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Year 2 Evaluation Report

Appendix 2: Self evaluations

September 2012

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Chestnut Tree House’s Fun & Friendship Transition Project

Overview

The purpose of this case study is to identify the positive impacts and outcomes and also

challenges which have arisen from the Chestnut Tree House Fun & Friendship Transition

project.

For the case studies, we interviewed six people: two young people (both non-verbal, one

male and one female who use a combination of vocalisations and basic makaton to

communicate – Young Person A is male and Young person B is female), their parents

(one mother and one father – Parent A is mother to Young Person A and Parent B is father

to Young Person B) and two members of staff (Staff Member A and Staff Member B both

know the young people and the project well).

The following are the main impacts and outcomes of the study:

The providing of regular and varied activities has had a resoundingly positive impact on

the young people who use Chestnut Tree House (CTH) services. Activities allow them to

have fun, try something new and meet new friends.

Giving young people the opportunity to explore their local communities – whether that is

shops, activities or other amenities – has had a positive impact on young people who use

CTH services

Introducing young people to non-disabled young people (the volunteer Buddies) has had

a positive impact on the young people who use CTH services

Involving trained nurses and Care Support Workers in activities for care reasons has a

positive impact on the young people who use CTH services as their clinical needs can be

met in a safe and supportive environment

Young people are enjoying opportunities for supported independence away from their

parents/carers and school, which they have been heavily reliant upon until now

Parents are very grateful that CTH are able to provide suitable care and recreational

activities for their young people and also benefit from additional time where they can take

care of themselves, spend time with the rest of the family etc.

Background

Chestnut Tree House is the only children’s hospice in Sussex and caters for local children

and young people – from birth to 19 years of age – with progressive life-limiting and life-

threatening illnesses such as Muscular Dystrophy, Spinal Muscular Atrophy, multiple

disabilities, cancer and progressive genetic disorders. There are potentially 400 families with

life-limited children in Sussex alone.

We provide overnight short breaks at our hospice in Arundel, West Sussex, community care

and support at home and in local communities and end of life care for children and young

people in the last stages of their lives.

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Chestnut Tree House wanted to apply for funding from BBC Children in Need to meet the

following specific needs that had been identified for the young people who access our

services:

o Improved social and recreational opportunities with peers

o Support to access their local communities on a semi-independent basis

o An understanding of the opportunities available to them when moving from

children’s into adult services

It was felt the funding from the Fun & Friendship Programme could help us to meet these

needs and support the young people in ways appropriate to them. The outcomes would be

that the young people and their families had access to improved services and that they would

feel better supported at a time which is often regarded as particularly challenging.

As the only children’s hospice in the whole county, the need is clear. Often, the combination

of medical and physical need can not be catered for in a low-level disability setting, let alone

a mainstream one, and with more and more young people with life-limiting conditions living

longer than expected, that challenge is only set to increase. The project was really going to

give us the chance to ‘get off the starting blocks’.

The Fun and Friendship project

Chestnut Tree House’s Fun & Friendship project aims to meet the above objectives in a

number of ways. The funding gives us the opportunity to run monthly Youth Groups; one on

a Saturday during the day and another on a Friday evening. The Saturday sessions are

geared more towards those with sensory needs and abilities and the Friday Youth Group is

for those who are more cognitively able and physically active.

A part of the Youth Groups is to give the young people a chance to socialise with each other

and also meet new people. The project recruits and trains volunteer Buddies aged 16-25 who

then act as friends to the young people at these activities, supporting and enabling them to

enjoy themselves. The Buddy Coordinator arranges activities and recruits and supports the

volunteers.

To enable them to access local services safely, young people will get the chance to explore

their community with a Community Care Support Worker. This comes in the form of a

monthly visit, where young people can choose the sort of things they do. Activities may

include going out to eat, to the library, bowling, to the cinema or just for a walk to the park.

This is intended to provide young people with a degree of supported independence as they

move towards into their teenage years and adulthood.

The project also gives us the chance to help young people and their families explore issues

around transition to adult services. The Team Leader’s role is to scope suitable and available

services and help families to navigate their way through, planning ahead for the transition

which usually takes place at age 18. Services that may be accessed include short break

respite care, residential care, day services and other means of support.

The project is open to 86 young people aged 12-18 (at the time of writing – this figure has

increased since the start of the project). Although all of these young people are on Chestnut

Tree House’s books, not all of them access all opportunities.

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Parents/carers are kept at arms length as much as possible. This is to allow the young

people to get used to not relying on them, although they are essential for transporting young

people to activity venues. Similarly – and particularly for the non-verbal young people – it is

useful to speak to parents to learn the best ways to communicate with their young people in

order to help them to communicate with us.

The Fun & Friendship Team work together to ensure that the different elements of the project

work together as best they can (eg. identifying a young person for transition support during

their monthly community visit or during Youth Group).

The following sections provide the main findings from the case study.

Impact

Impact on young people, parents and carers and the organisation

As both young people were non-verbal and have limited cognition and communication skills,

the two young people taking part were asked closed questions, in order to extract concrete

answers. Both young people responded affirmatively when asked if they had made friends on

the project. Staff Member A recounted details of young people making bonds with others

(including during shopping trips and encouraging each other during games of bowling), while

both members of staff noted positive interactions between young people and the volunteer

Buddies (including one arranging to go and see a young person at her sailing club). Young

Person B remembered the Buddies (‘the girls’), whereas Young Person A did not. However,

he did give a ‘thumbs-up’ for the staff who worked on the project and Young Person B smiled

when their names were mentioned. Both staff considered the current model an effective one:

with the Buddies being in the roles of enablers and friends and staff being there largely for

care and coordination reasons.

In terms of activities, Young Person A gave a thumbs-up for Youth Group in general and

especially swimming, which was deduced as his favourite activity. Young Person B enjoyed

going to the Sealife Centre with a friend on one of her Community Visits and also the

Pendulum Painting and T-Shirt Printing at Youth Group. She made an unhappy face when

talking about Drusillas (the zoo), but her dad thinks this is because of the wind and rainy

conditions of the day.

Parent B noted how many other community youth groups are not accessible, even if they’re

for disabled people and take place at community centres. Parent A said that ‘the project

gives him the chance for some independence from us. He gets very excited when the bus

turns up and doesn’t want us there’ and also that CTH staff take him to activities she wouldn’t

be brave enough to do. Both parents agreed that their young people were able to try new

activities and have fun, whilst being safe, when in the company of CTH staff. Staff Member A

commented that ‘75% of the young people we work with are non-verbal and have very little

other means of communication. We have no way of gauging how much they’ve enjoyed

themselves other than how vocal or smiley they are at the end of the day’.

