Tag: education

community

The past has been a great success, and the future remains unwritten

bighosie

So once again we are drawing to the end of another year, 2025 has been a very busy year and at times overwhelming through the levels and range of Youth Action that has been undertaken. There is no need to review the youth work as it has been detailed on our monthly blogs which has kept all interested parties updated and fully informed.  I would however want to highlight some important data and figures as detailed below which illustrate the outputs and hard successes of SCYAP in 2025: 

SCYAP Key data and outputs 2025Download

In reporting back this month to Foundation Scotland on the completion of our three-year  grant award . I commented that:  The funding provided through Foundation Scotland has contributed to young people gaining confidence, abilities and the skills to make lasting positive change in their community. A Youth Action approach was successfully delivered which has the dual benefits of improving young people’s connections with the local community whilst also advancing their own personal and social development. The funding leaves a legacy and the potential to build on existing success and further support young people’s contributions to the development and improvement of Camelon and Tamfourhill and to better prepare them for advancing through life as active citizens.

The notion of legacy and the potential for further Youth Action are both embedded within these end of grant conclusions, and the challenge for me and the TTRO is to now secure further funding and resources to take the SCYAP beyond this year and into the future. We are optimistic and it will not be for a lack of effort and commitment in what is a very competitive funding world. Being a small voluntary organisation can often feel like you are in an unstable and short-term reality, but it also enables greater levels of flexibility , creativity and localism that are simply not afforded to local councils, health boards or other public bodies

The young people who took part in the  Youth Participation Project were involved with their own end of Project evaluation this month. An opportunity for them to reflect upon their own experiences, what they had enjoyed and leant in the process and contribute to the feedback required to the funders. This Project was funded through the UK Shared Prosperity Fund and is managed by Falkirk Council, so it was a fixed  term short project, and it was therefore important that a legacy was left in terms of local Youth Action. In that respect we have ten Dynamic Youth Awards and two High 5 Awards pending and a couple of Saltire awards  and the Article 31: The Right to Play mural boards are now fully installed at the Games Court in Easter Carmuirs. Notable feedback indicated that the young people really enjoyed attending the Lock 16  open day in September where they led their own stall , Article 31 activities and consultation process and also engaged with the general public and the other partners. I personally would like to praise the group very highly for that day , they were exceptional and a great credit to their peers and the community. OUTSTANDING !!!   

In the short term in 2026 we will  continue to support the work of the two-schools based Climate Action Groups at Carmuirs and Easter Carmuirs Primary Schools. This will be augmented by the formation of a community focused Youth Climate Action Group with all three working towards young peoples  agreed priorities for climate action as detailed in the report published in  April 2025. Work began with the schools in November and along with the  YAG they  will gain pace through  January and February. This work has been made possible through the funding received from FEL and their next steps climate action fund.  

The second phase of the Twilight Sports programme  begins on Friday 16th January 6pm-8pm in Tamfourhill Community Hub , the full programme is detailed below. Although we haven’t been quite as busy as previous winter programmes we do have a high energy and loud group attending every week. Thank you to our sessional staff, coaches and our volunteers, its been especially rewarding to  see two young volunteers giving up their Friday nights to come along and make the Twilight sports a resounding success.

Finally, a thank you to the colleagues and partners  who have contributed  to our end of year evaluations , completing surveys and discussing projects, this is an important aspect to planning future work and indeed sustaining the Safer Communities Youth Action Project.

community

The Right to Play, Youth Participation and Climate Week

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SCYAP was successful in securing a Community Empowerment Grant  from Falkirk Council which is funded through the UK Shared Prosperity Fund. As a Youth Action Project we were keen to encourage further youth participation and to link that with wider community developments. The key aspects of a  Youth Participation approach , include; Taking part, young people having a say and being listened to , being involved with decision making, being  involved through your own choice, contributing to the community, enjoying activities and working with others and gaining national youth awards. Our new Youth Participation Project was targeted initially at young people who were not regularly involved with any of our previous or ongoing youth action activities and the programme began with an introduction and programme planning session at the end of August

