Participant Group: Young and adult carers

National Poetry Day 2018

national poetry day
national poetry day

NATIONAL POETRY DAY 2018

4 October 2018 is National Poetry Day, an annual celebration that encourages everyone in the UK to enjoy, discover and share poems.

At Create, we want to ensure that everyone, no matter their circumstances or background, has the freedom to express themselves creatively and we’ve found that poetry is a fantastic medium for this.

Our professional writer Cheryl Moskowitz, who has led a wide variety of Create projects over the 15 years she’s been working with us, spoke to us for National Poetry Day. Cheryl says that poetry can and should be accessible to everyone.

“If you are someone who struggles at a basic level with reading or writing you might be resistant to the idea that poetry could be relevant or even possible for you to engage with. Time and time again I’ve seen this proved wrong, however. We are all born with an inherent love of the shape, sound, rhythm and cadence of words and a curiosity about their meaning, especially when that meaning has a specific affect and relevance to ourselves. That’s all poetry really is.

“Somehow the more restricted a person’s life and circumstances, the more it seems there is to gain from the freedoms afforded through writing poetry.”

cheryl moskowitz

“Some of my favourite moments have been with those who are, at first, most doubtful about their abilities or seemingly disinterested in poetry. Male young offenders in prison settings for example, or women caught in cycles of drug misuse and sex work, or people who are homeless. Somehow the more restricted a person’s life and circumstances, the more it seems there is to gain from the freedoms afforded through writing poetry. Playing with words produces all kinds of new possibilities, opens doors and changes thinking. That’s what creativity is all about.

“We all use language as a form of communication but we can often feel stuck and unable to say the things that we really want to say in everyday conversation. Poetry lifts language to another level, constantly seeks to find beauty and new meaning in the words we use, and helps us to communicate on an emotional and instinctual level.”

Two poems by participants

This National Poetry Day we’d like to share two poems written by participants during our projects. Both poems demonstrate how poetry empowers us with the freedom to express our feelings. Poetry has allowed both writers to explore self-expression whilst experiencing the confidence-boosting experience of creating art.

I am a dashing, racing, rushing, bolting,
zooming, hurtling, exhibiting,

hovering, swooping, darting,
speeding, manoeuvring
Eagle.

I enjoy being high in the sky
and I believe that I will sky dive

I feel like the ability to actually fly is possible
if you are really in the sky

It is one of the best feelings in the world
to feel like flying in the air

I know that once you are up there
you can spread your wings
above those who have doubted you.

I know the doubters will never bring me down.

By Asante, a young carer in Southwark

Spring in winter, fresh flowers and water fountains
Time to make molehills out of mountains
I’ll make you a sandwich and put fresh parsley
On it, I’ll put it on it … don’t mind me.

Any way you twist it, the winter’s going to be spring
Soon I’ll start to sing it, ‘cause it’s a fine grand thing
Whenever a bee stings me in the mouth
Suddenly I remember it’ll soon be spring
Maybe it’s why birds fly south
Maybe it’s the birdsong they bring.

Don’t worry when the cold wind blows
Your love always ushers the spring.

Thank you for the sarnie.

By Marc, a member of Deptford Reach, which works with people whose lives have been affected by homelessness and mental ill-health

Meet Chris

inspired arts meet chris
inspired arts meet chris

MEET CHRIS

inspired:arts is Create’s multi-art programme for young carers. In August inspired:arts went to Newham where actor James Baldwin worked with young people from Family Action Newham and Tower Hamlets. The group wrote and performed monologues, experimenting with narrative structure and characterisation. inspired:arts enabled the young carers to take a break from their caring responsibilities, build trusting relationships with their peers and develop social skills and confidence.  

Chris cares for his mother who has terminal cancer. He talked about being a carer and taking part in inspired:arts:

“My mum’s cancer is terminal and she is often at the point where she can get upset. All I can do is help her out as much as I can. Sometimes she has to go to hospital in an emergency, sometimes she isn’t feeling well. I have a lot of responsibilities but I don’t mind. I want her to know that her son is doing good in life and to make her proud.

“Projects like this are important because I need some time off. This is a really good opportunity for me to make new friends and take some time for myself. It made me feel more relaxed and know I’m in a place with other young carers where I can enjoy myself.

“IT MADE ME FEEL MORE RELAXED AND KNOW I’M IN A PLACE WITH OTHER YOUNG CARERS WHERE I CAN ENJOY MYSELF.”

