Challenge

Bringing together teams of young people to undertake challenges and develop their skills

The Challenge Programme

Purpose

The aim of this service is to enable young people to develop an understanding of the various communities in which they live and a sense of social responsibility. It provides a vehicle through which young people can experience the positive impact they can have on the world around them whilst also exploring the many benefits of teamwork.

The Challenge Programme has been carefully designed to meet the requirements of the Citizenship curriculum at both Key Stage 3 and 4. It can also validly be applied to either PSHE or Youth Award courses.

It can equally be delivered as a stand-alone course to a range of age groups and abilities in a variety of settings outside of statutory or mainstream education.

Format

The programme follows a standard process through which teams of six to eight young people, each with the support of a trained FOCUS Team Advisor, plan and carry out a project that will benefit their community. This process includes:

• an exploration of what constitutes their community, for example local, cultural, national, global, or religious communities.
• how they might have a positive impact on their chosen community, including a compulsory requirement to consult and work directly with representatives of that community.
• planning and managing their project, including assigning specific responsibilities to individual team members and reviewing their progress and performance.
• evaluating and reflecting on the process upon completion of the project.

Although the process is generally standardised, the length of the programme, the number of teams taking part, the frequency of team sessions and the level of direction and support offered to the young people is flexible dependent upon their needs, abilities and specific circumstances.

Typically the programme is offered either as a term-long project with teams meeting for one or two hours per week for a period of 6 – 10 weeks or intensively over 12 – 15 hours in one week.

Previously, teams of young people undertaking the Challenge Programme have managed projects such as: preparing and presenting a road safety video for local primary schools; creating a sensory garden for a care home for people with disabilities; raising money for, and decorating a local night shelter for the homeless; and organising a fundraising tournament with a wheelchair basketball team.

Outcomes

Young people learn about their role as individual citizens within their community. They are encouraged to explore their social relationships and responsibilities and to better appreciate the impact they can have on their communities and environment; be that economically, politically, aesthetically, ecologically or socially. They also develop skills in task management, budgeting, teamwork, and basic business skills such as sending a fax or making a business telephone call.

Schools / host organisations benefit from a more socially aware student body / membership, an improved reputation and relationship with the surrounding community and from the future beneficial links with local companies and other external organisations. Also, the programme has proved highly successful in re-engaging disaffected young people in learning activities.

The wider community benefits from the projects undertaken by the young people and from opportunities to interact with their local school/youth organisation through voluntary activity or through improved relationships with individual young people and with the school as a whole. Over time, as increasing numbers of young people complete the programme, the community benefits from a more motivated and active generation of volunteers and community leaders.

Challenge Residentials

Purpose

These events provide a unique opportunity for young people to work alongside experienced business managers in an environment in which both parties are supported in developing their skills, abilities and awareness.

Format

Typically teams of four business delegates (working in pairs as peer mentors) and eight young people (representing both mainstream and special needs education) work together through a series of activities. The activities challenge the physical, intellectual and creative abilities of the team and specifically challenge the leadership skills of the delegates. Each event will be managed as a partnership project. FOCUS staff provide project management; teachers provide support and guidance to individual young people; volunteers provide youth work expertise; and management-training consultants coach the business delegates.

Outcomes

Delegates receive coaching and peer support to practise and develop their leadership and negotiation skills. The unique membership of the teams allows for instant feedback, encourages experimentation with leadership styles and provides a very real environment in which to learn.

Young people develop team working, task management, problem solving and reviewing skills and receive support from experienced business leaders. They also develop their communication and negotiation skills and work with their peers in a safe and supportive environment.

Schools benefit from a cohort of pupils who are better able to communicate with adults and who develop in all the skill areas listed above, thus developing their self-confidence and self-esteem. There can also be benefits from the relationships developed between the schools and the companies involved.

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