TASCC Youthworker Blog

The Love Bug

2008-12-09T14:25:00.008Z

The Love Bug poster campaign.

Now if like me and a few "more mature" members of the team you thought that the posters around were for a new Herbie movie you would be wrong.

It's about the upsurge in Chlamydia in the sexually active young people of the UK.

At a recent event in Billericay High Street i was discussing the latest initiative where the r u Clear team are sending via the post, a self test kit to all 18-24 year olds.

Now, they have taken the details from the electoral role so there is no details on the religious beliefs or if the individual has special needs.

I questioned this but was informed that the pack contains a letter saying if your not sexually active to return it via free post to the team.

Not sure if this is a good idea or not, still not made my mind up . Comments please.

The polls are closed

2008-12-09T13:53:00.002Z

Well the votes have been cast and the count will be in before the end of the week.

Granted the YEA voting has not generated as much media hype as the recent voting in the states but hey this could be just as much a historic event.

The polling boxes are in the process of collection ready to find out which are the lucky representatives for the young people of Essex.

That's when their hard work will start. The young people of Essex are expecting to have their voice heard via you so get ready and get out there and consult with them.

Praise to those workers that have supported those that have stood for election and those that continue to support the ones that may not be lucky this time round.

Keep your eyes on the Essex county website for more information.

Time to vote ...and not for X Factor !!!!!

2008-12-01T14:06:00.002Z

It’s the first day the polls have been opened for all young people between the ages of 11 and 19. They are voting to elect the members of the Young Essex Assembly (YEA). The elections happen once every two years and are a fantastic opportunity for our young people to have a say on how Essex is governed.
The YEA has the same seats as the County Council (75) and are divided across the 12 districts and borough boundaries.
The last group of elected representatives have already signed up more than 100 schools and youth clubs to the Green Pledge and created an advertising campaign to clamp down on anti-social behaviour on the buses.
This is an excellent experience for young people especially if they seek a career in politics or are just taking an interest in local democracy.

So if your 11-19 get your voice heard and elect a representative this week.

Did you know that there are more young people who vote for people on X factor than there are adults that vote in a general election !!!!!!

Youth Scrutiny Committee

2008-12-01T10:12:00.003Z

Youth Scrutiny Committee is the new buzz in the halls of all our offices at the moment.

It has been decided that as a council we should have a Youth Scrutiny panel or committee to give it its official title.

What a great idea.

I was lucky to attend a meeting on Friday that explained the reasons for this project to go forth.
It has complete support from the very top down, which means a high profile provision.

The aim is to have the group, hopefully of around 20 young people, to be up and running by the middle of next year.

The committee will report direct to the main council scrutiny board a real chance for the voices of the young people of Essex to be heard and for them to have a level of power to ask those questions that need asking, but from their perspective.

I will keep you posted on the progression at regular intervals but I'm also keen to hear from others that have undertaken this process of are thinking of this for their area.

Information or links needed

2008-11-25T17:47:00.002Z

I have been asked to find out about virtual Youth Clubs.

Does anyone out there know of any or better still are you involved in the delivery of a virtual youth provision?

If so then I would love to hear from you as I want to find out if this is a goer or a stumbler !!

Thanks

Data loss

2008-11-21T10:41:00.002Z

I was looking at the C & YP website and saw this new article.

Leicester nursery loses children's data in security breach
Children & Young People Now20 November 2008
Leicester council has admitted to a "serious and unacceptable breach of protocols" after a council-run nursery lost a data stick containing personal information on 80 children.

The names, addresses, ages and telephone numbers of the children were on the stick. Leicester City Council said it would not reveal the name of the nursery involved or how the stick went missing until an investigation had been completed. No date has been set for when the investigation will be complete.
"From initial information available to me it is clear there has been a serious and unacceptable breach of our protocols around data storage and data loss," said Sheila Lock, the council's chief executive.
Lock claimed the council had very strict rules around data protection and said it would be taking immediate steps to "remind everyone what these are".
The news comes as a transatlantic survey conducted by mobile security company Credant Technologies was published yesterday. It showed that more than a third of health professionals are putting personal information at risk by storing it on devices such as data sticks, which are not adequately secured.
The council has informed the parents of all the children concerned. It has also offered to help families change telephone numbers or even change addresses if they felt it was necessary, but so far nobody has taken up the offer.

Now we have a policy on data sticks and emailing in Essex, so why does this keep happening with all the technology we have. It's not that difficult to set up a password protected area on your data stick so why was this not done.

We have to store this information so can protected data sticks not be made available to the nurseries and other team that need them. They don't cost much.

Viewing other blogs

2008-11-19T09:18:00.001Z

Well i have been looking around on the old Internet at other peoples blogs and wondering if i could change the way i do things.

I had a look at our own Essex blog completed by Joanna Killian, the Chief Executive of Essex County Council.
She has guest bloggers on her site which i thought might be really good.

Also I keep looking at my site and people i know say its good to read to get that insight into the role of TASCC but I do not seem to get many comments left.

So if you do read this please comment negative comment i can learn more from than the positive some times so please don't hold back.

Happy Birthday to us !!!

2008-11-19T09:14:00.002Z

Well last Wednesday was our teams year on event.

We invited all those that have worked with us and that we have supported in the delivery of services during the past year.

It was presentations and information boards followed by sandwiches and networking.
we had quite a few turn up and it went better than we had expected.

National Youth Work Week

2008-11-19T09:07:00.003Z

Well that was a week that just flew past.

I think it was the weather but i hardly saw any fireworks going off during this week.
Normally its risk assessment city with detached workers running for the hills and seeking shelter where they can.

With being off over half term i did not have time to arrange too much but did get some time to talk to young people about using there voice.

Friday was spent sorting through the OCN folders and doing the moderating them ready to get the accreditation that the young people have worked for.

Nearly Half Term …whoosh…and it was gone !!

2008-11-04T17:00:00.001Z

Well what a couple of weeks.
The week before half term was packed.
Monday was mostly 1-2-1 sessions in Mayflower School and then a home visit to finalise a case that has been going a while now.

Tuesday saw me having my supervision to discuss the case files and the ongoing youth work delivery. A great chance to run ideas past the boss and see if new ways of working can be formulated.

The evening saw me and Steph and Liz from the office (there you go Steph, you got your mention) attending a workshop and AGM for the Billericay Parents forum. The workshop was on knife crime and was attended by Ann Oakes-Odger. This lady was one of the unfortunate families to lose a child to knife crime. She has used this to educate others of the risks of carrying and using knives on the street. A very brave lady with a real passion for the work she does. Try her site out for more information just link on her name.
This event was also attended by our local police officers and they brought along the mobile knife arch which will be used outside clubs and pubs across Essex. Great piece of kit.