Both members of staff commented that we have become financially better able to provide a

range of activities thanks to Children in Need and that there are more opportunities

nowadays for young people to do the sort of activities they want to do. Staff Member A

believes that places such as Marwell Zoo and Brooklands Park should be commended for

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installing Changing Places toilets, as they allow young people to enjoy themselves and

remain comfortable during activities and trips out. The impact of not having Changing Places

toilets is that young people have to either wait until they get home or back to the hospice or

compromise their dignity.

Both staff agreed that one young man in particular has seen an increase in confidence since

accessing the Fun & Friendship project. He was very reluctant to come at all and would cry,

ask for his mum and shout, but is now a lot happier and even stays in-house. We believe that

mum’s perseverance and the continued commitment of the Fun and Friendship and

Community Teams have effected this change.

Another young person, who used to look confused and sombre when arriving at Youth Group

now smiles and giggles when she arrives and another who goes out in the community with

her Care Support Worker has said that it’s good to go out with someone who isn’t mum.

While both parents in this study agreed that the Youth Groups, Activity Days and Community

Visits give them more respite time for them and the rest of their family, the young people are

clearly very grateful for the activities. Young Person B vocalised loudly when it was

suggested that we may be able to provide more regular activities in holidays and Young

Person A said ‘thank you’ after we had talked about his participation in the conversations.

Both young people are offered transport in the minibus when it is available, which allows

them to access a much more varied array of activities.

Which aspects of the project lead to impact?

Both members of staff agreed that Youth Group and Activity Days in the holidays have led to

friendships being created or improved. Staff Member B recounted that asking young people

what they want to do has had a positive impact on the project, as it responds directly to the

needs and requests of the young people concerned.

Staff Member A commented that the inclusion of Buddies has led to more non-disabled

young people spending time with young people who use CTH services and also to a model

that relies less on the support of staff. It is hoped that this will continue to grow.

Based on the comments of both parents, Community Visits and Youth Groups have given

young people the chance to spend time away from their parents and access the local

community. Location of activities has been a big challenge, as we cover a large area and can

only offer transport on a limited basis. Unfortunately, this has meant that some young people

do not attend activities or are limited in the ones they can attend (due to lack of transport or

distance needed to travel to get to activities).

An aspect of the project that has encouraged parents to view monthly ‘respite’ support as a

time for young people to do activities in the community as well as ‘respite’ time for them has

led to an increase in young people accessing local facilities. Although both Parents A and B

have taken to this approach positively, both staff note that some parents struggle with the

concept. Staff Member B in particular has had to persevere with several families to ensure

their young person is ‘permitted’ to go out and about on their Community Visits.

Although not a direct part of the project, access to suitable toilets and changing facilities have

a massive impact on activities. If the facilities are there, the young people can enjoy activities

in comfort, but if they are not, the activities either do not take place or we risk young people

being uncomfortable.

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Added value of being part of the wider Fun and Friendship programme

Both members of staff acknowledged the benefits of being involved in the wider programme.

Staff Member A suggested that being connected to Children in Need has made some people

‘sit up and take notice’ because they are a reputable organisation and are known throughout

the country.

Neither parent had witnessed any specific value that has been added through being part of

the wider Fun & Friendship programme, other than the obvious providing of services. Staff

Member B commented that it sometimes feels that there is so much to do with your own

project that there is little time to think about what others in the programme may be doing. In

addition, CTH have not yet had the chance to work with any of the other projects, although

this will be explored soon. It was felt that the level of need and ability CTH work with presents

very different challenges to most other projects. This provides an additional challenge when

completing necessary interviews, evaluations and reports.

Learning for the future

What works well

Both members of staff agreed that Saturday’s Sensory Youth Group is working well,

particularly when it is held at CTH and the numbers are high. A ‘sensory’ Youth Group was

an enormous need before the project started as there was nothing for young people with

such needs to get involved in. Parent B commented that his daughter seems to always enjoy

the company of staff, volunteers and other young people as she is always ‘happy and smiley’

when picked up. Staff Member A added that ‘it is difficult to know how they are feeling, but

many of them seem very happy to see us and leave with smiles on their faces’. Parent A

stated that her son can take a while to feel confident with new situations and settings and

that CTH and Youth Group have helped with this.

Staff Member A commented that it makes a huge difference to have one person lead on

activities, as any sporadic activities before the funding were shared between members of

staff, but that the willingness of having the Community Team on hand to help has been of

paramount importance. Staff Member A also noted the Buddies’ contribution has been

important and that many of them have grown and become ‘responsible’ beyond that which

we were expecting.

Staff Member B sees that the role of the Fun & Friendship and Community Teams has

‘allowed young people to have fun and enjoy themselves’ and that parents/carers are

enabling their young people by bringing them along to activities. In addition, comments

Parent B, parents get some much needed respite time. Staff Member A adds that all parents

seem to be very appreciative of this.

Staff Member B says that Transition work in schools has worked well as it has given the staff

a chance to get to know the young people a little better. It has also introduced teachers and

teaching assistants to Chestnut Tree House. In addition, nurses and care support workers

from outside the Fun & Friendship Team have been into schools to see other young people,

who are often very different in school environments.

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Parent B now trusts CTH with his daughter as ‘they are able to give regular and rescue

medication when needed’. He added that he sees CTH as ‘a first-rate service which gives us

the confidence needed to leave [our daughter] with you’.

What works less well - challenges and learning

As with any project, there have been some challenges and areas for learning. Firstly, and

beyond our control, young people with life-limiting conditions have fluctuating health

conditions. Parent B comments that ‘they may not be feeling well enough for activities or the

dates [for Youth Group] may clash with hospital appointments’. To begin with, he was

concerned over whether the staff would be able to support his daughter in a dystonic

episode, during which she can become quite distressed, due to the pain. Staff Member A

adds that some events have been less well-attended and visits have been cancelled due to

young people being unwell and having stays in hospital.

Both members of staff agreed that changing the idea of respite has also been a challenge.

Historically, this has been like a ‘babysitting’ service, says Staff Member A. Some parents do

not see the benefit to the young person and see it as disruptive to their plans, particularly if it

means that their young person may be tired the following day. There have also been

occasions when Youth Group has been held in the community, but attendance has been

poor, perhaps because parents do not trust the area or that they do not think their young

person will enjoy it. For the parents that do embrace these changes, such as Parents A and

B, there are still concerns; in particular, says Parent A, that physical access to community

facilities still isn’t perfect, despite obvious advances in recent years. Staff Member A adds

that toileting facilities that are labelled ‘disabled’ aren’t always suitable for the needs of young

people who come to CTH. Both parents commented that taking young people to places with

big, noisy crowds is a bad idea, with Parent A adding that ‘[young person] is not very good in

crowds, particularly during the holidays which can be manically busy. He can get quite

grabby.’ She continues: “He has to rely on me so much, but I have other kids to consider

too”.

