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

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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.

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Twilight Sports Winter  Programme , Youth Participation in October  and our Awards ceremony:

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The Clocks have gone back, and the nights are fare drawing in and that means it’s time for the SCYAP Twilight Sports Winter Programme to begin, which again this year will be hosted by Tamfourhill Community Hub. I would like to convey our thanks and gratitude to the Camelon Community Sports Hub who awarded us a grant a few months back to cover our winter programme 2025/26.

This funding injection from the Camelon Sports Hub  coincides with the ending of our 3 years funding from the Falkirk Community Schools Fund 2008 ,which has been the main source of support for all of our youth action programmes and activities and not least the Twilight Sports Programme. This funding support has been in place since the Twilights Sports was established after an initial pilot phase back in  2022 . Having met with the Falkirk Schools Fund Trustees relatively recently we are unclear when further funding from them will become available and indeed whether a continuing application would be successful or not. At this stage we can only thank the Falkirk Schools fund for their significant financial commitment over the previous 3-year period and also be equally grateful that the local community sport Hub similarly recognises the  worth and benefits of this unique form of community-based youth provision. The longer-term aim is to be able to sustain and further develop the programme over the next few years. I will of course keep the community and all our partners and stakeholders  updated with all potential options and  developments. For the time being lets  look forward to a 12-week winter indoor programme starting on Friday 31st October as detailed below and with the full involvement of our partners the Falkirk Wheelers , FEL, our young football coach, the regular volunteers and staff and the fantastic support from Tamfourhill Community Hub.

The October holidays afforded lots of opportunities to progress both the Youth Participation Project and the interlinked Right to Play Article 31 activities  over at the Games Court in Easter Carmuirs. An initial game of rounders involving 12 local young people and 3 members of staff got the ball rolling in many directions. We chalked up different methods for choosing teams and getting games started, and the game of rounders was nonstop laughter and some competitiveness as eventually  bad light stopped play. We reconvened for three days on the 15th, 16th and 17th October and began the process of taking the ideas from the Rounders evening and converting them into hand painted decorative signage which will now be mounted onto the Games Court perimeter fencing. Oot Skoot you are oot, Rock, paper scissors, knots and crosses and a new scoreboard for the cage will all feature along with some of the play images created by the Participation group through their consultation event at Lock 16 back in September.

Our Volunteering Matters Action Earth Project made significant progress in Easter Carmuirs park on Monday 13th October where  our volunteers Rachel and Alex led on a very busy bat and bug box building workshop. Six new boxes were constructed involving 12 volunteers, mainly young people and younger children  but also a couple of family teams. It was also really positive that most of the SCYAP volunteers  took part in the Green Action Trusts Neighbourhood trees project through a workshop conducted around the park. We would like to convey our thanks to our colleagues at Under the Trees who  made a huge contribution to a successful Wild Connections Falkirk’s Greener Future locally in the Easter Carmuirs Public Park.

The outdoor learning theme for this week was also explored and enjoyed by members of our Youth Participation Group who spent an afternoon at the Well Wild Project in the Rough Castle Woods. The Group learnt how to build and start a fire with flint and steel and then how to manage that fire safely to cook a chicken casserole. Using tools was another feature of the session and we also made time  for some nature therapy and off course time to play in the woods and reminding ourselves of Article 31 the Right to Play and to play safely and manage risks.  

On Thursday 16th we held a wonderful Youth  Awards ceremony for family and friends at Tamfourhill Community Hub. Well done and a massive congratulations to all the young people who received their Youth Awards Certificates at the Awards ceremony. High 5, Dynamic & Youth achievement and Saltire Awards. A very sincere well done from everybody at SCYAP, the TTRO and Tamfourhill Community Hub. Most of these awards were gained through young people’s  involvement over the Summer Programme 2025 but there was also some longer-term outstanding volunteering commitments being recognised and it was with a sense of personal pride and joy that we made all of these awards. What an amazing group of young people all committed to Youth Action and developing their own skills, knowledge and experiences. Youth Scotland

And finally, as always I like to conclude on a happy note, I am therefore very  excited to announce that the SCYAP funding application to FEL Climate Action Next Steps fund was successful. This was a strong application based on the implementation of our Community Climate Action Plan and the priorities and key themes identified by young people themselves at  our climate action events held back in February and March of this year. Its very uplifting to recognise that FEL have supported our climate action events and the work of the Climate Action Core Group over the last 3 years and have now further invested in the young people of Tamfourhill, Camelon  and Bantaskin to make significant positive contributions to local climate action.

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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.