Wednesday was like last week with the referral meeting followed by the anxiety drop in at the school. This was followed by the MEnU group which is for young people with ME or CFS. Then it was “Condom club”.

Thursday was the IYS development day at the Colchester community stadium. Wow what a venue and it was great to be in a room with so many colleagues.
It was a great day networking and learning more about roles within the new structure. Thanks for the invite.

Friday I had a day off !!! yes I know a day off and guess what that night I flew off to Tenerife for a well needed weeks holiday.

Now I’m back, brown and ready to go for it till the Christmas break.

The catch up continues

2008-10-20T14:59:00.000+01:00

Well I’m still trying to update on a regular basis so this is last weeks.

Monday was a very busy day.
First meeting for the Awards night group. This is a yearly event that will take place in March to get all the young people to attend a presentation event at the Towngate theatre that have received accreditation.

Last year we had Megan Blunt present our awards and she did a great job.
Hopefully the young people that decide to join the group will decide on a suitable role model for this year.

The day was a long one with staff training in the evening at the office. The session was on Curriculum templates and skills for a good youth worker.

Tuesday was development day for us at Ashwells in Brentwood.

Well that ended up being quite a negative day despite some good bits in the workshops.
I came away thinking “well give us the correct resources and budget and things would be very different”.

Wednesday saw me back with the year 7’s making dream catchers as a tool to open up the dialogue.
Planners were looked at and the work continues.

Wednesday evening was good old condom club with a couple of guys that felt they could do with a C-card. However they are not quite ready for that.

Thursday morning I was the Ramsden Hall school talking to a group that have issues on attendance. This is a special school for your boys with behaviour issues. Once they are there it’s not an issue as it’s a secure school but they do try to run on route.
That was a hard 30 mins but I think we made a bit of progress.

Friday I was off on a residential to St Marks College with the Peer support gang from The Billericay School.
This was a fantastic venue, 17th Century building with loads of history.
The staff were great and the food was fantastic – Thanks John and staff.

The residential was a full one to train the new peer supporters. This was organised by Mrs Cumberworth from Billericay School.
I was invited along to assist with some of the input but a lot of the training of the new peer supporters was carried out by the year 12 and 13 who have been involved for a while.
The sessions were well received and despite the coach drivers attempt at a world speed record and trying to fit a coach down a lane just big enough for a mini on the journey to the centre, the experience was not hampered at all.

The young people all came away on Saturday evening feeling ready to deal with any situation that may arise in the world of peer support.

Rest on the Sunday before back to it Monday….but that’s another write up.

And another week bites the dust

2008-10-20T10:54:00.000+01:00

Is it just me or do the days just seem to wiz by.
It seems like you blink and another week goes by but hey ho.

It’s been a good week for me

Had a couple of 1-2-1’s on the Monday.

Tuesday and Wednesday was a training event call Speakeasy.
This is a Family Planning Association run course to train practitioners to deliver training to parents, on methods to deliver relationship and sexual health advice to their children.

Wednesday I started a session at one of the senior school with a group of year 7’s.
Poor little might’s are suffering with a touch of transition anxiety. We have been looking at planning out homework and social time to allow for breaks and family time.
We get the lunch break to work together and discuss issues affecting them.
Its early days and I have ideas.

Saturday found me serving tea and coffee at the launch of the Billericay Children’s centre.
Over 200 families came through the doors to see the services that are on offer and engage in fun activities.

Saturday night was party for Del, his 60th so it was a family and youth worker convention. Del has been in the service for a good few years so there was plenty of guests to make the evening go with a swing.

So it was quite a long week all in all but some good work was done.

Time flies ….you can’t they fly to fast!

2008-10-06T08:56:00.000+01:00

Well another week has roared up on me and flashed past like a firework.

Well now that’s put a picture in your heads I will tell you about my week.

After an enjoyable weekend Monday found me back in the office first thing updating the diary and board of my movements throughout the week.

Costa stop in the afternoon with a 1-2-1 session which is going really well at the moment. The relationship is building well and we are tackling the issues we need to.
The finale of the day was a meeting with the Town Council around developing a single point of contact for children and young people to find out what’s going on in the community. It was interesting to meet a few new people that are involved in work that involves young people in the town. Thanks to Stefan and Peter from the Billericay Lions for the information they gave, I will pass that onto the young people.
Most of us are in a communication network in which we regularly update each other of opportunities for the young people with whom we work, but I’m sure there are others out there that unaware of the rest of us.

Wednesday was a good day with a new venture undertaken.

I had asked to attend the Mayflower school to talk to a small group of year 7’s that are currently suffering a bit with anxiety of the transition to the senior school.
This has been brought on by the amounts of homework, the size of the school (physically and attendance wise) along with CAT tests and parental pressure to do well at the “Big School”.
I had planned a session where I did the old introductions and start looking at methods of dealing with anxiety and stress. The plan was to have the lunch hour to chat and munch. However minutes prior to the start of lunch the bell rang…and did not stop so fire alarm procedures start and we all file out to the playground.
The pupils are regimented into forms and the RSM (or teacher as they are called now!!), ensure the silence whilst the old head count is done. They was a group that did not line up or stand in silence……yes you guessed right the adult visitors. What are we like!
So my session was a bit shorted than planned, but we did get some time and we decided on further sessions to look at plans for timetabling the homework.
So thanks to the group for the chat and the ham roll.

Thursday was the meeting with the others youth workers at Costa in the High Street. It’s a really good meeting, very informal and more of a networking couple of hours. If anyone who works with young people in Billericay would like to come along then your more than welcome. Just let me know via the comments below.

Friday was a great day.

Had a catch up session with two other TASCC youth workers over lunch at the Quay’s in BAS Vegas.

Then the evening well …what a night.

I went to the Billericay Amateur Boxing Club’s night at Hannakins farm. This was an arranged boxing session for young people and a couple of adults to exhibit there skills, and for some, the first public fights for many. I’m a fan of boxing and the discipline that any sport such as boxing can offer young people. I understand the issues over the damage that boxing can cause and was pleased to see that all the competitors had safety head equipment on. They were 16 bouts the longest being three rounds of two minutes so it was very fast and furious but the boys from Billericay did really well. They won most of the bouts.