Young carer Chris

“For the drama project we were writing and performing monologues, which had to show two emotions, so I did happy and angry. Learning that every story has a problem and a resolution, a bad part and a good, and we had to put that into the monologue.

“I felt nervous before the performance because I was doing it in front of an audience but I felt like I could do it. I knew I had to get over the nerves and do my best. It was enjoyable once I was on stage in front of the audience. I feel like I’m showing what I can do and what I’m good at.

“It was great working with James [Create’s artist]; he’s a really good guy. Working with him is very different from being in school. He always keeps us going if we need any help and he’s full of ideas. When I’m in school there’s only one teacher for a big class, but here James has time for everyone and you learn from the other young people too.

“Doing this project I learned that I can work with new people who I don’t know. If you meet new people you have more friends, and the more you have you feel like you’re in a world where people can help you.”

* Name of young carer changed to protect anonymity

Meet Cameron

Cameron inspired arts
Cameron inspired arts

MEET CAMERON

inspired:arts is Create’s multi-art programme for young carers. This December (2017) inspired:arts has been in Merton where our jewellery designer Hayley Kruger has been working with young people from Carers Support Merton.

The group have experimented with various materials and design techniques to produce a range of jewellery, as well as seasonal Christmas decorations. Working in small groups enables the young carers to build upon teamwork and communication skills alongside developing their creativity. inspired:arts has given them a break from their caring responsibilities, encouraging them to build trusting relationships with their peers and develop social skills and confidence.

Cameron inspired arts

Cameron’s older brother has severe Global Development Delay, microcephaly and epilepsy. Now seven, Cameron has been caring for him since he was four years old. Cameron talked to us about taking part in inspired:arts.

“We’ve been making jewellery – making different designs by twisting and twirling the materials around, then tying them up. Today we’ve been doing designs with ribbon. We’re going to hang them from Christmas trees, so the trees can be decorated. We’ve not just been making Christmas decorations all the time though – we’ve been doing lots of different jewellery designs.

“Things like this are good for young carers like me because people have lots of fun and make creative, colourful stuff.”

Cameron

“I felt very happy working with Hayley because she was so kind. It was lots of fun working with the rest of the group too, and now I’ve made some new friends. By taking part I’ve learnt that working in a group is not all about me – it’s about listening to others and having respect.

“Things like this are good for young carers like me because people have lots of fun and make creative, colourful stuff. Now that it’s the last session, I feel sad that you’ll never ever come back!”

(Don’t worry Cameron – Create will be running inspired:arts with Carers Support Merton again in February).

* Name changed to protect anonymity

Read about inspired:arts

Cameron inspired arts

Donate now

£
Select Payment Method
Personal Info

Credit Card Info
This is a secure SSL encrypted payment.
Billing Details

Donation Total: £25.00

Brunel University fundraise for Create

brunel university student fundraiser
brunel university student fundraiser

BRUNEL UNIVERSITY STUDENTS FUNDRAISE FOR CREATE

In March 2018, music students from Brunel University organised a series of three events in aid of Create, showcasing a variety of music, film, visual art, and spoken word. They raised over £400, which will go towards supporting emerging artists as part of our Nurturing Talent programme. Here, two of the organisers, Louie and Millie, share why they decided to fundraise for us and how they found the experience.

“We first came across Create during the process of organising our Tones events, as part of an assignment for our music course at university. As music students, we were looking for charities that work with the aim of bringing the arts to marginalised people in our local community, so when we came across Create, we admired their work and knew immediately that we wanted to support them. We put on three free events in public spaces all around Uxbridge, showcasing many forms of the arts such as music, dance, poetry, visual arts and film, and organising the events was a lot of fun!

“The best thing about the whole process was meeting so many talented people: getting to work with the great people from the local businesses and organisations who supported us (such as Hillingdon Library and Harris + Hoole, Uxbridge), members of the public and the wonderful team at Create! The Create team were lovely to work with, we kept in touch with Emma [Create’s Senior Development Manager] throughout the organisation process. Emma was helpful from the start and took a real interest in us and our events – she even invited us to attend one of Create’s local workshops for young carers.

“Spending time with the young carers was such a fun and eye-opening experience for us.”

“Spending time with the young carers was such a fun and eye-opening experience for us. It helped us to understand Create’s work and what kind of projects our fundraising would be going towards. The Tones events started as just another university assignment we had to do, but after attending the workshop we realised the reality of what we could do with this – that we could raise money for a charity that impacts many lives. We managed to raise over £400 for Create, which we are incredibly proud of and would have never imagined achieving at the start!

