Young People in Reading

Reading, Berkshire ~ Young People
Supporting clubs and projects so they can deliver the best service for young people in Berkshire.

About us:

Objectives

* To establish, support and develop clubs for young people
* To provide a platform for work related to drugs/alcohol abuse, crime and other social issues
* To work towards the initiation and support of relevant community projects
* To provide high quality training, personal development and activity programmes through a network of national and local partners
* To work in partnership with other specialist agencies, to improve greater social inclusion and financial independence for young people
* To provide an opportunity for the implementation of local and national government initiatives in social development programmes, through the voluntary youth service
* To afford the opportunity to commercial organisations to support the growth of young people in a wide range of sponsored programmes and activities.

About BACYP

Established in 1949, BACYP provides support to youth leaders and young people across Berkshire and within the six unitary authorities. We have continued to develop new opportunities for both youth leaders and young persons over this considerable period.

As an independent organisation, we willingly support the five outcomes of Every Child Matters and promote these through our ongoing club support and programme delivery.

BACYP delivers through four core areas of working:
Activities

Through our activities team, we strive to encourage young people to adopt a healthy lifestyle. The activities team offer a range of competitive and non-competitive events for young people to become involved in - promoting participation for life.
Training

Our training department provides a range of opportunities for volunteer workers and young people. BACYP aims to improve the recognition of the work delivered to young people every week across the county.
Action

Volunteers are the backbone of the country and it’s no different at BACYP. Action is not just about volunteering; we also encourage young people to take positive action within their own community, to become the next leaders and to involve others in shaping services to young people.
Club Support

Not only are our departments involved in the support of our clubs, we also affiliate our members to the National Association of Clubs for Young People and UK Youth.

We can offer support in recruitment, governance signposting to professional advice and access to funding bodies and insurance brokers. We help to start-up and support new clubs, including the training of youth leaders, senior members, junior leaders and management committees.

BACYP Clubs

At BACYP we believe that young people need places to go and have things to do.

We support this through our network of affiliated clubs, who are (by their nature) autonomous and responsive to the community needs.

We believe that young people can provide positive and constructive contributions to their community. The clubs are encouraged to include and involve the young people in the management and decision making of the group, to ensure that young people have a real say in the type of provision they require.

BACYP provides advice and guidance on the governance and administration of the youth club. We also represent the network through our two national organisations: UK Youth and Clubs for Young People.

Individual youth clubs are provided with the necessary policies and training is offered to cover the essential elements of running a club and ensuring that a safe, challenging and enjoyable programme is on offer to the young people.

In support of club development, we offer a quality assurance scheme known as AQYP, which is recognised by the National Youth Agency and the Department for Education and Skills. Through our national network, BACYP can support the club to develop annual programmes, which recognise and reward the performance, involvement and achievements of all the club members, at a range of levels to suit time ability and commitment.

BACYP is very proud of its proven track record of supporting clubs since the 1940’s. We exist to provide the best possible support for young people, club leaders and the community. All the BACYP services are here to help the clubs develop and through our Activity, Action and Training programmes we aspire to bring the service to your club.

Youth Work Training in Berkshire

Our training department provides a range of opportunities for those working in youth work. We aim to continually review and improve the quality of provision and safe practice in our member clubs, by encouraging volunteers to attend our regular training events.

In addition, we provide a range of training opportunities for young people as part of our preventative and intervention services. The focus is to prepare young people for employment by encouraging them to remain in education and training (where appropriate).

We also provide training to targeted groups of higher risk young people, developing their life skills and a sense of community and, as a result, enabling them to make a positive contribution and achieve economic well-being.

The learning opportunities at BACYP can be provided in-house or externally. The course lengths vary from short to long and can be distance learning or may require a portfolio of evidence. Either way, we are here to support the development of youth clubs, leaders and young people. BACYP is always able to respond to individual and groups - given the right amount of notice.

The training department at BACYP has ongoing courses that support the club leaders. These include; Safe guarding Young People, Managing Risk, Equal Opportunities and, of course, the popular pre-driver training programme – Motorwise.

We also offer accreditation of young people’s achievements through the UK Youth Achievement Awards, the Clubs for Young People Keystone Awards and the Millennium Awards.

BACYP Youth Activities

The activities programme within BACYP has been developed to encourage all young people within our target age group to become active citizens and participators in an event or activity, which will offer a life long opportunity.

The programme on offer to the young people of Berkshire is accessible through direct provision but also in partnership with your local youth club/project. BACYP is proud to be working with over 140 youth groups throughout the year.

* Activities offer young people the opportunity to improve their health, become active and make a positive contribution through leadership in their community
* At BACYP we offer a 50 week programme for club leaders and young people to engage in
* The events and activities are about having a go, but if talent emerges we can provide a pathway into regional and national competitions
* At BACYP we offer all our leaders the opportunity to train and qualify for community leadership with National Governing Bodies (NGB)
* BACYP provide a full programme of activity for all participants
* SPLAT or the Sport, Leisure and Activities Team provide mobile youth provision across Berkshire. Supporting youth leaders to run activities from fooball to cricket, circus skills to curling.

Contact Details:

Berkshire Association of Clubs for Young People
452 Basingstoke Road
Reading
Berkshire
RG2 OQE

Telephone: 0118 923 1267