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Light Nights and Twilight Sports and the launch of the Camelon CAP

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The seasons seem to move so quickly and with the arrival of the lighter nights and with such an amazing spring we have speedily arrived at the start of this year’s Twilight Sports Programme. We  look forward to  welcoming lots of regular faces and hopefully plenty of new ones to the opening session on Friday 30th May 6pm-9pm in Easter Carmuirs park. Once again we will have the Falkirk Wheelers providing the Skating and the football  being provided in conjunction with Stenhousemuir FC Community Foundation. The full programme is detailed below and over the 12 weeks we will have all the usual big games , food and drink , a monthly barbecue, nature based and creative activities and Forth Environment Links  Dr Bike in attendance for 6 weeks of the programme providing their fabulous bike maintenance service. Dr Bike along with our regular visits from the Fire and Rescue Service and community police officers are  reminders of this programmes community safety approach. The origins of the Twilights sports are to be found in the Our Place Community Safety Strategy for Camelon and Tamfourhill and we continue to align the Twilight Programme to that purpose. This is achieved  through  providing local young people a safe place to socialise, take part  in games and  sport , form positive relationships  with the different services and link into other community learning opportunities all on Friday nights in local public parks.

The Community safety strategy remains a relevant framework for supporting wider  local Youth Action, and that has been reflected over the last six months with the SCYAP and local young people’s  ongoing role and involvement  with developing and  confirming the Camelon Community Action Plan. The Falkirk Community Planning Partnership describes  a community action plan (CAP) as a participatory tool that helps community members identify and address the problems, needs, and potential within their community. It also aims to encourage community involvement and management of their environment. A community action plan can include various programs and activities that are designed to improve the quality of life and well-being of the community The Camelon CAP was officially launched last Tuesday evening 20TH May in the Forth Valley Sensory Centre and it was an amazing experience for some of the young people involved with SCYAP , along with members of our Youth Action Group , young people from the local primary schools, staff and volunteers to all attend the multi-agency community launch and provide three youth action stalls.  I cannot praise the young people highly enough, they were brilliant ambassadors for their peers, schools, youth project and the community and they provided a real sense of community participation throughout the event. The Link to the Camelon CAP is below:

Click to access CamCAP-Apr2025.pdf

Our Community artist was also in attendance at the launch and aligned to the CAP ethos and its engagement process we showcased our two big community arts and environmental improvement projects. The nature, active travel mural and totem pole installations for  Camelon Railway  Station were well received by the leader of the Council and the representatives of the other organisations and the mural in particular also received lots of interest from local people. The benches and planter for Easter Carmuirs Park  was also very  popular and people got a chance to add their decorative prints to a scaled version of the bench. There is a diary of sessions and workshops for community involvement and participation  with the Railway  Station project , young people  just turn up at the workshops at Tamfourhill Community Hub and the sessions at the railway station will  operate on a drop-in basis. The plan is to hold an official  opening of the Railway station art installations along with an  active travel day in mid-July, and we will off course publicise that day’s events and how you can get involved. I would like to personally thank Scotrail for their funding towards this project and the support of Network Rail.  

programme details community arts at Camelon Railway stationDownload

Our third stall was presented by our young volunteer Leo Cierpikowski and highlighted and celebrated our various Youth Awards programmes and activities. Leo himself has recently begun his Silver Youth Achievement Award after successfully gaining his Bronze. His Silver challenge is focussed upon further  developing his leadership skills and community involvement. This young man is an outstanding role model and community activist and can have a significant leadership role with the relvevant aspects of the Camelon CAP.    

The SCYAP Summer Programme 2025 is scheduled to begin on July 4th, and it will be a programme that includes creativity, community projects, outdoor learning and an overnight survival experience, canal-based activities and lots of summer fun in the park. In next month’s blog I will publish the full programme and details of how to get booked onto the sessions.

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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.  

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Please support the proposed Youth Work (Scotland) Bill , here is how

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A happy and guid new year to everyone.

