience delivering specialist one to one support and counselling services, which have benefited hundreds of vulnerable young people.
“It supports them by providing sessions tailored to suit each individual’s personal circumstances. We focus on a young person’s ability to cope with the transition into adulthood, aiming to improve resilience, reduce risk taking behaviour and enhance personal and family relationships. We also support those at risk of sexual ill health, sexual abuse and exploitation.
“We are most grateful to our funding partners, the R S Macdonald Charitable Trust, the Volant Charitable Trust and Ponton House Trust, whose support lets us deliver CY4You in the Edinburgh and Lothian region. Moving forward, we will be actively seeking further backing to help us extend as a centre of excellence and widen the reach of this unique service across Scotland.”
Kezia Dugdale MSP said: “Caledonia Youth has a strong track record in being dedicated advocates for young people, and I am delighted to see the launch of this innovative one-to-one service.
“Caledonia Youth excels at providing specific sexual health services for young people, something which I firmly believe should be supported. Young people need dedicated services, with people trained to deal with the needs of a young person, be it medical or emotional.”
The CY4You service, which complements statutory Relationships, Sexual Health & Parenthood Education (RSHPE) by providing much needed and more intensive individual support, begins with the preparation of an individualised plan and bespoke materials following a discussion based needs assessment, when learning outcomes are also agreed.
Young people are given the opportunity to attend up to 10-one hour sessions with an assigned member of the CY4You team. Information is only shared with the young person’s consent unless it is deemed a Child Protection or Vulnerable Adult issue when the relevant individuals are informed.
Young people must be under 25 and, at present, resident in Edinburgh and the Lothians when CY4You sessions begin. One hour sessions are delivered at Caledonia Youth’s Edinburgh facility at 5 Castle Terrace, unless otherwise agreed.
For more information on how to refer to the service contact the CY4You team on 0131 229 1402
email: cy4you@caledoniayouth.org
or online at www.caledoniayouth.org
£2.1m CashBack to support youth projects
25,000 young people set to benefit from seized proceeds of crime this year
The Scottish Government has announced that more than £2 million is to be invested to create life-changing opportunities for vulnerable young people.
The CashBack for Communities funding will be invested by national youth work agency, YouthLink Scotland, over the next three years in projects that will empower and guide Scotland’s young people towards a more positive future.
It’s estimated that around 25,000 young people will be able to access new opportunities in each of the three years as a result of the new funding. This will continue the support of the youth work that has already provided 330,000 opportunities for young people and created a 73,000-strong army of volunteers and workers.
Minister for Children & Young People Aileen Campbell welcomed the news yesterday when she visited the Green Shoots project – on the same day the recently-published National Youth Work Strategy Scotland was debated in the Scottish Parliament.
Green Shoots – a 12-week programme that gives young people at risk of becoming involved in antisocial behaviour or alcohol and drug dependency the opportunity to take part in community-based environmental volunteering – is a great example of criminals’ ill-gotten gains being used for the benefit of communities.
Ms Campbell said: “Youth work is a hugely effective force for good for hundreds of thousands of people and the perfect way to reinvest the CashBack for Communities funding. This money will help offer activities, skills and training opportunities and, most importantly, a place to turn for many young people facing difficulties or at a crossroads in their lives.
“Investment in youth work is not just the right thing to do; it is the smart thing to do. I am lucky to have seen first-hand the difference youth projects make in giving young people confidence to make their voice heard, seize the opportunities in front of them and make the right decisions for themselves and their families.”
Jim Sweeney, CEO, YouthLink Scotland, said: “Over the last five years, CashBack for Communities has created a generation of local superheroes, giving power back to young people and their communities by using the cash seized from criminals as a force for positive change.
“This money has helped young people access life-changing youth work opportunities which has given them more optimism for the future and has proved to many young people that they can achieve their ambitions despite difficult life circumstances.”
Since 2007, over £74 million of money seized through the Proceeds of Crime Act has been put to excellent use through CashBack for Communities, funding around 1.2 million activities and opportunities for young people.
Sainsbury’s supports Scotland’s senior youth club
Sainsburys Blackhall have been helping FetLor Youth Club do some much needed repairs to their old building to keep it going until funds can be raised to build a new one …
Young people from FetLor have written to thank the Craigleith store for their help, attaching some before and after photos to show the difference that’s been made (attached below).
Sainsburys 1 page fixing jobs TQ
FetLor Operations Manger Lindsay Coulton said: “FetLor Youth Club is Scotland’s oldest Youth Work Project, set up in 1924. The Club is currently housed in a wooden hut built in the early 1960’s on Crewe Road South.
“It has served the North Edinburgh community well over the past 40 years and holds many fond memories, but it can’t last much longer and the cost of repairs is rising every year. Thanks to Sainsbury’s Blackhall some of the urgent repairs that the Club needs have been carried out, making the building safe and secure for our young people and allowing us to commit funds to the new building project.
“The support of organisations in the local community, such as the support offered to us by Sainsbury’s Blackhall, will be key to the success of our project. If you are interested in helping, please don’t hesitate to get in touch with me at FetLor Youth Club – we would be delighted to hear from you.”
Muirhouse youth group plan to make a splash
Support MYDG’s swimathon!
Muirhouse Youth Development Group (MYDG) will be taking part in a 24 hour fundraising Swimathon on Thursday 3 April and they could use your support.
MYDG’s Operational Manager Dean Shanks explained: “Money raised will support field trips, outdoor activities and MYDG’s commonwealth summer sports programme.
“You can pick up a sponsor form from MYDG’s office in Craigroyston Community High School or the Community Shop on Pennywell Road. Alternatively, you can make a donation online at our justgiving site which will be up and running tomorrow and I will forward on a link to everyone then. You can also come along and swim or volunteer to help with the running of the event!”
MYDG is based at Craigroyston Community High School
Telephone: 0131 332 3356
Website: www.mydg.org.uk
The Charge of the Young Brigade
Bloomin’ kids! They stand around on street corners, play football in the street and have absolutely no respect for their elders. All they’re interested in is X Factor, FaceBook and computer games. They’ve never had it so good – now, when I was a boy …
Is that your view of young people? Well, a new publication produced in North Edinburgh may just change your mind. Local Community Learning and Development worker Callum McLeod has produced ‘The Charger’ to let the wider community know about the wide variety of positive activities many of our young people are involved in.
Callum explained: “This is its first edition, but I’m hoping to get at least one out each term and I’m sure it’ll improve with each edition. Iit’s worth having a wee nosy at it to see some of the stuff which has been happening on your doorstep.
“There are plenty of fab examples of where children and young people have been and are involved in decision-making in North Edinburgh – and so I’m planning that the Charger’s focus will be about showcasing as much of this as possible.
“It’s being aimed at children and young people, agencies and individuals within the community and so please pass it on to people you think might be interested. It’ll provide an opportunity to shine a spotlight on children and young people-led issues, achievements and developments in future editions, so please get in touch if there’s anything you’d like to add for the next one!”
Callum now plans to produce and distribute some hard copies of the current ‘Charger’ as well as the digital version (attached above). To pass on your comments or to contribute content for the next issue, you can contact Callum at:
Callum McLeod
Community Learning & Development, Broughton High School
29 East Fettes Ave, Edinburgh, EH4 1EG
Tel: 0131 332 6316
Email: Callum.mcleod@ea.edin.sch.uk
Web: www.edinburgh.gov.uk
CLD Web: www.joininedinburgh.org
