280 Niddrie Mains Road, Edinburgh EH16 4ND

Fantastic February brings focus on to our

wonderful centre and what the building and its

subsequent activities bring to so many people’s

lives. Without the warmth, energy and passion

of so many of the people who use this building

and its rich activities or who see it ‘as part of

their extended family’, these buildings would

be soulless.

Welcome then to our centre, where a host of

people collide with place, to bring an exciting

vibrant venue whereby people can learn, play

and build new positive social contacts.

Our programmed activities, prepare people for

a range of life experiences, the reality of this

means that so many people have become

involved in not only developing themselves but

also developing others.

So as we look back on February, we want to

showcase what people, funders and partners

with a bit motivation, energy and passion can

bring to this community table.

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This month our hard-working volunteers headed off to Wiston Lodge for the very first V-Inspired residential. This served as both a reward for all of their hard work in the programme, as well as an opportunity to evaluate V-Inspired so far. Below are some of the awesome things they got up to, as well as some of the feedback we received.

Above: Our wonderful team for the weekend Below: It wasn’t all leisure; some important evaluation took place.

- We have felt like a lovely family. Everyone works together and no-one feels left out. - V-Inspired has helped me take steps in the direction I want to travel. I hope to take many more steps still.

- I feel as if I have had the opportunity to nurture children and help them grow. It is the most fulfilling thing ever to do that.

So the weather didn’t stand in the way. Our Jack Kane heroes did a blindfolded night-line crawl through the woods during the wind and rain, solved physically demanding puzzles in a hailstorm, then climbed a scarily high pole in the snow. The instructor said it was some of the most extreme weather he had ever led activities in, but our young people were tough and enthusiastic. I don’t think we have ever been fed so heartily before. On the first night, the food was so good that after seconds and thirds, when they bought out an unexpected desert, we had to forgo it! Charlie and Anthony battled on a chess-board, there was a huge game of hide and seek across a giant mansion and our young volunteers compared their skills to survive a hypothetical zombie apocalypse. Not to mention their incredible archery skills. Every volunteer is now a competent archer.

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Youth work adds huge value to Scottish society and investment in youth work provided through local councils and at a national level should arguably be protected and built on. New figures highlighted in recent publications show tens of millions lost in the last 10 years to youth services. Evidence showed that cuts to youth work are already reducing the life chances of young people and increasing inequalities. It was against this backdrop that, YouthLink Scotland alongside Children in Scotland led on organising a cross party group and we were invited to attend with some of the fantastic young people asked to add value to the discussions around the benefits of investing in youth work. Over 100 people attended the event, with the centres Young People (a couple of V-Inspired youth volunteers) at the forefront of leading discussions relating to the investment in youth work and the implications which any cuts in funding would have on their lives and the service. In fact, a young person was invited to be a key speaker at the event going on to acknowledge that ‘youth work builds individuals, develops communities and adds vibrancy to our country’ and from the comments of the Young People who attended you can see it has had a major impact on their lives.

‘I will use the learning from this event every day to tell myself that I am capable of what I want and that I am on a journey to fight for

what I believe in and to become the best version of myself’ (young person)

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The centre is always delighted when we hear what our impact has been on learning and life. It’s great that we know, but we just wanted everyone else to hear it… so here’s a wee assortment of people’s views and thoughts on their learning whilst taking part in services that we provide.

• ‘Without having the Jack Kane, this would be really negative for me and it would

not be positive for my mental health. Being involved has given me strong

connections with others. I know that there is always somewhere to provide a

welcoming face and support’.

• ‘I have changed as a person. My personality traits have changed. I’m more open

to talk and be with new people, building positive relationships and learning to be

more independent’.

• ‘The different people that I came across in my journey here at the centre had a

really positive effect on me. I felt so welcome and it was such a homely

environment. The staff always treat me with respect and I am never judged. I

always feel welcome from having food on the table, which creates a welcoming

space, to my opinions always being encouraged and valued. I’ve realised that my

experiences of volunteering and the centre are not just helping other people, they

are helping me’.

• ‘Dear Diary, the Holiday Matters club is so much fun and we learn lots’.

• ‘The one thing that I will never forget about this week is actually wining something

– I won at football which never happens, I also know that taking part is just as

important’.

• ‘I greatly looked forward to Cameron’s speech as he is someone that I respect and

I hoped to find out more about his path to youth work’.

