The Power of Local Partnership
The Integration Challenge – West London Zone and Earls Court Youth Club
In summer term 2023, through the support of Lightbulb Trust’s Integration Challenge fund, West London Zone and Earls Court Youth Club came together to co-design and deliver an after-school programme, offering a range of opportunities to a group of local young people already enrolled on the West London Zone programme.
Together, West London Zone (WLZ) and Earls Court Youth Club (ECYC), came together to deliver a six-week pilot programme, referred to as their ‘Integration Challenge project’. This project saw WLZ Link Workers and staff take young people from two schools in South Kensington to the youth club, to take part in the club’s weekly junior session.
These sessions meant that young people on the WLZ programme had the opportunity to participate in a range of activities. These included playing football, arts-focused activities such as mosaic making and t-shirt making, as well as having access to the computers in the IT room, all of which provided them with the opportunity to socialise, learn, and be active. Table tennis was a big hit every week, led by the youth club’s wonderful staff members and trained youth workers.
Purpose of the project
The two desired outcomes of the project were to:
- Support young people to make positive progress and build skills in confidence, teamwork, leadership and aiming high.
- Enable young people to access the youth club beyond the length of the programme.
Upon its completion, WLZ’s Link Workers and the ECYC team remarked that increased confidence was the most noticeable outcome for the young people attending the sessions. As each week passed, they appeared more comfortable being away from their Link Worker and their school peers, engaging more with other adults and young people from other schools. Although difficult to measure, there is no doubt that by opening up access to the vital support and services Earl’s Court Youth Club are offering, and supporting these young people to build the right skills they need to thrive, such positive impacts were achieved for those young people identified as most likely to benefit from this partnership.
Additionally, four young people from the project continued to attend the Earl’s Court Youth Club as temporary members throughout the summer holiday programme, thanks to the generosity of the club in continuing to accommodating these WLZ young people.
The power of local partnerships
Both organisations are really pleased with these outcomes and believe it is testament to the power of local partnerships in how they approach the real needs of local young people. As two organisations embedded in the local communities they serve, West London Zone and Earl’s Court Youth Club recognise how important it is for practitioners to share resources and to collaborate to achieve positive outcomes. In this particular project, this spirit of collaboration was emphasised in the need to share different perspectives and compare nuanced understandings of the local context, as well as detailed knowledge of each young person’s background, strengths, goals, and areas for improvement. In doing so, the two teams worked together to best support each young person toward meeting their individual goals.
“The best thing I’ve done with West London Zone”
The feedback from the project was positive across the board, from WLZ Link Workers to the young people joining in the activities.
“It was so good, the best thing I’ve done with West London Zone.”
“I loved it – the food is amazing.”
“I would go back every day.”
“I like it here, I enjoy T-shirt designing and I laughed a lot today, so I will give it 1000/10.”
“I think this youth club is very good because there are lots of options of things to do.”
(young people on the WLZ programme)
“I thought the Integration Challenge project was a fantastic initiative. The children thoroughly enjoyed it, they were engaged by the activities on offer and felt that the staff members were warm and welcoming. Thank you Earl’s Court Youth Club!” (WLZ Link Worker)
“I thought the project was amazing, and the staff were very supportive of each child’s interests. I saw a real difference in the children with their confidence to do different activities, and even to engage with other children. The youth club staff created such a warm and safe space which was shown by a number of the children saying they wanted to go back every day!” (WLZ Link Worker)
Sinead Earl (WLZ Link Worker), Abdi Aden (ECYC Centre Manager), Sonia Bouclainville (Lightbulb Trust), and Amy Wilson (WLZ Link Worker)
The future looks promising for this local partnership
There are some clear successes that have come out of this Integration Challenge: the enjoyment young people got from attending the youth club, the skills they were able to develop, but also the strong relationship forged between two organisations, something that will continue into the future.
West London Zone’s Area Manager for Kensington and Chelsea, Becky Bryce, and the Earl’s Court Youth Club Manager, Abdi Aden, will discuss a way of ensuring young people on the WLZ programme are able to engage with the club in the future. They are also working together to connect each other with other providers in the local community, continuing to join up the system and champion each other in their respective objectives to improve services and outcomes for local children and young people.
