Youth Outreach Scheme (YOURS)

The Youth Outreach Scheme (YOURS) – Project Overview

The Youth Outreach Community Hub supports young people at risk of antisocial behaviour and violence. Our After­ School provision brings together a range of expertise from across the community to provide nurturing, engaging youth activities at the end of the school day. We draw on our existing partnerships and build new links that enable pupils (and their families) to embed and enhance their interest in and understanding of a range of local issues, including health, education, community action, arts and culture, and social and community enterprise.

We work closely with the Youth Sector across Manchester and schools to identify young people who have been excluded at risk of exclusion; particularly in North Manchester (where approximately 45% of serious violence offences across the city occur). Some of these young people also have been identified as being at risk and linked to violence as perpetrators or as victims. We work with schools to assess their SAFE Needs/Risk Assessments to map exclusions and persistent absences.

Youth Outreach (YOURS) key characteristics (locations, times, etc.)

Research shows that 45% of all serious youth violence in Manchester happens in North Manchester. Research also shows that 3 pm – 5 pm is the most prevalent time when this happens. Both victims and offenders are disproportionately likely to be from the most disadvantaged communities (GMP). As a result:

• YOURS is FREE to all young people aged 11-18
• Focus on North Manchester (where 45% of serious violence occurs), and similar areas…
• Prevents antisocial behaviour and reduces youth violence
• Special focus on young people from minoritised backgrounds
• The project is delivered in North Manchester at Nurturing Foundations, Harpurhey Neighbourhood Project, Harpurhey, Manchester; as well as other important centres, Highway Hope, 1 Matthews Lane, Levenshulme, Manchester Ml2 4QW and at Elevate Young Minds, Manchester Dance Studios, Manchester M40 SWN
• The project takes place during the afrorementioned afterschool period, with time to leave school taken into account. Peak time delivery is: 4-7pm Monday-Friday, as well as Saturday afternoons.

Goals of the Youth Outreach Scheme activities

We aim to engage young people in activities designed to divert them away from the streets, stop or minimise anti-social behaviour,  avoid barriers to life opportunities (such as teenage pregnancies) and assist young people in moving away from crime that is affecting our community. We focus on the following areas:

• Developing Interpersonal Skills
• Developing skills for adulthood by helping young people become responsible for their own lives and the lives of others
• Increasing young people’s physical fitness and mental health
• Improving young people’s confidence and communication skills
• Engaging with the communities to lead a more proactive life
• Increasing confidence and motivation, and being focused and driven to achieve their educational and career aspirations.

YOURS target Audience

We focus on two age groups; 11 to 15 years; and 16 to 18 years, including:

• Working in one-to-one and small groups with 60 young people per year (720 in total) across the three wards
• Those who are at risk of being excluded from school; falling into antisocial behaviour; and at risk of violence.
• Those at the higher rates of permanent and temporary exclusions of young people from the Caribbean; Irish and Roma backgrounds.

We emphasise a ‘whole child’ approach that includes acknowledging and using cultural heritage as a tool for educational engagement and attainment.

Youth activities

The weekly activities provide an extra 12 hours of sessions ((5 x 2.5-hour sessions) to help young people develop transferable soft skills that can be applied in other areas of their lives or future career goals. These include:

• Creative Activities, in particular Music Sessions
• Dance Sessions including Street Dance
• IT Skills, including Coding Club (Highway Hope)
• Personal Development and Confidence Building
• Sports
• Youth Voice Activities (Nurturing Foundations): Young people actively participated in planning events and identifying barriers to accessing opportunities, which informed future programme development.
• Team­ building
• Communication skills
• Introduction to Self-Employment
• Building a Personal Career Portfolio
• Leadership and Team-building skills

Youth support

Young people will be guided and supported as they make important transitions in their lives specifically gaining meaningful employment being active citizens within their communities; and improving their health and wellbeing.

• Building a network with peers; and potential employers to respond flexibly to the changing landscape and improve their mental health and well-being.
• Creating an environment in which individual differences and the contributions of all our beneficiaries are recognised and valued.

Young people have a positive mindset about their lives and opportunities.

How the project fits with other local providers

The project will develop young people’s health and well-being through open/access planned exercise and routines, complementing the work of larger youth provisions. The activities help to address barriers young people face to achieving their potential as follows:

• Creating an environment in which individual differences and the contributions of all our beneficiaries are recognised and valued.
• Young people have a positive mindset about their lives and sports opportunities.
• Young people will demonstrate changes they have made to their lives through having increased self-confidence.
• Young people will have demonstrated increased social skills and well-being.
• Our services provide complementary support alongside community-based mental health services by providing a venue to facilitate community activities and support mental health activities to those who need them during important transitions.

Youth Outreach Schemes (YOURS) Project Outcomes

The Youth Outreach Scheme (YOURS) successfully delivered positive outcomes for young people in Manchester to minimise anti-social behaviour in our communities. It gave youth a chance to build confidence and explore their potential by providing them with a safe space, a range of diversionary activities across Manchester in Harpurhey, Miles Platting, and Levenshulme between July and December 2024. These activities, including music, dance, coding, personal development, and sports, were offered between 4pm and 7pm Monday to Friday and on Saturday afternoons, providing a minimum of 12 additional hours of engagement per week. Key achievements include:

• Significant Youth Engagement
• Increased young people self-confidence
• Increased social skills and well-being. This will enable young people to be supported by Mentors/Youth workers with sporting and non-sporting backgrounds to continue motivating and guiding our young people to pursue their sporting goals within an established team. We also believe it is important that young people are equipped with transferable skills that can be applied in other areas of their lives or future career goals.

Youth Outreach Schemes (YOURS) Project in numbers

Resources and references

• Million Hour Fund
• Highway Hope
• Nurturing Foundations