Abergele Youth Action
Chairman’s Annual Report - September 2007
- Discos
Discos were held during the winter months in partnership with the local youth leaders in Kinmel Bay and Abergele, but were not as well attended as previously. Those who did attend had a very enjoyable evening and both events passed without incident. - Reaching Out Project
Since last October funding received from PACT (Police Authority Community Trust) has enabled Abergele Youth Action to launch the 'Reaching Out' project in partnership with local police officers. The project aims to engage young people in the area in a variety of activities which so far have included five-a-side football, paint balling, rock climbing, high ropes as well as the development of a new kick boxing club. The project is encouraging a positive involvement in the community as well as improving relationships between the young people and the agencies that are in place to support them.Their latest project has involved learning graffiti art under the instruction of Kieran Gorman of Zap Graffiti Art of Liverpool. For a long time, the pedestrian underpass which links Pensarn with Abergele from Queensway to Ffordd y Morfa, which forms part of the Safer Routes to School, has been an eyesore and when a motorbike was set on fire in the underpass in February that was the last straw! During the summer school holidays the council have been busy repairing the damage and the young people moved in to apply the graffiti mural. The aim was to educate the young people to use the art form responsibly and within the realms of the law and it is hoped that the finished project will discourage further damage to the underpass as well as provide a positive link between the two communities of Pensarn and Abergele.
Funding has also been received from Conwy Community Arts Council, the Welsh Assembly Government as well as Abergele Round Table who have also made a contribution to the project. The group are grateful to Tesco and Somerfield who have generously supplied food and drink for lunches and breaks while the young people worked hard to complete the project.
- Fun Bus
A total of 10 sessions were held in the park throughout the summer term and through the holidays on Monday evenings. Sessions were extremely successful attracting between 50 and 80 young people at each session. We are grateful to Abergele Town Council who entirely funded this project which was an important extension to the Reaching Out project. Besides the use of the Fun bus, sessions included karaoke, circus skills, giant inflatable, skate boards, roller blades, tennis and barbeques. These sessions are a valuable contribution to our on going relationship with the young people. - Kick Boxing
A new club has been formed and we have affiliated to CYP (Clubs for Young People Wales) formerly Boys and Girls Clubs of Wales. Affiliation has meant that we are now insured with Zurich at a significant reduction. Spencer Wilding is providing the training and the sessions are well attended with approximately 22 members. Spencer Wilding was once ranked 14th in the British Boxing Rankings and is the current undefeated British (Welsh) Boxing Champion in the cruiser weight. He is ably assisted by a team of qualified and experienced coaches. Spencer is well known in the Film Industry having appeared in the Harry Potter films, Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, Batman Begins, Eragon and Beowull and Grendel and is presently filming Hell Boy. He is highly esteemed by the young people, has his own gym in Prestatyn and has worked with local lads for some time.A substantial grant from the Community Chest (Sports Lot) will enable expansion of the club. The young people identified the need for this club and we are grateful to PCSO Medwyn Lewis who has helped to establish and subsequently support it. His contributions and continued support of all our activities is of great value.
- Congratulations!
Fay and Nigel were married in Las Vegas on 5th November last year. Congratulations!!! - Daily Activities:
- After School Club
The centre continues to be very busy every evening until 5pm with pupils from Emrys ap Iwan as well as some from Creuddyn and Eirias. They use the centre to access the internet, play games, do homework and meet with their friends. - School Holidays
The centre is an important place for young people during school holidays when activities are arranged and workshops held. Digital Storytelling is popular and we are grateful to Lynne and Mog from Canllaw Online who led a series of workshops during the summer when a total of 9 DVD’s were created by the young people. These are available for viewing on the CREDU website and are to be submitted to the BBC. - Over 50's Club
These are held on Thursdays and Fridays at 12.30 when a small number enjoy enhancing their skills as well as learning new ones. - Community Use
People of all ages visit the centre throughout the day to access the internet, search for jobs, to study or generally use the facilities. We continue to offer a place of friendship and support to many and this is an important aspect of our work which can often go unnoticed, but is of great value to many young people. We provide an important link with other agencies that are in place to support them yet not necessarily easily accessible. - Italian Students
Conlan International supply a steady stream of students who use the facility to access the internet, contact home and complete course work. They make an interesting contribution to the centre.
