Young people
We believe every young person is unique and capable. We work with young people to develop their self confidence and encourage the development of aspirations and goals.
Overview
We help young people play a constructive role in their community and realise their ambitions.
Youth work has always been a key focus for Valleys Kids. Youth work supports the social and emotional development of young people, challenging their viewpoints and opinions, encouraging reflection and inquiry, asking them to question themselves and others and enabling them to make informed decisions. We offer a wide range of programmes and activities for young people, rooted in the principles of youth work. A number of youth club sessions take place across our centres each week, led by highly experienced youth workers. They provide young people with opportunities to socialise, access help and advise on issues concerning them and take part in creative projects that encourage them to experience new things and develop new skills, interests and aspirations. Following a global pandemic and its impact on a generation of young people, the need for positive, engaging activities and support is more pressing than ever.
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Youth club stops us from drifting and keeps our mind at ease. It allows us to interact with each other and gives us the time to not worry about the outside world but focus on the group and ourselves
Youth club member
How we help
We provide information, support and advice and a range of volunteering and participatory opportunities to young people.
We seek to engage young people who have the most challenges in their lives to fulfil our aim of enabling young people to grow and develop, to gain self-respect and confidence, and achieve their individual potential.
Valleys Kids has achieved the Youth Work Quality Mark Bronze Level Award and our work with young people follows Youth Work in Wales Principles and Purposes. We aim to create opportunities that are Educative, Expressive, Participative, Inclusive and Empowering.
We support young people in a number of ways, including but not limited to; youth club sessions, youth performance, residential experiences and volunteering opportunities.
Sparc - Youth arts team
Sparc is Valleys Kids’ vibrant Youth Arts Project that offers young people, predominantly between the ages of 7-25, the opportunity to be involved in a range of arts activities, delivered locally in Valleys Kids facilities and at other venues that provide safe supportive environments.
Sparc operates a developmental and incremental model of working with young people. Our approach is to provide structure for the work young people create but allow for a high degree of flexibility within this to incorporate their creative voices and instincts. We work from the position of the young person, developing at their pace and offering them on-going support at every stage of the process to enable them to develop their autonomy, their sense of self and their creative journey.
