TEENAGERS - KICKING YOUR HEELS?

TEENAGERS - KICKING YOUR HEELS?

If so would you like to join the Armadillo zoom sessions, where you can meet up on line and take part in all sorts of social activities. Run by the team who run the Armadillo, funded by Yate Town Council - its FREE

Positive activities for young people - South Glos consultation

South Gloucestershire Council is looking for new ways to deliver positive activities for young people and want to get a better picture of what youth activities (youth clubs, centres, detached and mobile work etc) are needed and where they should be, as well as how they should be provided within available resources.  

In other words, what should South Glos be spending its limited youth budget on?

A needs assessment of young people has been completed and from this South Glos have proposed some areas that they think should be considered for future council funded youth provision. They are now seeking views from young people, organisations and/or potential providers of positive activities. The consultation period runs until Wednesday 15 November 2017 and all the documentation can be accessed here:

https://consultations.southglos.gov.uk/consult.ti/PAYP2017

There are three different surveys - they are keen to hear from everybody:

• Survey for children and young people 
• Survey for service providers 
• Survey for the wider community, including parents and carers, professionals, local residents and organisations

South Glos are keen to ensure that they have both general comments and comments specific to youth provision in the areas you might cover. If any groups would like somebody to attend and present/discuss the proposals, please contact Sharon Adams  (email sharon.adams@southglos.gov.uk or telephone 01454 862549) and she’ll try to arrange for somebody to do that.

New Youth Bus for Yate

Yate Town Council has launched a new Youth Bus sothat youth workers can get out and about and  keep in contact with local youngsters aroud the town. The bus is called the Urbie - the Urban Vehicle for Information and Education - and it replaces an older, smaller vehicle that the Town Council used successfully for many years.

Yate Town Council are very grateful for the support of local organisations and businesses including Merlin Housing Society, the Avon and Somerset Police Community Trust, Renishaw, One Stop Carriers for Causes, Sodbury and Yate Business Association and Yate and District Rotary Club.

Street art project for Abbotswood underpass

Abbotswood Action Group are organising a street art project in the underpass by the precinct. The project will be led by an organisation called Paintsmiths. The dates for the project are as follows:

• Workshops at the Youth club: Friday 7th July, Tuesday 11th of July (7pm to 9pm)
• Workshops at the shops: Monday 24th 11am to 1:30pm and Tuesday 25th (5pm to 7:30pm)
• Painting In the Underpass during the week of: Monday 24th to Friday 28th July

More information about Paintsmiths can be found here: http://www.paintsmiths.org/

Abbotswood Action Group would love to see anyone who is interested at the workshops.

It's actually 30 years since the previous mural was done - local people of a certain age will remember the alien with a basketball. Does anyone have any photos of it? If so, please email paul.hulbert@gmail.com - if they're prints, we would be happy to scan them and let you have the prints back.

Many young people not registered to vote - but there's still time

Young people aged 17 or 18 are being urged to register to vote in time for the General Election on 8th June.

New figures just released by the Electoral Reform Society show that the proportion of school leavers on the electoral roll dropped by over a quarter between 2013 and 2016 – with most of these missing voters now eligible to vote in this election. Shockingly, in one parliamentary constituency 75% of young people are not on the voting register. This follows the change from registration by household, to each voter having to register individually.

Claire Young, Liberal Democrat candidate for the Thornbury and Yate parliamentary consituency, said:

"This election is about the type of country we want to live in, a chance to change Britain's future. Young people will be living with the results for many years to come. It's vital that they get a say in that future"

"Whatever your age, if you haven't already registered, you need to do so before 11:59pm on 22 May if you want to be able to vote in the General Election on 8 June. You can do it online at www.gov.uk/register-to-vote - you may need to have your National Insurance number at hand to prove who you are"

Every Little Helps for local causes

Bags of Help is Tesco’s community grant scheme  where the money raised from the 5p bag charge is being used to fund thousands of local projects.

This month the choices at our local Tesco include two very valuable projects in our area:

• The Armadillo Youth Venue and Cafe are aiming to create a green sporty space featuring fruit and veg growing boxes to promote healthy eating
• St Nicholas Under 15 Girls Football Team hope to buy winter kit and football equipment to keep their players warm and dry while training.

If you find you need to buy a 5p bag, please consider using your token to support one of these very valuable causes.

Introduction to Youth Work course

Interested in youth work? Find out more on this Introduction to Youth Work course - details below.

Dodington Free Holiday Playscheme starts this week

Dodington Parish Council's annual Summer Playscheme for Ages 5 to 11 starts this week:

Dodington Parish Hall, Finch Road
Monday 1 August to Friday 5 August

Abbotswood Primary School, Kelston Close
Monday 8 August to Friday 12 August and
Monday 15 August to Friday 19 August



Session time 9.30 am to 1.15 pm
Maximum of 56 children per session
First come, first served!

Budget - council tax up, services cut

Council tax will go up by 3.99% in the coming year, but services such as youth provision and libraries face cuts.