“As soon as we started to work with Create we began to think outside of the ‘university bubble’ and it gave us the opportunity to work more closely with the local community. Overall, it was so fitting to raise money for Create through our own arts events and it was such an enjoyable experience throughout. We would highly recommend other London university students to do similar projects with Create in mind!”

If you would like to organise an event in support of Create then email us here for more information.

This article is from 2018.

Meet Paul

art space kingston 2018
art space kingston 2018

MEET PAUL

art:space, our partnership with British Land, is our multi-artform project for young carers. During February 2018, our professional artist Jen worked with a group of young carers using the medium of printmaking to develop confidence, creative and social skills, and build relationships with other young carers while having a vital – and fun – break from their caring responsibilities.

“Being creative helps me relax. Projects like these help me realise I can do more than I thought I could.”

Paul, young carer

Paul, who cares for his dad who suffers from depression, attends Kingston Young Carers Project and took part in the workshops. He talks about his experience:

“I care for my dad. He has, I don’t know if you would call it an illness, but something called depression where he gets stressed and upset very easily and it can be hard sometimes. I’ve been caring for my dad since I can remember. I think young carers tend to spend a lot more time with their family. People that don’t have someone to care for someone tend to be more sociable and have more friends.

art space kingston 2018

“We have been printing on T-shirts and bags for the last few days which has been fun. Making something gives you a feeling of pride. It was great working with a professional artist that has so much experience, she was able to show us new techniques and bring the most out of us. It was good working with the group as everyone had different styles and different ideas about what they wanted to make. Doing something creative was great especially as there were loads more resources here that we would never have access to at home.

“Being creative helps me relax. Projects like these definitely help as they distract us and let us have good times. They help me realise I can do more than I thought I could.”

In the UK there are an estimated 700,000 young carers who have varying degrees of caring responsibilities, some spending more than 50 hours each week caring for a loved one. Young carers often have no creative outlet and lack the chance to play with their peers.

Our projects offer a chance for young carers to develop confidence and friendships with other young carers who understand the issues they face. All our workshops are run by professional artists, ensuring that our participants work with the most inspiring, skilled, creative people.

art space British Land

Donate now

£
Select Payment Method
Personal Info

Credit Card Info
This is a secure SSL encrypted payment.
Billing Details

Donation Total: £25.00

art:space – celebrating ten years of empowering young carers with British Land

art space British Land
art space British Land

ART:SPACE – CELEBRATING TEN YEARS OF EMPOWERING YOUNG CARERS WITH BRITISH LAND

We have been working in partnership with British Land since 2003, the year Create was founded. Four years later, in 2007, we designed and delivered our first project with young carers – a vulnerable group of children who often experience bullying, isolation and mental ill health – in Westminster, the borough in which British Land’s head office is located, which we called art:space.

Since then, enabled by our ongoing relationship with British Land, we’ve worked with more than 1,000 young carers in Bath, Milton Keynes, Swindon, Winchester and the London boroughs of Camden, Hackney, Kingston, Southwark and Westminster. art:space offers them the opportunity to develop confidence, creative and social skills, and build relationships with other young carers while having a vital – and fun – break from their caring responsibilities.

art space British Land

Supported by committed, skilled volunteers from British Land, each art:space project brings young carers together for creative workshops during school holidays throughout the year. Often located at British Land sites, and using the spectacular artwork and architecture to inspire creative activities, our professional artists work with the young people to explore a range of art forms. These include music, drama, dance, film making, animation, sculpture, costume design, jewellery-making, painting and word play. Final performances or exhibitions at the end of each project give the young carers the chance to work collaboratively to share their work with a wider audience and build their confidence.

Joanne Hammond, Community Investment Executive at British Land, said: “The art:space programme is a wonderful example of how we connect with our local communities. Working with Create, we are delighted to give vulnerable young carers who are local to our properties a break from their caring responsibilities and the chance to explore their creativity, boost their confidence and build supportive relationships with their peers. Create carefully designs each art:space project to meet the needs of local young carers and fulfil our objectives, making a positive local difference. Our volunteers and visitors are inspired and impressed by the creativity of the young carers, enlivening our properties with their original artwork and performances, supported by Create’s professional artists.”

