Sarah Potts at the Ellesmere Youth Project

     For my Community Action Placement I had to work for two weeks as a youth worker in a small community situated just outside the centre of Sheffield.  My position as a youth worker meant I had to plan, organise and run activities for the young people, be present and contribute to staff meetings and discussion groups, lead specific activities and have the opportunity to help the young people in any way possible. 

DAY 1: I arrived at Ellesmere Youth Project and met the lovely family I would be staying with for the following two weeks.

DAY 2: Day two was my first official day of work for Ellesmere Youth Project.  My first task consisted of contributing in the staff meeting, as well as getting to know the colleagues who I was going to be working with over the next two weeks.  In the staff meeting we discussed general topics related to the young people who the Project mainly worked and interacted with and also planned the evening activity session.  As my community action placement was also at the same time as Sheffield’s Easter Holidays there was an activity planned for every day of the week.  The specific activity for the evening was a Hip-Hop Dance session with the professional dance company called Routes.  The venue was at Vestry Hall which had a modern room for the workshop to take place and we also had a successful turn out of young people.

DAY 3: On day three we had a sports activities session at the local community hall called Cornerstone.  A worker from the Sheffield council who specialises in sport came along and played hockey with quite a few of the young people, who all thoroughly enjoyed the session.  Also, at this particular session there were new members of the local community who came along to join in.

DAY 4: On day four we had another dance workshop where once again we had a good turn out and the workshop itself was very successful.  The main purpose of the workshop was to get the young people to interact and tell a story of modern society, which all the young people were extremely good at as they were really interested in the specific style, due to the modern nature.

DAY 5; On day five, Ellesmere Youth Project joined with another local youth group and had a day trip out to Rother Valley Country Park.  In this activity session we hired cycle bikes and the young people cycled round the park.  This session was also very successful.

DAY 6: Day six was another afternoon of the Hip Hop Dance Workshop.  Once again there was a successful turn out and the young people who attended thoroughly enjoyed it.  From my perspective the young people were enjoying it because it was something they already enjoyed and it was beneficial to themselves as well as enjoyable.

DAY 7; Day seven was the final day for the Hip Hop Dance Workshop.  In the final session the young people demonstrated and told their story through the dance moves they had previously learned.  At the end of the session we did a review of the workshop with the young peoples own comments and all the feedback was positive.

DAY 8: On day eight we held an afternoon of sporting activities at the local community hall called Cornerstone.  Once again we had a worker come in from the Sheffield council who supplied numerous pieces of sport of equipment for the young people to use.  This session was also very successful as more new young people arrived and everyone interacted well together.

DAY 9: Day nine we held an afternoon full of arts and crafts activities.  In this particular session a lady who specialised in digital photos came along and held a photo shoot where the young people could dress up as their favourite celebrity and have professional photos taken.

DAY 10: Day ten was my last day as working as a youth worker.  On the final day we had another trip out with the young kids where we hired a mini bus and took them to Sheffield’s ice skating rink.  We spent a full afternoon here and all of the young people thoroughly enjoyed it.

 

    As well as helping out with each of the activity sessions I also had to lead activities such as the arts and crafts session, as well as carry out risk assessments for the varying venues and assist in the administration side of the job.