Young people are always important to the development of any community and never more so than in Newham, where 40% of the population are under 25 years of age, the highest percentage in England and Wales. Often, young people are seen as being problems rather than as having needs. At Aston-Mansfield, we recognise that despite the external, potentially negative conditions to which they are subjected, young people are bright, passionate, capable, eager to learn and the key to the future of Newham.
We see our role as one of nurturing and developing these individuals so that they can take their place as young leaders in their community. We have several programmes which support that aim, with places for young people from 5 to 21 years of age. These include:
The Little Manor After School group which was cited as being Outstanding in its last Ofsted inspection. Not only does this group help to develop children, but also support parents making their way back into employment and training. The full Ofsted report can be seen here.
Our Youth Group is an important focus in developing the youth of Newham. The group offers activities including football; basketball; IT projects; DJ workshops; and dance sessions and whilst extremely worthwhile from a social point of view, we regard them more importantly as informal learning processes. The most important outcome of the Youth Groups is to involve the young people in the planning of the activities and providing a wide spectrum of activities aimed at developing competencies, increasing participants' personal growth, confidence and self esteem and providing opportunities for individuals to achieve their full potential. Working on the principle that it is more important to their development to participate than receive, when activities are planned, the young people are assigned tasks and given coaching in how to perform them. This way, the young people enjoy the end activity whilst developing new skills and learning about taking responsibility. They can then take this knowledge and experience out of the group environment and into their wider community.
Our Youth Group is supported by the Jack Petchey Foundation and the London Borough of Newham.