WALTHAM FOREST PROJECT LEADS WAY IN DRIVE FOR FRIDAY AND SATURDAY NIGHT ACTIVITIES FOR YOUNG PEOPLE
WALTHAM FOREST PROJECT LEADS WAY IN DRIVE FOR FRIDAY AND SATURDAY NIGHT ACTIVITIES FOR YOUNG PEOPLE
- GET SET FOR OPEN WEEKEND - 10/ 11 JULY -
A Waltham Forest multi-sport training session, commissioned by the Council, is leading the way in a major campaign to give young people interesting things to do on Friday and Saturday nights. A weekend of free nationwide activities on 10 and 11 July will kick start the campaign, which is part of the Government’s Aiming High strategy for young people.
Now teenagers from around the Cathall estate in Leytonstone and across Waltham Forest have something positive to look forward to on a Friday night, thanks to a weekly evening multi-sport session.
The evening, set up by Leyton Orient Community Sports Programme (LOCSP) in February 2008, has been made possible as a result of funding from Waltham Forest Council’s Youth Opportunity Fund and through the Football Foundation ('Kickz').
Taking place at Tom Hood School in south Leytonstone it attracts around 45 young people aged between 11-19 keen to hone their sporting skills and make constructive use of their Friday nights.
Open Weekend on Friday 10 and Saturday 11 July is a key milestone for local authorities and their partners to work together to improve positive activities for young people making sure there are things to do for young people on Friday and Saturday nights, the time young people and communities say they need them the most. Under Aiming High £679m is available between 2008 and 2011, £4.3m in Waltham Forest, to ensure there are places to go and things to do for young people.
Running between 6-9pm, the Waltham Forest sessions are often supported by a number specialist LOCSP coaches including LOCSP Basketball Development Officer Robert Youngblood, who has played in the NBA and is a current English National League basketball player for the MK Lions.
With access to both indoor and outdoor space, the variety of sports and activities on offer changes throughout the year through participant feedback and suggestion, helping to ensure it is fresh, innovative and that the people keep coming back. Current activities include Football (inc. Futsal, 5-a-side, 6-a-side), Basketball, Cricket, Athletics and Handball coaching sessions and tournaments.
The session has already helped to uncover some budding sporting stars, with one young man captaining the award-winning and FA Community Charter Standard club LOASS (Leyton Orient Advanced Soccer School) reserve side, and another now training at Reading FC
However, the evening is not just about creating local sports stars. It also provides an opportunity to engage the young people in educational and training schemes. Some of them are now working towards accreditation to become sports coaches themselves; one member is now a part-time teaching assistant, helping to motivate and be a role model to the other youngsters.
There are also plans to attract more young people to the evening, in particular girls, with Street Dance, Drama, Creative Writing and DJ sessions in the pipeline.
The evening has really given the young people from Leytonstone a sense of purpose and worth, taking them off the streets and helping to reduce crime and anti-social behaviour in the area. It’s also supported by the local Metropolitan Police whose officers, alongside the PCSO Community Liaison Officers often go along to meet and engage with the young people, discussing a variety of topics and concerns.
“This project has really turned my life around and helped me cope with life on the streets. I’ve now got much better communication skills, am more confident and have become a team player. I now feel really motivated about my life and have made new friends who are supportive of me,” said an 18 year old participant.
Dawn Primarolo, Minister for Children and Young People said:
“It’s no surprise that young people want and need activities on Friday and Saturday evenings. In a recent survey 66% of young people said that more activities would do most to keep them out of trouble. And yet a recent survey of local evening provision showed that only around 15 per cent of evening activities are available on Friday evenings and just 2.5 per cent on Saturday evenings.
“The Open Weekend is a fantastic opportunity for local authorities to really look at the type of youth provision in their area and involve young people so that they are given a say in the activities on offer. We must make sure young people have things to do and places to go at the times they need them most because this is the best way to tackle the minority of young people who cause disruption. Preventing young people from getting involved in anti-social behaviour should be everyone’s responsibility and we are playing our part by making sure the support and funding is available.”
NOTES TO EDITORS
1. In July 2007 the Government announced a £679 million investment supplemented by 160million from the Children's Plan to ensure places to go and things to do for young people aged 13-19 as part of the Aiming High for Young People: A Ten Year Strategy for Positive Activities
2. Under the Aiming High strategy, nearly £4.3 million has been made available to young people in Waltham Forest between 2008 and 2011.
3. Open Weekend on Friday 10 and Saturday 11 July is part of Aiming High with a specific purpose of focusing on weekend provision especially Friday and Saturday nights, when young people and communities feel activities and facilities are most wanted and needed.
4. Experience shows that young people are more likely to get involved in positive activities when they have a say in what is available, and that taking part helps them to learn new skills, as well as divert them from behaviour that might be considered by the wider community as anti-social.
5. All local authorities receive funding from the Department for Children, Schools and Families for the Youth Opportunity and Youth Capital Funds, the purpose of which is to enable young people to make decisions about positive activities and places to go in their communities. A total of £173 million is available for YOF and YCF in England between 2008 and 2011 with an extra £25million invested to expand into the most deprived areas. Local Authorities also receive funding to provide intensive activity-based programmes targeted at young people at risk of negative outcomes such as involvement in anti-social behaviour and crime. In total the Government is investing £222 million in such programmes in England over the 2008-11 period.