The best part of the evening was looking around at families out together enjoying the evening, supporting their friends and relatives. The atmosphere was fantastic with young people from Southend, East London, Milton Keynes and Essex mixing with a common passion between them.

A great evening made possible by the guys at Hannakins Farm community centre.

At only £10 to get in on the night and to get nearly five hours of boxing and great atmosphere it was a very worthwhile way to spend the evening.

Thanks to all involved in the evening and well done to all the boxers.

Review of the week

2008-09-26T10:37:00.005+01:00

Well it all started on Monday.(doh the week normally does Andy!!!!)

Week two of the JAR (joint area review)
It meant panic phone calls to send documents across the county that were needed to be seen urgently.

Staff helping out over and above the call of duty – as normal.

Bring on Friday when its all over and the clinically obese non specific gender individual can belt out a tune !!!!! (In case the PC squad are reading)

Monday consisted of a referral meeting to discuss the new cases for the team to take on and solve, at least that’s the plan.
Half the time it’s an “avoid over work” exercise and various methods are used to offer a good service without causing the burn out of a team member.
Luck we are all multi skilled really.

I had a late 1-2-1 session with a young person which I felt was productive and we managed to address some of the issues in their life and start to look at strategies to manage them.

Tuesday evening was on the mobile unit at Hannakins Farm.
The young people had previously discussed condoms and flavours and had not believed that there is a Kiwi flavour. So when we pulled up we were beseeched with young people all asking if

we had brought the condoms.

Lucky we had remembered and yes we had a few kiwi ones.

The session went really well with a good 20 plus young people accessing the bus and the provision.
They were very pleased to have the workers attend and have started to plan activities that they would like to see delivered from the bus.
The plan for next week is YOF/YCF applications.

We even had a few of the guys attend “condom club” on Wednesday which was cool. A few C cards issued.

Helped to write the final review report for the Uproject on Thursday so hopefully that is that one tucked up and put to bed now. Few ideas came out of the meeting for the delivery of the project next year.
Not sure that I will be involved in the project next year, as in the delivery, but will without fail be in on the promotion as it’s such a great opportunity for young people.

And now it’s Friday. I’m in the office writing up files and preparing for the following week before a much needed evening over good food and hopefully a fine wine. Wow I sound posh, normally it would be a bowl of pasta and a cup of tea, but hey its payday so posh nosh here I come.

Have a great weekend folks and look forward to the work ahead.

Here comes the weekend

2008-09-22T12:37:00.001+01:00

Thursday is back to earth day

Following a great night it was back to the normal, if there is such a day in TASCC.

Office bound in the morning then off to meet the other youth workers in Billericay at the HUB. So I arrive Costa coffee in hand, well it's Thursday, and then discuss issues and events going on in the area for young people.

It’s always a great meeting as everyone in the room is so motivated by the work we all do.
If you ever get to the point when you feel “what’s the point” in the field of Youth Work then drop me a line and I will take you to the Thursday Costa meeting and get you fixed !

The afternoon involved a home visit with one of the young people on my case load to discuss the way forward and a short term mentoring programme for them.
The evening was filled with typing up reports and thinking about a recent application for a post that I now have and interview for on Wednesday.

Oh well must get my interview prep. done as I would quite like to undertake this role. I will keep you posted as to how it goes.

Friday was a day off on leave but I ended up doing some emails etc.

The weekend is time with my son so no work, then back to it Monday.

Didn’t U do well.

2008-09-22T12:21:00.000+01:00

Wednesday evening was both a happy and sad event for me.
It was the presentation evening of the Uproject.

The young people had planned and prepared for the event over a couple of weeks and tonight was there night. The venue was Hadleigh Youth centre and the guest list was quite full.
It even included a JAR (Ofsted) Inspector.

The time of arrival for the guests was 7 pm and the young people arrived from 4:30pm onwards to help set up.
The food was collected from Sainsbury’s and the IT set up to show the DVD and the iGoogle site as well as the few hundred photos taken during the project.

The young people were mostly dressed up for the night as well which made them look so proud of all they had achieved.

Well the guests arrived and mingled, taking time to view the folders and photos whilst enjoying the odd sarnie and cuppa.
Then at 7:30 we dimmed the lights and the young people took centre stage and delivered their presentation.

It was fabulous they stood tall and proud and told us all what they had undertaken and all that they had learnt. Parents and friends were smiling with admiration and applauding them at every opportunity.
Staff stood round still offering that support to those that find the whole presentation expectation a challenge in its own right.

Certificates were handed out and speeches made in recognition of achievements.

But alas that was the last session for the project and the sadness hits when you’re loading the van for the return trip to the office with it all behind you.

A big well done to the young people involved and a very special well done to all the staff that were involved in the project at all levels.
You all did so well developing those young people into the proud, confident and motivated young people that we said “goodbye and well done” to on that Wednesday evening.

I will raise a glass in your honour.

Your nicked sunshine…..

2008-09-17T11:52:00.000+01:00

No I did not get arrested !!

Tuesday this week involved me and my colleague attending the Essex Police College to talk to the new PCSO (Police Community Support Officers) in training about the role of an Education Welfare Officer, our team and my role as a Youth worker.
The aim of this is talk was to educate the PSCO’s on how all our jobs will overlap.
The college was fantastic to us, for which we have had a fair bit of stick, as they provided lunch for the two of us and reserved both of us a car park space.

At last a perk to the job !!

The presentation went well and a few questions were asked.
This will be a regular slot in their training programme which can only benefit us all.

I hate the M11.

2008-09-17T11:42:00.000+01:00

Today I had to travel up the M11 to Cambridge to a seminar on Health Plans for people with long term conditions.
I really do not like to travel up the M11. I mean two lanes for a heavy used motorway is silly. The venue did say that it had facility to have helicopters land, so maybe that would be a request I put in for the future !!
Would love top see the face of the finance department when the request arrived.
Anyway off my soap box now.

The seminar was at Chilford Hall and Vineyard. Such a great venue. You are in a huge old barn that is very well laid out and the service received was fantastic.

The day was spent looking at the need of a personal health plan for long term condition sufferers. I was attended by health professionals, social care professionals, patients and carers. Got to meet many people and gain some useful contact for my work with the young people that have CFS or ME.

The day finished at 3pm which gave me enough time to get back in the car and drive back down “that road” to Basildon in time for the penultimate session of the Uproject.
Presentation by the young people is complete just got to get them to the Hadleigh Youth Centre on Wednesday night to do their stuff and impress the JAR inspectors.

Friday child is…..

