PCC award for charity helping vulnerable young people
A pioneering charity helping vulnerable young people back into school after finding some were at risk of slipping through the net in Gwynedd and Anglesey has been honoured with an award.
The Rhwyd Arall (Another Net) project was set up last year by social enterprise Sylfaen Cymunedol in response to concerns young people were being de-registered from schools without adequate planning and support.
The project’s work has now led to its winning the Early Intervention – Prevention accolade at North Wales Police and Crime Commissioner’s Community Awards.
North Wales Police and Crime Commissioner Arfon Jones hailed Rhwyd Arall as an outstanding example of the benefits of helping struggling young people through preventative rather than reactive strategies.
Val Williams, project co-ordinator with Caernarfon-based Sylfaen Cymunedol, said: “We’re not talking about exclusions through bad behaviour here.
“This is a completely different issue, children who have failed to get to school for various reasons, on a long-term basis, and as a result have been withdrawn from the responsibility of the Local Education Authority.”
Her colleague, Rhwyd Arall Sustainable Livelihood Worker Nia Williams, identified the issue whilst working with 16-25 year olds not in education, employment or any form of training.
Val said: “Before establishing Rhwyd Arall, Nia worked from 2013 to 2017 with older young people, some facing severe challenges of social isolation, long-term unemployment and lack of access to specialist services. But what she was increasingly discovering was that high numbers of these people had a history of having been de-registered from school at secondary school age in response to a range of complicated issues.”
Val said: “We realised it made absolute sense to catch young people as they were about to slip through the net rather than... trying to pick up the pieces after they’ve fallen deeper into despair.”
As a result of Sylfaen Cymunedol’s findings and subsequent report the highly commended Rhwyd Arall project was established.
Commissioner Jones said: “This project identifies some of the most vulnerable young people in our communities and helps them to start a future pathway giving them choice and support where it is needed most.”
Rhwyd Arall works with young people facing a huge range of issues including mental health well-being, caring for parents, unrecognised additional learning needs, at risk of being drawn into county lines drug trafficking and just having been left at home for too long without appropriate intervention.
The project is financed by grant funding for the coming five years and Sylfaen Cymunedol hope to find further support beyond that.