Young inspectors think, plan,doand review
The Young Inspectors programme is a government initiative getting young people actively involved in ensuring other young people’s needs are met through their youth provision and projects.
They talk to the youngsters attending and the staff and look around the venue for notice boards, displays of information, and any signs of youth participation. Since they started they have been to various projects based around the area. After their inspections they get together to discuss their visit and to write a report and give recommendations on it.
This scheme motivates young people to prove they can ‘think, plan, do and review’ a project of their creation which develops skills and creates experiences. There are four stages of the Keyfund process each having different amounts of money and specifications which groups of young people across the North East can apply for. The Northumberland Youth Service North Area Young Inspectors have just completed stage two of the Keyfund process and received £500 for a day out!
The group said, “As a group of teenagers we don’t really get opportunities like Keyfund but when we got involved in the North Area Youth Service we learnt about different activities and projects and how to apply for different grants. We have used the Keyfund to reward ourselves for the work, effort and commitment we make volunteering as Young Inspectors and to have a laugh with our friends. We completed stage one and went ice skating and to McDonalds! After completing stage two we went to the cinema, bowling and Frankies and Bennies, food theme?! We ended up watching ‘Saving Mr Banks’ which some thought was a great film and others thought it was absolutely terrible! Overall though it was a really good ten hour day out!”
The team are due to start their re-inspections and reviews of these places. But they are always looking for new places to inspect if anyone is interested please get in touch on the number below.
The girls continued, “We are now working on our stage three for £1,000 which hopefully will see us going to Dublin this summer to research youth work and present our Young Inspectors scheme to young people in Ireland. We want to take them some Northumbria Food Hampers as gifts.”
If you want to get in touch with us to find out anything about the North Area Youth Service or Keyfund you can contact us via our youth worker Lucy Roberts on 07824 383035.
By Aleshia, Leah, Lauren, Caitlin and Bethan
