A space where young people with additional learning needs can make friends and develop independence.
In collaboration with the Disabled Children’s Team, the youth and play service has established a specialist club for young people with additional learning needs (ALN). The supported youth club in Rogerstone runs weekly sessions for children and young people with ALN who are aged between seven and to twenty-five years. The aim of the club is to build trusted relationships with the young people and provide them with opportunities to make friendships. The club supports these young people successfully to develop their confidence, self-esteem and independence, with a view to enabling them to engage in mainstream youth provisions. The young people play, socialise and learn new skills. For example, they participate in sporting activities, arts and crafts, and gaming activities. There are opportunities for them to develop important independent life skills such as decision-making and money management. The young people and their parents and carers are very positive about the impact of this provision on those who attend. For example, they describe how the provision has enabled them to make sustainable friendships and improved their resilience when faced with new challenges. Young people say that the club gives the freedom to be themselves and to express themselves outside of more formal education settings. It enables them to make friends with other young people from across the city and to have a social life. This helps to prepare them for transitions into wider society.