A Dynamic Youth Award programme has begun and includes a wide variety of challenging activities which focus on teamwork, decision making, skills development and community involvement . Creativity and outdoor learning feature significantly throughout the programme and the Group had a brilliant day when they attended the recent Scottish Canals Open Day which was held at the  old Barrs factory in Tamfourhill.  This open day was an opportunity for Scottish canals and their partners at Historic Environment Scotland  to showcase the traditional  skills and the Centre  for Excellence that will operate from this building. The Open Day  also provided a unique opportunity for our  Youth Participation Group to contribute through their interactive games stall which promoted Article 31 of UNRC: The Right to Play  

UNCRC Article 31

I have a right to rest, relax and play

Adults should make sure children have the chance to play and relax in a safe, supportive and stimulating environment.

Governments should make sure children can be part of cultural and artistic activities.

When decisions are made about activities in the community, adults should include children in planning these.

Want to come out to play?

Our commitment to the  promotion of  Article 31 is being further explored through the second strand of our Youth Participation  project: A series of arts  drop-in sessions will take place at the games court on Mariner Avenue in Easter Carmuirs on the 15th, 16th and 17th October. If you are between 10-18 years old please pop along in the afternoon between 1pm-4pm, perhaps play some games, tell us about the rules and then design and build signposts and boards which illustrate these games. Part of this process will be involved with the design of new box seating for the Cage , and the process kicks  off next Wednesday 8th October at 5.30pm when you can come down for a game of rounders, get some free hot dogs and also tell us about the games and sports that are played at the Cage. This community arts aspect  of the Participation Project is aligned to proposals highlighted within the Camelon Community Action Plan in relation to improving communal spaces and increasing opportunities  for local young people.  

Scotland’s national climate week runs from 29th September until 5th October, and this is an opportunity to consider what climate action we can support and take which will contribute to tackling climate change and making our communities greener and sustainable.

Climate Week is an important awareness raising tool and to coincide with this I am very pleased to announce that we will be beginning the process of reinstating the community orchard that was recently decimated on the canal towpath next to Camelon Juniors football ground. We are extremely grateful to Scottish Canals who have found resources to replace the heritage fruit trees and the support of their Environment manager with the process of preparing the ground and the planting of the replacement orchard. We will be working on the towpath on Thursday 2nd October with the Carmuirs Youth Action Group who worked so hard and took so much pride with the planting of the original orchard back in February

Following on from the reinstatement of the Camelon Community Orchard we are excited  to partner with Under the Trees Outdoor Learning for an event called Wild Connections: Falkirk’s Greener Future that will bring a whole host of climate related activities to Easter Carmuirs Park on Monday 13th October from 1pm-4pm. SCYAP through funding accessed from Volunteering Matters Action Earth will provide volunteering opportunities to build and decorate bat and bug boxes. Forth Climate Forest will deliver a Neighbourhood trees workshop and Under the Trees have a climate scavenger quiz with prizes, crayon recycling on the campfire and acorn planting and a climate lab with climate experiments to explore. Although this is a young person led event the whole community are invited to participate, and the only restriction is that under 10’s must be accompanied by an adult of 16+ years old

And finally , SCYAP is overjoyed to acknowledge that we have 24 National Youth Award Certificates to present to young people , these in the main were gained through taking part on various activities during our Summer Programme 2025.  The overnight survival programme, community arts  project and its Stand up for Nature theme, the angling project and the wonderful active travel mural and arts installation at Camelon Railway Station. This included two Silver Youth Achievement Awards for our young youth action volunteers Leo and Victoria, my congratulations to you all, an outstanding achievement.

community

A Fabulous Fun February ,Falkirk Wheelers wronged and  Camelon has its first Community Orchard