I want to start our first blog of the new  year by emphasising the importance of youth work  and the positive  contributions it makes to both young people and the wider community. I have spent the last year writing Blogs that highlight  the successes of our Youth Action Projects and activities and the benefits to both the young people and the community. At every opportunity I have flagged up and reiterated that our Youth Action approach is underpinned by the dual benefits it affords to young people and the wider community.  In this respect I want to encourage as many people as possible to contribute to the consultation that is currently taking place in relation to  the proposed Youth Work (Scotland) Bill. This is a Private Members Bill, and it will therefore require after the consultation process is completed, the support of at least 18 cross Party MSPS’s, after which the  proposals will move through the 3-stage scrutiny process before eventually coming before our parliament, to hopefully be confirmed as a new Act. The deadline to respond to the consultation is 31st March 2025:  Here is the link to the draft Bill and the consultation:   https://www.parliament.scot/bills-and-laws/proposals-for-bills/proposed-youth-work-scotland-bill

The Safer Communities Youth Action Project is concerned and completely focussed upon achieving these key outcomes:

  • Young People will have better connections with the wider community
  • Young people will improve their mental and physical health and wellbeing
  • Young people will have increased opportunities to take part in activities that address community safety and reduces their risk taking.
  • Young people will increase their social skills, confidence to learn and levels of attainment.
  • Young people will grow as active citizens, expressing their voice and enabling change.

I am advocating that the adoption of this Bill into Scots law will provide a legal basis and a mandatory commitment for our services, agencies, community organisations and governments to ensure these key outcomes and similar aspirations are delivered universally throughout  Scotland. I am being overtly political and requesting your support for this Bill through responding to the consultation, and here are some of the reasons I believe this is a good idea for both our young people and our communities:  

The Key Objectives of the proposed Bill would include:

  1. Universal Access: Mandating youth work services to be available to all young people aged 11–25, with particular focus on targeted support for disadvantaged groups.  
  1. Equity and Fairness: Breaking down systemic barriers to ensure youth work is inclusive and accessible, regardless of geography or background. 
  1. Sustainability: Establishing a dedicated Youth Work Fund to ensure consistent, high-quality service delivery across Scotland.  

The Bill mandates that local authorities develop comprehensive Youth Work strategies that align with a National Youth Work Strategy and address the specific needs of their communities.

These strategies will be required to:

• Reflect the voices of young people, involving them directly in shaping

services.

• Respect young people’s rights under the UN Convention on the Rights

of the Child (UNCRC) by ensuring their right to participate, develop,

and access support.

• Integrate youth work with broader community services, including

education, health, and social care, for a holistic approach.

• Establish sustainable funding models to maintain resilient and

adaptable youth work services

The alignment between our own key outcomes and the above proposed strategies are both consistent and complimentary.  

The consultation asks questions around a number of themes relating to the Bill, firstly it asks the reasons why we believe legislation is required, SCYAP responded:

There is a need for Youth work to be a statutory service and to have professional parity with other educational and social work provisions, and this is required consistently throughout Scotland. It will ensure that the voices and contributions of young people have a statutory footing, especially in terms of how future services are resourced, planned, provided and delivered. Youth Empowerment will in effect be embedded in law and statute. 

Secondly the cost and financial  impacts upon other public services and  businesses of making  Youth work a legal right for every young  Scot with its own ring-fenced mandatory budget  is questioned, SCYAP highlighted the following:

 Making strategic and sustained investments in youth work and ensuring that young people’s services are delivered collaboratively and in partnership will make significant savings to other public sector budgets, including Health, Criminal justice and education. The contributions of young people will have significant financial benefits to the wider community and most importantly much of this will be social capital through improved community cohesion and active citizenship.

How would this proposed Bill relate to and impact upon equalities, SCYAP Stated:

This Bill would require to be inclusive and remove barriers to involvement whether they are by age, gender, poverty, race, geography, sexual orientation and so on. The Law would by necessity have to mitigate exclusion and ensure that all sectors of the youth population were able to access appropriate services and opportunities equitably and on their own terms. 

A new law can impact on work to protect and enhance the environment, achieve a sustainable economy, and create a strong, healthy, and just society for future generations, How should this Bill relate to sustainability and protecting the environment, SCYAP highlighted

Undoubtedly there will be an impact upon the environment and the aim of improved sustainability, this Bill will need to give cognizance to Scotland’s journey to Net Zero whilst also aiming to create a tolerant, inclusive and equitable society. Youth work needs to champion these values and aspirations, and this Bill must be an enabler of these conditions and standards. The Bill should be concerned with promoting young people’s involvement with the outdoors, of its therapeutic values and our responsibility to conserve and facilitate environmental improvements. Climate action should be a central facet of all community-based youth activities, and this should be aligned to a strategic climate action commitment

 Any finally , SCYAP offered a summary statement of support:

This is a unique opportunity to enshrine youth empowerment and youth action in Scottish statute and it should be progressed. Scotland can be greatly improved nation through active engagement with young people and by communities taking greater ownership of their own development. This Bill must embrace those values through a national strategic commitment to youth work and youth action. Funding should be ring fenced and protected for this to happen; however, it should be devolved to local decision making as much as possible and avoid a recentralization of control by Local authorities. The third sector can play a crucial role, and funding needs to be sensitive to local dynamics and opportunities which can include young people making significant budgetary decisions.

