Today has been one of those days where you feel like you've got nothing done even though you've been busy all day!
9:30am- I got into work today and had a busy morning of meetings and then spent the rest of the morning setting up the furniture and clearing up from last nights party.
12pm-After an early lunch me an a colleague got started on our plan for the day discussing our new and exciting confidence group. We work with local schools to offer groups for young people who maybe feel a bit more shy and need some extra support to be more confident in schools and the community.
1pm- We have our lunch time buddies drop in every wednesday during the school term. The buddies are a group of y10 pupil who are volunteers and have completed training about child protection and listening skills. They support the y6 transition from primary to secondary school.
Once the pupils are at secondary school the y10 pupils go into form and help out so that if the new y7's have any issues but don't feel they can talk to an adult, they have someone that can help them and advocate on their behalf.
The Buddies drop in is an opportunity where the buddies can invite some of the quieter members of their form to come and use the centre. It helps them build friendships and gives them a safe space to talk about any issues with other young people and staff.
2pm-We now have an hour to type and file registers, check e-mails and sort out the task for the evening before our Enterprise group.
3pm-The school day has finished so we run an after school project where young people can come and set up a business of their own and maybe even win a prize! We had a good few teams come and also some help from other specialist professionals who know their stuff when it comes to business.
The idea of the project is that it helps raise the aspirations of young people and realise that they can achieve great things even at a young age. It also helps them to get a job in the future as a lot of the skills are transferable.
4pm- Some of our young volunteers arrive who are doing their Duke of Edinburgh award and we set them off with some tasks such as planning a Children in Need event for next friday and filling some paperwork.
5pm- Once all of the group have left me and a colleague finish tidying up the centre ready for tonights group to come in. We take a number of phone calls about different projects and from parents about what we have going off, and also have to deal with some staffing issues.
6pm- As my plans for yesterday changed so much I spend the rest of the time before the evening group working out what urgently needs doing this week and what can wait until next week. I pay some bills and check the stock cupboard as staff arrive.
7pm- Our Senior night starts at centre two. This group is called an open access session. Many of the young people come to chill out and spend time with their friends. It is our jobs as youth workers to make that time count! We do activities such as cooking which helps to develop life skills, but also we informally educate young people about things like drugs, alcohol, smoking etc. Every conversation matters as we are acting as positive role models for young people and are often who young people turn to for help when they don't feel they can talk to parents about certain topics.
7:30pm- I head out of centre two and make sure everything is good at centre one's (LDD) Learning Difficulty & Disability Group. This group offers young people a chance to socialise and build relationships with their peers and other adults. as with the senior night much of the time is spent on informal education.
8pm-I finally get away from centre one but only because I promise to cook with the group next week :)
9pm-Tea in oven, feet up Tv on and relax!
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