Parent B mentioned location as being a challenge. Staff Member A agrees, commenting that

our geography is such that we cover a large area, with generally small numbers: “If parents

aren’t happy to bring their young person to events or they don’t have transport, often young

people cannot attend.” Staff Member B agrees that location may have a bearing on

attendance, particularly for Friday Youth Group which lasts for 3-4 hours. She adds that we

try to pick up young people where we can, but that it takes a lot of time and resources if

doing so.

Sometimes we have to use CTH for Youth Groups, particularly in the winter, due to a lack of

community facilities, comments Staff Member A. Unfortunately, there have been hurdles to

get over with in-house members of staff when doing this, as the place can seem crowded

and some areas ‘out of bounds’ to young people staying at the hospice. This has greatly

improved, however, and there seems to be a much better understanding now that we are all

trying to cater to the needs of the young people in our different roles.

Staff Member A adds two more comments. Firstly, that no Buddies have been confident

enough to progress to one-to-one Buddy status, despite interest from some families – this is

almost beginning to feel like this is another project in itself – and secondly, that we have to

accept that Transition in the community continues to be a challenge for most families. “Once

[young people] reach 18, their funding is cut from what they were entitled to in children’s

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services. This is outside our power and something we have to accept. All we can do here is

to advocate for young people and their families”, she said.

Main learning from delivering the project

Parents and members of staff shared their main learnings from the project. Parent B believes

that trips out are very much valued and believes this is evident by the expressions on the

faces of the young people. Staff Member A agrees and that activities and opportunities

should always be geared towards them. Parent B offered some constructive advice: “Young

people may need ‘breakout areas’ during Youth Groups as the Annexe can be a very busy

place”.

Staff Member B said: “our experience and understanding has been widened – Chestnut Tree

House isn’t just about home respite” Both members of staff believe the change in ‘home

respite’ is one of the biggest changes and points of learning from the Fun & Friendship

project and that it can be multi-purpose, in order to benefit the young people as well as

parents. Parent A thinks her son enjoys going out, but that, in the colder months, “it may be a

good idea to bring stuff to do on Community Visits – for example arts stuff, cameras etc. Give

him options.”

Staff Member A comments that “we didn’t anticipate that the one-to-one Buddy system would

be so problematic”, although they have fit in brilliantly to the Youth Groups and Activity Days.

Established Buddies going to university and lack of confidence in progressing have been

identified as factors affecting this. Staff Member B finishes off by saying she ‘wouldn’t do a lot

differently!’

Reflections on wider policy

There are three clear recommendations for wider policy. Both parents agree that more fully-

accessible changing toilets would be great benefit to towns and cities. Staff Member A

commented that ‘we have made a handful of private sector organisations sit up and think’ –

for example, Drusillas Zoo had expressed an interest in putting in a hoist and changing bed.

Both members of staff agree that amendments to local and national policy would give

campaigns like Mencap’s Changing Places campaign more influence and ‘clout’.

In addition, both parents agree that there should be more (and more accessible) leisure

facilities for young people with complex needs. Staff Member B cited that ‘if national policy

were to change, it might affect local policy.’ Staff Member A added that this must include

private sector organisations like Go Ape, who can look at excellent models of accessible

adventure programmes from places like Hindleap Warren and Lodge Hill in Sussex, who use

reasonable adjustments to cater to the abilities of young people with complex needs.

Although both parents have yet to experience the challenges with Transition, both members

of staff suggest that improvements must be made. Staff Member B comments that ‘we have

made a difference with Transition work. People in social services and the NHS adult services

have started to sit up and take notice’. Staff Member A continues that we must keep up the

momentum: “[social services and the NHS] must look at improving respite and day

opportunities for young adults with complex health needs.”

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PACT at the Children’s Society

Overview

The purpose of this case study is to evaluate the outcomes of the PACT Fun and Friendship

scheme. The main focus of the case study will be on the direct impact the scheme has had

for the young people who have received 12 months one to one support to attempt to improve

their social confidence and increase their network of friends.

The case study provides an overview of the scheme and methods used by the project staff

and then goes on to present the findings based on:

A focus group with sessional workers and volunteers

A focus group with young people (service users of the Fun and Friendship scheme in

year 2)

Interviews with staff

Telephone interviews with parents

Telephone interviews with Social Workers

Main impacts

Young people being able to see friends outside of school

Young people making new friends and having fun

Young people learning how to make friends and what constitutes a “good” friend

Increased access to local community and mainstream youth services and making

them more inclusive

Engaging with parents and carers to increase their understanding and capacity to

support their child’s friendship needs

Improved social skills and independence therefore reducing isolation of young people

Background

The PACT Project is a Project of The Children’s Society based in York. The project works

with disabled young people aged 0 – 25 in a number of different schemes to provide services

and campaign for young people’s rights to employment, short breaks and provides good

opportunities to communicate young people’s feelings and wishes. The Fun and Friendship

scheme provided a new and exciting opportunity for PACT to be part a national programme

to provide support for young disabled people aged 12 – 18. The aim was to increase the

young peoples opportunities to make and sustain friendships and to increase their sense of

well being.

Before this funding was granted the issue of friendship is something that was currently not

being addressed specifically in York. Short Break provision in York was of a good standard

but none of the providers had a focus on improving young people’s access to friendships

within those short break opportunities. The young people in our steering group continually

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raised the issue of friendship as being of importance to them and something they would like

our project to focus on. Young people from the PACT project were involved in a consultation

with Children in Need before the Fun and Friendship scheme was launched and they

expressed their wish for a specific service to help young people to increase their confidence

to make and sustain friendships.

Project staff and volunteers aimed to work together to support 60 young people to see their

friends and access activities in their community. These young people will have been referred

to the project by social workers, school staff, family or friends. Each young person will then

be offered up to one year on the scheme. Along with improving a young person’s confidence,

social skills and friendships, staff and volunteers will attend reviews and highlight the

importance of friendship for young disabled people.

We have a steering group of eight disabled young people who work alongside professionals

to identify the barriers and benefits of friendship for young disabled people.

The scheme will also aim to impact locally and nationally on the way that the issue of

friendship is dealt with in young people’s reviews and to raise the importance of the issue of

friendship with decision makers and leisure activity providers.

The Fun and Friendship project

The scheme works on a basis of providing each individual young person with 12 months of

one to one support. The scheme is tailored around the individual needs of each young

person and requires an initial meeting (home visits) where young people provide us with

information on how they want the scheme to work for them. There is then a process of

facilitated planning, linking meetings and continuous evaluation. At the end of the 12 months

we create a sustainability plan for the friendship groups and remain in contact with the

individuals and their families.

The project is staffed by two project staff and a number of sessional workers, the sessional

workers are linked to one or two individuals and work with them and their friends through out

the 12 month period. PACT work with young people with mild/moderate learning and physical

disabilities along with young people with complex behavioural and health care needs.

Throughout the 12 months we stay in contact with each individuals family and social worker

and through this process adapt the scheme to suit the needs of the individual. We aim to

provide the young people with opportunities to have fun within their communities in a safe

and supportive environment. We tailor the activities around the request of each friendship

group.

