Children aged between 10 and 14 years old can enjoy a specialised therapy-led personal development programme R.A.W (Roots and Wings), to help them gain the confidence to make the right decisions over their future.
Funding has been awarded to local charity Parenting 2000 by the Youth Endowment Fund – an independent charitable trust set up by the Home Office. It funds, supports and evaluates projects in England and Wales which work to prevent children and young people from being drawn into violent crime.
The service will now be able to deliver a bespoke online Zoom based programme to create resilience in children and young people aged 10 to 14 years old through Parenting 2000 Project Manager and Therapeutic Lead Claudia Aldersley (pictured), with the organisation’s team of eight qualified therapeutic counsellors.
The programme will offer children and young people a combined approach of an extended series of one-to-one counselling sessions, offering a non-judgmental and emphatic space. In addition, they are also offered a therapy-led creative group.
This will provide the children and young people with an understanding of how their mind and thought patterns work, giving them the knowledge and tools to overcome barriers to resilience and wellbeing. The course will form six weekly sessions covering the following:
- stress and anxiety
- assertiveness skills (focused on resisting pressures by gang members)
- anger and conflict
- strategies to develop positive thinking
- identity & self esteem
- growth mindset
Parenting 2000 will also undertake research with the funder into the best ways to reach vulnerable young people during this period of social distancing.
Over 1,000 applications were made to the Youth Endowment Fund’s COVID-19 grant round; Parenting 2000 is one of the 130 organisations to share part of the £6.5m grant pot.
Parenting 2000 Chief Executive Janine Hyland (pictured) said: “We are delighted that The Youth Endowment Fund has chosen to support our project.
“Our project is designed to enable children and young people to make better life choices which will in turn protect them against becoming involved in criminal activities and stop them from being vulnerable to predators with criminal intent.”
Sefton Council’s Children’s Social Care & Education Executive Director Vicky Buchanan said: “We are pleased to work in partnership with Parenting 2000 through our Turn Around Families Programme and our Supporting Families against Youth Crime work.
“The news that they have been successful in securing additional funding through the Youth Endowment Fund is welcome as this means they can continue to support young people and families in Sefton and will continue the partnership that we have forged over the last few years.
“I look forward to continuing to work alongside and support Parenting 2000 in the delivery of their offer for the residents of our borough.”
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