Finally, a reminder that our Twilight Sport programme continues throughout  January and into February and won’t be interrupted by the installation of the Tamfourhill Community  Hubs new low carbon energy and heating  system and upgraded with new toilets. The full programme is below:

In next month’s blog I hope to be able to introduce 2 new community development  projects for Camelon and a review of recent groupwork with local young people.

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Camelon Action Plan , Youth Empowerment and Climate Action.   

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This is my last Blog of 2024 , and I would like to finish the year on a positive  and upbeat tone. I will be highlighting the recent Youth Action work with young people where we have provided opportunities for giving them a meaningful  voice within the Camelon Community Action Plan and in their achievements through gaining various national Youth Awards.

The Camelon Community Action Plan is concerned with confirming  a 10-year strategy and vision for Camelon that includes local improvements and priorities that are agreed by the local community. This process is well aligned to the SCYAP Key Outcome: Young people becoming active citizens, expressing their views and enabling change and Young People having better connections with the community.

SCYAP therefore worked with the Councils Community Planning  Officer and facilitated a number of youth engagement workshops  with P7 classes at Carmuirs and Easter Carmuirs primary schools and young people who attended the Twilight Sports in Easter Carmuirs Park. A wide array of aspirations were documented through a mapping and photo auditing process, some of these issues will form a part of the finalised CAP but there were also a number of specific local youth action  projects which SCYAP is now very enthusiastic to move forward.

  • The installation of new benches and planters  into Easter Carmuirs Park based on the mindfulness benches that the Youth Action Group designed and installed for the Basketball Court and Park in Tamfourhill back in 2023. This Project will hopefully be taken forward in early 2025 by Easter Carmuirs Primary 7 class as part of their Youth Action in the Community Programme. There will be further community consultation about these benches and this process and how to get involved will be highlighted on our social media in the new year.
  • In addition, the P7 Class will also be clearing up the park and  planting an orchard in Easter Carmuirs Park as part of  the Community Volunteering Action Earth Project which is funded by Nature Scot.
  • Carmuirs Primary School P7 and the Youth Action Group will both potentially  be contributing to a community arts project at Camelon Railway Station along with other environmental improvements and biodiversity activities at the railway  station and other local green spaces in Camelon.

              

It was with great pleasure that on Friday 6th December that I awarded 14 Dynamic Youth Awards to young people who had gained these awards through their involvement on our Summer Programme 2024, this included the Community arts project; The fantastic animals woodland trail, The Junior Sports Leadership Award and the Bushcraft and overnight survival programme. This is a great credit to all the young people, and I would want to also give special mention to Jorga Muir who earned 2 Three Star Dynamic Youth Awards and Leo Cierpikowski who received a certificate of distinction for his  outstanding contributions to local youth action. The awards ceremony took place at Tamfourhill Community Hub and was attended by parents, families and friends and included a  power point presentation from Jorga and a display of photographs from  the various award activities that took place over the summer.   

I have previously highlighted in our blog and  Facebook page the new partnership we have agreed with the Scottish Federation of Coarse Angling which has arisen from an interest amongst  young people in fishing the local canals. This programme is a further accredited opportunity for the 8 young people in the Group and we started with  a session in the Hub where we learnt how to set up a float rig and make a loop knot. Unfortunately, due to the freezing conditions we have had to cancel our planned trips to Magiscroft Coarse Fishery, however we will reschedule this trip for the new year along with other indoor sessions looking at fishing tackle and techniques.  

I have previously written about our plans to relaunch the Community Climate Action Plan for Camelon and Tamfourhill and I am now able to confirm the dates for three young person led Climate Action events which will form the basis for the Plans  relaunch:  

  • Friday 7th February 2025 10am-2pm in Tamfourhill Community Hub: P7 local primary schools.
  • Sunday 23rd February 2025 11am – 3pm in Tamfourhill Community Hub: Young people From the local area.
  • Friday 7th March 2025 10am-2pm in Tamfourhill Community Hub SI & S2 from FHS

Staying on the Climate Action theme there is  great news  that Tamfourhill Community Hub has begun installing a  sustainable  and renewable energy efficient system  which  includes cavity wall and roof insulation , positioning  solar panels on the roof of the building and with a ASHP heat pump system along with a number of new energy efficiency measures and a battery storage system. The Tamfourhill Energy Efficiency and Net Zero project  received 80% funding from the Scottish Governments Community and Renewable Energy Scheme (CARES) with 15% match funding also  being  secured from the Scottish Power Networks Net Zero Fund. This really is a success story with the Hub leading the way in Falkirk district on Scotland’s journey to net zero, this project will have significant positive environmental impacts, reducing our  carbon footprint whilst massively reducing the Hubs energy costs.  This project was originally stated as a longer-term aim of the Local Community Climate Action Plan which was also linked to the local community safety strategy so on many levels both  personal and professional I am overjoyed to have played a supporting role with the Hubs committee in bringing this environmentally  progressive project to its actual realisation.  