6. The Open Weekend is the culmination of a week of activities to celebrate young people through Shine, the national festival to celebrate the talents in all young people taking place for the second time this year between 6-10 July 2009. Shine this year is evolving to have a stronger youth focus bringing an even higher profile to young people and their achievements. For more information visit www.shineweek.co.uk
7. More information on Aiming High is available at:
http://www.everychildmatters.gov.uk/youthmatters/aiminghigh/
- GET SET FOR OPEN WEEKEND - 10/ 11 JULY -
A Waltham Forest multi-sport training session, commissioned by the Council, is leading the way in a major campaign to give young people interesting things to do on Friday and Saturday nights. A weekend of free nationwide activities on 10 and 11 July will kick start the campaign, which is part of the Government’s Aiming High strategy for young people.
Now teenagers from around the Cathall estate in Leytonstone and across Waltham Forest have something positive to look forward to on a Friday night, thanks to a weekly evening multi-sport session.
The evening, set up by Leyton Orient Community Sports Programme (LOCSP) in February 2008, has been made possible as a result of funding from Waltham Forest Council’s Youth Opportunity Fund and through the Football Foundation ('Kickz').
Taking place at Tom Hood School in south Leytonstone it attracts around 45 young people aged between 11-19 keen to hone their sporting skills and make constructive use of their Friday nights.
Open Weekend on Friday 10 and Saturday 11 July is a key milestone for local authorities and their partners to work together to improve positive activities for young people making sure there are things to do for young people on Friday and Saturday nights, the time young people and communities say they need them the most. Under Aiming High £679m is available between 2008 and 2011, £4.3m in Waltham Forest, to ensure there are places to go and things to do for young people.
Running between 6-9pm, the Waltham Forest sessions are often supported by a number specialist LOCSP coaches including LOCSP Basketball Development Officer Robert Youngblood, who has played in the NBA and is a current English National League basketball player for the MK Lions.
With access to both indoor and outdoor space, the variety of sports and activities on offer changes throughout the year through participant feedback and suggestion, helping to ensure it is fresh, innovative and that the people keep coming back. Current activities include Football (inc. Futsal, 5-a-side, 6-a-side), Basketball, Cricket, Athletics and Handball coaching sessions and tournaments.
The session has already helped to uncover some budding sporting stars, with one young man captaining the award-winning and FA Community Charter Standard club LOASS (Leyton Orient Advanced Soccer School) reserve side, and another now training at Reading FC
However, the evening is not just about creating local sports stars. It also provides an opportunity to engage the young people in educational and training schemes. Some of them are now working towards accreditation to become sports coaches themselves; one member is now a part-time teaching assistant, helping to motivate and be a role model to the other youngsters.
There are also plans to attract more young people to the evening, in particular girls, with Street Dance, Drama, Creative Writing and DJ sessions in the pipeline.
The evening has really given the young people from Leytonstone a sense of purpose and worth, taking them off the streets and helping to reduce crime and anti-social behaviour in the area. It’s also supported by the local Metropolitan Police whose officers, alongside the PCSO Community Liaison Officers often go along to meet and engage with the young people, discussing a variety of topics and concerns.
“This project has really turned my life around and helped me cope with life on the streets. I’ve now got much better communication skills, am more confident and have become a team player. I now feel really motivated about my life and have made new friends who are supportive of me,” said an 18 year old participant.
Dawn Primarolo, Minister for Children and Young People said:
“It’s no surprise that young people want and need activities on Friday and Saturday evenings. In a recent survey 66% of young people said that more activities would do most to keep them out of trouble. And yet a recent survey of local evening provision showed that only around 15 per cent of evening activities are available on Friday evenings and just 2.5 per cent on Saturday evenings.
“The Open Weekend is a fantastic opportunity for local authorities to really look at the type of youth provision in their area and involve young people so that they are given a say in the activities on offer. We must make sure young people have things to do and places to go at the times they need them most because this is the best way to tackle the minority of young people who cause disruption. Preventing young people from getting involved in anti-social behaviour should be everyone’s responsibility and we are playing our part by making sure the support and funding is available.”
NOTES TO EDITORS
1. In July 2007 the Government announced a £679 million investment supplemented by 160million from the Children's Plan to ensure places to go and things to do for young people aged 13-19 as part of the Aiming High for Young People: A Ten Year Strategy for Positive Activities
2. Under the Aiming High strategy, nearly £4.3 million has been made available to young people in Waltham Forest between 2008 and 2011.
3. Open Weekend on Friday 10 and Saturday 11 July is part of Aiming High with a specific purpose of focusing on weekend provision especially Friday and Saturday nights, when young people and communities feel activities and facilities are most wanted and needed.
4. Experience shows that young people are more likely to get involved in positive activities when they have a say in what is available, and that taking part helps them to learn new skills, as well as divert them from behaviour that might be considered by the wider community as anti-social.
5. All local authorities receive funding from the Department for Children, Schools and Families for the Youth Opportunity and Youth Capital Funds, the purpose of which is to enable young people to make decisions about positive activities and places to go in their communities. A total of £173 million is available for YOF and YCF in England between 2008 and 2011 with an extra £25million invested to expand into the most deprived areas. Local Authorities also receive funding to provide intensive activity-based programmes targeted at young people at risk of negative outcomes such as involvement in anti-social behaviour and crime. In total the Government is investing £222 million in such programmes in England over the 2008-11 period.
6. The Open Weekend is the culmination of a week of activities to celebrate young people through Shine, the national festival to celebrate the talents in all young people taking place for the second time this year between 6-10 July 2009. Shine this year is evolving to have a stronger youth focus bringing an even higher profile to young people and their achievements. For more information visit www.shineweek.co.uk
7. More information on Aiming High is available at:
http://www.everychildmatters.gov.uk/youthmatters/aiminghigh/
posted by Leyton Orient Community Sports Programme at
Monday, June 22, 2009
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