Archive for category: NCS

After completing an NCS course run by Peterborough United’s community department ‘The Posh Foundation’, teenager Callum Avent landed his dream job at his boyhood club.

There are a number of different challenges for young people as they go through adolescence. One of the most common hurdles is a dip in self-confidence.

The National Citizen Service (NCS) programme has a proven success rate of helping 15-17 year olds build their confidence levels and develop important life skills. It is a chance for teens to shake things up and develop new skills for whatever post-GCSE life has to throw at them. It changes how teens see the world and has a huge impact on communities across the UK with over 1.9 million hours of social action taking place across the country – the equivalent to building 74 Olympic Stadiums and 1 The Great Wall Of China.

Teenager Callum Avent turned his life around after signing up to the NCS programme four years ago at his beloved football club, Peterborough United.

Callum is first to admit that when he started the programme, he was a very shy and quiet person. Now, aged 19, Callum is a self-assured young man and is living his lifelong dream by working full time for his favourite football club Peterborough United as their Futsal Assistant.

”The NCS programme instantly appealed and it has helped me in so many ways.” admitted Callum.

”A lot of people joined who were in the same boat as me and we learned so many important life skills that have proven to be invaluable.

”The NCS programme has benefited me as a whole. I was very shy and had no confidence but by being given responsibilities and working as a team it helped me be who I am today.

“We did a few different tasks such as helping local charities and going away for a few days to Shropshire to do team activities. We also did workshops for CV and employability which opens so many doors.

“Some people at a young age don’t have that much confidence so the NCS programme helps with that and you can conquer so many fears when you are away from your family.”

Callum’s attitude and commitment to the programme was noted by the club’s NCS manager Jenna Lusk, resulting in the die-hard Posh fan gaining full time employment at the League One side.

Callum explained: “Peterborough United invited me to come back and be a volunteer for the NCS programme. It was something I immediately wanted to do, to help others.

“Alongside NCS, I was on the Futsal programme and after my scholarship finished, Jenna offered me a job and I haven’t looked back.

“I would tell any young person to say yes to NCS because it can help you achieve your ambitions that you think may not be possible.

“NCS is growing, when I was first on the course I used to talk to people about it and only a few people would recognise it. Now it is so popular and everyone knows what it is. A lot of organisations recognise NCS.

“I remember five years ago doing work experience as a year 10 student at Peterborough United and now I am here and I love it!”

Peterborough United amongst 31 other clubs across the EFL will be hosting a NCS match day. The NCS Match Day takeover has proven to be a huge success in recent years through the guidance of EFL Trust, with the aim to increase awareness and increase participation. The club’s first team players will have an important role to play by warming up in NCS branded t shirts and meeting programme graduates.

To find out how you can get involved in the NCS programme visit – https://www.ncsefltrust.co.uk/

It’s not just teenagers that have benefited from NCS in Hull and East Riding this summer!

The group began working with Dove House Hospice, taking on the NCS Accumulator challenge. The challenge itself was to start with £50 and use this to support fundraising and raise awareness. The group exceeded all expectations, raising £1,600 through various fundraising activities ranging from a door to door car washing service, a Mary Berry and Paul Hollywood inspired Great British Bake Off Challenge, and an open mic evening to celebrate local musical talent in Hull.

Dan Clipson of Dove Hospice has been blown away by the support from young people on NCS programmes, and says: This summer was a great experience for both the NCS teams and for us here at Dove House Hospice. The Accumulator Challenge was well received by all of the groups and allowed young people to really develop their skills that they’d learnt earlier in the programme.

We’re excited to see how our growing relationship develops with the NCS programme, allowing the Accumulator Challenge to become a real staple of hospice care awareness and fundraising from a younger generation”.

Many young people have now expressed an interest in continuing their support of the hospice through taking part in upcoming events such as the Colour Run – a 5k fun run leaving you awash with a rainbow of colours.

As well as supporting Dove House Hospice, the group undertook a project to support the HU5 area of Hull. After hearing on Radio Humberside that local people weren’t happy with the state of their streets, the young people took it upon themselves to clean them and filled over 40 bags of rubbish on their first day. Word spread of what they were doing, and Radio Humberside invited them along to speak live on radio with DJ Dave Burns about their social action project.

Whilst benefiting the community, the impact NCS has had on these youngsters has been significant; they have developed life skills, learnt about the local community, and most importantly, developed a sense of achievement with the difference that they have made.

Andreea Voinea, a volunteer aged 16 from Hull said: “This has been the most incredible summer. I had so much fun, tried something new every day and met new people who I can’t wait to meet up with again.’’

Andreea continued: “One of my highlights was creating our social action project to support Dove Hospice and help clean the streets of HU5. It was amazing to be able to see the project through and realise the huge difference we can make if we put our minds to it – the sense of achievement at the end raising over £1,600 for Dove Hospice, and the amount of rubbish we collected was something I’d never experienced before and it really bonded the group. I’d definitely encourage other young people to give it a go.”

Social action projects are taking place across the country with the NCS programme and this is just one of many examples of how young people are making a positive difference in their community.

Thousands of teenagers from South Yorkshire are set to benefit from a new partnership between First South Yorkshire and the EFL Trust.

This summer, EFL Trust (charitable arm of the EFL) and First South Yorkshire have announced a new partnership that will allow free and discounted travel for over 2,500 young people participating in the National Citizen Service (NCS) programme within South Yorkshire.

NCS is a two-four week part residential programme open to all 16-17 year olds during school holidays. Running across England and Northern Ireland, the programme aims to widen horizons, bridge social divides and create community cohesion whilst developing key skills for work and life. In the third phase of the programme, participants create a social action project in the local community around an issue they are passionate about and spend 30 hours implementing it. In summer 2015, young people of South Yorkshire contributed 100,000 hours of social action by fundraising for local charities, redeveloping outdoor spaces, taking part in inter-generational projects and community work.

The new partnership will benefit young people initially with free travel for two weeks to support them during the social action phase of NCS this summer. This will enable young people to travel around their local community with ease. If a young person has graduated from NCS, and they stay in education, they will be eligible for further discounted travel with First South Yorkshire using a South Yorkshire student pass.

First South Yorkshire, part of FirstGroup plc, are leaders in public transport welcoming almost 60 million customer journeys in South Yorkshire during 2015/16. EFL Trust are pleased to offer this fantastic service to NCS Participants, adding further value to what will be an amazing Summer.

Matt Handley, Regional Project co-coordinator for EFL Trust “This is an exciting partnership with First South Yorkshire that will benefit thousands of young people participating in NCS and will ultimately benefit the local community. This partnership will reward young people for their hard work and dedication as well as being an invaluable tool for them when it comes to planning and delivering a social action project in their local community”.

First South Yorkshire’s Allan Riggall, Head of Commercial said, “We are delighted to be working with the EFL Trust in supporting the NCS. Bus travel is an integral part of young people’s lives, and will give them the independence to travel around South Yorkshire safely and at affordable prices with our great value tickets for those in education. We look forward to hopefully extending this partnership beyond this current project and to help the participants of this scheme make a difference in their communities”.

This partnership with First South Yorkshire is set to begin next month. For further information on First South Yorkshire please visit www.firstgroup.com/south-yorkshire. NCS takes place within South Yorkshire, outside of term time, and is open to all 15-16 year olds for no more than £50. In South Yorkshire the programme is run by the EFL Trust, for more information please click here.