After funding from the Government had been slashed more than expected, at the last minute they offered South Glos some additional one-off money. The Liberal Democrats proposed using some of it to protect youth services and Chipping Sodbury library.

Instead, the Tories funnelled the cash into a 50p a month cut in the green bin charge, less than the price of a chocolate bar.

The Liberal Democrat amendment proposed maintaining the Positive Activities Fund for youth services at the current level, instead of the quarter million pound cuts proposed by the Tories. The youth fund will be cut for each of the next three years, meaning fewer sessions and activities for young people across South Gloucestershire. The amendment would also would have kept Chipping Sodbury Library open for an extra year, giving the local community more time to find a long term solution.

The Liberal Democrats believe in enabling everyone to fulfil their potential in life, whatever their background. Universal youth services are a vital part of this - reaching out to teenagers who may be alienated from school, offering health advice and emotional support and giving our young people a positive focus. The wider community also benefits from supporting our young people. Libraries too are about more than just access to books - they offer many other activities and services, including access to computers for people of all ages to use for studying, applying for jobs and accessing services.

The Conservative councillors largely remained silent, refusing to explain why they felt a small reduction in the green bin charge was more important than youth services, libraries, PCSOs on the beat and a whole string of other ways the money could have been spent. Before the election, we challenged them to explain what they would cut instead, now we know.

You can read how our local paper covered it here.

Witches Hat play area officially opened

The revamped Witches Hat play area was opened yesterday by Cllr Wully Perks, the Mayor of Yate.

And here's a satisfied customer testing the slide!

There will be a free onsite workshop event on Sunday 10th May from 10.00 am until 4.00 pm, with lots of different activities. There is a chance that the mini skate park may be open by then too, it all depends on that part arriving.

Witches Hat playground to open tomorrow (Friday May 1st)

The newly refurbished Witches Hat playground will be officially opened at 4 pm tomorrow. All young people welcome!

The new mini skate will open the following week on Friday 8th May, and there will be a free onsite workshop event on Sunday 10th May from 10.00am to 4.00pm. 

Update 1/5/2015:  The mini skate park will now open around 12 May becasue they're waiting for a vital part. We'll keep you posted.

Update  2/5/2015: The workshop event will still take place on Sunday 10th May from 10.00 am until 4.00 pm, with lots of different activities. There is a chance hat the mini skate park may be open by then too, it all depends on that part arriving.

New Youth Cafe session for LBGTQ (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Questioning)

There's a new monthly Youth Cafe session in Yate for young people aged 14-19 who identify as Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans or Questioning. It will run at the Armadillo from 7pm to 9 pm on the last Sunday of every month, starting on Sunday 26 April.

Social initiatives grants from Frome Vale Area Forum

Some of the Community Grants from the Frome Vale Area Forum will go towards what could broadly be called "social initiatives" - projects to make people's lives a little bit better:

Yate Town Council's Dementia Friendly Towns Initiative and Community Car Share Scheme £3000

This grant will extend the work of the Development Worker in the areas of promoting dementia awareness and organising a community car scheme to provide a much needed resource for frail and vulnerable people.

Armadillo Youth Venue and Cafe - Apprenticeship £3000

The grant will contribute towards an already successful apprenticeship  scheme, part funding the cost of a Business Administration Apprentice for a year while they study for an NVQ level 2/3.

Sodbury and District Twinning Association - Youth Petanque project £475 

This money will part-fund an imaginative project for Key Stage 3 students and their families. It provides sport, French language and social skills, including pupils with special educational needs. Young people in Chipping Sodbury and Cesson are taking part in a project to talk about common topics and their cultures.

Cabinet Office Minister visits Armadillo

Cabinet Office Minister Mr Francis Maude visited the Armadillo Yate Youth Cafe on Thursday, February 12 to look round and to meet Yate councillors and young people to learn about youth engagement in the area.

MP Steve Webb also attended the visit to the social space for young people aged between 11 and 19,  and was shown a short film made by young people from the cafe called ‘Yate is Great’, a documentary promoting Yate.

Mr Maude was clearly impressed. He described the Armadillo as a "fantastic place" and said how important it is for towns to have social enterprises like this.

Steve Webb said:”I think it was a great opportunity for Francis to come and see what’s going on here and especially talk to some of the volunteers and young people. It was great to hear feedback from them, and what really came across was the mutual respect here between all the young people and the staff and a sense of ownership"

To find out more about the venue visit www.yatearmadillo.co.uk

If you haven't looked around the Armadillo, it's well worth a visit. Even if you're over 19,  you can look around on Saturday mornings when it is open for refreshments and a film, and on Thursdays you can have coffee and cake group with a film show.

 

Young people's project at Lilliput Park

Several projects have come to fruition recently at Lilliput Park. Dodington Parish Council and local young people have been celebrating the success of projects in the local community. SAY - the Social Action Youth Project - has involved young people working with residents to enhance the local area.

Around 15 young people from Chipping Sodbury School consulted local people about enhancements to Lilliput Park, and then they designed and painted benches which have been sited near the play area, and created a mosaic as a new entrance feature for the park.

