Ieuenctid Castell Nedd/Neath Port Talbot Youth

Members of the youth council identified vaping as a growing concern among their peers and took action to address the issue. They raised their concerns directly with local authority leaders during cabinet meetings, highlighting the increasing normalisation and availability of vapes among young people.In response, the youth council collaborated with youth workers, health professionals, and external organisations such as Swansea University and Ash Wales to develop an informed response. This included contributing to a co-produced presentation to raise awareness on vaping and its risks, designed for delivery across schools and youth settings. The presentation also tackled environmental concerns raised by young people, such as the improper disposal of single use vapes.The youth council’s advocacy led to the development of a multi-agency action plan that included staff training, peer education, targeted campaigns, and test purchasing initiatives. Through their involvement, young people ensured that the messaging and actions were shaped by youth voice, making them more relatable and impactful for their peers.

In the Horizons project, youth workers effectively enhance their support and interventions by integrating artificial intelligence (AI) and virtual reality (VR) technology into their practice. Young people engage in varied, interactive exercises through VR headsets. They undertake simulated job interviews and guided relaxation sessions, and participate in debates designed to build confidence in expressing personal views. The sessions are streamed to external screens, allowing youth workers to monitor progress in real time and offer tailored support. This enables them to link each activity to specific elements of the young people’s individual action plans, fostering deeper understanding and relevance. The young participants express how these sessions build their confidence, help them prepare for real-life scenarios such as interviews, and provide tools to manage anxiety more effectively. The active involvement of staff in contextualising the experiences is key to the programme’s impact, with young people clearly valuing both the technology and the personalised guidance.

NPT youth service has adopted a proactive approach in linking youth work and the authority’s Welsh in Education Strategic Plan to promote and expand the use of the Welsh language. For example, all youth clubs are required to provide a Welsh language or culture themed activity each month. Youth workers hold highly engaging promotional activities during community events to promote the value of bilingualism.The service collaborates effectively with the local Welsh language initiative, Menter Iaith NPT. Joint initiatives include:assisting English-medium secondary schools to establish Welsh language lunchtime youth clubsorganising trips to Llangrannog where young people can gain accreditation on the Welsh language and customs through the medium of Welsh or English offering first aid courses through the medium of Welshholding one bilingual youth club in Pontardawe and a Welsh-medium youth club in Trebanos as part of the service’s open access offerAs a result, Welsh-medium provision and activities are an integral part of the mainstream youth work offer.Spotlight 5 titleLegacy work in schoolsSpotlight 5 textThe Legacy team work with the schools in NPT to provide support for young people in Year 11. Young people are referred through an early identification tool that helps identify young people at risk of disengaging with education, employment, or training or at risk of becoming homeless. The support for these young people is intensive and goes beyond the school walls. For young people struggling to engage with school, youth workers meet with them in the community and at their homes, working with the families and brokering wider professional support. This tailored support for individuals with emotional based school avoidance (EBSA) has resulted in a few young people re-engaging in school, sitting exams that they had thought they would never sit, and step-by-step support to transition young people into further education beyond Year 11.One headteacher attributed the contributions of the Legacy worker in their school to raising attendance and attainment, reducing permanent exclusions, and helping with the overall behaviour of young people across the school. The youth worker is seen as an embedded staff member within the school. The school recognises how a youth work approach complements and adds value to young people in the school environment. Without youth work support they would be unable provide the resource in the school.