South West Update Jan 2022

SSF Chance:2:Be North Ayrshire 

The last twelve weeks have seen the SSF Southwest team deliver our very first SSF Chance:2:Be programme in Stevenston. During this time, the SSF team have made significant progress in making connections with the local Active Schools team, contacts within education from Auchenharvie Academy and the wider community. The support of which has played a pivotal role in making this programme a success.

With the support of Auchenharvie Academy deputy headteacher and the local Active Schools Coordinator, the North Ayrshire SSF team were able to work collaboratively with the education department to identify ten young people which would benefit greatly from the personal development programme. By utilising the power of sport in combination with youth work elements, the SSF staff team were able to provide the young people on the SSF Chance:2:Be programme with opportunities for alternative learning and accreditations, and now support them towards a positive destination. 

Partnership Working

The SSF staff team have relied on our existing local partnership network as well as establishing new relationships with local organisations to provide experiences, which would challenge our young people, support them to push themselves into their stretch zones and essentially build their confidence and resilience as a result. In addition to this, experiences provided by partners such as the Sea Cadets, North Ayrshire Youth Services, The Royal Navy, KA leisure, and the sportscotland team would also encourage the development of team building, leadership and communication skills.  

By linking accredited qualifications with practical based challenges and experiences, the young people were afforded the opportunity to gain formal qualifications in a non-traditional manner – e.g a classroom-based setting – through which they were unlikely to engage. Rather, the practical element ensured continued engagement by the young people and guaranteed that the skills developed were being utilised in the most efficient manner possible. For these young people who do not engage in a traditional education environment, the SSF Chance:2:Be programme has provided an opportunity for them to gain skills and accreditations which they may not otherwise have achieved before leaving school and searching for employment.

Qualifications Gained

Out of the ten young people which were originally referred onto the SSF Chance:2:Be programme, nine graduated. During this programme, the young people have achieved a variety of formal accreditations and have developed countless skills and competencies during this period. These qualifications include:

  • ETC Human Connection
  • ETC Conflict Resolution
  • ETC Communication
  • ETC Goal Setting
  • ETC Planning a Session
  • KA Leisure – Basic Life Support First Aid Qualification
  • Community Achievement Award
  • Youth Scotland Hi5 Award
  • KA Leisure – Football Coaching CPD (non-accredited)

Highlights

Some of the programme highlights have included, talking the young people to the sea cadets, which one of our young people stated:

“Omg Chloe, I got to drive the boat. It was well class. Can we go back next week please?”

While giving them the opportunity to try and experience new sports at the Inverclyde National Sports Centre:

“This place is unreal, I want to live here. Canny believe we got to do Archery; I’ve never done that before. Did you see me, I was proper decent at it. Thanks so much for this opportunity it's been 10/10”.

Aftercare

Once the young people graduated from the programme, the SSF team provided aftercare to transition and support the young people as they moved onto the next stage in their lives, ensuring that they are well equipped to progress towards their positive destination. The SSF staff arranged drop-in support sessions for the young people with college applications, and CV building. In addition, the SSF team are also working alongside Community Enterprise In Scotland (CEIS) to provide employability support for young people who are keen to seek out employment opportunities in the near future. On top of this, we will continue to support Auchenharvie Academy by ensuring the young people who are keen, to re-engage in school and get the most out of their remaining education experience.

Next Steps

As we move forward into the new year, the SSF staff team will also be rolling out two new SSF Chance:2:Be programmes locally across North Ayrshire, with one in Saltcoats and one in Irvine. We look forward to getting these programmes up and running and supporting the next cohort of young people through our SSF Chance:2:Be programmes in the near future.

For further information about any of the programmes in North Ayrshire please contact chloe@ssf.org.uk.

Children in need

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