Other young people have been working with residents in an elderly people's home in Yate.

The SAY Project was organised and led by Southern Brooks partnership, and some of the young people have used the project to gain qualifications in Youth Work. Dodington Parish Council provided practical support in installing the mosaic and the benches.

At a celebration event in Dodington Parish Hall, Cllr Paul Hulbert told the young people "We were very impressed by your imagination and hard work. You really engaged with the people who live near the park, and you've carried the concept through to a very pleasing result. You should be very proud of what you've achieved"

St Nicks Youth Centre to reopen Friday 13 Feb

Focus Team members celebrate the good news

Some great news about St Nicks Youth Centre - thanks to a lot of work by members of the Focus Team and Yate Town Council, the Youth Centre will reopen on Friday 13 February. They've raised the funds, found a leader and recruited the staff.

The session will run from 7 pm to 9 pm, for ages 11 to 18, entry 50 pence.

And there will be free pizza at the opening night!

You can take part in lots of activities - football, cooking, arts and crafts - or just chill with your mates.

For any further information please contact Cath Challinor on 07909 744853.

FREE basketball sessions to start at Abbotswood next Wednesday

Are you aged 14+ and want to play basketball?

Then join these sessions on Wednesdays at St Nics Youth Centre (Abbotswood) from 28 January

The sessions run from 6.30 to 7.30 pm - learn basketball skills and play friendly games.

The sessions are completely FREE so come along and join in!

For more information contact sport@southglos.gov.uk or call 01454 865821

Scouts to launch new youth provision at Abbotswood

The Gazette has reported that the young leaders at 1st Abbotswood Scout Group are launching a programme with new ideas and monthly activities to attract newcomers. This is against the background of youth services recently stopping at St Nicholas Youth Centre due to lack of funding.

See the Gazette report here for full details.

We previously reported the St Nix youth centre closure here - we'll update you on this blog as soon as we have news about replacement provisions.

Major improvements on the way for Witches Hat Play Area

Focus Team members "hanging about"
at Witches Hat Play Area

Yate councillors have raised £148,000 to refurbish the Witches Hat play area at the corner of Westerleigh Road and Rodford Way, and to put in skateboarding facilities.

The council's youth survey in 2013 discovered that many young people wanted facilities for skate boarding, BMX and scooters in South Yate.

Yate Town Council hope the development will be completed by April. The total cost of this development is around £148,000 in total and the council has secured £100,000 of funding from South Gloucestershire Council from the New Homes Bonus, with the remainder coming from a variety of sources.

Councillor John Ford, who has led the project, said: ' We've spent over a year working with young people and residents to design exactly what they wanted - to make sure we use the money effectively".

The play area is owned by Yate Town Council. The new scheme will add to the current equipment at this well used play area. It will include new fencing between the play area and nearby housing, an entry level skateboard circuit, new equipment for toddlers, a sandpit and teen shelter.

"The biggest call from young people was for skateboarding - for younger users, Peg Hill is too far away for beginners to travel so we've worked with users to design a local entry level scheme."

The development of the plans for both the skate park and the refreshed play area were developed in conjunction with local residents and park users across a total of six informal consultation events.

After public consultations, the plans will include a small entry level skate circuit, new toddler equipment set into a sand pit, a teen shelter and a fence around the park which can be locked at night.

In early 2004, the Witches Hat Play Area was refurbished with new equipment, and access routes were improved. Some of the equipment caters for wheelchair users. In addition, a kickabout/basketball area is located adjacent to the play equipment.

Weather permitting, the development is planned to be completed by Easter.

Shock as St Nick’s Youth Club Closes

Local Focus Team members - not happy about
the situation, but trying to find a solution

Despite today's very good news there are still problems the community is working on at Abbotswood. With less than 2 days warning on the Friday before Christmas the SGYI charity running the youth club at St Nicholas Family Centre closed - after 45 years of service to our community. We owe a massive debt as a community to all those who have run it in that time.

We were devastated to get the news it was closing - and were only told the day before it closed its doors. Young people, and generations of young people before them have relied upon this facility.  People should not blame the charity - we know they did not take this decision lightly, and they found it a painful decision. The most important thing is to think about the young people and to focus on getting the place open again as soon as possible.

As soon as we were told, members of the Focus Team set about looking for another organisation who could get the doors open again and before Christmas had got Yate Town Council lined up to help. Because of all the legal issues it is going to take a while, but we really hope youth work can be restarted at Abbotswood with Council help.

The church have kindly agreed to provide the premises, and the Town Council has agreed to make money available.   We are looking for a new organisation who will re-open it as soon as possible and will be doing all we can to make that happen. If any readers can suggest organisations who could do so, please ask them to contact the Town Council quickly on 01454 866506. 

Meanwhile, we’ve asked for the Detached Youth Team and the Urbi bus to spend all their time at Abbotswood - so young people at least have someone to turn to there, whilst this is sorted out.   And of course young people are welcome at the Armadillo.

If you know of an organisation who might be willing to help, in the short or long term, please call Tony Davis or Paul Hulbert.