Our Aim

“To develop the brand and expertise of the Youth Achievement Foundation under the banner of the Youth Federation and in conjunction with UK Youth and a national model of the Youth Work Curriculum”

Background

The Macclesfield Youth Achievement Foundation (MYAF) is one of the first projects pump-primed by a Department of Children Schools and Families Grant. By 2010 there will be 12 Youth Achievement Foundations across England. The work is delivered in close conjunction with UK youth and 7KS Enterprise College who have developed a successful model of working with young people who are in danger of being excluded or have already been excluded from their conventional school.

The contents of the course and curriculum consist of three main components:

• An accredited curriculum that is based on the youth work model utilising the Youth Achievement Awards, Asdan, COPE and Key Skills and focused on developing the young person's social and emotional coping skills.
• Work based placement and vocational skills
• A community-mentoring scheme which offers each and every young person on the programme a personal mentor recruited, trained and supported by the Youth Federation and based on the model used by Bolton Lads and Girls club

This approach looks at not just the education of these young people but also the general attitude and life skills approach.

As well as providing these young people with the means to progress academically, the course enables each individual to obtain the guidance required to help them gain the life skills will allow them to enter the competitive environment of the work place with confidence.

At MYAF it is felt that in the short time that we have been up and running we are helping these young people to achieve their goals via academic achievement and social guidance.

Since the formation of the MYAF back in September 2008 it has progressed from a part time enterprise with an initial intake of 12 young people to a full time Foundation with 20 young people.

We at the foundation believe that our aims, although stretching are achievable and the results to date have proven this.  Even at this early stage of our development the indications are extremely pleasing.

Our Aims

As a foundation it is felt that we can contribute in many ways. We have set ourselves the following goals:

• Increase attendance
• Increase punctuality
• Increase the number of qualifications attempted
• Improve the quality of evidence via portfolios
• Improve behaviour
• Build confidence and self esteem
• Improve social skills
• Develop the young person' citizenship and community awareness
• Increase their awareness of the world of work
• Reductions of permanent exclusions

Our Achievements

All the evidence shows that we are making good progress in the goals that we have set for ourselves.

• At the recent AGM two students delivered a PowerPoint presentation regarding the MYAF, in front of 100+ guests.  Exploring what qualifications they were working towards and the strong bonds created between the mentors and their students.
• Of the students that now attend MYAF the average attendance rate is in excess of 90%. The majority of these students achieved less than 60% in their previous schools.
•  Over the summer period two of our students volunteered to become helpers at the Fermain Youth Centre and one of the students now carries out work experience on a regular basis during which she helps young people with learning difficulties.  
• Every student attending the foundation has been allocated their own mentor and a further two students have mentors outside the centre provided by the foundation who meet up on a weekly basis.  
• Out of the twenty students attending the foundation 15 have already received Youth Achievement awards while all twenty are fully engaged in studying for various awards.  
• Another student has recently taken up boxing through the foundation and has progressed to attending a local boxing club in his own time.

Our students came to us lacking confidence and self-esteem but step-by-step we are building the trust between both mentors and students. Staff have noticed the difference in attitude, presentation and general commitment. Gradually but surely we are gaining the trust of these young men and women who have for so long felt that no one would listen to them.

The course itself is a mixture of academic and life skills experience. It is important that these students not only have the opportunity to gain recognised qualifications but also have chance to experience different work environments and situations which will enable them to find meaningful direction based on experience. With this in mind MYAF has designed a course which encapsulates the concept of balance between the academic and vocational approach.

Our hope

All this is being achieved through the hard work of a dedicated team of professionals. We aim to succeed for the sake of the young people who are putting their trust in us. We are determined not to let them down and in return we expect them to continue to work with us.

Our hope is that we continue to improve on the firm foundations that we have put down and that this hard work and dedication is rewarded with even higher achievements in the future.

Vocational Activities