2008-09-17T11:28:00.000+01:00

Today’s events included a catch up on the paperwork in the office.
Then it was off to The Billericay School to a meeting with the peer support group.
They are in the planning stage of their residential training event on 17th October.

We are off to Saffron Walden to a centre to train the new peer supporter to develop the network within the school.
So some silly games to help with the team building and a few sessions on the roles and responsibilities of peer support.

I’m looking forward the sessions of planning prior to the event and the residential it’s self.

I always find a residential experience for young people to have great benefit in there development and ability to build closer relationships with workers. Valuable in the work we do.

The weekend was a busy one too………I do rest sometimes I think !!!

Sunday I spent supporting my son’s scout troop by working on the gate at the Country Show at Barleylands. The weather was great for the event and it was good fun taking the entrance money off all the happy punters. Some were not so happy at the cost. £10 for and adult, £7 for a pensioner, £5 for a child, which does not sound too bad until you turn up as a family of 4 with your teen age children. According to Barleylands rules a child is aged 3-12 years. So a £25 family ticket has now become 4 adults at £40 !!!
As far as concessions and a equal opps. policy over 60 years £7 if your pushing a non motorised wheel chair then you go in free. Everyone else normal price.

This caused some to be distressed selling the tickets, especially when we had to charge a blind deaf woman £10 to get in ! I know a line has to be drawn but really its not right. So I would encourage people to make a fuss and complain if they are treated that way. But remember that the person on the gate is not going to be the one that set the rules, but has to follow them despite their views on them.

New term - same stress !!

2008-09-11T17:50:00.002+01:00

Well I have been back from Wales for nearly two weeks now. I don’t seem to have caught up with my sleep but hey I always seem to be in catch up mode there.

So what has been on the agenda.

Well most of the first week was spend editing the footage for the presentation but it’s finally finished ready for the fine tuning by the rest of the team.

I have also been moderating OCN folder from a residential that a group undertook around local youth councils.

It always seem to take longer to do each folder than I planned. I really should work out a system to get them done quicker. But at least that fourteen young people on their way to an accreditation ready for JAR !!

The sessional staff returned to work this week refreshed after the summer break. Now time to get them to continue to support those young people they have been working with prior to the break.

The weekend was mine to spend time with my son so off to London we went for a day of fun at the IMAX, Hamley’s, Science Museum and then dinner at Planet Hollywood. Sunday was a day of rest for us both chilling in front of the telly eat anything but our 5-a-day, sorry Health but a little bit of bad food can’t be that bad.

This week has been just as busy really.

Monday we had the first session of the Uproject since Wales and had a good turn out of “changed” young people in the centre finishing folders and planning their presentation.

Tuesday was a rush to a meeting for us “Involvement Champions” across the county. We are a group of worker that strive to get the involvement of young people in the development of all our services. It was a tricky one as out of over 40 people that should have been there I think we had just over a dozen. Personally I think that’s a poor turn out, I know that people are busy and time matters. But this is a big thing really. If we do not get the involvement of the clients in our service then how can we be sure we are meeting the needs.

We did find out that it’s nearly YEA (Young Essex Assembly) election time again in December. So we all need to pull out the stops and get young people motivated to engage.

Wednesday was good with a few young people dropping into the health outreach session or “Condom Club”

It was good to finally have a few that wanted to stop for a while and chat.

Today was a very interesting day.
I have started sitting on the Community Training Advisory Group (CTAG) which is a panel of community representatives working with the Essex Police training college to help the service understand the issues of the community and the range and diversity of groups that make up the community in which they will serve.

This was a first meeting for me but the panel has been running for a little while.
We have also agreed to have officers in training come to the TASCC and undertake a 3 day community placement. They will get an insight into my role and the ways we engage with young people.
I would hope this can only benefit young people and the police service in building relationships but would welcome comments please…….

The Uproject Residential

2008-09-08T14:07:00.002+01:00

Well what a week we had at Maes-y-lade outdoor centre
I do not think that I have ever laughed so much.
The week started with the arrival of the coach and young people at the office.
We boarded for Wales and made it as far as Barnet before one staff member wanted to throw up !! the young people were fine …I don’t know you just cant get the staff these days!!

I won’t bore you all with the details as I could write pages on what happened over the week and the in jokes etc..

So here is a brief breakdown

Monday :
Travelled to Wales – 6 and a bit hours !!
Arrived and settled in.
Ate dinner and then had a couple of hours up on the hills walking. This was a whole new experience for some.
Back to centre and bed.

Tuesday:
One group spent the day canoeing and the other group Gorge walking.
What a great day so many of the young people overcame phobias and pushed themselves above and beyond their comfort zone.
Evening was young people delivering a session on Knife crime using the new DVD.

Wednesday:
Groups swapped activities and again more tremendous outcomes.
That night was a night out in Brecon at the sports centre doing some bowling.

Thursday:
One group did Horse riding at the Llangorse centre and the other stayed at the centre and went mountain biking.
The afternoon was all at Llangorse climbing.
The evening activity was planned to be biviying in the hills but the Welsh weather meant that we had to cancel that for another evening on the hills undertaking a search and rescue exercise, before packing ready to depart in the morning

Friday:
The journey home.
Slight problem with the coach which was resolved so we were almost back on time.

As part of the week the young people completed their folders for their City and Guild qualifications as well as producing a daily newsletter, updating the website and making many new friends along the way.

Big big thank you to the Maes-y-lade staff especially Richard and John the instructors who made the week for us all.
Its so nice as a worker to come back from a residential tired from the activities and not form the issues or going-ons of the young people.

The staff team was fantastic and a joy to work with.

With all the video footage and the photo’s I have now spent over 15 hours putting together the DVD of the week in preparation for the presentation on the 17th.

Next session is tonight planning for the presentation.

Latest update

2008-09-08T13:44:00.002+01:00

Summer Project

Well the summer project has been a great success despite the summer weather never quite making it to Essex.

Events included:
8 young ladies getting 90 minutes of health treatments at Secrets Health and Beauty in Billericay.
The girls had manicures, pedicures; nail art is desired followed by a mini facial, massage and hair styling. I have to say that it was great to watch them beam with enjoyment during the morning. Many thanks to all the staff at the salon who did a fantastic job looked after us all during the day. Thanks for all the goodies and the snacks.

The morning of the 7th August was spent at Rayleigh Karting track with 29 young people. This is a great place to take groups. The staff are very good with the more challenging and explain things to the young people in ways that they can understand. The young people were divided into 3 groups all getting to race on three separate occasions culminating in a trophy for the fastest Kart.
Sad I know but I love this and get very competitive so made it a challenge for the young people to beat me. They rose to the challenge and really made the races fun. I won’t embarrass the winner as he is a very modest TASCC Youth worker !!!!!!

