Welsh language
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.