11/03/2010
From Laura Haxton, Activity Sheffield (Council)

Weekly numbers 20-25 per session from the very start. Originally aimed at 11-16 year old, however, we have attendees from those as young a 9 and as old as 20. With support from Sheffield Futures Youth Workers we are able to support these young people. Where and what backgrounds they come from and, if possible, what level of deprivation they derive from – the ward in which the Get Cued In programme falls into provides the following statistics (Local Area Statistics Online Service LASOS 2009 update).

24% 0-19 year olds
9% claim benefits
32% are born abroad
17.44% fall into the deprived areas
42.6% of households earn less than 20k per year
25.86% fall into the ‘hard pressed’ category of wealth

Ethnicity – 95% BME, one of the most diverse places in Sheffield with a mix of Chinese, Bangladeshi, Slovakian, Polish, Somalian, Pakistani and many more with a range of religions.

Parental challenges or support that comes – the local area has highly supported the programme with a strong involvement from Sharrow Safer Neighbourhoods team, Sheffield Homes, Sheffield Futures, alongside community workers.

Volunteering experiences – in partnership with Sheffield Hallam University, 4 volunteers assist in running the programme. In addition 2 of the young people who attend the programme have been signposted to a Community Sports Leader award to gain qualifications to allow them to gain employment and run sessions similar to Get Cued In.

Thoughts on the concept i.e. snooker does music and the nightly games. The concept works fantastically in the area providing a youth club feeling alongside a structured competition and games night. The young people sing along and suggest music that we should download and use weekly, some which may not be to our taste!

Extra things we can introduce alongside the snooker sessions i.e. drug awareness and support with teenage drinking advice etc., in school programmes with the police would work well alongside Sheffield Futures. It may be worth approaching these organisations with this idea.

The bringing together as one group of people from different backgrounds and cultures or gangs through the Foundation – the project involves young people from all over the city from different ethnic backgrounds and different groups, which allows them to interact with no barriers, something that would not happen if Get Cued In did not happen.

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 Stephen Robinson, Blackpool

We have a real mixed bag of statuses; some are from deprived backgrounds, which shows in their behaviour and attitudes, which we have endeavoured successfully to improve. We do have someone who comes form a middle class family, however, and turns up religiously every week.
One parent did commment on how her son, who is from a deprived background, has begun to share things more, waits his turn when playing games and swears far less (he is only 11 and swearing is just not acceptable at our group, regardless of age).

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PC Phil Ladlow, Lancaster Police

I fully support the Paul Hunter Foundation. I think the work the Foundation doe with young people is really positive.

At Lancaster the Paul Hunter Foundation has been working on Monday evenings from 6.00 – 8.00 p.m. since September 2009. Since starting in September the attendance has been averaging around 50 young people. Some of the group have developed people skills and learnt to work as a team.

On the Bulk Ward for October, November and December, antisocial behaviour has noticed a 25% decrease. This is a very positive move. The Lancaster public have been very supportive as well and around 10-15 volunteers have helped with the snooker each week. Some of the volunteers are parents of children and really enjoy getting involved with the Foundation.

A number of groups who attend weekly come from different estates and this has been a good example of breaking down barriers. Some good friendships have been made. Also some individuals have been spotted with excellent snooker skills.

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Lindsay Lambert, YMCA

The Lancaster project has been a massive success, mainly due to the commitment of everyone involved as volunteers, the local police, the snooker hall and the YMCA. The first week was a good turnout of 20 plus children, with the numbers increasing week by week and we are now averaging 45 children, with the most attending being 64!

95% of the children attending are from the Marsh or Bulk Ward areas, which are both high deprivation areas. As of yet we have had no attendees from ethnic backgrounds. There is a small amount of gang culture involving the Marsh and Bulk Ward areas, which we thought might cause some issues, but none have arisen. The group all get on really well and think these sessions are definitely beneficial for helping break the barriers between the children. As the numbers have been high, we always have to run the doubles competition and there is never an issue regarding partners etc. Some of the older boys even help the younger boys and the girls (and the adults when we’re having technical problems with the music system).

The first session had no girls attending, but we are now getting 6 or 7 attending each week, which I still think could be slightly higher.

We did have some problems with slightly drunken parents, but this was dealt with as we asked them to remain in the other room whilst the session was running. One parent even changed from being a problem to being a regular volunteer. The parents also filled in consent forms for their child with emergency contact details, medical history etc.

Many of our attendees are known to the police and it is helping to build a relationship between them and the police, as many of the police officers turn up off duty to help and get involved with the children.

The main emphasis on our sessions is on the children getting involved and even when they are knocked out of the competition, they are all keen to help doing various things such as scoring, which is also helping improve their knowledge of snooker as some children had never even picked up a cue before attending the sessions.

We have recently had Shaun Murphy pay a visit and he stayed for the whole 2 hour session doing trick shots, playing with the children, giving out prizes and having his picture taken with the children. This was an enjoyable night for everyone involved.

We aim to get more girls and attendees from ethnic backgrounds to attend during future sessions and for the project to continue being as successful as it was for the first 10 weeks.

