Swindon Youth Voice Project
- Starting 2023 -
A new project to support young people across Swindon is kicking off in 2023 with funding secured from the National Lottery. See our launch press release here.
Swindon Youth Voice will run workshops, discussions, creative activities and a programme of visits and guest speakers, all designed to help young people grow in confidence and be able to make a difference to the world around them.
The project also aims to help bring together youth services in Swindon and to make sure that young people can access the help and support they need.
We’re currently recruiting for a dynamic project manager to make it all happen – download the application pack here.
Planning has been going on for over a year – the discussions have involved 26 local groups, over 100 young people, and representatives from the borough council.
There are five core ‘delivery partners’ which will be making the project happen. And the project will be steered by a bigger group with representatives from all Swindon’s youth organisations – both voluntary sector and local authority.
The project, aimed at ages 16 to 25, will kick off with a series of mini-events in communities around Swindon.
We’re currently recruiting for a dynamic project manager to make it all happen – download the application pack here.
Project Delivery Partners
Voluntary Action Swindon
The project's lead organisation will oversee the whole project, including developing policies and procedures, coordinating recruitment of participants, and managing monitoring, evaluation and project reporting. As the local infrastructure organisation, VAS has extensive experience in bringing organisations together and coordinating projects with a community focus.
Inner Flame
The forum will run weekly activity sessions for young people of different age groups - these sessions will be planned, run and reported on by staff from our three core delivery partners. Inner Flame has extensive experience in delivering fun, participatory training to help young people grow and build - Inner Flame trainers run the Prince’s Trust Team Programme as well as flexible shorter course and sessions.
Prime Theatre
Prime Theatre works with young people to help them gain confidence and skills through theatre, body language and arts. Their skills and approach will bring an extra dimension to the support and activities the forum will offer - one that young people have told us they want included.
SMASH
A Swindon charity with over 20 years’ experience delivering one-to-one and group mentoring for young people aged 9-19. The organisation’s programmes aim to help young people to flourish through building their confidence and resilience. SMASH will bring skills in both group work and one-to-one mentoring, providing the project capacity to work positively with young people, whatever their starting point.
Swindon & Gloucester Mind
S&G Mind has specialist skills and experience in helping young people who may be experiencing anxiety and other mental health problems. S&G Mind will run 5-week programmes for young people who may need some extra support before feeling able to join the core sessions, for example some young people may not feel confident, have negative self-esteem and/or be socially isolated. The aim of the programme will be to provide support and skills to young people to enable them to feel more empowered and enabled to join the other sessions being offered.
Mike Read Associates
Mike Read Associates is a small consultancy based in Wiltshire. Having recently worked with the Building Bridges programme as Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning Consultant, Liz Read will bring her insight and experience to ensure that the project partners are able to identify “what works” about the project, learn from this, and change any activities which do not lead to the desired change. Liz and colleagues will lead the development, training and implementation of systems and processes for monitoring, learning and evaluating the project activities.
National Lottery Community Fund
The funding, totalling almost £400,000 over four years, is coming from The National Lottery Community Fund, the largest funder of community activity in the UK. National Lottery players raise over £30 million a week for good causes across the UK. The National Lottery Community Fund distributes a share of this to projects to support people and communities to prosper and thrive.