Impact

Impact on young people, parents and carers and the organisation

Young People

Through a number of evaluation activities including an independently facilitated focus group,

the data collected suggests that the main impacts on the disabled young people participating

in the PACT project are:

Being able to see friends outside of school

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Making new friends and having fun

“I come here because I get bullied and then I get angry and lash out” Quote from a

young person who uses our service as a safe place to be which prevents him from

coming to harm or getting into trouble.

Now having someone to talk to

Accessing the local community and mainstream youth services

Increased independence e.g. independent travel and an ability to make own

decisions

Quote from a sessional worker working on the scheme “The scheme highlights the

need for friendship and I have seen the impact this scheme has had on the young

peoples self esteem.”

Increased life experiences and raised expectations

Learning how to make friends and what constitutes a “good” friend

Increased confidence - “since I have been at PACT my confidence has grown and I

can take this with me everywhere”

Feeling more secure

Feeling more relaxed

Raised importance of the issue of friendship within The Children’s Society.

Quote from a Social Worker from the Health and Disability Team:

“One young person I have worked alongside has said that the project has enabled her to do

things at her pace when she feels ok, it has she said been one of the best things she has

been involved in for ages. Another young person said he didn’t think his parents realised just

how important and possible it is to have friends until the workers in the group showed them

how it can be achieved.”

Parents and Carers

The feedback from parents and carers has consistently highlighted the improved mood and

confidence of the young people we have worked with. Alongside this parents have been

delighted to see the changes in their young person or child’s social development and their

ability to form real friendships and relationships. Below are the details of what two parents

felt the impact of the Fun and Friendship scheme have been:

Parent 1 “Projects like this are essential. Children like ours need this. X is so much more

himself when he is in his comfort zone being around other young people who are the same

as him. He has ‘friends’ at school but they are not real friendships and he doesn’t understand

this.”

Parent 2 “The best thing about the project is that it allows friendship in a safe environment. Y

can not go out with out support if she did we would probably end up at the mother and baby

clinic. A lot of the lesson is also for the parents who also need educating. We need to keep

them safe and it is so easy to be over protective it has been a huge learning curve.”

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Parent 2 “The big problem is that it can’t be an on going experience and this creates a

problem. We would like it to be a more continuous thing, thinking about what’s next is really

hard for a young person with a learning disability.”

Organisation

The PACT project has increased awareness across The Children’s Society of the issue of

friendships of disabled young people, and through sharing this work in our Communities of

Practice meetings, the project has also been able to raise awareness of the need to highlight

friendships as an issue within the reviewing process for disabled children and young people.

It is hoped that this has influenced the reviewing process of disabled young people across

local authority areas where The Children’s Society is active.

With our support young people have identified the barriers they feel prevent them from

making and maintaining friendships and have taken positive steps towards addressing this.

Some of the main barriers have been identified as access and attitudes at venues, not

seeing their friends during their short break and schools not providing appropriate spaces

and activities for disabled young people during lunchtimes and after school. We are now in

the process of supporting the young people to address these concerns with professionals,

care workers and service providers along with providing realistic measures for improvement.

External services

The PACT project also has an external influencing strand to its work and has recorded

impact in this work including influencing the reviewing process for disabled young people in

the City of York through securing the inclusion of questions on friendships within reviewing

forms. Through the sharing of this work it is hoped that other local authorities who have not

considered this might alter their own reviewing forms. As mentioned above, sharing this

learning across The Children’s Society can also lead to change across multiple authorities.

A quote from an interview with a Social Worker from the Transitions team makes an

interesting point about external impact:

“The Fun and Friendship group has very definitely put the social relationship needs of

disabled young people high on the agenda; raising it’s importance with professionals and

carers. Young disabled people have been telling us for some while how relationships with

their peers are as important to them as they are to any other young people but they need

some support to enable these relationships to happen- ‘we just haven’t listened “’

The PACT project has also had external impact in terms of training and supporting

mainstream youth provision to make their services accessible. The PACT project has

developed a “Nice Place to Go Award” which has been designed by young people to assess

and celebrate the achievements of leisure providers who attempt to make their services

accessible. This is awarded by a group of young people who visit and audit services and give

appropriate feedback and an award if appropriate. Services are judged on accessibility,

awareness, attitude, anti-bullying and activity.

Which aspects of the project lead to impact

Evidence suggests that the projects success is linked to:

planning and meeting each child’s individual needs,

enabling the child to choose their circle of friends,

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young people choosing where they meet and/or what activity they do

“Allowing young people to maintain contact with their friends over the school holidays

making them feel more confident to return to school.” Quote from parent

accessing the local community and local youth provision

providing support and training to local providers to enable young people to access

their service

engaging with local IROs and Social workers to raise awareness of the importance of

friendships

engaging with parents and carers to increase their understanding and capacity to

support their child’s friendship needs

“It’s the simple things like seeing the young people holding a conversation without the

support of an adult…. The scheme gives young people more independence and the

opportunity to try new things and to have opportunities they wouldn’t otherwise have.”

Quote from a sessional worker.

positive, enthusiastic and understanding members of project staff and sessional

workers

Being part of the wider Fun and Friendship programme provided valuable opportunities to

network with other organisations with the same objectives. The learning events have not only

provided a chance to share experiences but to learn from other projects and gain new ideas

on ways to enhance the scheme.

When conducting a national survey on young people’s feelings about friendship and reviews

the project received valuable support from Children in Need to disseminate the

questionnaires to all the disability projects funded by Children in Need.

Being part of a Children in Need funded project raised the profile of the scheme. Young

people like the Pudsey bear image and felt proud to be linked with the Children in Need.

Learning for the future

What works well

Working with the young persons agenda has been a key to the success of the

scheme. We provide a service that they young people specifically request at a time

that is convenient for them.

The scheme is reliant on building good working relationships with parents, this can be

a challenge at times if parents are very protective or resistant but by offering close

supervision workers have been able to show parents that their young people are able

to socialise more independently.

The project is based on carefully risk assessing and care planning for each young

person and providing child specific training for workers and volunteers. This ensures

a safe environment for young people and peace of mind for parents.

Offering intensive support for 12 months ensures that young people have enough

time to identify their real friends or make a new friend and then have time to get in to

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a routine of meeting up, it also allows time for young people’s families to build a

network before the support comes to an end.

Consistency of having one support worker for the 12 months period helps to build up

trust and allows us to reflect on the distance travelled of each young person.

(Obviously this is not always achievable but the project has strived to achieve this

wherever possible).

Raising the importance of young people’s friendship whenever possible eg. At review

meetings, on visits to schools, at leisure activities and in conversation with social

workers, the project has raised the profile of friendship as a key issue and not an

added luxury which works well for each client but also for future generations of

disabled young people.

