The Duke of Edinburgh
The news of the death of HRH The Duke of Edinburgh has inspired many memories and reminiscences from those who have taken part in the Duke of Edinburgh Award down the years and one of the most notable features is the longevity of the programme and its global reach. For us at A4Y it is part of our daily work and last weekend, when the Duke’s death was announced, a group of 14 year olds from Waddesdon School were with us preparing for their Bronze Award expedition.
The Award programme, at all its levels, tests personal commitment and ability to address challenge effectively, both tremendously important for individual development but beyond those personal tests, the Award creates tremendous opportunities to build new connections and sometimes for those to shine who rarely get that opportunity. School class mates get a chance to see each other in different circumstances and I have a vivid memory of a young boy on an expedition who was smaller than his classmates, trailed behind on the walk and was very much on the periphery of the group. His star rose spectacularly when, after the camp was set, he was the only person who had listened properly to the briefing and knew how to use the camping stove. Suddenly he was the most important member of the group, he was for the first time at its centre and fully included in all the events and activities that followed. That one, small, apparently insignificant moment changed his life. DofE does that.
We are proud to be part of DofE’s delivery across Bucks, MK and Northants.
Easter Holiday Programme
Action4Youth delivered two fun days of activity sessions for 90 children from High Wycombe aged 4- 11 years as part of the Holiday Activities and Food Programme from Buckinghamshire Council. The programme was set at YouthSpace, in Green Street and the activities were for children who are eligible for free school meals.
Across the sessions, we welcomed the children with a group talk, including introductions and discussions of what their favourite foods were. On the first day, Alex from Medway Dance facilitated an accessible dance session for the children, with all of them giving it a try, and many of them completing the full routine! We then completed some Easter Crafts, such as bunny-ear printing, making cards and sticking and gluing. On the second day, we included further crafts, such as making masks, colouring and making hats. We then took part in an obstacle course, with hoops, bean bags and tunnels and played games of football and big jenga!
When we came to the end of the sessions, children were handed a grab bag of food, which included a cheese wrap, some carrot, cucumber and houmous, a flapjack and some water. They also contained an activity bag for the children to complete at home.
A parent commented ‘ Can I just take a moment to say thank you, what you are doing makes a huge difference, A would not be able to attend holiday club otherwise. The staff were fun friendly, helpful and A had great fun with all the activities and his lunch was wonderful he really enjoyed it! So thank you for your efforts it is very much appreciated’.
The Inspiration Programme
Its fantastic to be back in our school setting again. Although, strange with all of us wearing masks in the classroom there has been a real buzz. We were working with our career package, including a personality and learning style questionnaire to best match their potential careers. They were all really excited to see Best matches and explore the career and entry requirements. We have lots to explore with potential lawyers, IT specialists, Nurses, teachers, engineers, scientists, architects, electricians, Carpenters and many more.
After Easter we are back in all of our schools with some exiting trips planned.
NCS
Registering your interest in the National Citizen Service is straight forward. All of our Summer 2021 dates are listed below. Simply pick a date and location and click here to sign up. Places are limited and we recommend booking early to avoid disappointment.
We still have places left for our 2 week summer NCS programmes.
DofE
Alfriston school recently took part in a DofE Bronze training and expedition. 2 groups of 5 took part in the expedition, in tandem canoes through Milton Keynes. Starting from the black horse pub right down to the three locks. All involved (including our DofE team) had a fantastic time on the water.
Membership & Training
Thank you to those who have completed your membership form and made payment. For those who are still outstanding the form link can be found here https://forms.office.com/r/MV2RvRSmrJPlease complete it by 30th April to ensure you are able to access your benefits going forward.
Contact us on membership@action4youth.org for support you may require and also let us know how you are getting on.
The most recent NYA webinar was held on 8th April with advice on next step on roadmap you can view it here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I6yLsHgXbtw the written guidance is here https://nya.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/1050-NYA-UPDATE-COVID-5.2-final.pdf. Ensure that your risk assessments are up to date and you are operating within the guidance.
Training dates are on the website (link to https://www.action4youth.org/youth-groups/training/) ready to book your places. These will remain online until mid 2021 and then we will move to a mix of delivery. First Aid is back face to face delivered in a covid secure venue.
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