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Twilight Sports

The Twilight Sports Winter Programme was operational through November 2024 until the last session on Friday 21st February 2025 in Tamfourhill Community Hub . Once again, I would like to highlight that we were unable to operate the second half of the Winter indoor Programme from Easter Carmuirs Primary School and I am aware that many young  people have missed out as a consequence of that situation. The Falkirk Wheelers, as many local people will be aware, have been prevented from using the halls and gymnasiums on the Councils school estate, and despite their best efforts and the pressures of others to get this erroneous decision overturned they continue to be unable to make use of these  facilities. The SCYAP continues to support the Falkirk Wheelers, and we will get involved with any future public demonstrations that campaign to get this access reinstated. We are however very grateful to the Tamfourhill Community Hub committee for their ongoing support through  making their centre available for our use on a Friday night despite all the building improvements and new net zero  energy technologies that are being installed. The Twilight  Sports programme continued to be well attended with young people developing great skills and confidence on the wheels along with their footballing skills and this has been noted by  the respective sports coaches. The social and developmental aspects of engaging with healthy  activities in a safe and supportive environment is clearly valued by local young people and their families. My thanks therefore to the Wheelers and our new football coach Ewan at the Stenhousemuir Community Foundation. There has also been significant contributions from our young Twilight Sports volunteers and it’s great to see them all undertaking Youth Awards as  part of their volunteering  involvement.

SCYAP Angling Group

The angling Group eventually got  their opportunity to take part in  a coach led session at Magiscroft Coarse Fishery, this was after a third classroom-based session where they had learnt about different species and their anatomies, baits and ground baits and how to set up their rods and reels. This preparation and learning was evident at the fishery, however the freezing cold and snowy conditions made for very difficult angling conditions. The group were using  whips prior to practicing their casting with a rod and reel set up. The very cold-water conditions discourage the fish from feeding but despite these adverse circumstances every young person managed to catch at least one fish , including some  nice sized roach and a roach bream hybrid. Our thanks to Gus and John from the Scottish Federation of Coarse Angling , these guys are exceptional anglers and a fountain of knowledge on all matters angling. The Group will continue to meet for learning sessions, go on  further angling trips and  complete their Youth Awards. This Project very much illustrates that learning can be enjoyable , social and take place in so many diverse contexts.

Outdoor learning and nature therapy

We have formed a fruitful partnership with the Well Wild-A therapeutic approach to Forest School & Bushcraft  based in the Rough Castle Woods, and this has facilitated a wide array of learning opportunities and the development of core skills for the young people we work with. The activities are really focused on core interpersonal and social  attributes , including, communication, trust, resilience and teamwork and our partnership has opened up these opportunities to a wider array of local young people. Our close involvement with the local primary schools has enabled the Youth Action Project to better achieve its key outcomes of better connecting young people with their local community and to deliver accredited learning opportunities. In addition, this February we also had our own Youth Award  Group participating in bushcraft and survival activities which have facilitated  positive relationship building and improved confidence in wider learning for these young people. An outstanding feature of working with the Well Wild Project is the therapeutic and reflective qualities that are facilitated through young peoples engagement with the natural environment. Often it is those quiet almost spiritual moments that instil an understanding and appreciation of nature and a sense of individual wellbeing that young people will take with them throughout their lives.  And into the forest I go to lose my mind and find my sole: John Muir  I would really like to thank John Wells for his empathetic and flexible approach at his Well Wild Project it has enabled the SCYAP to support young people achieve their various  personal targets on their development journey to achieving various youth awards. 

Community Orchard Planted in Camelon:

SCYAP are supporting a small group of boys from P6 at Carmuirs Primary School to gain a Dynamic Youth Award with a challenge that involves them getting more involved with and improving their local community. Recently with the support of the Environmental Manager at Scottish Canals we were able to create a new community orchard on the towpath of the Forth and Clyde canal near to lock 16. The Group worked tirelessly as they  prepared the ground, digging the holes, planting the  fruit trees and putting in the compost. This is a magnificent legacy for these young people and the community will be able to pick their own fruit as they make use of the canal and the towpath.  This is a community development project facilitated though local Youth Action and is fully aligned to our Community Climate Action Plan. This then is an appropriate point to conclude this blog and  a useful means to highlight next month’s main blog topic of reviewing our three Climate Action Events. I will then next month be able to confirm  young people’s priorities for tackling climate change in Tamfourhill ,Bantaskin and Camelon.  

community

The Return of the Twilight Sports Programme, and does anyone want to go fishing ?