What works less well - challenges and learning

Challenges still remain in terms of supporting disabled young people with mental health

needs. Although PACT offer what support they can, there is a gap in services for this group,

who often require specialist mental health services. Similarly disabled young people with

physical ill health face additional barriers to making and sustaining friendships because of

the impact and unpredictability of their health, which can make planning activities difficult.

Parental engagement in their child’s friendships post-project – although all participants in

the programme gain skills, independence and confidence, once the intensive support is

withdrawn some young people will still have to rely on their parents/carers to support them to

meet their friends. This relies on the willingness and ability of parents/carers to manage this,

and it is sometimes the case that this may not happen. Quote from Social Worker from the

Health and Disability Team “The concept is fantastic – but the reality is different. Ultimately it

comes down to the families to make the scheme a success.”

Loss of local services and uncertainty over mainstream services due to funding cuts

has meant that there are fewer opportunities within the community for young people.

Main learning from delivering the project

Although the project has been very successful in delivering on its aims and objectives, there

has been learning regarding the complexity of friendships for disabled young people with

mental health needs and/or complex health needs. Supporting these groups to maintain

friendships is still challenging and can often take a long time to get off the ground.

Engaging with some parents/carers has also proved challenging and there has been learning

about how best to engage with those who might not have the capacity and/or willingness to

support their child’s friendships. Often this means maintaining an individuals progress can be

a challenge.

Ultimately the main learning has been the overwhelming evidence that young disabled

people and their families need this service. It is evident that there has been a yawning gap

for disabled young people when it comes to services supporting them to make and maintain

friendships. The provision of an individually tailored programme of care has allowed this

scheme to meet the needs of many of its participants. Here is a quote from one parent when

asked to make a statement about the impact of the scheme:

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‘X’s life is rather narrow and the gulf between his experiences and those of his peers is

widening. To have that issue recognised and helped by a body of trusted people who take

over the responsibility of caring for him for even a couple of hours every now and then is truly

heartening. Thank you thank you thank you.’

Reflections on wider policy

There is a need to raise awareness of this issue amongst the general public as well as

directly with professionals and practitioners including within the context of reviews.

Lack of friendships needs to be linked more into debates about social isolation, and the

subsequent limited life skills and experiences which have a long term impact on disabled

young people needs to be recognised. Therefore linking directly into the Every Child Matters

5 Outcomes.

The Fun and Friendship project has begun to tackle these issues by creating awareness

raising films and using project worker time in year 3 to focus on spreading the message and

stimulating debate about these issues to as wide an audience as possible.

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Interchange Trust, WAC Performing Arts and Media College

WACWONDERWEB.CO.UK

Overview

Having undertaken evaluations (internal and external) throughout the duration of this project,

alongside utilising the most recent topic guides, these latest group and one on one

discussions with students, staff and parents were really to bolster, solidify and establish any

new information on the latest progress for our beneficiaries and the organisation.

Main impacts

Increased confidence

Increased independence

Communication skills

Transition into adulthood

Background

WAC has been providing services for young disabled people in Camden for over 20

years and it’s Creative Communication courses for young people with ASD were growing

in popularity in the build up to this project.

Having already started the website project through Camden council in the year prior to

FnF, the potential for it’s continuation and opportunity to grow was clear.

A large, safe online community and body of work created by the young disabled people

taking part in the project to share across the world.

There is a not a huge amount of choice for young people with ASD to access extra

curricular courses in Camden, especially media specific courses and certainly not with

the long term sustainability offered through WAC.

The Fun and Friendship project

‘Model’ of fun and friendship

o Wacwonderweb.co.uk: An online space to share creative work and points of

view via term time and holiday projects within a mixed age and ability group.

Activities/structure of the project

o Evening and weekend workshops (2hours x 3/4 days a week in term time).

o Holiday projects (half term, Christmas, Easter, Summer).

o Outreach workshops (1 day a week, 1 hour afterschool/lunchtime)

o Ongoing contribution out of WAC hours

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o One off trips and outings

Who attends the project

o 12-18 years olds with ASD and other learning/physical impairments.

o Predominantly high functioning ASD but also ADD, ADHD, cerebral palsy and

other disabilities.

o Parents often accompany their children to WAC when young and

inexperienced using public transport, live far from WAC and when they’re not

familiar with the building and sometimes wait for them during class time.

How the project is run and by whom

o Project Manager/Coordinator

Organising tutors, timetable, trips

Liaising with young people/parents

Administration

o Sessional tutors and assistants

Delivering workshops and facilitating creative work

o Young People led, steering groups.

Impact

Impact on young people, parents and carers and the organisation

Young people have:

Learnt new media skills that have enabled them to access higher education.

Made new friends.

Learnt social skills and appropriateness in professional contexts.

Improved communication skills and confidence in own ability.

The quotes below from young people who attend the project demonstrate these impacts:

“WAC Wonder Web has quite frankly changed my life. Through the project we want to

challenge the attitudes others and show we’re not stupid, increase our confidence and

the confidence of other young disabled people.”

“The project has taught me to have a sense of humour, and not get annoyed about things

I previously wouldn’t have found funny.”

‘I was lashing out in rage and frustration and learnt to restrain myself at WAC, it changed

from often to rarely in a slow process over two years but it was worth it.’

“I learnt to start small and slowly and work my way up, learn new skills and build yourself

up, it really worked for me and now I am starting an apprenticeship in health and social

care.”

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Parents/Carers

Saw future and potential for their children when previously they were very concerned at

what stage they would be at developmentally during this important part of their lives.

“Hayden’s confidence has grown and grown since working on the project, I can see a

future for him now. His Aunt on meeting Hayden after years was astounded by the

complete contrast to the quiet boy she knew compared to the confident young man now

before her.” Parent/ carer

Alleviated stress of young person being homebound and non-productive when not in

school, provided valuable respite.

Organisation:

Established online space and radio/tv model for sharing of work and ideas with scope

to evolve and amalgamate into other in house projects in future.

Improved and refined methods and tools for enhancing learning experience for young

people with ASD; visual cues, self evaluation, technology

Which aspects of the project lead to impact

Building, Staffing, Equipment

Young people said the attitudes of staff were crucial to their comfort and keenness to

keep coming back to the project. They make the project fun. The chance to use

assistive technology unavailable elsewhere in a completely accessible building also

helped.

“I didn’t know what everyone was doing at first, but with the assistance I received I was

helped in a way I wasn’t at school and my eyes were opened to WAC” Young person

“Sometimes people need a chance to experience new things and outside of WAC I

was not getting the opportunity or support to use new technology in this way” Staff

member

“The atmosphere within in WAC.. It’s calm, it’s collected and overall just a really nice

place to come. Mostly you guys are just nice.” Young person

Responsibility

From mentoring to reporting or documenting our residentials and trips, once given a

role or responsibility the entire demeanour of certain individuals would change.

