After seven or eight months, the gang of 20 workers had formed into some kind of cohesive unit and we’d attracted a regular clientele of club goers from 4 to 80 years old. In fact, many of them hung around the centre for most of the day for want of something to do - the kids that is!
Ahead, lay our greatest challenge so far; to organise a six week long summer play scheme packed full of interesting activities to keep the estate’s younger community out of trouble and out of jail. As a team, we put our heads together to brainstorm ideas - along with the bizarre, ambitious and virtually illegal; one idea was to create an activity for the children of the youth club to participate in the design of the scheme themselves.
Sometimes, I had to be party pooper and say that an idea just wasn’t practical, safe or affordable but after a month of planning and reworking, we finally had a programme. Not only did we have a programme but one that, although a compromise, had a part of everybody in it and the commitment of all.
Each activity was drastically over-subscribed and as I arrived at the centre each morning, an ominous, ever increasing herd of children waited by the door. I have to tell you, I broke many rules by taking more children than our youth worker to child ratio permitted, as well as children younger than we should have. But the reality was that many of the kids were tufted out in the morning with younger siblings in tow with instructions not to return until the pubs closed.
In order to keep track of the ‘herd’ we rubber stamped them, firstly as a joke but then they queued up eagerly begging, ‘Mr, will you stamp my ‘ed?’ It’s hard to refuse such a heartfelt plea. Despite this precaution, we still ‘lost’ one temporarily on a trip to the city centre ice rink. I was pretty shaken up and mightily relieved when I called at his parents’ house to discovered he’d walked the five miles home on his own - said he was bored; the cheek!
The scheme was an overwhelming success for the children, the community and the workers. It was a magic summer when everything fell into place and all the planets and everything that was good, briefly lined up beautifully before moving on, out of sight, never to be seen again.
And what can be learnt from this bedtime story?
Involve people
Give them ownership
Set some parameters
Clear a space for something beautiful to happen
Sweet dreams Wincobank!
A bit of Bob to see you to sleep.
