Chapeltown Young Peoples Club

Through a grant to the Chapeltown Young People’s 10 – 2 Club, the National Youth Agency-Neighbourhood Support Fund has supported the YES-Cyber Project since July 2000. Phase 1 of the NYA-NSF funding came to an end in September 2003. The target over the 30-month period was 100 13 – 19 year olds; 132 young people were, in fact, successfully engaged during that period. All monitoring requirements had been met and quarterly returns submitted on time. The project had several successful monitoring visits during Phase 1, with extremely positive feedback; a copy of the report of its 30 month Assessment Visit is included as Appendix 3. It is noted in the feedback from the visit that.

The Project has very good connections with other partners and particularly the project co-partners, Thomas Danby College and the Youth Service. It has a deserved reputation in the locality. Relationships with and involvement in the Connexions Service augur well for the future.

A small grant from Connexions West Yorkshire was secured for the 1-month interim period before Phase 2 funding began – an indication of the standing of the Project with Connexions. A bid for Phase 2 funding, supported as before by John Paxton, Principal Youth Officer, was submitted and approved, securing continuation funding to the value of £100,000 for the period October 2003 – March 2006 to further develop work to re-engage the hardest to reach young people in the 13 – 19 age range. It should be noted that the successful bid and costings (attached as Appendix 4) were based around extending creative and innovative approaches to youth work including:

• Developing 3 satellite centres of YES-Cyber in other community settings, in conjunction with the Youth Service.
• Late evening and weekend opening.
• Closed’ sessions for young people who have been excluded from education and young offenders.
• Continuing to work with young single mothers (under 19).
• Continuing to work with young people experiencing problems with welfare issues, etc.

Issue: It should also be noted that the NYA-NSF bid costings included matched funding contributions of the two main partners, TDC and the Youth Service. NYA-NSF grants are only made to voluntary sector groups involved in work which extends and develops innovative and creative work to engage the ‘hardest-to-reach’ young people and is not given as core funding for the Project. The expenditure breakdown submitted to and agreed by NYA should be noted.