“The chance to be helpful on other projects and trying to get the younger members to

emulate what myself and the older guys had done drove me forward try and be better.”

Young person

Presenting and appropriateness at external events

o At first nervous and shy we quickly saw the young people gain complete

confidence in talking to new people and large groups about their work from

Learning events to presentations at the Houses of Parliament. Having

awareness to acknowledge others points of view, listen and respond, is an

important life skill influenced and learnt directly from the radio show and their

roving reporting experiences.

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Engagement in higher education and other mainstream activities

o Alongside several students successfully being accepted into the higher

education of their choice we have observed wonder web students eager to

access instrument lessons and take part in lots of other “mainstream”

workshops at WAC and beyond.

Familiarity with WAC and regular attendance

o When comfortable enough most regular students who are able have

progressed to travelling independently to WAC.

“I never thought Omari would be able to travel independently so soon but now he

accesses music tuition classes outside of the wac wonder web project.” Parent/ carer

Added value of being part of the wider Fun and Friendship programme

Meeting new young people with similar life experiences through learning events and

sharings.

o Evidenced directly in radio show with ASGMA group where they discuss in

frank detail how autism affected their childhoods.

Opportunity to visit new places and practise skills in new contexts.

o Public speaking, and confidence in communicating with strangers. Haydens

recent acceptance speech on receipt of an RSA award is a great example of

this.

Pride of sharing project.

o Observed at Learning events and other excursions.

“It’s made me feel more open minded” Parent/ carer

Learning for the future

What works well

Steering groups

o Ownership of the project has been vital to the retention of the core young

people involved, their pride in their work has proved paramount.

Mixed ability groups

o Mostly complete acceptance and patience displayed among all participants

towards each other.

Mentor roles

o Sharing of knowledge and transferable skills

Socialising in and out of WAC time

o Opportunities to socialise before and after workshops and during breaks on

holiday projects.

o Trip and events organised by young people

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What works less well

Limited engagement in project outside of WAC time

o Mainly due to popularity of Facebook and existing social media sites

Contributions from other FnF partners.

o Hope for more of an ongoing dialogue and sharing of work with young people

from other projects nevr took off as we had hoped.

Mixed ability groups

o Once in a while created frustration and conflict between younger and older

members opinions, resolved with mentoring scheme.

“It has sometime created clashes but never arguments and we can usually resolve these

quickly.” Young person

Main Learning

As students progress the opportunity to mentor the younger members proved extremely

successful for both parties, increasing maturity and instilling a sense of responsibility.

Making young people the decision makers and drivers of the project created a sense of

ownership and pride that saw the project become an anchor for their social

development and self esteem.

Flexibility: to work and develop projects around the needs of the young people whilst

ensuring the fun and friendship aims aren't lost sight of when developing these

opportunities with the young people.

Reflections on wider policy

o Our young people are evidence that such projects have positive outcomes on

peoples lives- staff /yp/ their families and carers and therefore local

communities:

Projects with long term sustainability like this should be provided

Especially within these young persons age ranges this is arguably the

most important period for social development. Projects like this are

beneficial because they provide a safe and supportive environment

away from the family and formal environments e.g. school, allowing

this development to happen.

In the short term- improving quality of life

In the long term- preventing all the negative effects of being socially

isolated/ lonely: friendship (inclusion in a group of people you identify

yourself with/ your 'tribe') is a psychological basic need of being

human- socially isolated young people are more likely to drop out of

school, and into adulthood, people are far more likely to develop

mental health problems e.g. depression, substance abuse and

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dependency etc. Loneliness also manifests itself physically in

increased stress hormones, high blood pressure, poor sleep, etc.

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Whizz-Kidz

Overview

The Whizz-Kidz Kidz Together Now project is part of the wider Kidz Unlimited programme

that the charity runs throughout the UK. We set out to provide young disabled people with the

opportunity to have fun, make new friends and learn new skills, whilst developing in

confidence and independence.

“It’s a social outlet. A safe environment, where disabled young people will be looked after

and listened to. We want young people to be themselves. It’s all about fun and friendship so

young people can be themselves, voice their opinions whatever the topic.” Ambassador Club

Leader.

We spoke to two Ambassadors (young disabled people) their parents and one of the staff

members that work at the Ambassador Clubs to create this case study report.

Main impacts

Young people involved in the project report that they feel more confident interacting

with other people and in dealing with difficult situations.

Young people are taking advantage of other Whizz-Kidz services, acquiring essential

life skills and moving forward with their lives.

Parents and carers report that they feel that their children are happier and better

adjusted since having the opportunity to meet and socialise with other young disabled

people.

Parents and carers report that they feel better supported and stronger as a family since

their child joined their local Ambassador Club.

Background

Whizz-Kidz provides disabled children and young people with vital mobility equipment,

opportunities to meet and have fun, and training to help them gain skills and look

forward to a bright future. We provide essential mobility equipment – powered, manual

and recreational equipment – to give young disabled people the independence to enjoy

a more active childhood. We also offer a range of essential life skills opportunities for

young disabled people from Wheelchair Skills Training, to Ambassador Clubs, life skills

training, an online interactive young people’s forum, campaigning events and work

placements.

Whizz-Kidz applied to Children in Need for funding to enable us to further develop the

opportunities we had piloted in Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales, for young

disabled people to have fun and make new friends.

Whizz-Kidz aimed to offer young disabled people living in Northern Ireland, Scotland

and Wales the same opportunities as those living in England taking part in the BIG

Lottery funded services.

The Ambassador Clubs fill an important gap in provision by providing an opportunity for

young disabled people – predominantly wheelchair users, to come together and

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engage in a variety of activities in an accessible environment, independently of their

parents.

The Fun and Friendship project

Thanks to the Children in Need Fun and Friendship Grant, Whizz-Kidz is able to offer

youth clubs for young disabled people in nine locations in Northern Ireland, Scotland

and Wales.

The clubs meet every four to eight weeks, dependent on the desires and interests of

the young people attending their local club. At the clubs young people have a chance to

engage in a variety of activities from arts and crafts, drama, music and sports through

to campaigning. A big part of the programme is ensuring the young disabled people

have an opportunity to meet and learn from identifiable role models and as such many

of the Ambassadors have met with disabled adults

The core group of young people attending the Ambassador Clubs in Northern Ireland,

Scotland and Wales are 12-18 year old wheelchair users. There are however young

people who attend who are older (and in some cases younger) than this age group and

those who are not fulltime wheelchair users. The mix of interests and abilities works

very well and offers young people who are older or more “able” an opportunity to be

peer mentors and support younger or less able members. The Ambassador Clubs take

place in: Armagh, Belfast and Derry, Aberdeen, Edinburgh and Glasgow, and Bangor,

Cardiff and Swansea.