Finally on behalf of the staff and volunteers at the Safer Communities Youth Action Project and the Tamfourhill Tenants and Residents Organisation we wish everyone a very merry Christmas  and a guid new year.    

community

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

bighosie

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

bighosie

 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

Summer Programme 2024, Tackling climate change with Tamfourhill Community Hubs journey to net zero and supporting creative recycling youth action:

bighosie

Tackling climate change and facilitating local environmental improvement are the keynote highlights of this month’s Safer Communities Youth Action Projects blog.

The great news is that Tamfourhill Community Hub has secured sufficient funding to retrofit the building with a  sustainable  and renewable energy efficient system  which will see the installation of solar panels on the roof of the building with a ASHP heat pump system along with a number of new energy efficiency measures and a battery storage system. The Tamfourhill Energy Efficiency and Net Zero project has received 80% funding from the Scottish Governments Community and Renewable Energy Scheme (CARES) with 15% match funding being recently secured from the Stirling and Clackmannanshire Environmental Trust and the final 5% being committed by the National lottery’s new Awards for All programme. This really is a success story with the Hub leading the way in Falkirk district on Scotland’s journey to net zero, this project will have significant positive environmental impacts, reducing our local carbon footprint whilst massively reducing the Hubs energy costs.  This project was originally stated as a longer-term aim of the Local Community Climate Action Plan which was also linked to the local community safety strategy so on many levels both  personal and professional I am overjoyed to have played a supporting role with the Hubs committee in bringing this environmentally  progressive project to its actual realisation.      

It is then absolutely fitting that the new recycled plastic bottle lid mural was formally unveiled on the exterior wall of the Tamfourhill Community Hub  on Thursday  6th June  

 Reduce, Reuse & Recycle:

Tackling Climate change through creative Youth Action in Camelon & Tamfourhill

The Safer Communities Youth Action Project in collaboration with community artist  Sarah Diver have been tackling climate change through creativity and Youth Action. Groups of young people have been out litter picking around Lock 14 on the Forth & Clyde Canal and other locations in Camelon and Tamfourhill to survey the number of plastics and other significant forms of litter that are being discarded. The bigger plan was to come up with innovative ways to recycle plastics into a useful and decorative community-based arts project. The recycled plastic bottle top mural is both an artistic creation which will brighten up the external wall of the Tamfourhill Community Hub  and a hands-on way of exploring climate change and environmental damage through direct action. This has been a great learning experience for the groups from Carmuirs Primary School, Falkirk High School and the Community based  Youth Action Group. Young people made posters located at school and at Tamfourhill Community Hub to collect bottle lids for the artwork. School groups attended led walks and litter picks and identified things in their local area which were important for them to protect including: animals, birds, insects, trees,  plant life and importantly each other.  The finished mural was officially opened on Thursday 6th June when the young people from Carmuirs Primary School created their own commemorative badges  made entirely from  recycled plastic. The Project has been part funded by Forth Environment Links Climate Change Seed  funding  and  the Falkirk Community School Fund 2008.  The mural project forms part of a wider conservation, biodiversity  and Climate Change Project which has been developed and delivered by the local Youth Action Project . This has involved wild gardening and planting pollinators, tree planting in local parks and paddle pickups on the canal  as part of the national upstream battle to stop plastics getting into our waterways. #Upstreambattle

Summer Programme 2024

We have another summer of exciting youth action planned and much of this programme has been funded through the Scottish Governments School Holiday Food and Activity fund. There are opportunities for 12–16-year-olds to get involved with community arts projects, a junior sports leadership award,  an overnight survival challenge with the Well Wild project, angling, water-based activities on the canal and some nature, conservation and cooking based activities. Every young person who is registered onto the programme will be given an opportunity to use the summer programme as the basis to gain either a High Five or Dynamic Youth Award with some of the young volunteers working towards their Youth Achievement Awards, to book onto the activities please go to this link:  

https://tamfourhill-gymnastics-club.classforkids.io/

The full programme with booking information is detailed below:

 

Summer fun in the outdoors 2023