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The nights are darker, and winter is here, so I am glad to illuminate the gloom by announcing that  the Twilight Sports Winter Programme returns on Friday 8th November from 6pm-8pm in Tamfourhill Community Hub. The main activities will be football and rollerblading and on the 8th we will also have Dr Bike in attendance who will service your bikes for winter and issue every cyclist with a light. The Programme is open to all 10 – 16-year-olds and food and drink will be provided, and this is all free of charge thanks to our funders at the Falkirk Community Schools Fund and the National Lottery Young Start Programme. There will be some special sporting activities on the programme, and these will be confirmed and announced nearer to the particular date, the regular programme is detailed on the attached flyer.

I am very disappointed that the Twilight Sports  Programme will not be visiting Easter Carmuirs Primary School this winter and this is due to Facilities Management  banning rollerblading from  all Falkirk Council  school halls and gymnasiums. We did not want  to deliver part of the Programme without our valued colleagues and partners the Falkirk Wheelers, so the decision had to be made to not make use of the school hall at Easter Carmuirs. I know this is to the disadvantage off young people from that neighbourhood, but we would consider some type of safe transport provision  for these young people ,if there was demonstrable intertest. I would like to explicitly put on record my opposition to this ban and I am particularly frustrated at how an engaging healthy sporting activity like this can be spuriously removed from the community and indeed the school curriculum. There is inconvenience to us locally and community safety concerns however there is also a much bigger picture here where young people are being prevented from participating in a very  healthy sporting activity that addresses health inequalities , reduces the attainment gap and facilitates positive social development. There has been objections raised, and an informal campaign being promoted by the Falkirk Wheelers and we fully support all of  their actions and would encourage parents , careers and concerned individuals and groups to approach elected members or highlight the matter in any local or national forums. A summary to the background to this situation can be found here:   https://falkirkwheelers.co.uk/mitie_ban.php I would also like to use this opportunity of thanking the Committee at Tamfourhill Community Hub who have been willing to accommodate the entire winter Twilight Sports programme from November through to February, it is very much appreciated.

On a much more positive note, I am delighted to report on the  formation of a new partnership between the SCYAP and the Scottish Federation for Coarse Angling, which will deliver a bespoke angling programme for local young people. I am aware that many young people enjoy fishing on the local canals, and we have also ran fishing trips as part of our summer programmes, so this new partnership will provide an excellent  accredited learning opportunity. The course will begin on Thursday 14th November at Tamfourhill Community Hub at 6pm and will involve some indoor sessions and then coached angling sessions at Magiscroft Coarse Fishery, the local canals and a trout fishery. All the participating young people will be able to gain a national award and the programme will includes: water safety, fish biology, fish welfare and safe handling of fish, fishing tackle and tackling up and of course the best methods and approaches to catching fish. There will also be volunteering opportunities provided and the potential to then go on to gain an angling coach qualification , this is a fully funded package and there will be no cost for the young people or volunteers. If you are interested  then please contact me directly at john@ttrohub.co.uk and more details about the SFCA can be found here: https://www.sfca.co.uk/

The Community Climate Action Plan has to date facilitated many opportunities and a wide array of  activities like community growing initiatives, encouraging biodiversity, active travel and the  Tamfourhill energy efficiency and net zero hub project, and this has involved various groups and schools throughout  Camelon and Tamfourhill. The time felt right for a relaunch of the CCAP and in line with the ethos of Youth  Action it seemed very appropriate to revisit the Plan  and involve young people with confirming the current priorities for tacking climate change at a community level. The SCYAP were recently successful in securing another FEL Seed Grant with the purpose of relaunching our CCAP and fully involving young people with that process. In partnership with FEL we will be holding a number of roadshow events in the community where young people and the existing CCAP Core Group members can revisit the original plan and enhance those actions or indeed set new local climate change actions. These events will provide a hands-on experience with different activities being available that involve active travel, community growing, examples of sustainability and creativity with the arts, and all involving some element of fun based consultation. I will keep the community updated with this project and how young people and others can get directly involved. The key will be to take  part in meaningful activities  but to also further develop our plan to include a very strong youth led  programme of actions.