To celebrate ten years of art:space, we’ve collected some of our favourite quotes from participants over the years.

art space British Land

Meet Cara

Cara (15) took part in art:space Winchester

“It’s difficult to get away from home and do creative things. The time it takes to travel to do projects means that I’m leaving my mum alone and she needs my help to care for my sister. My sister has the learning age of a 4-6 year old although she’s actually 20 so I play with her, keep her happy, help her get changed and give her medicine. It’s a lot for my mum to deal with on her own. At school we don’t do things like film-making but at home I do photography so this project helped me take the skills that I have and develop them into something new. Being creative makes me really happy. It gives me a chance to get away from the stress, even it’s just for a little while. These workshops have enabled me to have fun with my friends and learn something new together. When it’s stressful at home, I come and do this three-day workshop and it takes my mind off it.”

Meet Erin

Erin (10) took part in art:space Westminster

“I feel really proud of my role creating the animation. The bit that I made got used by everyone, so that made me happy. I learnt so much in these workshops: how to set up a camera; how to set up a tripod; make animations; everything really! I have a quick temper sometimes so I was proud that I was able to work well in a group. I took a step back and learnt that it’s good to listen to other people’s ideas. Also, other people at school have been asking about the workshops and what we’ve been doing in them, so that felt good. I’ve felt a bit more confident too, because I used to have only one friend in the school but now I’m on the way to having more friends.”

Meet Owen

Owen (16) took part in art:space Bath

“My mum developed a back problem when I was about 12 years old. It progressed until a doctor told her she couldn’t work anymore and she now suffers from depression and constant pain. My brother and I were left to go through the teen years alone and it was tough, I have only just realised that. It was really nice to explore making music because I’ve never had the chance to try it out before. Being in this environment with musicians who are friendly and have a laugh with you really encouraged me to try new things and expand my skills and knowledge. Creativity helps me to think positively, just getting on with music and doing something I like doing improves my mind-set. I felt a lot of pride when making the soundtrack; pride and a feeling of accomplishment in saying, ‘Yeah, I did that.’”

art space British Land

Cara, Erin and Owen articulate why art:space is such an important project. From taking young carers’ minds off what can be an overwhelming family situation to building creative and social skills that they can use at home and at school, art:space exemplifies how much the opportunity to be creative benefits the most disadvantaged and vulnerable in our society. We are deeply grateful to British Land for our long-term partnership and for enabling us to empower the lives of more than 1,000 young carers over the past 10 years.

art space British Land
art space British Land

Support our work today

£
Select Payment Method
Personal Info

Credit Card Info
This is a secure SSL encrypted payment.
Billing Details

Donation Total: £25.00

Create wins East End Community Foundation Smooth Sailing award

Create wins East End Community Foundation Smooth Sailing Award
Create wins East End Community Foundation Smooth Sailing Award

CREATE WINS EAST END COMMUNITY FOUNDATION’S SMOOTH SAILING AWARD

Last week, our Development Assistant Thisbe attended a holiday celebration hosted by East End Community Foundation (EECF) which generously supports our work with young carers in Newham. Unexpectedly – we didn’t know awards would be handed out! – and to our delight, Create received EECF’s Smooth Sailing Award.

EECF’s CEO, Tracey Walsh, commented: “Create was selected by the EECF Grants Team for the Smooth Sailing Award in 2016/17. It has demonstrated excellent communication, always kept us up to date on project developments, was happy to host visits and has consistently submitted its monitoring and end of grant reports on time and with a great level of detail. Its work in Newham with young carers has demonstrated really positive outcomes. Congratulations to Create for receiving the award and for being such a pleasure to work with.”

This award is particularly meaningful as it reflects the hard work, dedication and professionalism of our staff team and artists. Training, evaluation, meticulous financial management and flexibility to meet our funders’ and community partners’ specific objectives are key values at Create, ensuring that we always provide the very best outcome for our participants. We are thrilled to be recognised with this prestigious award.

Receiving EECF’s Smooth Sailing Award is the perfect end to a year that’s seen Create recognised by Children & Young People Now, Charity Awards, Foundation for Social Improvement and Directory of Social Change Awards.

Here’s to more award-winning work in 2018!

Nicky Goulder, Founding Chief Executive

This article is from 2017.

Create’s charity partnership with Deutsche Bank

deutsche bank partnership connect create
connect create deutsche bank wandsworth

CREATE’S PARTNERSHIP WITH DEUTSCHE BANK EMPOWERS YOUNG PEOPLE THROUGH CREATIVITY

In April 2017, we launched connect:create, a partnership with Deutsche Bank. Via the programme, we’ve been able to work with over 120 young people: pupils with autism in west London, and young carers in Birmingham, Lambeth, Merton and Wandsworth.

