Children’s Summer Club (Charity No: 270817) Children’s Summer Club is a street based youth club for 8-16 year olds. Our catchment area covers the Gorwell, Frankmarsh, Zephyr, Goodleigh Rise, Raleigh Meadow and Silverwood Heights areas of Barnstaple. We run during all school holidays and hold special events throughout the year.

Communication We use a variety of ways to communicate with members and their parents including social media such as facebook and our Wordpress blog, texting, phone calls, minutes of meetings, letters, leaflets and posters. We’ve just purchased a community noticeboard. Communication is a 2 way process. We have 2 youth representatives who attend meetings on behalf of other young people. The young people have their own AGM where they look at what they want to do, fund raising etc. They also complete feedback forms.

Project Work We enter Barnstaple Carnival every year. This year’s entry was ‘Cinderella’. The lead up to the big day includes a competition for the children to produce designs for scenery and a series of craft workshops for them to make scenery, props and costumes. All of this must be done and dusted by Carnival Day.

Safeguarding We have built up excellent, safe relationships with the young people We have worked with. Our Secretary, Christine Brennan, is the appointed person for Child Protection for Children’s Summer Club. We have made a number of referrals to MASH and conduct regular risk assessments of activities, environment, children’s needs and staff. Our volunteers are DBS checked.

Community Involvement Some of Children’s Summer Club’s sessions take place in local halls, others are street based. We encourage members to get involved in community and environmental initiatives. This picture shows some of our Junior Street Champions litter picking. The young people help complete risk assessments for these activities and report any problems or concerns.

Social and Informal Education We have delivered drama workshops around alcohol and healthy eating and for Children’s Summer Club’s annual production. We use ‘scaffolding’, and look at different ways of learning – mirroring, association, repetition etc. We have regular arts and crafts sessions. These have included producing posters to advertise changes in the law around smoking, designs for murals etc. We organise running sessions and encourage young people to develop their own running training plans.

Working with other Organisations Children’s Summer Club helps our local police to hold the annual Frankmarsh Commando Challenge. Our members marshall the Friends of Yeo Valley Woodland’s Hallowe’en event. We work with North Devon Homes on Action Days to keep our neighbourhood tidy.

Involving Young People Youth work is informal and engagement by young people is voluntary. Nevertheless, it has a curriculum that includes community involvement, being healthy, staying safe, enjoying and achieving and attaining economic stability. Children’s Summer Club’s programme is put together in consultation with young people. They are involved in every aspect of the club from helping to develop policies, to fund raising, to planning and developing activities to feed back.

Team Work Children’s Summer Club is a team. The children are members of that team as well as the adult volunteers. We work together to provide a fun and varied programme for the children in a safe, healthy environment.

A commitment to continuous improvement We try new things every year as well as continue with old favourites. Last year saw us taking young people on an outward bound residential at Wembworthy and for a week’s holiday in London. This year we have taken the Junior Street Champions on board, been camping (happy campers pictured!) and have tried sandboarding. All our volunteers, Junior Street Champions and older members are encouraged and supported to undertake appropriate training.

A flexible approach One size doesn’t fit all. We put on a range of activities suited to different interests and abilities. We look at how we can support each child so that they can take part.

Added Value The meaning of communication is the response or understanding of the recipient. Weuse plain English and answer requests for information within a reasonable time. Children’s Summer Club works closely with many local organisations including the police, housing associations, local councils , other local voluntary groups and youth organisations such as Community Action, and is supported by local businesses. Here we see some of our members carving pumpkins at the Friends of Yeo Valley Woodland’s Hallowe’en event. All of these organisations work in different ways. Our youth representatives have represented the club at various meetings and helped co-ordinate joint initiatives.

Confidentiality of Data and Information Children’s Summer Club’s Confidentiality Policy can be viewed at our wordpress blog. All files are kept securely. We only keep current, accurate information that is needed to run the club. For example, consent forms include contact details, dates of birth, details of any medical conditions or special considerations, photo consent and consultation consent. Other confidential data includes risk assessments of individual children, behaviour contracts and incident reports.