- After School Club
- Visit of Edwina Hart AM
December 2006 marked the visit of Edwina Hart AM (then Minister for Social Justice). She was very impressed with what she saw and we were grateful to her for her support. She was accompanied by Alun Pugh AM to whom we are indebted for his long lasting support. We were able to welcome many visitors who came from near and far and who have contributed to the project and supported us since the beginning. - Open College Network
Provisional approval was granted to the centre to be recognised as an OCN provider. Final approval was granted after successfully completing our first course after a lot of hard work by the staff. Linda was approved as an Internal Verifier after attending training in Bangor. We have two courses in our framework (Word Processing Intermediate Level 1 and 2 each worth 3 credits). Courses have been developed to suit the individual needs of the participants and the External Verifier wrote a complimentary report about the level of teaching as well as the 'robust systems' that are in place. We are extending our framework and will be able to offer a wider range of subjects in the very near future. - PACE (Partners in Alternative Curriculum Education)
A group of 13 young men in year 11 at Emrys ap Iwan attended for half a day every week throughout the school year and 12 of them successfully achieved an OCN in Word Processing. They were very proud of their achievements. They also participated in the SMART Thinking Skills course developed by the Citizenship Foundations. A good relationship developed with them during the course and outdoor activities contributed to their team spirit. We have maintained contact with many of them since they left school in May and we have been able to offer them continued support. A new group has started for the new school year. - Foundations in IT (ESF)
Funding from the European Social Fund has been accessed to deliver this course to those seeking to enhance their IT skills and improve their job opportunities. Time has been spent delivering IT courses some to OCN level 2 as well as Portfolio Creations and individual life skills counselling. - Opportunity Wales E' Commerce Review and Website Development
Opportunity Wales conducted an e' commerce review which concluded that good use was being made of the internet and recommended the development of a website to increase our effectiveness. A local IT website development company (the IT Company) mentored 15 year old Natalie Humphries and our impressive website was launched. Thanks to Natalie for her hard work and dedication. She continues to maintain the website and the experience proved to be very useful to her. - Business Eye
Linda attended a Social Enterprise conference in Bangor and made contact with Business Eye. A specialist in Employment law has enabled us to produce a comprehensive Employment Manual as well as an Employees Handbook which meets all the necessary requirements of employment legislation. All our policies and procedures have been reviewed and updated accordingly. - Business Review
Funding has been received from RCA (Rural community Action) to enable us to once again employ Cynan Jones of TJB (Thomas, Jones and Batten) to conduct a complete business review in preparation for future funding applications. October 2008 marks the end of the present source of funding from the Community Facilities and Activities programme (Welsh Assembly Government). Meetings have been held with the Directors and positive progress is being made. - CREDU Phase 3
The project is now in the 3rd year and it is proposed that all the existing equipment will begin to be replaced from January 2008. A greater choice of equipment will be available this time round. Canllaw Online continue to be very pleased with our contribution to the national project and we are grateful to them for their superb support especially Kevin our regional facilitator and Graham, our local Fujitsu engineer who pops in from time to time to check on us, as well as to drink our delicious coffee! - Outside Training Events Visitors to the centre have included the Voluntary Services Council, the Common Assessment Framework Team, Conwy Children and Young People's Partnership as well as the Clwyd Community Health Council. This has raised some income as well as raising our profile in the business, statutory and voluntary sector. All have been pleased with what the facility has to offer and we hope to extend the provision in the future.
- Training
Fay has successfully passed her first year of the HNC in Computer Science with merits and distinctions having attended Llandrillo College two evenings per week from September until May. Well done Fay! She now embarks on year 2.