The Ambassador Clubs in each country are coordinated by a locally-based

Ambassador Club Coordinator, who reports to the Ambassador Club Manager in

London. The clubs are facilitated by a team of sessional workers as well as the Club

Coordinators to ensure that the clubs have a local feel and are embedded in each

community. The Club Leaders are all experienced professionals with backgrounds in

youth work, participation, sports development and drama. Everyone on the team is

experienced at working with young disabled people and those with additional support

needs.

OPM page 24

Impact

Impact on Young People

“It’s changed my life 1000% for the better. It’s improved my confidence. I feel a lot more

valued and respected as a person. I realised that I’m not alone. I don’t worry so much about

what people think about me anymore.”

“The thing I like the most is getting the skills I need for the future. I’ve never not thoroughly

enjoyed anything at Whizz-Kidz and I genuinely mean that.”

“I am more confident getting the bus places now. I talk to my friends a lot more and I’ve been to more activities outside of whizz-Kidz since I joined. “

“It’s amazing, since he became involved, he was really vulnerable and was struggling to

come to terms with his condition, he wanted to fix himself.”

“He was struggling to fit in anywhere, stuck between two worlds.”

“He’s got more confidence and security. He doesn’t think about his disability when he’s with

Whizz-Kidz. It’s invaluable for him. He can just be himself.”

“The whole thing is brilliant. Meeting with other young people. He never misses a club. He loves it and comes out feeling better. He feels valued and keeps in touch with a few of the club members in between club days. He’s more confident to approach new things and interact with people.”

“He’s really excited about his Work Placement through Whizz-Kidz next week and has been

volunteering on another organisation’s summer scheme. Whizz-Kidz has raised his

expectations.” Parent/ carer

“A Mum was shocked that her son had set up and lead an activity of his own accord.

Another no longer has to come back to support her daughter after lunch. They just get on

with it now.” Ambassador club leader

Impact on Parents and Carers

“I heard about the clubs through my work – and realised that the club could be exactly what he needed at that time. He was really open to give it a try. He’s gone from being a bit better to amazing – the young people are just all there for each other.”

“It’s improved my time with my daughter, to bond and with other families as well. When your

kids are happy you’re happy you know.”

“It’s invaluable.”

“His Dad is smitten by Whizz-Kidz and wants to do the London Marathon in 2013!”

Impact on the organisation

The project’s success has rested on two key areas - the staff facilitating and coordinating the

clubs, and the local community and professionals working within it.

Our team of committed, passionate and enthusiastic staff both at the clubs and coordinating

them has been pivotal.

“the people who run the club – they’re both really nice and really want to do it. You can tell. They’re so upbeat and outgoing and enthusiastic. The young people are all determined to get

OPM page 25

more involved. Most of my other friends are able-bodied. These guys know where I’m coming from. That’s easier.” Young person “The staff are amazing. Everyone goes that extra mile to make him feel special. Nothing is too much trouble. They are there for him. He can be himself. With people who understand him. He’s grown in confidence and the struggle to fit in is getting easier. He doesn’t have to try so hard.” Young person Having families and professionals supporting the club in the local area is essential. The Ambassador Club Coordinators are coordinating clubs across a very large area and as such rely on the expertise and support a range of people including Social Workers, Schools, Occupational Therapists, Physiotherapists and Youth Services. Without their support it’s almost impossible to ensure that young disabled people know that there are opportunities available to them.

In terms of networking across the areas, being part of the Fun and Friendship programme

has been invaluable. The Learning Events have proven to be great opportunities to find out

more about local services, share resources and encourage cross-participation. For example:

One of our volunteers is now also volunteering from ASGMA

Two of our Scottish clubs are hosted by Fun and Friendship funded projects (The Yard

and Scottish Spina Bifida Association)

We have met with Mencap Cymru and Andrea Powell to try to problem solve and share

the challenges faced when trying to offer services in more isolated areas such as

Merthyr Tydfil

Learning for the future

“It would be great if there were more clubs in Northern Ireland so we could have more inter-

club events. Like that Leadership thing.” Young person

“Getting more life skills would help making friends outside of Whizz-Kidz much easier, like the Leadership Camp that was run - to help him cope with the knock backs the world sends out and empower him.” young person

“Just do what you do more frequently!” young person

The frequency of the clubs at present seems to work for young people and their families,

however, what is clear is an expressed desire to have the opportunity to meet more young

disabled people – at events such as the Leadership Camp. As such we now have an

emphasis on facilitating trips out and a country-wide Christmas Party for example.

We learned very quickly that it wasn’t possible for the Ambassador Club Coordinator to

coordinate and facilitate all of their country’s clubs. As such we recruited a small team of

sessional workers to facilitate the clubs. This has had a positive impact on the project as

permanent staff are now able to focus their efforts on increasing participation and awareness

and improving quality.

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Reflections on wider policy

We need to continue to work closely with local and national government to ensure that young

people’s views across all areas are heard:

“Transport shouldn’t have to be a big deal but it is. Without it young people don’t truly

have any independence.” Ambassador club leader

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The Yard Adventure Centre

Overview

The purpose of this case study is to identify the main impacts and outcomes from The Yard’s

Fun and Friendship grant up until the current point in time. The case study will look at the

affect that the funded programme has had on young peoples confidence and self-assurance,

social lives and friendships and how involvement with The Yard has significantly reduced the

risk of social exclusion whilst actively promoting (where necessary, supported)

independence.

Main impacts

Promotion of independence

Challenged social exclusion

Allowed new skills to be developed

The programme’s influence on life out with The Yard

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Background

The Yard is a purpose built indoor and outdoor adventure playground in Edinburgh for children and young people with additional support needs and children in the community.

Established in 1986 as a safe yet challenging environment for children and young people with a range of additional support needs, The Yard has gone on to support not only the families of children with additional support needs directly but also by working with schools and other charitable organisations from across Edinburgh and beyond. The Yard also delivers a number of contracts for the City of Edinburgh Council including a respite club for children aged 11-16 with additional support needs and a disability training service, Edinburgh

Inclusive, for the city’s 84 after-school clubs.

Having identified the need for services more tailored to young people, post-primary school age, The Yard also offers a variety of evening sessions, three of which are funded by the Fun and Friendship grant and provide services for 12-18 year olds with a diverse range of needs and interests.

We applied for the Fun and Friendship grant as, with over twenty years of experience as a

charity, we realised that there was real need at both a local level and in a broader context for

dynamic and challenging social opportunities for young people with additional support needs.

Difficulties stemming directly from additional support needs including limited verbal

communication or the need for medical support for more complex and profound disabilities

and limited transportation options and assistance are compounded by the impact of the

special school system which operates out with geographical catchments (within the Council

boundaries, at least.)

Having already successfully operated two youth clubs we readily identified not only the

immediate benefits that these services made to the young people attending but also the

knock on effect on a national level it would be possible for us to make by sharing our

experiences with other charities and statutory agencies.

We hoped to achieve this by offering three youth clubs, two mixed gender and one for young

women only, which enabled them to meet peers and access activities independent of parents

and carers while still allowing for supported independence where necessary.