The 8th of August was a fantastic day spent at Thriftwood Scout campsite with the young people and staff of BOSP.
BOSP (Brighter Opportunity through Supported Play) is a fantastic team of worker that dedicate their time to working with those young people with special needs.
It was great to be able to support the group to partake in the activities at the campsite for the two weeks they were there.
The young people got to ride on the wooden toboggans, go pond dipping, learn circus skills and finish with a BBQ and sing along around the camp fire.

Well that ended a great week.

The following week started with residential planning for the Uproject.

The gang all got together to finalise the arrangement for heading to Wales next Monday. You should have seen the list of snack items they wanted us to take for the evenings.
We even had time for silly games on the field. Its great to see that even 16 year olds can find playing with a parachute and ball in public a laugh. I’m really looking forward to the residential next week now.

Wednesday involved arranging all the it equipment for the Wales trip. We have planned to produce a newsletter on a daily basis and to update the iGoogle site with photo and messages as we go.
It seem like we might need a second coach to get it all there !

Thursday was a trip for 30 young people to Stubbers in Upminster.
It’s a great outdoor education centre that has really developed well over the last few years.
Activities here were team problem solving first for my group. This involved climbing into huge tires and trying to swap places with getting out. Followed by low ropes, balance beams and the good old 7 foot wall and spider web problems.

Then we had all terrain boarding. If you have never tried this do it’s great.
Basically its skateboarding on grass or snow boarding with wheels !!
The way you stop is called “bumming out” which in simple terms you use you bum as the brake by sitting down. Ouch !! Good fun flying down the hills and trying not to hit each other.

The last activity was high ropes. This was a big challenge for a lot of the young people and was made more fun when the heavy rain hit for a few minutes.

Loads of personal goals and recorded outcomes from this day.

Friday was deployment of the mobile youth centre on the green at Sun corner.
We had a few young people attend and have raised awareness of us in the area.
I got to practise my Diablo skills and chat with some new young people from the area about their needs.

Where does time go

2008-08-12T12:10:00.002+01:00

Hi folks, it's been a while !

Well i guess i should say sorry for not blogging recently but this new role means that i get so busy i just have not had time.

Right what have i been up to......

July well the first week was a holiday for me in sunny Spain, followed by a return to reality and the desk.
Well i have had a young lady who has been on work experience with us for a couple of weeks.
I think she enjoyed herself and has not been put of becoming a youth worker.

It's been a busy month planning the summer project.
The team of young people have done really well in the planning of activities in the area.
We have had a pamper day for the girls, a trip go-karting and this week its off to an outdoor centre for a day of fun.

The Uproject is going well and we are off to Wales next week with about 24 young people.
i hope they will enjoy and benefit from the trip. They have all completed a basic food hygiene certificate and first aid so far.

Loads of casework and some are very complicated cases, which i do not remember doing the training for so i guess i just have to get on with it and hope that i am dealing with it in the correct way.

Training need file is getting very thick now !!!!!

Right off now blog soon.

Keep it up all of you fellow "yoof" workers !!

Thursday's child is....

2008-06-20T11:26:00.001+01:00

Today started with a visit to one of the senior schools to meet with one of my case load for some mentoring work.
Only had the break time to chat but covered quite a lot in the 15 minutes. Thanks to Sandra for the use of her office.
Then its on to met with the other Billericay youth workers in Costa. The highlight of my week! Love my caffeine hit every Thursday. Met with another new worker from one of the churches, which I have added to my list for flooding with emails of information. He may not be so pleased, after a few weeks, that he met me and handed out his email details.
The rest of the day was supposed to be some office work but I had been in for about 10 mins when I get a call from the neighbour of my ex. She is throwing for England and the kids need caring for. So the rest of my day and most of the evening was spent dealing with sick!! All in the line of work I guess.
Shame I was looking forward to the session at Langham Hall in South Green. Wanted to find out about the event on the green on Saturday. Oh well guess I will just turn up and see.

Rush around Wednesday

2008-06-20T10:51:00.001+01:00

The day started with admin and report writing in the office. Had planned to get in at 11 due to working late but had loads to do so it was a 930 start. Oh well one day I will try out these “LAY INS” that other people in “Normal” jobs talk about.

The “Condom club” or “Jonny Boys Outing”, thanks to Hayley for that suggestion, was another very quiet session, despite endless posters and emails to advertise the service.
Had fun sorting the filling cabinet at the centre so that passed the time.
This finished at 7 which gave me minus 30 mins to get across Billericay to a Fair Share meeting in Queens Park. This was due to finish at 8pm but in reality it was 8:45pm. Take out for dinner on the way home.

Tuesday is what tuesday is !

2008-06-18T15:27:00.002+01:00

Early start today collecting some great resources from Lynne Taylor at the NHS.
She has given me loads of hand out for young people on drugs and alcohol. Thanks ever so much Lynne they will be most useful.

Then it was pop to the office to drop off the boxes.

This was followed by a few hours in Billericay where I met Leigh from Secrets Hair and Beauty, which is a salon in Billericay high street. Leigh has offered me a fantastic deal as part of my summer project for the young ladies of Billericay. They will be able to have their feet, hands, hair and shoulder treated to a pamper session.
Leigh has offered me a really great price which makes her my “Tuesday superstar” a recently invented title granted but someone had to be first.

Uproject Week Two

2008-06-18T15:13:00.001+01:00

This week only saw 7 young people attend, which was a bit disappointing but that seems to be the norm with Uprojects across the county.

Today’s sessions was a trip to the local connexions office for a meet and greet session. The young people got to meet the PA’s for all the roles within the centre. Each PA gave a brief intro to their role and then we gave the young people a quiz. This was aimed at getting them to look around the centre and find out important information that would assist them engaging with the service.

It was a strange atmosphere in the office, not unlike our own office after the changes were made back in September. You could sense the feeling of insecurity over the future as July looms. That for those that do not know is when the integration of integrated youth services, TASCC and Connexions is complete.

But back to the Young people, they enjoyed the visit which lasted nearly 45 mins. We then walked them back to the Space youth centre, via the Great Oaks Clinic, which has a young sexual health drop in service, the local police station and other assorted landmarks of Basildon town.!!

The session then looked at the accreditation that we would be doing during the programme. Young people filled in what they could on their folders and before you knew it the time had passed and we were finishing for the week.

