Sketty Park Communities First Partnership’s response to the Welsh Government on the consultation: Future Of Communities First has been submitted to Welsh Government, please check above on ’about us’ and then ‘Communities First – The Future’ to see the response document.
Last year the Sketty Park Communities First Partnership agreed to run a Community Safety project.
Earlier this year a Community Safety Workshop took place, attended by 45 people in total – 28 people from organisations and 17 local residents. At the workshop, people drew up maps of their local community, highlighting areas of concern and commenting on their perception of safety in those areas.
Our July Partnership meeting held a second workshop to plan for our Safer Sketty Park initiative, which helped put together a questionnaire that will be taken into the community. This questionnaire will ask for thoughts and concerns from a wider selection of the community, relating to community safety.
Over the coming months, you will see the large Community Engagement Vehicle (CEV) in the area.
Make sure you visit it; there will be freebies to hand out and you will be able to talk with us about your thoughts on local safety within Sketty Park. The results of this survey will then be used to direct Swansea’s Community Safety Partnership in running specific projects and initiatives in the area to address the concerns raised.
Once this work is done, the survey will be repeated to establish the difference made. This project will basically mean local people are directly involved in addressing needs for safety within their community by influencing the work that takes place here.
It is encouraging to hear positive feedback from local people and our PCSOs, suggesting Sketty Park is improving significantly. There are fewer people showing concern over community safety and more suggesting they like and feel safe in the area. This initiative will therefore work to ensure we maintain this good level of safety and pride in the community
Partnerships and Communities Together (PACT)
The PACT meetings are intended to give you an opportunity to highlight community issues that have an impact on your quality of life, and to assist in deciding which issues are dealt with as priorities. It is not a surgery to discuss individual issues or concerns; your neighbourhood policing team holds PACT surgeries separately for that. The PACT meetings also give you the opportunity to get to know your local officers.
Well despite the good news that overall crime is falling it has been recognised that our fear of crime and how safe we feel aren’t falling in the same way. Through the meetings you will see that perceptions of crime often don’t reflect the true position.
You will also be reassured by witnessing the police and their partners working with community to deal with the issues that matter most to you.
This process needs your voice to ensure we concentrate on the issues relevant to your area. If you don’t say, we can’t listen!
Next PACT meeting is…
Date: 08/09/2011
Venue: Sketty Park Community Centre @ 7pm
Summary: All are welcome. Parking is available at location. For more information about PACT meeting detail and have a look at local crime maps please visit www.ourbobby.com
PACT Surgeries are held every 3rd Friday of the month at Sketty Library 3-4pm. Come down if you would like to talk to a PCSO about an issue
or concern.
Sketty Neighbourhood
P.C. Katryna M-Evans 07584 004276
P.C.S.O. Fred Lerwel 07805 301619
P.C.S.O. Mark Parker 07584 771201
P.C.S.C. Nadia Curry 07805 301583
Well lots actually. Still a lot left to do but a great amount has been happening. If you want to talk about any of the activities below please call the Area Youth Worker David Stallard on 07786910207.
Youth Club
Seven months down the line and the Youth Club night has proved to be a great success. On average about 15 young people attend each week to meet up with each other and have some fun. The youth workers David, James, Andy and Vicky are there to be a welcoming face and support the young people of Sketty Park. The activities on offer at the club arose from what the young people wanted to see, ranging from table tennis and pool to large screen games such as Fifa, Dancing and Racing, with Karaoke proving a big hit!
There is also a small café and a chance to either catch up on some homework or browse the Internet. The atmosphere is very friendly and the young people have really benefited from having a place to go on a weekly evening.
“My view on the Youth Club this past few months is that it is a really helpful place for youth to come and enjoy a variety of activities. I feel that this place helps young people grow social skills as a range of ages interact.” Chloe Jones, 17 years old.
Over the summer the youth club will be having a break but it will return once school starts in September. So if you’re aged between 11 and 25 come on down and join in!
Also coming up in autumn there will be an outdoor activities weekend away. In order to go on this trip young people are being encouraged to get involved in community events and projects.
Summer Activities
The youth club may be taking a break but don’t worry there’ll still be lots going on over the summer:
Sports Wednesdays
On Wednesday afternoons from 2-4pm our 5×60 officer Debbie will be in Dunvant Park with her coaches and lots of sports equipment, so make sure you come on down for that. It should be good fun. The Basketball Wednesdays at Olchfa will be returning when school starts back in September.
Evening Outreach
Every Monday and Thursday youth workers Andy and Vicky will be about Sketty Park in the evenings 6-9pm to say hello to any young people who may be about and if the weather’s good hopefully play a few games like rounders, football or cricket.
