2023 Main Grant -  Space2Grow #31

Members were available to apply for the 2023 Main Grant, Space2Grow#31.   
For projects or organisational development starting in early 2024, this grant awarded up to £9,000 for Young Barnet Foundation members to deliver activities opportunities and support services to meet the needs of Children and Young people in the London Borough of Barnet.  

 

Key information: 

Application open date: Monday 18th September 2023

Closing Date: 23:59 Sunday 22nd October 2023

Total Amount Available to Award: £70,000

Maximum any one award: between £3,000 and £9,000

Panel Meeting :  Tuesday 5th December 2023

Awards Announced: Week commencing 11th December 2023

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Awards

We are pleased to confirm £74,975 worth of either full or part funding to 11 Young Barnet Foundation members delivering projects that target children, young people and/or families whose needs are greatest and support YBF and LBB/CCG's ambition of developing and enhancing the capacity and sustainability of the local children and young people’s voluntary, community and social enterprise sector. This funding has been provided via London Borough of Barnet Family Services. 

 

Art Against Knives - £9,000

Art Against Knives (AAK) runs two community nail, hair and braid bars as part of the award-winning IN OUR HANDS Programme (IOH), created by young women from Dollis Valley Estate (Barnet) in 2012.

In these safe spaces we deliver a range of creative activities co-produced with young women, girls, nonbinary and trans young people (YP) to support their emotional well-being, resilience, confidence, empowerment and healthy relationship skills. This project will enable us to sustain one of these long-standing community nail bars, Vales Nails, as we kick off its newest chapter in our new flagship space in East Finchley, N2.

 

This new space offers a major opportunity to expand operational capacity and strengthen our offer to vulnerable YP from the community. E.g. it offers more room for one to one conversations, youth-led events, sensory space, use of new creative equipment (e.g. a new screen printer, podcast equipment) Overall, it is a more inclusive, versatile space to meet YP’s needs and we intend to engage the #NEXTGEN of AAK participants to continue to coproduce Vales’ Nails, continuing much needed early intervention and prevention work in the Borough.

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ADDISS - £9,000

There is a core group of young teens for whom ADHD is considerably complex and who are in crisis. They and their families require intensive support in order to keep their children in education and avoid a downward spiral that often follows exclusion. When children are in crisis and school placements are breaking down there needs to be an urgent intervention to prevent permanent exclusion or the breakdown of a young persons mental health. Long waiting lists for therapeutic interventions are unhelpful. Parents contact us at this point but we do not have the resources to help them.

Children are getting regular detentions, spending full days in the reflection room (internal detentions) Usually due to their needs not being met. Some have already had several exclusions, a period of time in the PRU or are about to be permanently excluded.

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This project will enable us to step in and provide crisis support for Teenagers, for parents and for schools and hiopefully prevent exclusions. Our staff consist of ADHD speciast parenting practitioners, ADHD Coaches and mentors, Advocates, Behaviour specialists and therapists, all of whom have many years of working with complex cases where ADHD is involved. Many children have a dual diagnosis of ASD as well and in some cases the failure to recognise the ASD leads to the crisis situation where we are called in.

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Face Front Inclusive Theatre - £7,964

Our project is a primary school touring play called Whisper Me Happy Ever After. The play follows a family experiencing domestic abuse and explores the effects on the mental health of children who witness it. It is both humorous and disturbing. The production aims are:

• To improve the emotional health and wellbeing of people aged 9 - 11 years old.

• To develop strategies for dealing with violence/abuse in the home to increase resilience, improve general emotional wellbeing and school attendance.

• To raise awareness about domestic violence, teaching peer support skills and informing children about how to get help and support.

• To prevent future domestic abuse by confronting the emotional and legal consequences.

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The team includes 4 actors, a facilitator and a therapist. The children (and teachers/TAs) are encouraged to talk further with the team after the performance at which children often disclose issues at home and get the help they need.

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Strength and Learning Through Horses - £4,500

We are seeking funding to subsidise two 12 week Employability and Horsemanship Skills Programme; each programme will teach 8 young people who are often inactive and socially isolated to engage in physical activity in caring for and training horses.

