Blaenau Gwent Youth Service is continuing to provide a vital service to the young people of the county borough, a meeting of the Education & Learning Scrutiny Committee has been told.
The last reported figures showed that the number of young people voluntarily registered with the Youth Service in 2019/20 had increased to over 2,000. In addition to this, over 15,000 anonymous contacts were made with young people not formally registered through counselling services and detached youth work in the community.
The youth service team worked tirelessly through the Covid-19 Pandemic to support those young people affected, especially those identified as being most vulnerable, supporting with access to essentials such as food, toiletries and accommodation, blended learning and access to digital devices; counselling and other wellbeing support.
There are many aspects of youth work, designed to support children and young people aged 11 to 25 years. This is in a number of settings including schools, youth centres, youth clubs and also through detached teams working out in the local community.
The Youth Service offers a range of Open Access Youth Services including:
- Duke of Edinburgh Scheme
- Youth Information Service
- Youth Info Champs
- Young Reps volunteering programme
- Youth Ambassadors (YAMs)
- Health and wellbeing workshops and training
- Youth Clubs
- Open for Youth Nights
- School holiday programmes
- Counselling Service
Targeted Youth Services include:
- Inspire to Achieve ages 11-16
- Inspire to Work ages 16-24
- Youth and Community Team (Youth Homelessness & Mental Health)
- Positive Futures anti-social behaviour programme
The Inspire schemes work with young people at risk of becoming or are NEET (not in Education, Employment or Training). Thanks to targeted support and early intervention at the last reporting the numbers becoming NEET when leaving school had reduced significantly to just 1.5%, which is equivalent to 9 young people.
Councillor Joanne Collins, the Council’s Executive Member for Education says:
“The Youth Service is a fantastic service, which has evolved over the years to be able to support young people with their lives today in the modern world.
“It’s great that young people are able to access support if and when they need it and are able to access many new opportunities. These opportunities help broaden young people’s horizons, raise their aspirations and the support ensures that all young people, no matter their experience or background in life, are able to participate. This can result in young people becoming active citizens in their communities, making informed choices about their future and reaching their potential.”