Forest School
On Wednesday 27th July there will have been (by the time you read this) the first Forest School activity in Olchfa Woods, accessible on Aneurin Way just after the Sports and Social Club. A day filled with fun and learning bushcraft skills.
We hope that the young people will have had a great time and that we can work more with Forest School over the course of the year to encourage young people to make more use of this great natural resource on our doorstep.
30hour challenge
David and James will be working with the Swansea Youth Service summer programme’s 30hour Challenge which will consist of going to a secret location for two days and completing challenges for your team’s survival. Young people from Sketty Park have been encouraged to sign up for this and hopefully a good few of them will be part of this adventure over August.
It’s a Knockout
On Tuesday 9th August young people from Sketty Park will be going over to the Gorseinon Youth Centre to compete in a Swansea wide It’s a knockout Competition. It should be a great laugh so make sure your name is on the list!
Other news
There have been four meetings of the Youth Provision Network over the past year during which good relationships have been built between the people who work with youth in the area, including the local PCSOs and police.
This partnership work has had a positive impact on facilities for young people in Sketty Park.
The Youth in the Park Forum has also been working with this network. So if you’re a young person who wants their voice to be heard in the development of what happens in Sketty Park please contact David on 07778 6910207.
As you may know five key areas for development were identified during last year’s consultation with schools and the community on what young people would like to see in Sketty Park. These were a Youth Centre, Sports Playing Fields, a Skate Park, a Multi-Use Games Area (MUGA) and a Playground for Older Children.
Youth Centre: Whilst not a dedicated Youth Centre the Thursday Night Youth Club at the Sketty Park Community Centre has gone some way to fulfilling this need. Parklands Evangelical Church also runs a youth club on Fridays as detailed in their article.
Playing Fields: Parkland Primary School has kindly given permission to the Youth Team to use its grounds for Playing Fields.
Skate Park: Parklands Evangelical Church and their Youth Worker Dan are in the process of applying for funding to build mobile skate ramps and jumps that can be used in its car park during youth work sessions.
MUGA: Olchfa School and the Council are currently working together to see if a MUGA can be installed on its grounds.
Playground for Older Children: The new Environmental Action Group mentioned elsewhere in this newsletter have identified, as one of its priorities, the development of Parry’s Field. This project led by the Environment Group will bring together members of the Youth Provision Network, children’s activities group Doodles Events and anybody in the community who wants to get involved to work with organisations who have experience in community projects like this. They will be looking at funding opportunities and will be consulting with the community, especially those residents who live beside Parry’s Field. The aim is to transform Parry’s Field back to a place where children can gather and play safely.
The Sketty Park Online IT Collaboration Initiative started from an identified need for local learning and access to IT.
This work was the result of 9 organisations working hard over many months, to tackle issues around the lack of IT resources, training and learning support available in Sketty Park. Early this year, the partnership submitted a bid to Communities 2.0 to employ a tutor/coordinator, to work within the community providing learning opportunities and access to IT resources.
This partnership now involves Olchfa Comprehensive and Parkland Primary School, Coastal and Family Housing, Lifelong Learning, Sketty Park Community Association, Parklands Church, CCS Youth Service and of course Communities First. Since receiving our award for this funding, we have had two additional partners join us: Age Concern and the Library Service.
Parkland School continues to provide Friday afternoon learning during term time, in partnership with the Sketty Park Online initiative. To attend, either contact Kevin or Parkland School on 205462.
The Sketty Park Online initiative was successful in attracting over £37,000 to the area. The work is valued at over £58,000 with the difference given as contributions from partner organisations. Sketty Park Online will help meet the learning needs of many residents within Sketty Park, providing additional opportunities for ongoing learning and support.
This initiative will now enable us to source training for community members, actually deliver regular training through a familiar tutor and offer progression paths to further learning. We can also support local people, who do not have easy access to PCs, to use Skype, shop online, use email, and access financial and employment services. The partnership set up to take on this initiative is strong and demonstrates how persistence and cooperation can benefit local people.
Some typical learning opportunities will include:
Just contact Kevin on 07976 233338 or Communities First on 284740 to talk about your needs.
All partners will have beneficiaries within their own work and the coming weeks will see training schedules established within the community, together with drop-in session timetables.
At our drop-in sessions, further support can be made available, potentially leading to employment support for local people as well as support services such as LASA Credit Union and Citizens Advice Bureau.
Kevin Hedges has now started work as the Tutor and Coordinator for the Sketty Park Online initiative and will be visiting local groups and organisations.
