After the fatal stabbing of teenager Alex Malumba on
the Ethelred estate, Lambeth Youth and Lambeth Youth
Justice invited the SAZ to manage and develop a project
enabling young people in the area at risk of becoming
involved in violent crime to be actively engaged in
accessing quality education, employment and recreational
opportunities.
A colour brochure has also been printed to accompany
the programme, outlining many of the services available
to young people in Lambeth. This is distributed not
only to all the young people taking part but also via
all the youth services and organisations in the area.
Lilian
Baylis Old School
Since the summer of 2005 the SAZ has run a range
of sports activities and events out of this site.
The high level and variety of delivery has resulted
in more than 500 young people accessing the school
each week to take part in the programmes and classes
available to them. The site has become a high
profile centre due to its whole community ethos
and has been visited and supported by Michael
Jordan, David Cameron and HRH Princess Anne amongst
others.
The SAZ works in partnership with local organisations
and together we use the site to deliver a range
of after school and school holiday programmes
that ensure a maximum number of young people gain
the opportunity to access quality instruction
and a variety of activities which include: football,
basketball, volleyball, street dance, athletics,
boxing weights and fitness, capoiera, tennis,
arts projects, educational training programmes
and homework clubs.
In addition, the school has a completely renovated
Michael Jordan basketball court and training facility
as a result of an ongoing partnership with Nike
and Reach and Teach. A launch in October 2006
saw over 100 young people from local schools and
community groups in the area taking part in a
variety of basketball skills sessions. The renovations
have had a huge impact on the number of young
people attending basketball sessions on the site.
In addition estate based basketball provision
has been developed in Lambeth, Southwark and Brent
and three inner city clubs have been established.
Tall
Sailing Boat residential:
Steve Francis and Aaron Miller recently took
5 young people on a week long Tall Sailing Boat
voyage to Devon. This turned out to be both a
tough and challenging adventure but was also very
rewarding. The report encompasses the essence
of the trip and the journey that everyone experienced
over the course of the week.
The trip was deemed a huge success by all and
we have had parents of the five young boys come
and personally thank us for the change in their
children. One boy’s mother said that after
the trip her son came home and began doing the
washing up which surprised her greatly as previously
he never helped around the house. He has, however,
continued to help out since and his overall behaviour
has also improved since he became involved with
the project.
The development of the Young People’s Project
(YPP) has been an organic process and what started off
as Social Action research with young people, has now
developed into the ongoing delivery of traditional style
youth services. This change was driven by the young
people themselves and something that is central to the
ethos of the programme. They are regularly consulted
with regard to the design of new play areas and MUGAs,
and this is a role they take very seriously indeed.
The YPP currently provides arts, recreation and sport
and learning opportunities for young people on the Aylesbury
estate between the ages of 8 and 25 years.
Some of the delivery is based at Lynn Boxing Club,
the rest takes place in and around the Aylesbury Estate
with activities taking place every night of the week.
During the school holidays, extra activities and trips
are provided; those involved have enjoyed horse-riding,
excursions to museums and art galleries, tennis lessons
at the brand new facilities in Burgess Park, swimming
at Darwin Court and a great deal of football, rounders
and cricket. There is also a girl’s only
club taking place in the Lynn Boxing Club on a Tuesday
evening which incorporates arts, sports, health and
beauty activities along with ‘lifeskills’
which incorporate cook and eat sessions as well as regular
input on subjects such as drug awareness, sexual health
and homework support.
Street Games
Street Games was successfully piloted by the SAZ in
Southwark during 2003. Due to its success it was then
piloted nationally in 2004 with the support of Department
of Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS), Sport England and
the Football Foundation. Its aim is to increase sustainable
participation in structured sport by young people living
in deprived areas and builds upon networks of local
sports deliverers and volunteers within these areas.
For more information on StreetGames please visit the
website: www.Streetgames.org.
