YEOVIL NEWS: Westfield Youth Club achieves award

YEOVIL NEWS: Westfield Youth Club achieves award

THE Westfield Youth Club in Yeovil has achieved Somerset County Council’s ‘Safe and Welcoming’ award.

The club is a vibrant and popular club for young people from Westfield and the surrounding communities.  It attracts about 30 young people each week and offers an extensive range of activities and opportunities such as sports, music, cooking, games and discussions.

The club provides a safe and relaxed environment for young people to socialise and unwind with their friends.

The youth club is supported by grant funding Somerset County Council’s Youth and Community Service, receiving £3,350 in 2017-18.

The ‘Safe and Welcoming’ benchmark scheme accredits the club’s safe practice and appeal to young people. The club was required to build a portfolio containing witness statements, policies, health and safety practice and building safety details in order to obtain the award.

The council’s spokesman for children and families, Cllr Frances Nicholson, said: “It is reassuring for parents and carers to know that their local youth club is safe, sustainable and 'young people friendly'. Once a youth club has gained this award, it becomes instantly recognisable to young people and their families as a great resource for their community.”

Chairman of Yeovil Youth Services, Cllr Rob Strickland, added: “This is fantastic news, this has been a true partnership between Mendip YMCA, St Peters Church Management Committee, Somerset County Council and Yeovil Town Council - working together and combatting challenges to ensure all the criteria has been met to achieve the Benchmark Safe and Welcoming. This achievement further strengthens that Westfield Youth Club is a safe youth club.”

Valid for three years, the award is a condition of Somerset County Council youth club funding. The award is split into a sections looking at what young people can expect to experience at the club, the people who contribute to or work in the club, and policies, procedures and paperwork.

Yeovil’s Westfield Youth Club is the 46th club in Somerset to achieve the award.

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