My day had not finished their as I now had a two hour home visit to complete a CAF (Common Assessment Framework) document with a family in need.
So a 0830 start and a 2130 finish!! Par of the course now.

At last a minute to catch up

2008-06-12T16:39:00.003+01:00

Well I feel I have neglected this blog. I have been such a busy boy that I have not time to update.

So lets get started….

3rd June

Am
Day started with a meeting at Pioneer School in Basildon. This is a great little school that supports children with special needs.
They are finally getting a new school that will help support the fantastic work they do in the community.
The plan was to move in prior to the summer holiday but due to contractors going bust, this has had to be delayed to the end of the holidays.
As a group we have been looking at providing activities for the children in the additional two weeks of summer holidays. This has to include rest bite for the parents and to aid the transition into the new premises.

Pm
Had a meeting tonight with the group of young people that are planning the summer activities for Billericay. Only has an hour but boy did we get some work done.
We had some great ideas developed following the consultation and each memeber of the group took on the responsibility to research, cost and provisionally book events.
They did so well. Well done guys.
The group will feed back via email on their progression as they decided that this would be the easier way than lots of meetings. A virtual planning group is born !!!

4th June

After a day in the office doing paperwork and all that other boring stuff it was time to launch the new health drop in session for young people in Billericay.

The “Condom club” as I have been describing it in the office, is a drop in session from 4 pm till 7 pm in The Billericay Day centre in Chantry Way just off the High Street.
Staffed my Jane Snowdon (qualified nurse) and myself we opened the doors to the drop in for information on contraception, abortion, sexuality and any general health issues as well as offering a condom dispensary and emergency contraception service, all free of charge !!

Sadly no up take on the first night but that was kind of expected and further advertising has gone out.

5th June

Met with the other Billericay youth workers in Costa and found that the support we had given to SMB (Schools Ministry Billericay) in supplying transition books for year 6 students, has been going really well.
They had been to my son’s school that day so I hope he will tell me all about it.

Thursday evenings is SGY (South Green Youth) at Langham hall. This open centre is going really we have some great young people there. Its had some issues but I hope these will be resolved soon.

6-8th June

Inters camp at the Vauxhall Christian Trust. What a great place for a residential.
Its only up the A12 and than 10 minute drive into what seems like the middle of nowhere!

The kitchen is great and the bunk houses sleep 6 in each, but be warned if your over 5 foot you wont be able to stretch out in your bunk !
It has a lake for water sports and volleyball net, football goals and a games room that would make Dave Petrie proud. What a shed !!
I think that I will look to running a few trips up there soon. If you want to do a Bronze or Silver D of E expedition then I think they can accommodate camping without any problems.

9th June

Truancy project session at the Billericay School today with those that have the highest amount of missing days, and yes before you ask a couple of them did bunk off the session !!!!!
This was a TASCC sessions run by my colleague Cheryl (senior EWO) and myself.
We look at what truancy was and why people truant. We had some good discussions from the session and have learnt lots to assist us in dealing with the issue. The session went really quick and we all felt, young people included, that an hour was just not enough. Some tweaking needed to get it right but hopefully the girls (yes it was all girls!) will have food for thought that might make them reflect on the implications of that “can’t be arsed” to go to school attitude.

The early evening say the first session for the Basildon Uproject. This is a joint IYS (Integrated Youth Support) and Connexions project that is aimed at the year 11’s. Out of the 28 referrals, we had 10 young people attend and parents. Got consents signed and gave them an overview of the programme for the next few months.
Some of the young people I knew as they have been engaged in other projects, so that makes the relationship building easier.
Should be a good project, am looking forward to the residential in August.

10th June

A few meetings to wade through this morning and then a home visit which is now part of my role.
This is the new ways of working that I have had to adapt to as a youth worker within TASCC.
It requires casework that has been a new thing so a lot of us to get our heads around.

11th June

Second session of the “Condom Club” which fly by but again no take up but it was nice to sit and chat strategy with Jane.

12th June

Today at last!!

Good meeting with the youth workers in Costa and ideas shared for up coming events that we can all support for the young people.
Then back to the office to write up case files and arrange other home visits for CAF’s to be completed. I have a staff supervision to do tonight with one of my detached workers, planned for Costa coffee again so a last caffeine hit before heading home for an night in front of the telly …not watching Big brother !!!!

Singing in the Rain !

2008-05-28T12:06:00.003+01:00

The weekend is over and the rust has set in !!
The bank holiday was spent in the North Downs on a silver practise, Duke of Edinburgh’s expedition.
We only had 4 groups out of 6 that we started with in the planning stages, so 23 young people, but with 5 staff members that’s much easier to manage.

The weekend started early with the collection of the minibus from the depot and a short drive to Markham’s Chase Youthy to collect the young people.

The young people had to travel by coach due to lack of minibuses, so the trip was a little more expensive than they hoped. Despite it being subsidised by the Basildon West TASCC.

All but 3 young people turned up at the right time, the last three having to be phoned and woken which held us up by at least half an hour.

Finally we arrive “safely” …well I did I think those in the coach would disagree following the comments about the driving!!

The young people all set off on the first day of walking with smiles and excitement, that did not last long. The weather was fine not a bad day to walk really.
After a few checks along the way they finally arrived at the first nights stop, Holmbury St Mary Youth Hostel. Now, I have used hostels for camping and residentials for many years but was surprised with Holmbury. The camping area here has never been what you would describe as big but it can cope with the amounts we normally put in for the night, it was more the facilities that were not so good. To start off there are no outside toilets so you have to get a door key for out of hours at £20 deposit !! I do not remember it being like this over the last 15 years.
Also they do not want young people in the building after hours so if you want a wee in the middle of the night and no key is the old nature toilet for you.
The water tap is surrounded by the bins so not very healthy, having said that there is an outside hot and cold tap. Be careful they are not labelled.
After the final group arrived at 8.45pm!! we finally got to have food and sleep, disturbed by the rain but that’s the fun of tents.
Second day started wet but cleared by 10 and was a great day for walking again. This time the finish was Tanners Hatch youth Hostel. I love this hostel. It’s in the middle of the woods and very basic. But it does now have great showers and toilets outside!!!! Again a wet and windy night with what looked like half a tree all over the minibus come morning. Another wet start that then got worse as the day went on but the young people carried on and arrived at the finish in great spirits.
Well done to them all. We finished at a parking place in the woods just off junction 10 of the M25. It has a café and does great tea!!
All back by 5pm and I was even on my way home after returning the minibus by 6pm so not too bad.
Had a great soak in the bath and a relaxing evening with a glass of wine and a coffee or two. After hanging up the old tent and sticking all the kit in the wash.