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The sessions involve participants partaking in activities such as mucking out the horse’s stables and cleaning their fields, making their feeds, grooming, exercising the horses and learning about horse psychology. Many of these tasks involve working in small teams, which encourages communication, teamwork and leadership skills, time management and  negotiation skills. The young people we work with struggle to engage in a traditional classroom setting but thrive in the safe and inclusive outdoor setting of our stables and find the horse work really motivational. The young people are also taught to read and understand horse psychology and how to use this to train and build relationships with our 8 horses. They then then learn to translate this knowledge to their wider lives to build positive relationships with peers, teachers and others. The students acquire accredited qualifications on this programme; The Prince’s Trust Personal Development & Employability Skills Award and / or AQA Unit Awards focusing on employability skills.

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Barnet Community Projects  - £5,450

Junior Leaders is a youth development programme for 13-16 year-olds on Dollis Valley Estate and surrounding area.

The programme develops young people’s confidence, core life skills and sense of responsibility through workshops on topics like personal development, conflict resolution and public speaking. Sessions are interactive, with guided learning, role play, individual and team activities. Participants also gain experience of peer reflection, They get opportunities to do external training in e.g. sports coaching and first aid.

 

The Junior Leaders work as volunteers on our lunch club during the holidays, delivering sports activities and mentoring participating children. Through the programme, participants will:

• engage in positive activities which give them positive learning experiences and a sense of achievement and through this develop their personal capabilities

• interact with each other in a safe environment, build positive peer relationships, and mix with a diverse group of young people from different backgrounds, and through this develop their social capabilities, including team working, peer support, conflict management

• are supported to identify their strengths and challenges and to develop their skills and interests, and through this build their self-confidence and encourage aspiration

• get responsibility to make decisions and opportunities to implement their own ideas at the centre which will develop their confidence in decision making and enable them to be more comfortable in social situations and formal ones, e.g. interviews and meetings.

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Exposure Organisation Ltd - £6,250

Practicing mindfulness and appreciation during troubled times helps us overcome negative thoughts and messages, breaking through the dark clouds to the sunshine above. Using digital creative content production as a tool for narrative therapy, 'The Mindful Project' will support at least 20 young people (15-25) experiencing mental health difficulties, intervening early to provide coping methods at a time when statutory services are over-stretched and under-resourced. Offering training, encouragement and support the project will build young people’s resilience through reminding themselves – and by extension their friends, families and wider community – to be mindful and appreciative of elements of their lives that can enhance their wellbeing.

 

These will include:

• personal care through exercise, eating healthily, meditation, breathing and sleeping well

• relationships with people who affect them positively and give them support

• hobbies, communities, education, home, family, pets they value

• the part of themselves that others may criticise (e.g. identity/culture/behaviour/appearance/lifestyle)

• people/experiences that have affected them negatively and so helped them grow.

 

An adult digital/online content production expert will provide beneficiaries with comprehensive, sensitively-crafted guidance to open up positively about their lives and experiences, before training and supporting them to shape these personal responses into compelling digital creative content, to share with, inform, inspire and reassure others.

 

Our Yard Ltd - £6,983

Over the year we will run a series of arts, crafts, sustainability and wellbeing sessions for young people. We will take the time to do assertive outreach into local schools to make sure young people are either bought over (during school time) or encouraged to attend (outside of school hours). Youth centres, safe spaces, developmental opportunities are at an all time low and we want to ensure that we have something on offer for young people at the farm.

 

We also want to take the opportunity to provide apprentice opportunities for some of those young people (approx 25% of the sessions to be co-facilitated by a young person), to work alongside our experienced facilitators in developing and delivering these sessions. These apprenticeships will provide paid opportunities with supervision and support to help our young people branch out.

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Barnet Lone Parent Centre - £9,000

"We are so excited to be coming back to our favourite place! We missed it so much over summer”, said a mum of two children at the beginning of term.

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Finchley Community Toy Library is more than just a toy library. It is a fun, friendly and safe space for families to meet up and make new friends on Monday and Tuesday each week.

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We have the traditional toddler stay and play format at each session but with many additional features as listed below. We care for parents and carers as well as their children. At just £2 per family our project provides cheap, regular, high quality activity for preschool children.