• ‘Particularly liked the science workshop for parents to get involved in with their

children. Everyone can take part regardless of ability (compared to the fitness

activity last time). Also, we could work together as a family, communicating,

listening to each other and team work to complete the task together’.

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Our volunteers love nothing more than giving up their time to support others, so when better to show the love than an older people’s tea dance. By increasing social experiences, encouraging people to be even more active and involved in stimulating activities the older people really deserve these exciting opportunities. Our volunteers were successful in applying to the community grants and were awarded funds to put on a host of events. The main aim was to encourage older people to be more active and involved, so they do not feel isolated and they improve their physical and mental health. It’s not just us who want better things for the older people the Scottish Government is working to enable older Scots to live healthy, active and independent lives. A sedentary lifestyle can also increase the risk of cardiovascular disease, stroke, diabetes, osteoporosis and some forms of cancer. Even within our own area, key priorities look to reduce loneliness and isolation, increase physical activity and this funding is aimed at locals who reside in the LIP small areas such as Bingham, Niddrie and the Christians (Others do sneak in 😊). It has never been more important for our older people to find ways to feel better about themselves, the first themed event (Valentines dance) took place within the centre with 40 people taking part in all the activities which were on offer. There was lots of laughter, fun and excitement as people took to the dance floor and shook their bodies to the sound of the fabulous music. They also enjoyed the bingo sessions and the raffle prizes which had been kindly donated from a range of other business and individuals. We also had an amazing young volunteer called Saffron from the V-Inspired project who kept us right 😊.

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A yellow weather warning and a prediction of a storm couldn’t stop the Holiday Matters programme running over the February break. An average of 20 children braved and fought through storm Ciara on a daily basis to attend the fun filled educational sessions at St Francis RC Primary School. The exclusive Excel Holiday Matters programme ran from the 10th- 14th February implementing health and wellbeing opportunities whilst supporting literacy and numeracy covered in the school’s curriculum. So as to ensure as many people could take part in this programme as was possible, there was no cost to participating children and families with breakfast and lunch provided. On hand to deliver and support the amazing five-day experience we had a range of services which added value to the children and families’ experiences. There was an action-packed programme, which included a wide range of educational activities from numeracy and literacy, football, basketball, arts and crafts and STEM sessions carried out by University of Edinburgh’s School of Physics and Astronomy. Our special partners in the school included the fabby Headteacher, her Senior Management Team as well as the teachers who took time away from their busy schedule so as to assist the children’s learning over the holiday period. The actual school environment should be commended for offering a place where children feel safe and secure as the develop their skills, learning and experiences.

‘I was expecting to come see it was boring and only come for one day and not come back. But I came all week’. ‘I even got myself up all week, got ready and came along as I enjoy it so much’. ‘It was great I worked with others who weren’t in my class’. ‘I feel fitter and ready to go back to school’.

‘Individual children from my class who attended the Holiday matters programme came back to school really positive wanting to share their Holiday matters experience’.

‘It has been great observing individual

children grow in confidence through

attending the holiday matters

programmes’.

‘This programme allows me to spend quality time with other children and as a family at the play and stay day’.

‘It keeps my son in the routine of coming to school every day’. ‘I think that the work of this club and the workers from the Jack Kane being in both settings is great, it has been really amazing for us as a family. It has given us support and made a difference to our families’ life in the confidence that my children have both got from being involved’.

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John Witherspoon (Chairperson)

Dale McCuaig (Vice Chair)

Sylvia Hawthorne (Treasurer)

Connor Callan-Murdoch

(Secretary)

Getting ready for High School. The Primary 7 transition group has begun the process of getting themselves ready for High school with the support of our Smooth Moves programme. The group have been working hard to find out more about their high school through various methods of research. To help and encourage families to explore thoughts and feelings of this transition, participating children have taken home weekly homework assignments and asked their parents/carers to share their experiences of the move.

Here is an example of one of the homework assignments: “How did you feel on your first day of high school?” “On my first day of high school I was very excited and nervous, we had assembly on this day

which I met a lot of people in my year. The nerves went at this point. The people I met on the first day of high school meant that I am still friends with lot of them to this day”

(Parent)

You can see that the tentacles of the centre reach out

beyond the physical walls and deep in to the Community!

The programme of activities is developed so as to have

the most impact to the people who take part in

everything that is on offer.

From the board, to the Management Committee, through

to the staff, volunteers, partners and funders we all wish

for our services to be dynamic, fun and educational so

that more people than ever can laugh and learn at the

same time as feeling safe and included.