Please do contact Kevin on 07976233338 or skettyparkonline@gmail.com, if you wish to find out more, take advantage of free training or support this work.
Communities First in Swansea promotes Max Your Money Week
Communities First in Swansea is organising a ‘Max Your Money Week’ that takes place during the first week of October (3rd – 7th Oct. 2011).
This is supported by the Swansea Financial Inclusion Steering Group. The week will be organised through the Communities First central and local teams.
The key aim of the week is to help residents to make the most of their money by reducing energy bills, accessing cheaper credit and ensuring that entitled benefits are claimed. It primarily aims to reach those who are under financial pressure and may be dependant on loan sharks. The project will achieve this by raising awareness of the Wales Illegal Money Lending Unit, promoting energy saving, cost-cutting, debt reduction, income maximisation, credit union membership and benefit/grant entitlements.
For further information, visit www.swansea.gov.uk/maxyourmoney
Many Sketty Park residents have spoken of a need to access local IT facilities for recreation, learning and job seeking. A major challenge experienced by Communities First and its partners, has been the facilitation of locally delivered learning using IT and regular access to IT. Many residents, of all ages, still have no access to IT at home, with those on low incomes or out of work put at a disadvantage. Also, children and students who do not have regular access to IT are unable to support their learning and research.
In response to this need, a partnership of organisations, including Parklands Primary and Olchfa Comprehensive Schools, Family Housing, Coastal Housing, Parklands Church, the Youth Service, Life Long Learning, SCVS, Communities First and Sketty Park & District Community Centre, has worked to develop an IT Consortium to submit a proposal to Communities 2.0 for funds, to help bring local learning and access to computers and the Internet at various locations.
The IT Consortium’s work is moving rapidly forward and we were successful on a bid in February for the IT project to start by the middle of this year. We are in a process to employ a tutor/coordinator to deliver IT training and courses using IT, to the community of Sketty Park. Please contact us on 284740 to register your interest in any learning.
The City and County of Swansea, together with other local organisations has developed Max Your Money, a project to help you cut the cost of your bills.
You may be paying more than you should for energy, or paying very high charges on money you’re borrowing. But you may be entitled to help that you are not claiming.
Max Your Money will show you where you could make savings.
Contact the services listed on these pages. Their FREE advice can help you make the most of your money
8 November – 12 November 2010 On Tuesday 9th and Wednesday 10th November, there will be an events trailer situated at Clyne Court, Block 1 outside the Housing Office. On Thursday 11th and Friday 12th November, the events trailer will be at Aneurin Parkway Car Park opposite the florists. Come along and speak to the team. The team will also be visiting community groups and calling at people’s homes to give advice. If you would like them to call at a specific time, please call Communities First on 01792 284740
There are bi-monthly PACT meetings in your area where you have the opportunity to highlight any community issues that may be having an impact on your quality of life. Those who attend the meetings help in identifying 3 priorities for the police, partners and community to address. Those who attend are reassured by witnessing the police and their partners dealing with the issues that matter most to you. The meetings also give you the opportunity to get to know your local Community Police Officer and the rest of the team. PACT meetings are your meetings. This process needs your voice to ensure we concentrate on the issues relevant to you and your community. If you don’t say, we can’t listen! For more information about PACT, set priorities and meeting details please visit www.ourbobby.com
To find out the dates of the PACT meetings for 2010 in Sketty Park please visit www.ourbobby.com
Fred would like to extend his thanks to the Youth Partnership in Sketty who assisted him with their recent ‘Fish’ N Chips Supper’. “This event was a joint partnership held on Halloween. It was deemed a great success around eighteen local children attended Parklands Primary school. They hired external flood lighting and played football and cricket with the children. As well as having fun Sumo Wrestling demonstrated below. The evening was rounded off with fish and chips for all”.
Throughout this year, many organisations, including South Wales Police, the Youth Service, local County Councillors, Communities First, Olchfa and Bishop Gore Schools, City and County of Swansea Council, Parklands Church and others, have met on a regular basis to work towards developing provision and facilities for children and young people in some areas within Swansea. Sketty Park has been the focus for a number of potential projects which include youth club provision, a multi use games area, outdoor adventure activities, local sports and training. Some consultation work has been done with young people from Bishop Gore and Olchfa Schools and a forum group is being developed locally where young people can play a key role in informing and directing future work. If you are aged between 11 and 25 and live in Sketty Park, please get in touch with us on 284740 or call in to the office at 134 Clyne Court. We really need your opinions and ideas.