I personally think we are addressing enough issues currently during the sessions, such as the barrier between Marsh and the Bulk and building a relationship with the police and local community volunteers. I think we should continue to develop this before bringing in other issues such as drug awareness, teen drinking etc.

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Paul Ireland, Project Manager, Ridge Community Centre, Lancaster

Just thought I would give you an update on the Foundation and how it impacts on local issues.

With regards to territorial tension it is assisting at various levels. Under 12s are socialising positively with peers from other areas, laying down good foundations for the future generations of what would be combatants. The fact is the project is bringing these kids together and creating relations, relationships that the young people themselves will not want to ruin in 2 years time over turf disputes. the more of this type of project, the easier it makes our jobs in building community cohesion, we then have more chance of keeping them out to the youth justice system, which in turn gives them better prospects and legitimate opportunities for employment and training. Your youth volunteers are working alongside other youth volunteers whereas normally they would be engaged in a more violent, unofficial sport of field rage fighting.

It is very difficult to get the Ridge & Newton estates to engage together positively and consistently for any period of time, however, the PHF has helped us achieve than by offering volunteering opportunities to local residents. It is brilliant to see proud dads volunteering and getting to spend some quality time with their kids, as well as helping out with the young ones. Even some granddads are volunteering, so we have three generations of one family in the project. One dad comes running from work to meet his kids, he has a quick drink, a packet of crisps and laughs with them before sending them off to play snooker whilst he organises the 60 second challenge. Both his kids love the fact their dad is being cool with their friends, sometimes you can catch his 12 year old son stood at a snooker table admiring his dad from a distance. It is also good for the young people to see older people from their estates getting on with other adult volunteers from other estates; again reinforcing positive activities for positive relations, creating better and more friendlier communities.

Mums that have suffered from agoraphobia for a couple of years have found the confidence and self-belief to come to the project with their children. The kids are overjoyed that their mum has come to snooker when she won’t go to the shop to get their tea. We are having reports from parents that their child is a different person when coming to Mondays snooker day. Reports such as “it’s the only place he does behave” are common.

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Superintendent Richard Spedding, Lancashire Constabulary

I write as the Operations Superintendent for the Lancaster division and would like to take this opportunity to congratulate you on the impressive turnout at the snooker event at Squires Snooker Centre on Monday 2nd November 2009.

I saw the value of the project at first hand and I applaud the work being undertaken by the Paul Hunter Foundation. I was pleased to see that children from different estates in Lancaster are involved, which helps keep them off the streets at night and gives them a positive focus. The feedback from my officers is that these snooker events are making a real difference to young people’s lives by diverting them away from criminal activity.

I am really grateful for Sean Murphy, the former World Champion, attending the event and showing off his talents. I will have to practice a lot get anywhere near.

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Taken from Snooker Scene February 2010

Snooker plays role in society
The North Lancs Training Group’s Paul Hunter Foundation Snooker Youth Club has won Children & Young Peoples Service Team of the Year at the Children and Young People Now 2009 awards.
Established in 2006 in memory of three times Master Champion, Paul Hunter, the Paul Hunter Foundation aims to give disadvantaged, able-bodied and disabled young people an opportunity to play snooker.
Open to children and young people aged eight to eighteen, the coaching and training sessions focus on educating children on the dangers of getting involved in drinking and taking drugs and on wider social issues such as bullying and racism.
The panel of young judges, who worked with adult judges to decide the award, said they thought the club was “a personal initiative, a worthy cause and it appeared to be good for community cohesion.”
Since the club’s launch, the North Lancashire Youth Offending team, who take part in the sessions, have seen a 63% reduction in first time entrants to the criminal justice system.

Received following the winning of the Childrens Young People Now Team of the Year award.

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13 January 2010

 

Dear Mr Lovell

The Prime Minister has asked me to thank you for your letter of 22 December.

I would like to take this opportunity, on behalf of the Prime Minister, to send you his warm congratulations for all the fantastic work that you have done for your local community, enabling many young people to have the chance to learn to play snooker.

The Prime Minister hopes that you have a successful 2010 and sends you his very best for all your future endeavours with the Paul Hunter Foundation.

Yours sincerely

 

SIMON KING
Private Secretary

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 SUMMARY STATISTICS FOR THE PAUL HUNTER FOUNDATION/NORTH LANCS TRAINING GROUP/YNOT YOUTH CLUB

Over 12 months in Hyndburn.

400 hours of engagement with young people

Blackburn Road has seen a 20% reduction in criminal damage, whilst Church has seen a 27% reduction overall

Peak damage times of 6.00 – 8.00 p.m. have been eradicated (when the club is running)

The number of young people arrested whilst drunk in Church has reduced by 23%

13% reduction in antisocial behaviour

COST PER CAPITA – criminal damage costs per resident in Hyndburn have dropped from £91.62 per year to £69.80 in 2010.

Church’s contribution to this has reduced from £9.16 (10%) in 2009 to £5.58 in 2010 (8%)
This totals a £294,512 reduction in criminal damage costs in Church

 

Rob Flanagan PC2973
Hyndburn Youth Partnerships Officer