We also wanted to develop a resource that would allow us to share our experiences of

creating social opportunities and the day-to-day challenges of doing so in order to allow other

organisations to create similar services in different geographical regions. This would be done

by the creation of ‘best practice guidelines’ which would be publicised and disseminated in

partnership with YouthLink Scotland, the national youth work agency.

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The Fun and Friendship project

The Yard’s historical basis as an adventure playground “promoting challenge and personal

growth in an environment which values independence” sits easily alongside the emphasis on

fun and friendship of the BBC Children in Need grant. By maintaining our child-centred,

flexible approach to adventure play and our previous experience of offering youth provision

we were confident that we could create a new and equally valuable model for this project.

Each of the three youth clubs runs weekly and year-round (excepting the usual breaks in

service around the festive period) on three weekday evenings. Mondays and Thursdays are

open, on a membership basis, to young men and women aged 12-18 and Tuesdays were

preserved as a female-only service (including staffing.)

The emphasis of the clubs is on child-centred and transparent planning, overseen by Yard

staff. The activities undertaken by the three clubs have been diverse (see examples below)

but the emphasis has been on group activities, the opportunity to develop new skills, and the

chance to contribute to the ongoing development of the service.

Sample activities;

Powerboat trip

‘after hours’ museum visit

Making pasta from scratch

Ten-pin bowling

Drumming workshops

Graffiti workshops

Swimming

Attending an Edinburgh festival show

‘camping out’ in the playground overnight

Going to the cinema

Across the three clubs the full age-range from 12 to 18 is represented and the mix of

additional support needs is diverse. By far and away the largest represented group is those

young people with a diagnosis of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and Asperger’s syndrome

although many of them also have secondary and tertiary disabilities including learning

disabilities, dyspraxia, Tourette’s syndrome and epilepsy.

The primary reason for attendance for all of these young people is the limited options offered

elsewhere for appropriate and supported social opportunities. The majority of young people

are transported to and from The Yard (or other locations where activities are being held) by

parents/carers; in part due to their additional support needs but also due to their age.

Informal opportunities for parental feedback are offered on an ongoing basis and, in the case

of the largest and busiest group held on a Thursday evening, a short period at the end of the

club has been set aside- through consultation- to allow parents discreet time to discuss the

individual successes, challenges and needs of their child in the context of the club.

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On a day-to-day basis the clubs are tailored by the staff who deliver the individual services to

respond, wherever possible, to the requests of the young people and to involve them in as

many of the stages as possible. For example for a recent overnight stay at an outdoor activity

centre the young people engaged directly in planning the trip including shopping for food and

drink and coordination of travel, using public transport, to the centre. There is also, via the

use of ongoing evaluative processes, the opportunity for all staff including volunteers to

reflect on and inform future sessions. This planning and budgeting is overseen and approved

by the Play Team Manager and in turn by the Chief Executive where appropriate.

Impact

“The Yard is a big part of my daughter’s life now and we would be lost without it.”- parent

The impact of the Fun and Friendship grant on young people, parents and carers and The

Yard have been almost universally positive but incredibly varied.

The primary impacts we measure must of course be those with a direct influence on the

young people attending the grant-funded clubs. Through speaking to them directly and from

formal and informal discussion with parents and carers and via The Yard’s own reflective

practices one thing keeps coming to the fore; attending our clubs greatly increases the sense

of independence the young people have.

For many of the young people attending these clubs it is the first opportunity they’ve had to

socialise with their peers unaccompanied by a parent or carer. The sense of excitement that

this opportunity offers is palpable. As one mother said;

“He’s been going on about the club FOR DAYS!”

Parents and staff note that along with this increase in independence and the confidence it

brings, the sense of ownership and belonging young people have with the Fun and

Friendship clubs. In the words of one diplomatic member of staff the young people’s

“…sense of ownership of the clubs and the independence we try and foster has made them

more vocal. Much more vocal.”

All of these impacts are interlinked and while often invisible to the young people themselves,

for whom having a good time is justification enough for attending, have made huge changes.

One particularly notable impact is highlighted in relation to the high percentage of young

people who attend the clubs who have a diagnosis of autistic spectrum disorder (ASD) and

who often have difficulty reading social cues and forming relationships.

As one member of staff notes;

“It’s complicated and not always very visible but young people turn up regularly, which is a

big thing in itself, looking for people. They’ve gone from being quiet to actively asking,

“where’s x or y tonight?” I’ve seen the ability to relax and enjoy a social environment greatly

increase for many of these young people.”

Being part of something, on a planning as well as participatory level, also yields benefits and

adds to this sense of belonging. This carries on out with the confines of The Yard and

parents often enthuse about how upbeat and chatty their children are when they get home

from a club. One parent went so far as to say her daughter’s “life has changed entirely for the

better. She’s like a different girl. So confident.”

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For The Yard itself the impact of being a part of Fun and Friendship has also been major. In

some ways, readily identified by staff, the basic goals of the grant sit nicely alongside the

person-centred ethos of The Yard and the “broad, not too tightly formed targets” have

allowed the clubs to run successfully and in a way not greatly different to how we would have

approached it as an organisation ourselves.

“It [Fun and Friendship] is just consistent with our own approach”- staff member

Being part of a national programme has also given The Yard’s staff team a fresh perspective

on their own work, helped put it in a broader context and, in the words of one staff member,

“given me the confidence that we’re doing things right.”

A particular emphasis was put on the benefits of the learning events and how, much like the

Fun and Friendship clubs themselves, the opportunity to spend face-to-face (and social) time

with other organisations had been hugely rewarding and enjoyable for everyone who

participated.

Learning for the future

Thinking ahead to the future of youth provision at The Yard, the opportunities offered to us by

the Fun and Friendship grant have been invaluable. It has, via the evaluative processes

required, encouraged us to look more closely at our own reflective practices and by

producing ‘best practice guidelines’ asked us to consider carefully how we communicate our

ways of working to other agencies, voluntary and statutory. This not only directly improves

the service we offer to young people but will hopefully open up opportunities for further local

and national-level discussions to take place which address some of the bigger policy issues

we have identified as being of influential to our practice, for example, the way in which the

special school system can increase the risk of social isolation for young people with

additional support needs.

An important lesson learned from the delivery of the project, and this is true across all three

clubs, is that you have to be prepared to expect the unexpected and respond appropriately.

The complex way in which the impacts of the project interlace and interact with one another

has never failed to amaze the staff team, parents and the young people themselves.

i.e. young people with ASD learning to read social cues better by spending more time with

peers and therefore gaining general confidence which then allows them to, for example, use

public transport unassisted

In conclusion, it is worth considering the vast array of issues touched upon in this case study

and no doubt, in the case studies of other grant recipients, have all come about from trying to

simply deliver opportunities for fun and friendship to young people with additional support

needs!