Charly Pye, West London Zone
Registered charity number 1160947 Private Limited Company number 08991196
The Power of Local Partnership
The Integration Challenge – West London Zone and Earls Court Youth Club
In summer term 2023, through the support of Lightbulb Trust’s Integration Challenge fund, West London Zone and Earls Court Youth Club came together to co-design and deliver an after-school programme, offering a range of opportunities to a group of local young people already enrolled on the West London Zone programme.
Together, West London Zone (WLZ) and Earls Court Youth Club (ECYC), came together to deliver a six-week pilot programme, referred to as their ‘Integration Challenge project’. This project saw WLZ Link Workers and staff take young people from two schools in South Kensington to the youth club, to take part in the club’s weekly junior session.
These sessions meant that young people on the WLZ programme had the opportunity to participate in a range of activities. These included playing football, arts-focused activities such as mosaic making and t-shirt making, as well as having access to the computers in the IT room, all of which provided them with the opportunity to socialise, learn, and be active. Table tennis was a big hit every week, led by the youth club’s wonderful staff members and trained youth workers.
Purpose of the project
The two desired outcomes of the project were to:
- Support young people to make positive progress and build skills in confidence, teamwork, leadership and aiming high.
- Enable young people to access the youth club beyond the length of the programme.
Upon its completion, WLZ’s Link Workers and the ECYC team remarked that increased confidence was the most noticeable outcome for the young people attending the sessions. As each week passed, they appeared more comfortable being away from their Link Worker and their school peers, engaging more with other adults and young people from other schools. Although difficult to measure, there is no doubt that by opening up access to the vital support and services Earl’s Court Youth Club are offering, and supporting these young people to build the right skills they need to thrive, such positive impacts were achieved for those young people identified as most likely to benefit from this partnership.
Additionally, four young people from the project continued to attend the Earl’s Court Youth Club as temporary members throughout the summer holiday programme, thanks to the generosity of the club in continuing to accommodating these WLZ young people.
The power of local partnerships
Both organisations are really pleased with these outcomes and believe it is testament to the power of local partnerships in how they approach the real needs of local young people. As two organisations embedded in the local communities they serve, West London Zone and Earl’s Court Youth Club recognise how important it is for practitioners to share resources and to collaborate to achieve positive outcomes. In this particular project, this spirit of collaboration was emphasised in the need to share different perspectives and compare nuanced understandings of the local context, as well as detailed knowledge of each young person’s background, strengths, goals, and areas for improvement. In doing so, the two teams worked together to best support each young person toward meeting their individual goals.
“The best thing I’ve done with West London Zone”
The feedback from the project was positive across the board, from WLZ Link Workers to the young people joining in the activities.
“It was so good, the best thing I’ve done with West London Zone.”
“I loved it – the food is amazing.”
“I would go back every day.”
“I like it here, I enjoy T-shirt designing and I laughed a lot today, so I will give it 1000/10.”
“I think this youth club is very good because there are lots of options of things to do.”
(young people on the WLZ programme)
“I thought the Integration Challenge project was a fantastic initiative. The children thoroughly enjoyed it, they were engaged by the activities on offer and felt that the staff members were warm and welcoming. Thank you Earl’s Court Youth Club!” (WLZ Link Worker)
“I thought the project was amazing, and the staff were very supportive of each child’s interests. I saw a real difference in the children with their confidence to do different activities, and even to engage with other children. The youth club staff created such a warm and safe space which was shown by a number of the children saying they wanted to go back every day!” (WLZ Link Worker)
Sinead Earl (WLZ Link Worker), Abdi Aden (ECYC Centre Manager), Sonia Bouclainville (Lightbulb Trust), and Amy Wilson (WLZ Link Worker)
The future looks promising for this local partnership
There are some clear successes that have come out of this Integration Challenge: the enjoyment young people got from attending the youth club, the skills they were able to develop, but also the strong relationship forged between two organisations, something that will continue into the future.
West London Zone’s Area Manager for Kensington and Chelsea, Becky Bryce, and the Earl’s Court Youth Club Manager, Abdi Aden, will discuss a way of ensuring young people on the WLZ programme are able to engage with the club in the future. They are also working together to connect each other with other providers in the local community, continuing to join up the system and champion each other in their respective objectives to improve services and outcomes for local children and young people.
Charly Pye, West London Zone
Registered charity number 1160947 Private Limited Company number 08991196
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