M.Y.A. and Centre 63 Joint Project
Over the past 12 weeks the UNITE team have ran an inclusion programme at Centre 63 with great success. This programme has also been supported by Knowsley Council as part of their Aim Higher work.
The programme has worked with young people aged 11-16 from the Knowsley area with varying disabilities along with young people from Centre 63’s Youth Club membership.
Our Aims
- To integrate 6 disabled young people in Centre 63’s Youth Club using the reverse inclusion model.
- To bring more inclusive activities to Centre 63.
- To work with Centre 63’s Youth Club membership on inclusion ideas.
- To work with Centre 63’s staff on inclusion ideas.
- Empowering disabled children and young people.
- To develop self esteem, confidence and friendship in young people.
- To work towards ECM targets.
UNITE work using the reverse inclusion model, giving disabled children and young people the opportunity to choose and direct how they are included in play activities. In the first session UNITE staff consult with young people to gain an understanding of the activities they want ran in the programme and how they want the sessions to form, this ensures all work undertaken by the project is needs lead.
Our programme usually consists of around 6 sessions ran exclusively with the disabled children and young people to gain confidence and establish friendships within the group before embarking on the integration process. However it became apparent to workers that right from session one our young people wished to be introduced to the Centre 63 Youth Club and were ready for integration to be started.
Each week out group settled into a routine of firstly working on a group activity in the hall, be it crafts, games or cookery. This was followed by our group moving up to Centre 63’s Youth Club and including themselves in activities with the young people i.e. sport or computers. Response from the young people in Centre 63 was fantastic. Many of the Centre 63 young people immediately went out their way to include the UNITE group and welcome them into the club. Some others were a little more apprehensive and insecure around our young people, this may be due to them lacking in experience and knowledge around disability. However as the project continued these young people also became more aware and inclusive.
The UNITE Project worked towards the Every Child Matters agenda and hit various outcomes each session as part of the inclusion process. On the whole the project is highly aimed towards the ‘Enjoy and Achieve’ outcome, ensuring activities are inclusive of young people no matter of disability and that each young person should have the right to choose their activities and to participate.
The project also targeted ‘stay safe’ and ‘be healthy’ by educating others on disability which leads to understanding and a halt to negative behaviour and by promoting healthy relationships and building confidence leading to mental well being.
Young people in the group also developed many new skills as part of the UNITE project at Centre 63, including; communication, teamwork and independent living skills. This was achieved by running sessions such as cookery, gardening, team sports and using crafts as a mode of self expression.
