News
National Youth Agency Celebrates Excellent Youth Work at Award Ceremony
19 November 2010
News Release
19 November 2010
Members of the National Youth Agency team joined more than 650 youth professionals and young people to celebrate the tremendous work done across the youth sector last night at The Children and Young People Now Awards.
Held at the Royal Horticultural Halls in London, over 20 different awards were given out to youth organisations, professionals and young people in recognition of the work they have done to change young people’s lives across the country.
The National Youth Agency sponsored The Youth Work Award, which sought to recognise an initiative that has done the most to promote young people’s personal development through informal education and participation, especially among disadvantaged or excluded groups.
Fiona Blacke, National Youth Agency chief executive, presented the award to Stoke-on-Trent City Council for ‘Socca, Rocka, Hoppa’ – an initiative set up by the Council’s youth service that uses a fleet of mobile youth vehicles to target areas where there is a lack of things to do for young people, or where there have been problems with antisocial behaviour.
The vans deliver a range of activities. The Socca van has a flat-pack football pitch, where players make up their own rules and reward skill, flair and sportsmanship. The Rocka is a mobile recording studio and also provides photography and design tuition and the Hoppa is a mobile youth club. They have also added a new van – the Rolla, which is a mobile film studio.
The introduction of these vans has had a significant impact on antisocial behaviour and since being introduced in 2009 there has been a 32 percent decrease across the city, with the most noticeable fall at weekends.
Fiona Blacke commented: “Many congratulations to Stoke-on Trent Council for such a tremendous initiative, which has had a visible impact on young people and the local community as a whole.
“The quality of applications for The Youth Work Award was really high this year. By providing opportunities for every young person to try something new and develop their skills and talents in such an innovative way, this is an exemplar initiative and I know other areas are now looking to at the project as a blueprint for best practice for delivering positive activities.”
S.P.I.D Theatre Company (Specially Produced Innovatively Directed) also received a High Commendation on the night in the Youth Work category for their Affected project.
Three young people from the National Youth Agency Team – Jodie McNamara, Belinda Fumai and Jaede Todner - were young judges for the Awards. They also presented The Extended School Award to Joseph Leckie Community Technology College for their Extended Services Cluster, for the work it has done to engage with the wider community by offering personal, social, sporting and other opportunities to pupils and their families.
ENDS