  

Another environmental improvement opportunity has been made possible through   the Volunteering Matters  Action Earth Project. This will be about establishing several community orchards around the local area, and I hope that a variety of groups will come on board with this activity.  I again will highlight this Project on our social media platforms and in the meantime if anybody has a particular interest with establishing community orchards then please do get in touch with me directly: john@ttrohub.co.uk

Next months blog will be focused upon the Camelon Community Action Plan and in particular  the youth consultation process and the developing work of the Nailer Road Safer Streets Group.

community

Supporting Young People’s Readiness to Learn and Getting on Yer Bike

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 I  want to use the main section of this month’s Youth Action Blog to celebrate our recent #Summerprogramme2024 and to align aspects of the successes of that Programme with the findings of the  recent Youthlink publication:  The Role of Youth Work in Supporting Young people’s readiness to learn. This report is also particularly relevant to the recent work that SCYAP carried out in partnership with local schools ,as the Youthlink report notes: The factors impacting upon school attendance and engagement are complex whilst it also acknowledges that school cannot effectively tackle these issues alone. Evidence is presented that highlights the invaluable contribution of a Youth Work approach and how that methodology  can positively contribute to successfully addressing the Scottish Governments Attainment Challenge.

A SCYAP key outcome is that Young People should increase their social skills, confidence to learn and their levels of attainment. This was achieved on two levels  through our Summer Programme, firstly by the variety and quantity of national accreditations that young people undertook over the summer.  Our Evaluation report notes that 18 accredited programmes were completed, including 14 Dynamic Youth Awards, 2 High 5 Awards and with 2 older young people significantly progressing their Bronze Youth Achievement Awards. The second level is not as quantifiable but would include the development of  a wide array of soft skills or what are sometimes referred to as core skills, including; resilience, confidence, decision making, forming positive peer relationships, improving their capacity and confidence  to learn  and a willingness to take on new challenges. The participating young people did this in spades over the summer, the comments and reflections of our  partners at the  Well Wild  Project absolutely highlight these very attributes and the feedback from all the staff and partners involved with the programme delivery scored this facet a very high average of 9.4 on their feedback survey responses. This is similarly reflected in young people’s own evaluation and feedback forms with 72% indicating they had learnt new skills and scoring on average 7.4 on a scale of 10 in  relation to how their confidence to learn had improved through their involvement with the programme. This process is very apparent within the Youthlink report :  Youth work offers young people a wider range of pathways for learning and achievement that can be offered in the classroom, providing more personalisation, choice and agency in learning  This fits very nicely with the experiences of our Group who undertook the Bushcraft and Survival programme,  further the Youthlink report notes  that the success of  a youth work approach is because young people enjoy experiential learning and different contexts for learning, including practical learning and learning outdoors in the community. Young people value the opportunity that youth work gives them to shape their own learning and develop a greater sense of personal agency. This was very much echoed in the work that was undertaken in the Community Arts Project and the Bushcraft and survival programme , John Wells of the Well Wild Project noted in his evaluation feedback that:

The entire  experience was Young person 

friendly and ensured that their learning outcomes/ targets

were met in full. Their learning targets  had all been 

chosen by the young people  themselves, and they had identified what 

they would like to gain out of this Bushcraft programme and overnight wild camping

experience.

And further John explains:

They learned how to build trust, good relationships, and the importance of working as a team & also have gained the ability to work on their own independently how to take instructions and how to learn from their mistakes

And in relation to learning in different contexts and outside in the community, Sarah Diver Laing our Community artist noted that:

It was nice to see the young

people directly engage with the

outdoors and I felt there was the

right balance during this

programme of imagination,

creativity, play and engagement

in places and the community.