Half term this week so office stuff, planning for the summer activities project, as well as supervision and a couple of well deserved days off.

That was the week that was. Part three

2008-05-23T11:37:00.001+01:00

Thursday was a day of difference.

It started with a hour at the Billericay school in with their Student Voice group.
This is made up of the young people from “Backchat” and the Class captains who meet to discuss and resolve issues within the school, which affect pupils.

The topic covered were reward trips, which they have as a group, been successful in maintaining despite financial support has dwindled.
They discussed the heat in the changing room and the need for air conditioning in them. This has been an issue for a few years from what they said so hopefully it can be resolved soon.
They also discussed the need for support from me in extra curricular activities, this I offered so some project possibilities there.

The evening is the SGY (South Green Youth). This is a community run youth club that I support. Its going really well and young people have been working with local DJ’s and MC’s putting down lyrics that they have been chatting ready for a stage performance at the Boom Room, part of the BASFES for this year.

Friday is office to start and then I have MEnU the M.E/CFS support group for young people in Billericay.
This will be followed by a summer project meeting in Costa Coffee with young people. Then I must pack ready for the Duke of Edinburgh’s award expedition to the North Downs this weekend.
Was hoping that I would catch some rays but looks like it will be waterproof jackets instead.

That’s my lot catch you all on the flip side of half term.

That was the week that was. Part two

2008-05-23T10:42:00.003+01:00

Tuesday was a bit of an office day.

I started to plan a piece of work with one of my TASCC colleagues that’s focus is on improving school attendance.
We are planning to work with a group of young people from one of the senior schools that have a poor attendance record.
This will involve having the “bunkers” for an hour to explore the reasons and consequences of being truant from school or lessons.

This is one of the priorities of our TASCC but it’s not such major problem in our area, as it is in neighbouring areas.
Who knows this could turn out to be a pilot for a county wide project?

The evening saw me attend a Youth town council meeting with the Billericay Youth Town Council. The meeting last an hour and various issues were raised.
I was able to recruit most of the young people onto my summer project planning committee. So a result for them, and me.
I really need to get them linked to the Young Essex Assembly and the District youth council.
They are a lively bunch but are very committed to their roles.

Wednesday was Health Day at Billericay School.

This was a great day. Not only does it get across important messages to the young people in year 9 but It gives me a chance to get registrations !!!
As you know in this changing world of youth work, it’s a number game sometimes.
Gone are the days when we knew we had done a good job because young people left us smiling and informed; now they really need to have a certificate saying that as well.
Don’t get me wrong I think accreditation is very important, but I think that services sometimes push it so hard that activities are planned to hit targets and not always to meet the needs of young people.
But in order to prove our worth we do what we must but have the interests of the young people at heart.
So what did you do with the young people I hear you shout? LOL
I do a session on alcohol which seems to go down really well. Its an hour long and has to be delivered five times in the day per team. I had two teams this year again. Thanks Dave H, Dave B and Gill W for your support. The additional hours will be in your pay packs next month.
We look at why we drink, what we drink, how much we drink and the affect that can have on us and those around us.
As part of this session I get a young person to pour out what they think is a standard measure and then pour a party size drink. We then look at the amount of units of alcohol that is in the party drink, and calculate the amount of units that someone may drink in an evening at a party. This is then used to work out a time line on when you are sober.
This always put a shocked look on some of the teacher’s faces!!!!!(maybe they should not have driven to school on Monday morning!)

Then the highlight is getting the “drunken” glasses out. What a great resource that is. I try to get the teachers to have a go and the next day YouTube is full of the vid’s of their teacher stumbling around a chair.
Watching the characteristic of the young people is great fun, might take the video camera next time.
So at least 200 young people came away from our session with a bit more awareness on the topic of alcohol. (I hope !..well the evaluations/recorded outcomes say they did)
The year 9 have a whole day looking at various topics like this.
They get a drugs talk from Gary at EYPDAS, Sex talk form the PCT, Mental health from the guys on the mental health team and a spiritual health from the faith based youth workers Dave, Mark and Ruth.

It’s a great day for social education and informal education, lets hope they carry on and are adopted by other schools.

That was the week that was. Part One.

2008-05-23T10:14:00.001+01:00

Well folks it’s been a too long between blogs but here is an update on this weeks fun and games.

Monday was a great day. An early start as I had to be at my son’s school at 0730hrs to be a “responsible” adult and support the school on a trip to Stubbers Outdoor centre.
Well we all pilled onto 3 coaches with the whole of year 6!!!
I had been allocated group 13 made up of 8 kids eager to partake in the days events. The school had done a blinding job of getting a kit list, of sorts, out to the kids, so they all turned up with bags full of changes of clothes. I think had we gone for a week they still would have had spare clothing !!!!!!

So the short trip to Upminster started and the kids were great all stayed in their seats with their belts on.

Arrival at Stubbers was the cue needed for some sun shine but it’s always a bit windy there.
My group had Adventure trail first. This is a team problem solving event which they all did really well on. Some great team work with very little additional support from the instructor or me needed.

Then a short break for the mass intake of sugar based snacks and a well needed coffee for me.

Next came raft building. A great activity for all ages. The group got really into it and built a fantastic raft. It even floated which a put smile on all there little faces.
They raced against the other 5 groups involved in the activity and were winning until they had a “man over board “ incident. This was one of the largest team members (the kids nearly as big as me and he is year six!!- Essex police should look out for this one, he’s riot control on his own!) Good on my boy he decides that he will take it on himself to pull him back on board. However my boy is not the same build or size as me, he is quite the opposite. It was like Peewee Herman trying to pull Arnold Schwarzenegger in. Well you can guess what happened…..Splosh. I have a feeling that my boy had seen this as a good way to jump in because he was laughing so much.
Next came lunch and the opening of the tuck shop. Why do kids think that this is the high light of the day …. A chance to buy a giant pencil that even “Arnie” would struggle to hold! Or a further 2 kilos of processed sugar.

Then we were all back on the water for open canoeing which was great fun and only one capsize LOL.

Finally we had rock climbing which the kids all did really well. Many of them pushed themselves beyond they normal limit. Hats off to two of the girls in my group who both got to the top, twice, despite having a fear of heights.
Well done ladies you were my stars of the day.
Then back on the coach and home for 1730hrs.
A long day but great fun.
I cant praise the staff of Stubbers enough for the day. I have used the centre many times now and have never been disappointed with any of the activities or the way the staff have been with the young people. It’s a great centre, well worth a visit. http://www.stubbers.co.uk

I had hoped to get to the YEA event on the green pledge but ran out of time. Sorry guys hope it went well.