Deutsche Bank’s Head of Corporate Social Responsibility UK, Nicole Lovett, explained: “Through Born to Be, our youth engagement programme, we are committed to driving social mobility. The World Economic Forum predicts that by 2020 creativity will be the third most important skill in the jobs market. The connect:create programme plays a vital role in developing key skills, like creativity, so those most in need improve their life chances.”

The young people who’ve taken part in the programme have explored artforms from spoken word poetry to life-size self-portraits; and collaborated creatively to choreograph dances and write songs. For young people whose opportunities to express themselves, build confidence and make friends can be limited because of autism or caring responsibilities, the chance to learn a new skill and share creative ideas with peers can be truly empowering.

Thanks to Deutsche Bank, the young people who took part in connect:create have had access to the benefits of creativity through workshops run by our professional artists and we’re delighted that, after a fantastic first year, Deutsche Bank has renewed funding for connect:create for a further two years. We’re also delighted to have won two days ago Children & Young People Now Highly Commended Awards recognising our work with two areas that Deutsche Bank are supporting: young carers and young people with disabilities.

deutsche bank partnership connect create

Adam (not his real name), 15, a young carer who took part in connect:create, told us about his experiences during our animation workshops: “During the animation project we started from scratch, got materials together, and worked together to make an animation. Animation looks easy but it takes time, you can’t just do it first time round, you have to keep trying. When we’d finished the animation, I felt surprised that just from putting some materials on paper you can make a film. You work as a group and make what you want to make. At times I can be moody and only join in when I want to but this project has shown me that I should join in all the time.”

Andrew Nowak is Deputy Head of Queensmill School in west London, a specialist school for children and young people diagnosed with autism which partnered with us during connect:create. Like Nicole, Andrew says that creativity is essential for the development of key skills:

“The work Create is doing today is valuable because we’re talking about young people who have significant challenges in terms of imagination, creative thought and working with others. Projects where we’re challenging the young people to work creatively, to work with their peers, to come up with new ideas outside their areas of interest, play a significant role in their education. I don’t think you can underestimate how difficult the young people here find it at times to work collaboratively, to work creatively, so any project where we’ve got people who want to provide support in developing those skills is of vital importance.

“One thing we do know about autism is that lots of skills that are perhaps inherent in other people we have to teach, so by doing projects like this we are teaching the young people to be creative, to use their imagination. The hope is when they come up against challenge they can reflect on those experiences and think about how they can succeed. This project will serve as a reference point for the young people, so at times when we are challenging them to think creatively or when we are asking them to work together, we can say: ‘think back to that time when you did that Create project, think about the skills you used, how did you approach it?’

“The project is also getting them to think about things they wouldn’t otherwise think about. With young people with additional needs you can fall into a trap of having quite a narrow curriculum and being really focussed on core skills, but they need to learn about everything and understand the world.”

We also won the FSI Small Charity Big Impact award earlier in the year, one of the prizes for which was a film, which we chose to focus on our Deutsche Bank project with Queensmill School. You can watch this here, and below.

This article is from 2017.

Create wins three Children and Young People Now awards

children and young people now awards 2017
children and young people now awards 2017

CREATE WINS THREE CHILDREN & YOUNG PEOPLE NOW HIGHLY COMMENDED AWARDS

Last night was a highly emotional and successful one for Create: our work with children and young people was recognised with not one, not two but THREE Children & Young People Now Highly Commended awards.

Our Senior Project Manager Jodie Sadler and I attended the ceremony, an evening that celebrates the work of those working with children, young people and families across the UK. The event was fun – the celebratory tone was set from the start with a vibrant performance by students from the World Heart Beat Music Academy which received rapturous applause – always great to have the arts up front! The evening was compered by TV and radio presenter and Childline Counsellor Anna Williamson.

The Children & Young People Now Awards have become the gold standard for everyone working with children, young people and families. Now in their 12th year, these awards are a great source of pride and recognition for all those who strive to improve the lives of others. They raise the profile of projects and initiatives to funders and the general public, and showcase learning and best practice from across the country. Crucially, entrants must be able to provide evidence that what they have done has had a positive impact on people’s lives.

So what did we win?

The Youth Work Award for ‘the initiative that has done the most to promote young people’s personal development and help them to achieve their potential.’

We were Highly Commended for creative:connection, our programme that brings disabled and non-disabled children and young people together for creative activities, helping to break down barriers and develop shared understanding.

