What is the Bradford Youth Offer?

The ‘Youth Offer’ is the term we use to describe the diverse range of youth work opportunities and activities available to young people. In Bradford, youth work is delivered as a preventative and early intervention service for young people. As such, it plays an integral part in delivering the outcomes of the Bradford District Children and Young People's Strategy and is a key component of achieving our ambition of being a Child Friendly City.

Youth work helps all young people to navigate the journey from adolescence into adulthood, giving them access to new opportunities and experiences and providing information and guidance that will support their personal and social development. It raises their aspirations, builds resilience and enables them to make informed decisions.

The Youth Offer in Bradford includes: the Youth Service (Bradford Council), the Breaking the Cycle team (Bradford Children and Families Trust) and local partnerships.

In order to provide the best service we can, we make sure young people have a voice and influence over the offer available to them. Bradford Youth Service employ Youth Ambassadors to develop an understanding of young people’s lived experience, establish if needs are being met and identify gaps in our Youth Offer.

Young people can access information on our youth offer including weekly youth sessions, activities and events through the Bradford Families and Young Persons Information service. The Service provides advice, information and signposting to young people on all aspects of family life.

Youth Service

The Youth Service provides youth work along with other youth work providers in the third sector. Youth provision in Bradford is aimed at people aged 11 to 17 years (25 years for those with complex needs and disabilities).

Young people are able to access youth provision in each of Bradford’s constituencies with the Youth Service providing around 90 sessions each week. There is strong focus on open access youth provision that enables all young people to participate in activities that support their health and wellbeing.

Youth work supports the personal and social development of young people and builds the capabilities they need for learning, work and the transition to adulthood. This is achieved through the voluntary engagement of young people with skilled qualified youth workers.

The Youth Service provides access to smaller local groups that offer programmes to address the needs of the most disadvantaged and vulnerable groups, with the aim of reducing demand for specialist or statutory services.

Programmes of youth work support young people to connect with their communities and support them to have a voice in decisions that affect their lives. Programmes are planned and delivered to ensure the needs of young people from all communities are met. Youth workers deliver a range of issue-based work to support young people on a range of topics such as emotional wellbeing, sexual health, education, anti-social behaviour, risk taking behaviours and positive decision making.

Youth Service Specialist Projects

The Youth Service has a number of specialist projects that are funded through health, education and safety initiatives. Examples of these include:

Youth Support in Schools - youth workers support young people to maintain their attendance in school through the provision of 1:1 support in secondary schools across the district.

Mental Health - youth workers provide young people with 1:1 support to help improve their mental health and well-being. Referrals are made to this project by a range of professionals and via self-referral.

Inclusion groups - provide weekly support for young people aged 11 to 25 who lived with a disability.

LGBTQ+ groups - provide weekly support for young people aged 13 to 18 who identify as LGBTQ+.

Detached Youth Work - responds to local issues concerning anti-social behaviour in local communities.

Breaking the Cycle Team

The Breaking the Cycle youth work team support young people who are at risk of being groomed and exploited. They work within the Bradford Children and Families Trust, alongside Children's Social Care. The team provide direct 1:1 intensive support that seeks to build trust and safeguard children from harm. This work takes place via home visits, outreach into the local community and within Accident and Emergency Departments. This is a specialist area of Youth Work that draws upon a range of skills, knowledge and experience. The Breaking the Cycle team offer training and support to other professionals via the development of the Youth Work Academy.

Contacts

Bradford Council: [email protected]

Bradford Children and Families Trust:[email protected]