Argyle Community Trust
THIS summer has been the most successful in six years of delivering the National Citizen Service (NCS) through Argyle Community Trust, with 278 young people successfully graduating from the project.
View our full gallery of NCS pictures
Our previous best in partnership with City College Plymouth was 210 and the aspiration for next summer is to increase our numbers to 350. We are proud to be one of the biggest providers of NCS in the south-west and certainly a leader in the city of Plymouth.
NCS is open to all 16 and 17-year-olds in England. It helps youngsters to build their skills for work and life, while taking on new challenges and meeting new friends.
NCS brings together young people from different backgrounds and helps them develop greater confidence, self-awareness and responsibility. It encourages personal and social development by working on skills in leadership, teamwork and communication.
The programme lasted for four weeks through the summer holidays and the first week is all about taking youngsters away from their local community, introducing them to new activities. This year, we travelled to Portland and Weymouth for a week spent in specially chosen hotels and lodges.
They embarked on a wide range of outdoor activities, such as paddle boarding, abseiling, rock climbing, sailing, raft building and a whole lot more that is not readily available on a daily basis. We want the first week to give them a feel of holiday, while teaching them the skills to function properly away from their normal environment.
Week two is a return to the local community but staying in a University campus setting. We use the University of St Mark and St John (Marjon) and City College to give the youngsters a taste of everyday life in higher education.
This is combined with more outdoor activities that include tree surfing and zip wire adventures during time spent at the fabulous Tamar Trails just outside Tavistock, but the main focus of week two is spending time with local organisations and education providers.
The youngsters had the opportunity to meet local charities, analysing how these organisations operate and raise funds. We also gave them a selfie-challenge to take the most interesting and amusing selfies at businesses across the city, giving them a greater appreciation of local geography.
The final two weeks are all about a social action project, so they begin with planning, risk assessments, producing press releases, Dragons Den pitches and meeting with local organisation to outline their proposals.
This year, we have worked in partnership with Volunteer Plymouth, a local organisation supporting volunteering opportunities across Plymouth with specific emphasis placed on 16 – 25 year-olds.
We were also honoured to have a visit from NCS Ambassador Raleigh Ritchie, who is famous for his role in the cult series Game of Thrones and work as a musician. He spent time sharing ideas and answering questions with the youngsters in a particular highlight for the participants.
The final week is all about giving back to the community with hard graft, working for local charities and organisations, and implementing the social action projects.
In total, our NCS groups contributed 8,340 hours of unpaid work, which equates to £32,275 worth of labour and we were very proud to raise £3,641 for local causes.
One of the most satisfying aspects for us as deliverers of NCS is the feedback we receive from young people. Twitter has been extremely busy this year, with the guys sharing pictures and stories, and our graduates will enjoy a ceremony at the end of September to meet some of the people they have helped with the social action projects.
The biggest indicator for us is the fact we open up applications for participants to join us as assistant team leaders on NCS next year and we’ve already received over 80 applicants.
There is a future NCS opportunity open in October, where the scheme is condensed into a week and provides those who have missed out through the summer to get involved in a life-changing programme.
To find out more, please contact Social Inclusion Manager Dwain Morgan on 01752 562561 ext.4 or email dwain.morgan@pafc.co.uk
