Airplay Youth Support Making a real difference to children and young people from RAF families Airplay Youth Support: Making a real difference to children and young people from RAF families © 4Children and the Royal Air Force Benevolent Fund, May 2013 Designed and published by 4Children, www.4Children.org.uk Photographs reproduced with the kind permission of footprintphotography.co.uk, Gary Manhine, Mark Davies, and RAF Benevolent Fund. Contents Background to the Airplay programme 4 Purpose of this report Forewords 5 Introduction 7 The role and relevance of youth work within the RAF community 9 How Airplay Youth Support is delivered 10 Safeguarding Airplay Youth Support in numbers How Airplay supports children and young people 12 Important reassurance during deployment Key themes 14 Activities, participation, community and support Airplay Youth Support in practice 15 RAF Cosford youth club makeover Tri-Service Youth Forum (TSYF) The PROUD Project - RAF Leeming Airplay movie Junior School Deployment Forum - RAF Odiham A parent’s perspective on Airplay 26 A young person’s perspective on Airplay 27 An RAF Service personnel perspective 28 The people who deliver Airplay 29 Community Development Officers and 4Children station youth workers describe why Airplay is so valued by the RAF community Making a difference 32 Airplay Youth Support: Making a real difference to children and young people from RAF families 3 Background to the Airplay programme Airplay is the Royal Air Force Benevolent Fund’s (RAFBF’s) twelve-year, £24 million support Purpose of this report programme for children and young people This report will focus on the Youth Support element of whose parents are serving in the Royal Air the Airplay programme. It will highlight some of the issues Force. As the RAF’s leading welfare charity, and challenges that the children and young people who the RAFBF initiated the Airplay programme in attend the provision face. The report will demonstrate how response to research which found that keeping the programme is meeting the needs of the children and young people safely occupied on stations young people who live on RAF stations within the UK. was RAF families’ second biggest concern Interviews were conducted with children and young after housing. At a time of unprecedented people, 4Children’s youth workers, RAF Community operational and organisational pressures on Development Officers and parents to collect information the RAF, the RAF Benevolent Fund is proud for this report. The young people were interviewed in to be able to help ameliorate some of these groups, alongside their peers and youth workers, by a concerns. digital artist who recorded what Airplay means to them in their own words. Whilst provision for children and young people previously existed on RAF stations, its reach and quality varied This report (published May 2013) does not mark an end significantly according to local resources, and had point, rather a period of reflection on what has been generally declined in recent years due to operational achieved so far and what Airplay can look to achieve in the commitments. The RAFBF’s investment in Airplay means future. that all main RAF stations are now able to provide affordable and easily accessible childcare facilities; brand new recreational facilities and games areas which are both safe and stimulating; and a year-round programme of activities for children and young people run by a network of trained youth workers. The programme has been developed as part of the charity’s commitment to providing support which helps relieve strain on hard-pressed serving families. It is the first of its kind in the Service community and represents a serious commitment to children and young people within the RAF community. Airplay Youth Support seeks to raise the quality of provision across all RAF stations so that children, young people, and their parents/carers can rest assured that wherever in the UK they may be based, Airplay will be there to provide a warm welcome and a supportive environment. The RAF Benevolent Fund has developed three main strands for its Airplay programme: Airplay Childcare Centres – Constructing and/or equipping 25 childcare centres for the delivery of childcare and early years services on or near almost all RAF stations. Airplay Play Parks – The provision of 73 recreational facilities on 28 RAF stations, including state of the art new Multi-Use Games Areas (MUGAs) and refurbished play parks. Airplay Youth Support – The RAF Benevolent Fund has commissioned national charity 4Children to deliver a network of over 80 trained youth workers on stations, working in partnership with RAF Community Development staff to provide a programme of safe and stimulating activities for young people on stations. 4 Airplay Youth Support: Making a real difference to children and young people from RAF families Foreword by the Royal Air Force Benevolent Fund As the Royal Air Force’s leading welfare charity, supporting young people, and their serving parents, are now much the RAF family is at the heart and soul of what we do and more effectively supported on RAF stations, despite the we work closely with the Royal Air Force to ensure that demands of military life. we deliver support where it is needed most. Indeed, our decision to set up the Airplay programme was in direct The Airplay programme has come a long way. Most of response to the RAF’s request for assistance, following the childcare centres, play parks and MUGAs are now research which showed that keeping young people safely built. Airplay Youth Support continues to develop and occupied on stations was RAF families’ second biggest evolve. What we can now see is the delivery of a leading concern after housing. programme, unique in the Armed Forces community, which provides demonstrable, positive effects on children There are three strands to the Airplay programme: Airplay and young people in order to help them cope better Childcare Centres, Airplay Parks and Airplay Youth with the stresses of military family life. All this has been Support. Building on the RAF Benevolent Fund’s £12 underpinned by a hugely impressive partnership between million investment in childcare facilities for RAF serving the RAF Benevolent Fund, RAF Community Support and personnel, the construction of play parks, multi-use games 4Children. The Benevolent Fund is extremely proud that areas (MUGAs) and youth shelters, and the provision Airplay has achieved such success on the ground and of Airplay youth workers, provided by national charity that the charity continues to be at the forefront of provision 4Children, have more than met our expectations. Through across the spectrum of support for all members of the first-hand accounts and statistics gathered over two RAF family – from the youngest child to the oldest veteran. years, this report demonstrates that the RAF Benevolent Fund’s Airplay programme is having a significant positive Paul J. Hughesdon impact on members of the RAF community – from children Director Welfare & Policy and young people and their parents, to RAF Community RAF Benevolent Fund Support staff. As a result of the programme, children and Foreword by the Royal Air Force Airplay Youth Support came about as a result of an a track record of delivering high quality provision. Airplay identified need for provision for young people on stations, has developed through the contribution made by the particularly at a time when serving personnel within the trained workers employed by 4Children working together Royal Air Force are involved in operations around the world with RAF Community Development Officers and supported and the capacity for volunteers to provide programmes for by volunteers and this has enabled the programme to young people is reduced. respond to the changing needs of the RAF family. The Royal Air Force Benevolent Fund recognised that Airplay is still developing; however the achievements providing opportunities for young people significantly made in a short period are evident and this report gives an enhances support to families and contributes to building insight into the progress made by the Airplay teams across a greater sense of community on RAF stations and in the England, Scotland and Wales. With the continued support surrounding Service Family Accommodation areas. The of an enlightened Royal Air Force Benevolent Fund, and Benevolent Fund’s vision and financial support has enabled the partnering arrangements with 4Children and RAF a partnership to be developed with 4Children and RAF Community Support, the potential to develop youth work Community Support to deliver high quality youth provision across the RAF family is unlimited. that goes from strength to strength. Damian Pinel I recognise the benefits brought about by the partnership Chief Community Development Advisor with 4Children, including the support and challenge RAF provided through working with a large national charity with Airplay Youth Support: Making a real difference to children and young people from RAF families 5 Foreword by 4Children 4Children delivers childcare, family support and youth services across more than 100 settings, including children’s centres, nurseries, schools and RAF bases. As one of the largest children and family charities in the country we believe that children and families should be at the heart of our society and actively involved in shaping the decisions about the services they need. We also deliver and support out of school programmes and the new generation of ‘myplace’ youth hubs. All young people need access to safe places to go, great activities to take part in, and someone they can trust from whom they can get advice and support. For the children of Service personnel this is even more important because of some of the very real, additional challenges they face every day. We are proud to be part of this vital programme which – as this report highlights – is making a real difference to the young people of the RAF and their families.