These young people then have not only gained a recognised certificate of achievement  they have evolved in confidence and in their ability and willingness to learn , and this is also a positive outcome for the young people’s capacity to learn within the school curriculum and beyond and will impact positively upon the wider community.

Another significant highlight of the #Summerprogramme2024 was the Junior Sports Leadership Award, and it was really great to see some young people who have been regular participants at the Twilight Sports  over the last few months take that involvement onto another  level. I have every confidence in this Groups ability to now lead on delivering sports and games sessions with their peers and  with  younger children, An array of skills in planning , leadership and communication were developed and underpinning all of these attributes was a notable growth in confidence and self-belief. The Group members are now being linked in with the Active Schools coordinators and hopefully  they will get further involved with sports leadership activities within their respective schools. An important aspect to this is community capacity building and it would be the SCYAP longer term aim to support these young people to become sports leaders and coaches at our Twilight sports programme and other community-based sports and youth provisions.

My concluding remarks about our Summer of activities relates to our significant key outcome: that Young People will have better connections with the wider community. This featured heavily in our evaluations and feedback responses and undoubtedly this has been a significant success. We focus our activities on local assets like the Tamfourhill Community Hub , the local parks in Easter Carmuirs and Nailer Road and our outdoor learning is generally focussed on the canals and  local woodland. We support young people to be visible in their own community and to link in with local community assets and other projects and organisations. Underpinning all of this is our commitment to make community Learning and development a fun experience and one that is built around the views, circumstances, needs and aspirations of the young people themselves.

SCYAP #Summerprogramme Evaluation report is available in full here:

summer programme 2024 Evaluation reportDownload

Youthlink report: Role of Youth Work in supporting young people’s readiness to learn :

Click to access The-Role-of-Youth-Work-in-Supporting-Young-Peoples-Readiness-to-Learn-.pdf

On Yer Bike!

We are fortunate to have the support of volunteers without whom we could not deliver this range and quality of programmes and activities for young people and indeed link that Youth Action in a meaningful way with the wider community. In that respect I would like to take this opportunity to both thank and highlight the contributions over the last year and beyond of Rachel Timblin. Rachels contributions are dynamic and varied and go way beyond the activities delivered by SCYAP, in particular her work with community growing , the Scottish Wildlife Trust and with support services for people impacted by Hepatitis B. Rachel is also a stalwart of the Twilight Sports Programme and quite simply the programme could not run without her involvement and support. It therefore was fabulous and fitting that Rachel was recently awarded with a bicycle from FEL as part of their  Free Bikes For Forth Valley Volunteers Scheme, more information about this initiative can be found here: https://felscotland.org/news-and-events/free-bikes-for-forth-valley-volunteers/

Here is Rachel being presented with  her new bike by FEL staff at a recent Twilight Sports session in Easter Carmuirs Park:

Thanks Rachel

#Summerprogramme2024 can be viewed here:

Summer prgramme 2024 SCYAPDownload

community

A review of Year 1 of the Youth Action Project and the Summer Twilight Sports Season 2024 is announced:  

bighosie


Twilight Sports returns for the summer season 2024 on Friday 7th June from 6pm-9pm in Nailer Road Park, the main sports will be Rollerblading and football but there will also be big games and nature activities to get  involved with. Food and drink is available free of charge and to register you need to be 10-16 years old and you just turn up and take part and the registration  form can  be returned on the next Friday that the young person attends. The full programme  is detailed below and there will be other activities and opportunities which will be announced nearer the time; and I would like to take this opportunity to thank our main funders and supporters, including: The National Lottery, The Falkirk Community Schools Fund, the Local Police and Fire and Rescue Services, Camelon Community Sports Hub, Tamfourhill Tenants and Residents organisation and off course our ongoing delivery  partners: The Falkirk Wheelers,  Stenhousemuir FC Community Foundation and Forth Environment Link.  


