Mickleton in Bloom
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Mickleton in Bloom
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Youth Club | Photographs | ||
The
Community Activities Group (Mickleton in Bloom) was initially involved in
preparing the village entry to the Bledisloe Cup Competition. In 2007 and
an entry was completed for the Calor Village of the Year, Gloucestershire
and although a lot of activities were going on in the village there was
very little for young people.
It
was decided to seek professional help to gather the views of the young
people of the village.
In August 2007, Claire Dowan, Youth Participation Officer at Cotswold District Council, met with a group of five young men aged 14 – 18 at the village hall. Young people had been invited along to express their opinion about life in the village. The meeting was very positive and concluded with a walk to the playing area. Met with a further group of young people who were using the youth shelter; they also mentioned the uncomfortable seating structure. This group liked the fact that the shelter was located at the far end of the playing field as they had some privacy and space to hang out. The
young people all agreed that the idea of a youth club should be further
investigated, suggested that a further meeting held to discuss the
following ·
Potential location (village hall, church hall or any other
possibilities) ·
The idea of introducing ‘taster sessions’, perhaps
offering one youth club session a month to gauge interest and behaviour,
offered on the basis of respect it or lose it. ·
Approaching Gloucestershire Youth Service and Young
Gloucestershire about the recruitment of volunteer youth workers. ·
How to work with the group who contributed to this report to
become youth volunteers. ·
The purchase or borrowing of equipment e.g. pool table During
the early part of 2008 the Community Activities Working Party began the
organisation of a Family Fun Day to be held in September in the grounds of
Mickleton Primary School. This was with the support of the Governors and
the School. All village groups involved with young people were willing to
become involved and the day was organised as a community day to celebrate
Mickleton and not as a fundraising event. Gloucester
Youth Service (World Jungle) and Play Rangers were providing support. Unfortunately
severe rain caused cancellation. In
June and August 2008 we held follow up meetings with Claire Dowan, young
people and Councillor – discussing development of the Junior Playing
Fields. During
September Play Rangers began visits to Mickleton 4-6 pm. each Wednesday
with a full day over school holidays (8 – 14 year olds). These visits
were very successful and well supported by young people. The sessions
continued over the winter months on the grounds of the Joseph Webb Hall.
We arranged to have outside lighting installed which not only provided a
safe venue but also left a legacy to the Hall. Over
the autumn half term the Mobile Skate Park, arranged by the Youth Service
was cancelled
Meetings
with a number of suppliers regarding improvement to the Junior Playing
Field – young people involved in the discussions. With
a change of licensee at the Butchers Arms Pub, an approach was made with a
view to setting up a Youth Club using the Skittle Alley as a venue. This
was accepted and the first meeting was held on Monday, 3rd
November. Seven young people attended the first meeting and the number
grew to 12 over the next 6 weeks. The young people wanted to continue
meeting in 2009 The
mixed group of 12 visited Skate Extreme, Newport in December. The
Gloucestershire Youth Service supported this visit. Also
in December, a meeting was held with the Parish Councillors on the Junior
Playing Fields Committee. They expressed support for development of the
field. The Trustees also expressed support. A
New Year’s Eve event at the Butchers Arms raised £160 for the Youth
Club. In
January 2009 regular Monday Youth Club meetings resumed. The venue was
closed for redecoration in January. When the Youth Club reopened after
Christmas the number of young people attending was still 12. At this stage
it was decided that a Youth Worker should be engaged and the Youth Service
was approached. The cost for the service was £1875. The Community
Activities Working Party set aside £500 towards the cost. Also
at this time the Community Activities Working Party (Mickleton in Bloom)
was asked to give a presentation to the Mickleton Society outlining the
work of the group. The Society expressed specific support for the work
with Young People and made a donation of £150 towards the engagement of a
Youth Worker. The
Parish Council was approached and gave a grant of £250 towards the Youth
Worker cost. An
application was made to The Richard Porter Trust who made a grant of £250
towards the Youth Worker cost. The
Village Hall management Committee also donated £250. In
a short time £1400 towards the cost of a Youth Worker for one year had
been raised from within the village. By
early February the number of young people attending the Youth Club had
risen to 24 and by the end of the month there were 31 young people on the
register. A
late submission was made for an Integrated Youth Offer and the Club was
given a grant of £550 to support the meeting room hire charge and pay for
a range of activities to help establish the group. Attendance
at the North Cotswold Partnership Group Meeting helped establish the
nature of other activities and groups’ meeting in the area and it was
decided to work together wherever practicable and where the best interest
of the young people could be served more effectively. The
Youth Club members at this time were actively involved in the Expression
of Interest to CDC regarding Play Builders Funding. This proved to be
unsuccessful as part of the Year 1 funding for the Cotswolds, but will
hopefully be part of the funding for Year 2. The young people are
continuing to work on ideas for the development of the field and the
services of a local landscape designer will collate these into a formal
plan ready for submission. The
Junior Playing Fields PC sub committee met at the Youth Club and looked at
the ideas and expressed their support. A
visit from Steve McDonald, North Cotswold Youth Service and Jan Billingham
was arranged to discuss progress and plan support for the youth work. The
Mobile Skate Park was booked to visit Mickleton over the February half
term. The details were given at very short notice and the attendance was
low, perhaps fortunate as the skate coach was very late arriving and the
ramps could not be set up as he had the key to the trailer. The
Youth Club joined Young Gloucester. A visit from Dominic Smith helped with
a survey of need. This was supported by an additional survey at the Fun
Day in May. The
Village Family Fun Day in May has been the highlight of the year. At least
260 young people and their parents attended the event, which was held in
the Primary School grounds. Support from the Cotswold District Council,
through World Jungle and Clever Curves Skate Park, the Youth Service, Play
Rangers, Young Gloucester, Costcutter Village Stores, the Post Office
Stores, Play Group, Guides, Brownies, Ilmington Football Club, First
Responder, the School |
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More photographs |
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