I have been heavily involved with the national Rugby programme HITZ run in partnership with Gloucester Rugby Club’s community department. The programme is for young people aged 16-18 who have an interest in sport, not necessarily rugby. There is no minimum qualification level to join HITZ and we are engaging with a diverse range of young people.

The ethos of the programme is based around core values of teamwork, respect, enjoyment, discipline and sportsmanship and all young people entering the programme are expected to embody these values. The programme is designed to offer nationally recognised qualifications; these include functional skills Maths & English, sport & leisure, employability, community sports leaders’ award and emergency first aid.

All young people will explore the sport and leisure industry and learn skills that will make them more employable in that sector and in the wider jobs market.  As part of the HITZ programme, young people have opportunities to gain valuable work experience. The course involves a high proportion of practical learning with young people gaining experience in a range of sports and sporting environments.

I am thoroughly enjoying delivering such a diverse programme, using sport to motivate and educate young people.

Last month the young parents group called ViParents secured a small pot of funding for the idea they put forward to the Money for Life challenge and work has now got under way to turn the idea into a reality!

During past weekly sessions, the young parents have often shared ideas of places to visit, activities to do and ways of entertaining their children without busting the budget. Through these discussions the group felt it may be a good idea to put together all of these ideas into a little booklet and try and get them out and about to other young parents in Gloucester. Some of the parents attending do not have easy access to the Internet and therefore having a quick pocket size reference tool they felt would not only be useful but also beneficial for those times when either money is tight or its pouring with rain outside.

So ‘Free and Fun Days in Gloucester- a young parents guide’ was born and the group are all working hard to produce detailed and informative content. To date, this has involved numerous Internet searches, brainstorming sessions, telephone calls and pooling of previous experiences to make sure what is going to be included is real and relevant to what young parents may want to know.

The booklet will include places that parents can visit for free with details of what facilities are available as well as its location including how far it is from the town centre and whether its access is suitable for buggy’s and toddlers. As well as this there will be a useful contacts section, information about cheap deals available such as weekend morning cinema trips and activities to do at home or in your local area for all weather conditions.

So as you can tell the ViParent’s have been a busy lot and there is still a lot to do but things are well underway and everyone is excited to see the finished product when it arrives hot from the printers. Watch this space to see how it turns out.

Kayleigh Ward, Youth Work Apprentice at Young Gloucestershire, talks about her move to work on the Development Team supporting the delivery of the Prince’s Trust Team.

I am excited to be supporting the Prince’s Trust Team I nearly did team as a young person but took a different journey and then completed my Level 2 in youth work and am currently doing my Level 3.

I have heard that the course is a fully packed 12 weeks and there are some really great activities. I am looking forward to giving young people a helping hand and trying to achieve these young people’s potential.

My first week on this project was fun. We went out and about promoting in shopping centres, visiting people and phoning people on recruitment to find young people to join our TEAM!! We have recruited 15 young people and I am looking forward to getting to know them more.

I can’t wait to start working with the young people to see the difference in job roles as well as how team works. I think I will really enjoy this job role as it’s something different and it will also give me new skills.

I am very grateful for being offered this role and I will try my best at all aspects.

One of the main reasons that I wanted to become involved with the Mentoring programme at Young Gloucestershire, is because I felt it was a tremendous opportunity to utilise my skills and experiences to pass on to a willing youngster, who is desperate to get on in life.

Young Gloucestershire provide a perfect opportunity to support you in your work and offer free training, to ensure that you are best prepared for all types of situations in the Mentoring field. Whilst I am at the early stages with my mentee, the signs are positive and I hoping that my ‘wisdom’ can be taken and used to great effective.

Surely if I can help at least one person achieve their dreams- projects such as this can only be a good thing!

A massive thank you to Ione for the opportunity. Her drive and enthusiasm has shone through and she has been a credit to Young Gloucestershire. Long may it continue.

My reasons for joining the Prince’s Trust Programme were to continue my education and gain some more qualifications. I thought it was also an easy way to meet new people.

When I first started the course I was unsure how the course would benefit me and wasn’t sure about whether I would stay till the end and was nervous about meeting new people.

For me the hardest part of the course was the confidence side of things, meeting new people and getting to know them enough to be comfortable going away with them after only knowing them for a few days.

When I first started the course I wouldn’t talk to anyone and kept myself to myself. But throughout the course my confidence and communication skills have come a long way and during the 12 weeks I have met and worked with some amazing people and have made some great memories with them and our lovely team leader, Mummy Niki and have taken some weird pictures with Char, who has made this course hilarious.

I have enjoyed so much about the course; I even fed a duck with my hand.  I loved meeting everyone on Team 169, especially Char! I’m glad I got to share this experience with them and Niki and being able to try new things with them.

After doing this course I will be continuing my part time job at Highfield Garden Centre and hopefully get a full time job or start volunteering.

Over the past few months I have been visiting members of the YG partnership scheme.  The scheme offers youth clubs county wide support. Whether a club is a start-up, volunteer led or run by paid staff we offer a whole range of service. These include: access to reduced insurance, policy writing support, a safeguarding hotline and free (or heavily discounted) training.

I have been to see over 30 partner clubs and organisations in the last four months who are members of this scheme.  In addition to the benefits mentioned above we have been able to offer bespoke training and resources on cyber safety in the last few months thanks to funding from the Police and Crime Commission.

I have been amazed at the amount of people working out in the community with young people. From the clubs I have visited there are 120 volunteers and over 55 paid staff members. There is a lot going on in the county for young people and we don’t always talk about it.

The two most challenging areas highlighted by the clubs I visited were accessing funding and engaging YP on the fringes of their provisions.  Other challenges clubs are facing is the lack of volunteers and accessing training for staff.  Not only do these amazing staff and volunteers work with young people they are also looking at ways to make their projects sustainable. Many of the clubs do their own fundraising events to raise money. Others access funding from the PCC, through parish councils or housing providers in the area.

I have enjoyed the opportunity to visit many of these projects and see some of the great things happening in the county. It has been a really interesting process, travelling around the beautiful countryside, visiting a varied array of youth clubs, and seeing the many dedicated staff and volunteers doing amazing work with young people in the county.

Our partner club scheme is constantly growing and there are always more things we can be doing.  If you are interested in joining the scheme or you would like a visit and haven’t received one please get in touch.  Alternatively if there is anything we can do for you, your young people or your community, please let us know.

The reason why I joined the Prince Trust 12 week programme was because I needed to find some direction and routine in my life. I also wanted to meet new people and gain some more confidence within myself.

I thought the programme looked interesting and a lot of fun. I was originally a bit nervous before the second residential week because it was facing my fears that I knew was going to be a difficult challenge. However, it was really good fun and I would recommend this programme to anyone.

The hardest part for me was abseiling in the residential week because I was really scared of heights and it was my biggest fear. I did it but it challenged me to get out of my comfort zone.

In my eyes I would describe working in a team as everyone being equal and being able to share their ideas with the rest of the team. It is also about looking out for each other and supporting the team through difficult situations. And one main aspect of the team is strength.

Since starting the Prince Trust 12 week programme, I have moved forward as an individual by becoming more confident within myself. I feel that I have shown my true self more and met some awesome people. I have learnt that I can do things if I put my mind to it.

The most enjoyable part of the programme was going coasteering which was awesome but also very daunting. My biggest achievement was performing my own song in front of a crowd in my work placement week. I was very nervous because it was a new song which I had written and it was the first time I was performing the song, but it went well.

After this programme I would like to use the skills that I have learnt throughout the course in order to help Young Gloucestershire by working with young people and to try and get them in to music.