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