'It keeps me fit and off the Xbox'

There was a time when a game of snooker, a table-tennis tournament or simply a natter over a glass of lemonade was enough to keep teenagers amused in the evenings. But by the early 1980s, the youth club seemed to have all but disappeared. According to Fiona Blacke, chief executive of the National Youth Agency, youth clubs never went away, they simply changed. As government resources became increasingly focused on addressing the needs of the most vulnerable young people, traditional youth clubs, open to all, became much harder to find. But recent government investment in activities for young people, suggests the tide may be turning. The government's Aiming High strategy is designed to help all young people take part in enjoyable and purposeful activities in their free time. The commitment to youth activities has been strengthened with a £270m investment in Myplace, a government programme aimed at creating world-class youth facilities across the country. So could this signal a return for the traditional youth club? Rob Barker, who runs the Oxendon Youth Club in Market Harborough, Leicestershire, thinks so. His club, which started in 1990, meets every Tuesday evening, all year round, even during the Easter and Christmas holiday periods. "We are in a rural area," says Barker, "and the children come from a variety of backgrounds. Some go to private schools some go to village schools and some come from urban areas. It is a good opportunity for them to integrate and get to understand different cultures and ways of life." Diversity Great Oxendon runs a structured weekly programme, with a diverse range of activities including old favourites like table-tennis and darts, as well as arts and crafts and weightlifting. The club even has its own five-acre field, ideal for off-road sports. Its 40 members are supervised by a fully trained youth worker and four trained volunteers. Other activities include ice-skating, tenpin bowling, night walks and bike rides, as well as pancake races and conker competitions. Barker has also organised trips abroad to France and America and has been involved in researching an international youth exchange in Uganda. "The youth club started with just a few board games in a village hall and has developed into a very busy organisation with many opportunities for the young people in the area," he says. "There is no doubt that it's made a significant impact on individuals as well as on the community." "It's a wicked club. It keeps me fit and off the Xbox," says Jack, 16. "It keeps us off the streets at night," is the candid response from 14-year-old Jessica, who has been attending the club for five years. Brian Evans runs Springwell Community Arts (SCArt), a community arts youth project in Staveley, near Chesterfield, Derbyshire. Owned by Derbyshire county council and run by Springwell community school, the project has provided a successful evening and school holiday programme for young people over the past two years. The club has its own media suite, drama studio and digital recording studio, along with a wide range of musical instruments, and runs drama clubs, pop choirs and numerous band initiatives. Activities are generally run on an informal basis. "Young people want and need a space to hang out, be themselves, be with their friends and try new things," says Evans. "Youth clubs are still best placed to meet this need. Youth culture may have changed, but the principles of youth work have remained focused on meeting their needs. The key difference in today's provision is that there are more organisations offering a wider range of activities and sessions than before." The majority of Evans' work focuses on performing arts, which has proved enriching for the young people who use the club. "I have seen young people grow tremendously through their experiences. Arts activity challenges young people to be expressive and find their voice. I have seen young people develop self-confidence and self-belief through trying new things or placing themselves in situations where they may initially feel uncomfortable." But while the government's renewed interest in youth activities is broadly welcomed by those who work with children and young people, funding is not always directed at the right kind of resources, says Evans. "There can be pots of money available, but these come with agendas that have not been decided by young people or those working closest to young people." The government's Friday and Saturday Night briefing paper, published last July, sets out some of the central issues and barriers for children's trusts in expanding their provision of positive activities on Friday and Saturday nights. It is a useful reminder for local authorities of the importance of ensuring that young people have access to affordable facilities and opportunities, says John Bateman, chief executive of national youth work charity UK Youth. But there are fears current funding levels are not sustainable, which could hit providers of youth activities, many of which are voluntary organisations, particularly hard. As Bateman says: "Paradoxically, the call for additional provision comes at a time when many local authorities are considering very large cuts in their budgets that will almost certainly have a knock-on effect in the third sector." Web links National Youth Agency: nya.org.uk Myplace: tinyurl.com/mzbejn SCArt: scs-online.co.uk Friday and Saturday Night briefing paper: tinyurl.com/ydkbe44