Development Day – A contradiction in terms?

2008-05-14T18:22:00.001+01:00

Well it has been an interesting day today, to say the least !!

It started really well with a short trip up the A12 to Rivenhall so I got to spend a bit longer at home this morning updating my Facebook !

Arrive and meet up with some great friends and colleagues that I have not seen for a while. I quite like the venue for these type of events.

The morning session was good with a great intro by Jo Smith, who I am actually finding to be quite an interesting speaker, despite the “Tingly badge” talk back in September. LOL.
Then I felt like we were being told off for not performing despite the service being dissected and distributed with little idea of our roles, but hey we are all adapting to that.
The focus then was on Open centre work which, to be honest, I thought would be very dull, however some good discussions and ideas came out of that. Sorry to Tim and the rest for going off on a tangent about working with young people under the influence of alcohol and drugs. I would welcome people’s views on when guidelines and policy are superseded by the duty of care. This has been a long running issue in many a detached worker residential or forum.
Then we get to drink the strongest coffee known to man ! why do they make it so strong at hotels ? you would think the best thing would be to serve decaf then people will sleep, after all is that not the point in a hotel !!(ok well not always hehehe)

Then came the next session and then lunch which was ok I guess except for poor old Jiff who thought he would have a piece of pizza but it was not vegetarian as he had hoped.
Thought at one point that he was going to chuck !
It only take a little label – come on hotel staff can’t be that hard can it !

The after lunch session was ….well heated was not the word really. It focused on the role of the TASCC youth worker and our table was nearly at boiling point. Poor Steve Oldacre got the flack. Sorry Steve but as your at the top that’s one of the disadvantages. At least he is in the understanding that we are attacking the system and not him.
The after all that Sue Thomas tells us that we should only be working with 13-19 year olds, have limited case work and that she has told the TASCC managers that.
This is great for some of the work that we have been asked to do lately (eh Liz !!!)
But I do feel that I would like to continue with some of the sessions I have done for the junior school age groups as I do feel it enhances the skills I have as a youth worker.

Maybe I need to get a second job in a children’s centre !!

Well that was the Development day not that I feel I was developed much but I guess the developments will come in the fall out from all that was discussed today.
One tired and caffeine filled TASCC youth worker signing off and heading for the Vino aisle tonight.

Today's events

2008-05-08T17:18:00.003+01:00

Well it has been a good day today for me.
It starts as always on Thursday's with a meeting in Costa Coffee in Billericay.
Here, not only do i get my caffeine fix, but also get to chat youthwork with fellow youthworker in the Billericay Area.
Today we even got to sit in the sun and discuss the up coming events, as well as a rather strange chat over what we should wear for a Dragon boat race.
I'm not sure how long it will take for the mental images of certain local councillors in MANKINI's to go. Yuck !!

Then it was off to talk to my former co-workers from "The good old Basildon days". Thanks Ladies. Again a chance to sit in the sun and chat.

Then back to the office only to find that i can't access my emails following the unfortunate events in Chelmsford yesterday. But hey maybe i can look tonight when i get home....If i have any power !!!

Then to finish today i have an evening session in South Green at a voluntary youth group, which i help support. It has been a couple of weeks since i was there last but I'm happy to be back, just love the face to face work.

Plans for Tomorrow......
Well its the CYPSP Conference in the morning with the young people from the firebreak course giving a presentation. Unfortunately i only have 2 out of the 4 that were involved due to SAT exams at school,But education comes first.

Then in the afternoon tomorrow its MEnU the drop in for young people with M.E. or C.F.S. so looking forward to that.

Catch you all soon.

The week ahead

2008-04-29T10:28:00.004+01:00

Well a busy week is underway.

This week i have a couple of good projects ongoing. The first is working with 4 young people who attended a Firebreak course. This is a junior fire fighter training week. It helps to build self esteem and confidence it those that take part. The girls in the group said it was just to get up close with fireman !! but hey if it means that they stick to it then I'm not going to complain.

They did really well on the course and have now been asked to present four 10 minute sessions on what they did at the CYPSP Conference on Friday.

They are excited and nervous as well but they will be fine I'm sure.

Also the planning is starting for the summer projects for this year. I even have a decent budget to help deliver some good quality events.

I am putting together a core group of young people that will be responsible for deciding and planning the events for the good of the others. Consultation work has already been done so that makes it a bit easier for the big task they have ahead.

Hoping that the group will go for the idea of using some of the money as a bursary fund that young people can apply for to fund personal activities in the summer as well.

But early days so will have to see how that pans out.

As for other work, well case work is low at the moment for me which is good, but I'm looking to develop some group work sessions around school attendance and reasons for truancy in the area. It one of the TASCC's priorities so some joint working with EWS. if you have any good ideas please drop me a line.

Been chatting to young people about the latest news stories as well which has generated so good lines to follow up on.

Planning underway for the UProject and all that entails so quite busy at the moment.

Well enough waffle for today.

and always remember " If you always do what you've always done, you will always get what you've always got "

Andy

My Fisrt Blog - The Virgin Diaries

2008-04-25T11:49:00.000+01:00

Well hello and welcome to this the first of many entries in the "life of a Youth worker within a TASCC"

I guess i should introduce myself. Well here goes.
My name is Andy and i have been involved in Youth Work for about 23 years now.
I started as a member of my local youth club and well, like a lot of us "professionals" i never left !!
So i have a bit of experience and knowledge that i have managed to beg, borrow and steal over the years.
My passion has always been young people and as a worker i have always tried to support and develop the young people with whom i work.
I love detached work which i have been involved in for at least 15 years now.
So I'm used to being out in all weathers and spend many nights walking the street looking for that elusive group of young people.
I have worked for Essex County Council and Havering Council as well as worked for Voluntary groups and community funded provisions.

Currently I'm deployed in a TASCC which stands for Team Around Schools, Children and Communities. These are new multi discipline teams of County based staff including EWO's, CAMHS workers, Behaviour support and social care staff.
We are an early intervention and preventative service for children, young people and families in the Billericay area.
Its interesting and different to the way i used to work under the Youth Service and is developing into a very efficient and innovative service for those families in need in the area i serve.

Well that's a start so more to follow

take care out there.
and remember
"If you always do what you've always done you'll always get what you've always got"

Andy