There was a smooth transition in May 2023 from the Our Place Project and the Community Safety work over to the establishment of the Safer Communities Youth Action Project. The emergence of this Youth Action Project has been possible due to the funding and support of the National lotteries Young Start Programme and the Falkirk Community Schools Fund. At the conclusion of the first year the Tamfourhill Tenants and Residents Organisation are obliged to report back to the funders about the progress over the first year and to detail what has been achieved in relation to the SCYAP agreed outcomes and targets. Although these are the two core funders of the Project we have also received funding support form Forth Environment Link to support climate change activities in the community and grants from Falkirk Council holiday activities and food fund and Link Housing. Needless to say, securing funding and resources to support projects and new Youth Action activities is an ongoing process that takes time and effort from the Project staff, volunteers and the TTRO.

Climate change project with Easter Carmuirs Primary School
Planting Pollinators on the canal towpath

May 2024 then is an appropriate time to review the Projects achievements and areas of progress through year one and to also take stock and reflect upon priorities and look to where there may be gaps that need to be addressed. The ethos of work has been focused upon Youth Action which has the dual approach of benefiting local young people directly and also contributing to local community developments and improvements. We acknowledge our successes and I am very pleased to be highlight the following:
• The twilight Sports Programme delivered 35 sessions on Friday nights 6pm-9pm which were delivered at 4 venues , there are 113 young people registered onto the Programme and 730 contacts were recoded over the entire programme.
• Community development projects focussed upon climate change and environmental improvement have taken place, involving: the installation of mindfulness benches into a local park, designing and creating a wall mural from recycled plastic bottle tops and plastic bags, designing new benches along the local canal towpath. An array of conservation and biodiversity programmes were also supported which included: paddle pick-ups on the canal, community litter picks, planting pollinators, building bird boxes, planting trees & bulbs and making natured themed t shirts.
• Outdoor learning has been used in a number of contexts and sessions have been focussed upon learning Bushcraft and survival skills and using nature therapy to facilitate social and personal development opportunities for individual young people and groups.
• There has been significant partnership and collaborative work undertaken involving local community organisations and voluntary and statutory service providers.
• Support is being provided locally to set up a youth drop-in facility.
• Outreach work has been delivered in an ad hoc basis and targeted at young people 14-18 years old.
• Established a community-based Youth Action Group , involving 10 core members 10-14 years old. They have been involved with peer consultations, community arts projects and volunteering within the community.
• Designed a young people’s information leaflet with logos and priorities and a young person led Project development plan.
• 4 Youth Action Groups involving 38 young people 10-14 years old established in local schools, one of these groups was targeted at 6 specific young people who are facing challenges at school and who were causing concern within the local community.
• A young volunteer’s group has been established with 8 young people 10-15 years old.
• 28 Dynamic Youth Awards achieved through the project in year one and one Bronze Youth Achievement Award
• 12 High- 5 Awards were achieved through the Project in year one.
• 6 young people, 12 -14 years old completed their Junior Sports Leadership Award
• 31 Saltire volunteering Challenge Awards made in year one
• A 6-week summer programme 2023 delivered 27 sessions involving 135 young people 10-15 years old
• 3 community arts projects were delivered which contributed to environmental improvements and building new facilities in the community involving 63 young people 9 -14 years old.

Fab Feb Fun with this group receiving their Bushcraft and survival skills certificates at the Well Wild Project.

As year 2 rolls in , we have considerable plans and have priority areas of Youth Action that will be progressed in line with our agreed development plan. There are challenges ahead and not least having the capacity to sustain and deliver on the wide array of existing activities and the evolving opportunities that can happen for local young people. This does not all sit within the responsibilities of the SCYAP and there has to be other services and organisations playing a role with local youth provision. It is extremely positive to see the formation of the Camelon Community Group and the development of the Camelon Community Action Plan. I know that the Camelon CAP has a strong commitment to engage, involve and consult with local young people and that this will be carried out in an empathetic and empowering fashion. This augers well for the establishment of more opportunities for local young people and to recognise them as key stakeholders in the further development of the local community.
In the immediate future the SCYAP will be delivering a full summer programme 2024 and this will be published and highlighted in next month’s blog. We are also currently supporting Tamfourhill Community Hub to establish a drop in for older young people and this age group will remain a priority throughout year 2 of the Project.