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The Toy Library is run by a salaried Play Leader, a General Helper and six parent volunteers. We have a spacious, well-kept hall, fully accessible for those with disabilities, with a big garden. At each play session we will provide:

• arts and crafts

• plenty of indoor activities

• outdoor play area

• story time and singing

• healthy snacks for children

• adult tea or coffee

• pre-loved books and toys to take home and keep

• high quality educational toys to borrow

• food bank

• toiletries bank

• access to our Help with Money project

• access to the BBC Emergency Essentials fund

• outreach from Newstead and other appropriate organisations

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About 60 families are registered with us, with 30 families being regular users. Our team of well-trained staff and volunteers provide positive role models for children and adults alike. We have two staff trained to Level 3 Safeguarding of both adults and children and robust policies and procedures to ensure everyone’s safety. We want to continue this much-loved service as it serves families with children in so many ways.

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Rephael House – £6,450

We will be extending our existing service to provide four additional therapy sessions on a Sunday for 11–19-year-olds. These sessions will be low cost, short term, primarily to address the continued demand for support we are experiencing.

Mental health issues among young people continues to rise, affecting their education, relationships, and overall well-being. The aftermath of the pandemic has exacerbated these challenges, leading to a significant increase in anxiety, depression, and suicidal ideation.

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Many young people lack access to affordable, quality therapy services due to financial constraints or a shortage of mental health professionals. This gap leaves them vulnerable, hindering their personal growth and potential.

We understand the pressing need for accessible and affordable therapy services. Our mission is to provide short-term, low-cost therapy to empower young minds, enabling them to overcome challenges and thrive.

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By offering targeted support, we aim to make a significant and immediate impact on the mental well-being of our youth.

We are maximising our resources efficiently by utilising free space in our building on Sundays. This demonstrates our practical approach to addressing the community's needs while minimising costs, making the most out of the available facilities.

 

LiFT CIC - £6,453

LiFT CIC with the support of Whitefield School and Brent Cross Shopping Centre will deliver a 44-week social inclusion football project for mixed gender groups aged 12-19. This will be delivered weekly from 6pm-7:30pm at Whitefield School and will be aimed at young people residing within the local community. We would like to deliver this project to assist with the reduction of anti-social behaviour as evidence states that this is the most common type of crime that occurs locally.

 

We also aim to educate our young people about the day-to-day issues they are exposed to, such as community safety, county lines, exploitation and grooming, substance misuse, sexual health and healthy relationships, mental and emotional wellbeing, and the impacts of social media.

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The project will aim to break down barriers and reduce conflict between young people from neighbouring postcodes and those in a position of authority, to better family relationships, to increase the number of positive opportunities available to them, and to provide pathways to a better future.

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Growing Against Violence (GAV) - £3,925

GAV has previously experienced Primary School borough wide engagement. Dedicated and concerned parents/teachers have reached out to us as they are aware that young people at an early age are being targeted/exploited both criminally & sexually. According to Safer London Foundation, 12-year-olds have been identified as being at high risk of gang affiliation. Our beneficiary’s situation establishes the key push factors for gang involvement including the refugee experience, neglect, fractured family units and belonging to the 12.6% of Barnet children living in poverty.

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Year’s 5/6 students are in a key transition period, adapting to new environments from Primary to Secondary School whereby they are at risk of being drawn into a culture of violence and exploitation which is often linked to gang membership: protection, money and status seemingly offered by gangs is, sadly, inevitable.

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Therefore, our early intervention with 9-11 yr. olds is vital as we raise awareness of the real consequences of gang membership such as drug trafficking, violent victimisation and brutality in gangs. By aiding children at the earliest possible stage, we are helping them to regulate their emotions, remain positive and resilient, assisting them to reach their potential, contributing towards reduction of high crime in our neighbourhoods.

 

Panel: 

Tasneem Anjary – Mental Health & Wellbeing Senior Commissioner

Bina Omare – CEO, Colindale Communities Trust

Debra Davies – Assistant Head 0-19 Early Help

Matt Keane – John Lyon’s Charity

Jonnie Beverly – YBF Chair

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