Whitney, 14, who took part in a creative:connection project in Barnet, north London, said: “I didn’t know any disabled people before this project so I wasn’t sure how we’d work together a team. I thought they might struggle with certain things and they proved me wrong. I have a different understanding of disability now. I saw that the disabled students had so much fun being creative and getting stuck into the activities.”

The Young Carers Award for ‘the initiative that has done the most to support children, young people or young adults up to 25 who care for a family member or friend with an illness, disability, mental health problem or addition.’

We were Highly Commended for art:space and inspired:arts, our programmes that give young carers a break from their caring responsibilities and enable them to develop new skills and peer support.

Anthony, 12, who took part in an inspired:arts project in Newham, east London, said: “I wasn’t really a creative person before and I didn’t think much of art but the Create workshops have helped me realise that there are loads of exciting artforms I can explore. Now I’m thinking about taking Art GCSE. Young carers take on a lot and do a lot at home, so it’s really important that every now and then we get together and have a chance to do something that’s just for us. When you spend time with other young carers you can share your problems and experiences with each other, which is really important.”

The Youth Justice Award for ‘the initiative that has made the biggest contribution to improving the life chances of young offenders, or those at risk of offending or reoffending.’

We were Highly Commended for Inside Stories, our programme through which young offenders write, record, illustrate and set to music original stories for their children.

Ryan, who took part in an Inside Stories project, said: “You’ll hear a lot of people in jail saying their kids are their rocks. You can only make two phone calls a week in here and it’s hard to talk to them because, well, there’s not a lot you can say to children while you’re in prison. Having this book that you can give to them, and a CD where they can hear your voice makes you feel good. They can say “that’s my daddy”. It makes me feel good knowing they can hear my voice whenever they want, just by pressing ‘play’ on a CD player.”

We are deeply committed to raising awareness of the empowering qualities of engaging in the creative arts. To have been acknowledged with three Children and Young People Now Highly Commended awards is wonderful recognition of the deep commitment to our work with children and young people shown by our funders, our dedicated staff team and the inspirational professional artists who deliver our programmes.

Nicky Goulder, Founding Chief Executive

This article is from 2017.

Create shortlisted for three Children & Young People Now awards

children and young people now finalist 2017
children and young people now finalist 2017

CREATE SHORTLISTED FOR THREE CHILDREN & YOUNG PEOPLE NOW AWARDS

Everyone at Create is feeling a little overwhelmed this week after we found out we’ve been shortlisted for three (three!) Children & Young People Now awards.

These are the Young Carers Award, the Youth Justice Award and the Youth Work Award. That the awards cover the work with three of our seven key participant groups reflects the high-quality of our workshops across the board. We couldn’t have delivered such well-received projects without the hard work of our staff, artists, community partners, supporters and funders, but most importantly our amazing participants!

The Young Carers Award is for the initiative that has done the most to support children, young people or young adults up to 25 who care for a family member or friend with an illness, disability, mental health problem or addiction. This includes support to meet carers’ educational, health, social and emotional needs; helping carers who have previously been unidentified by services; and working with families to reduce inappropriate levels of caring.

The Youth Justice Award is for the initiative that has made the biggest contribution to improving the life chances of young offenders, or those at risk of offending or reoffending. Entries are invited from local authorities, youth offending teams and youth services, as well as voluntary organisations and individual projects.

The Youth Work Award is for the initiative that has done the most to promote young people’s personal development and help them achieve their potential through youth work, informal education and participation in positive activities, especially among disadvantaged or excluded groups.

Ravi Chandiramani, Editor-in-chief of Children & Young People Now, said: “The Children & Young People Now Awards have become the gold standard for everyone working with children, young people and families. Now in their twelfth year, these awards provide a great source of pride and recognition for all those who strive day in, day out, to improve the lives of others. They offer an opportunity to raise the profile of projects and initiatives to funders and the general public.

“And they present a tremendous showcase of learning and best practice from across the country that can be an inspiration to all. The awards recognise initiatives from the public, private and voluntary sector that work with children and young people from birth to adolescence as well as their families. Initiatives might be aimed at all children and families within a community or targeted at those who are the most vulnerable or disadvantaged. Crucially, entrants must be able to provide evidence that what they have done has had a positive impact on people’s lives.”

The Children & Young People Now Award Ceremony takes place on Wednesday 22 November – we’ll let you know how we get on!

Nicky Goulder, Founding Chief Executive

This article is from 2017.