The shortlisted projects for the Improving the Lives of Children and Young People Award are:

Elizabeth House
Based in Gateshead, Elizabeth House provides 24 hour supported accommodation to 8 homeless and vulnerable young women aged 16-25 who are either pregnant or have pre-school children.  Elizabeth House equips and supports these young mothers to develop the necessary life skills to live independently within the community in sustainable situations.  They have a contract with the Government’s Supporting People programme for five of the placements. 

Through this work there is a proven track record of removing children’s names from the register, interim care orders being reduced and children being reunified back to the care of their mother. In 2006-07, Elizabeth House accommodated 21 families, with 91% successfully moving into their own tenancies.  Residents are currently forming a peer support group to support other young mothers within the community.  Elizabeth House is a project of Aquila Way which has an ethos strategy ensuring that the Christian faith is integrated into all aspects of the work. 

Fearnheath Play Association
Based in Bournemouth on a post war council estate, this long running charity provides a safe, supervised place for children of school age to play, during out of school hours all year round.  They offer a varied programme of outdoor and indoor activities. 

They are independently evaluated and they regularly seek feedback from parents and children.  The project has service level agreements with Bournemouth Council and are Ofsted registered.  They aim to keep children healthily active, constructively and creatively occupied, improving self esteem, helping social skills, providing an opportunity for integrated play, and a refuge from stressful situations.  

They are deeply motivated by Jesus’ call to welcome the little children.

Fusion Youth Centre
Fusion Youth Centre is a drop in centre for young people, aged 14-18, in Bournemouth which provides access to sports, music and media projects.  Around 100-200 young people attend Fusion, many of whom live in hostel accommodation and are not in education, employment or training.  It is also accessed by up to another 200 Millennium Volunteers. 

The project, which has been operating for 8 years, aims to support young people holistically in their transition to adulthood.  It enables young people to become involved in varied, structured volunteering activities with recorded outcomes and accreditation.  Survey evidence shows that participants report improved relationships with family and teachers, greater self confidence and a sense of empowerment.  All staff follow the YMCA’s Safeguarding Children and Young People policy, attend regular courses in child protection and other relevant training, and the premises undergoes an annual external risk assessment. 

It implements a youth led approach with young people managing resources and budgets for specific projects, and successfully applying for funding. One young person is elected to a paid position of Fusion President each year.  This post enables young people to voice their opinion to other young people, staff and the partnership group. 

GoldDigger Trust
GoldDigger are a creative arts team, based in Sheffield, that uses music and dance to promote a healthy lifestyle and greater self esteem in young people.  They have written and run a course for teenage girls called ‘I’m the Girl I Want to Be’ tackling self worth issues.  The Liberal Democrats funded the pilot course and Top Shop provides free style sessions to treat the girls at the end of the course.

GoldDigger has been operating for just two years based around the commitment of 3 professional Christian youth workers who volunteer 3 days a week.  They work with vulnerable girls at risk of teenage pregnancy due to low self esteem.  They have seen girls go from being unable to receive positive statements about themselves to saying positive things about themselves.  GoldDigger has its own Child Protection policy and works in conjunction with other organisations and schools to ensure accountability, follow up and support for the young people they work with. The mentor sessions are based around the individual needs of each young person and their weekly feedback is taken into consideration to evaluate how the course could be different.  The girls are involved in filming and contributing to the resources for further courses.

Lifespace
This project provides mentoring and mediation for vulnerable young people aged 11-18 to improve their self-worth and equip them with life skills.  They work in schools, colleges, training centres and other community locations.  They work with 100-120 young people each year to improve self-esteem through mentoring, enabling them to resolve conflict healthily and raise levels of achievement academically and relationally.  They receive referrals from 6 local secondary schools, Connexions, the police, social services and Youth Offending Teams. 

Lifespace believes all people are worth 10 out of 10 and all 9 mentors subscribe to the Christian values of the project.  95% of the mentored young people report improved self-worth and the ability to deal positively with conflict.  Schools also report improvements in educational engagement.  All mentors are CRB checked, trained and supervised plus receive input from a professional Life Coach for their own development.  All mentees provide feedback on the service and there is a focus group of young people making a promotional film about their experience.  The input of the young people has shaped the content of their website. 

Sunflower Garden Project – CrossReach
Based in Edinburgh this pioneering Christian project works with children affected by drug and alcohol use in the families, through individual and group support, play work and infant massage.  The project, which has been running since 2003, seeks to break the pattern of intergenerational substance misuse.  Edinburgh University is currently undertaking an independent evaluation of their services. 

The indicators that they review include the child’s ability to develop positive networks of support, coping strategies, levels of self esteem and increased confidence.  Health professionals report positive emotional development in the children.  They adhere to QUADS Quality Standards system and have full policies and procedures around child protection. 

Children are able to feedback and make suggestions about improving the service. One of the children’s groups has been involved in producing a video around their experiences, clips of which have been shown on national TV.  Children have also been involved in developing a leaflet explaining child protection and also deciding what healthy food they would like to eat.

St Michaels Youth Project
St Michaels Youth Project is a safe place for young people to meet and access a wide ranging programme of positive activities, support in education, learning and skills development. The project has been operating for 18 years in one of the most disadvantaged communities in Hull and is rooted within the work of a local church. 

Their improved outcomes range from increased self-esteem, improved educational achievement, reduction in obesity levels, more participation in the community and supporting access to employment.  Ongoing monitoring takes place across the whole project but they report the strongest evidence of achievement as the many stories of the positive progression of the young people they work with. 

The project works within robust Child Protection policies and procedures, from CRB checking of staff and volunteers, to ongoing training in child protection, health and safety, first aid, food hygiene and minibus driving tests.  They operate at PQASSO Level 2 and actively involve children and young people in the development of the programme through evaluation, feedback, consultation and by involving two young people on the Management Committee.

Awards Criteria

All projects applying for an award need to demonstrate the extent to which they are:
· responding to a local need
· impacting on the local community
· forging relationships with local government and other agencies
· receiving coverage in the local media
· demonstrating a distinctive Christian ethos

Please note: Projects applying for an award must already be in operation, delivering services