The Rugbywise© Social Coach training module is now in its fifth year with the Rugbywise© Toolkit being developed to take forward the RFU’s community development strategies. Further Social Coach training, provided for the Regional Development Officers (RDO’s) and community coaches, gives valuable tools to support developing young people not only as potential rugby players but also as model citizens. The publication of Every Child Matters (seen in the Rugbywise© cultural framework above) identified the five key themes of: being healthy, staying safe, enjoying and achieving, making a positive contribution and economic well-being. Too many young people follow a negative pathway that can ultimately lead to incarceration. Rugby offers an alternative. A positive pathway that for a few will end in elite status, but for all engages, motivates and inspires citizenship values.


Social Impact Rugby has now returned to the inner cities following a 20 year absence. Over the past 12 years the Rugby Football Union have developed into a Governing Body model of best practice within the delivery of equality, social inclusion and regeneration. With over 100 social inclusion programmes and projects in inner city, rural and suburban areas


Lessons learned Whilst there is a great deal of social development being delivered by the governing bodies of sport, there is no integrated policy framework that provides governing bodies to measure as well as provide the social and demographic impact of their approach.


Summary The Rugby Football Union is now in the third phase of its twelve year strategy to train and equip community personnel, volunteers and community coaches to not only reflect the language and culture of the communities and young people that they wish to promote the game of rugby to, but also reflect in its coaching staff and through rugby as a whole to the society in which it seeks to represent.


What we inspired Testway Housing Limited, joined forces with the Andover Rugby Club, the local police and the HSA, one of Andover’s largest employers, to develop the ‘Testway 7s’, an innovative seven-a-side inter-estate rugby competition for 12, 13 and 14-year-old boys held over the annual summer break. Comprising teams from each of the seven major housing estates in Andover and supported by qualified coaches provided by the town’s rugby club the teams work towards a competition at the end of the holidays. This scheme was so successful that it is now being adapted by the U.N.


Agencies Other governing bodies of sport that we have consulted, advised or provided an element of the Youthwise approach include; English Basketball Association, Football Association, Golf Foundation, Lawn Tennis Association, British Athletics Federation, Royal Life Saving Society, Amateur Swimming Association, English Lacrosse Union, Rugby Football League, U.K. American Football, Amateur Boxing Association.


3.5 Youthwise© in Institutions


As part of the prevention in schools and interventions in the community programme, the Youth Charter found itself increasingly challenged by the culture of young people who were either failed by the education or social systems pursuing a life of anti social behaviour and crime secured at Her Majesty’s secure units and young offenders institutions. The release after having served their respective sentences saw them fall through the net of probation services. As a result of this, they would simply return to what they knew best - a continued life of crime. What had not been factored in within their thinking or consideration was that they had simply been ‘replaced’ by a younger, more ambitious and socially hungry ‘street vendor’. This would lead to a cycle of violence and intensified gang related activity that would affect all attempts to prevent and stem the social appeal and cultural attraction of many similar agencies. It was therefore decided to provide a Youthwise© module that would reflect similar social and personal development skills that could be employed whilst young people were at Her Majesty’s pleasure rather than at Her Leisure! With greater leisure and sports programmes, a balanced diet and a regular pattern of daily programmes and behaviours, considerable success was achieved.


One in nine children have run away from home before the age of 16 using the definition of a runaway as: “A child or young person under the age of 18 who spends one night or more away from the family home or care without permission, or has been forced to leave by their parents or carers”. (SEU, Young Runaways)*


Early intervention has significant impact on future events. “Adults with serious problems have often run away as children. If they had received help when they had run away, or they had not run away at all, their later problems may not have developed. For example:


 Young people who run away once are nearly three times more likely and repeat runaways are six times more like to use solvents in their life than those who never run;


 Nearly half of sentenced prisoners report having run away as children; and


 Nearly half of homeless young people at Centre Point ran away as children”. (SEU, Young Runaways)*


With some 20,000 runaways under the age of 11 this then develops into a hard core of 5,000 under 16 year olds who survive by involvement in illegal activity.


Homelessness has an additional cost of £900 - £1000 per week when a hospital stay is the only alternative. This is an environment striving to reduce waiting lists.


Overall the cost of crime to the UK economy is £60 billion (SEU)* of which the Association of Chief Police Officers estimates that youth crime accounts for £5 - 10 billion. Included within this is crime related to conduct disorder costing £874m and crime related to exclusion from school costs £384m (PAT12)*.


The ultimate punishment for youth crimes is incarceration at a cost of £75k per offender totalling £175 million per year (SEU*); this for a system that is universally recognised as not working. Residential care as a result of conduct disorder adds a further £60m (PAT12*).


The SEU* estimates that £100m saving can be made with an early intervention with 1 in 10 young offenders (SEU tackling social exclusion)*. The model by Scott (2002)* reinforces this message that an early intervention is both cheaper and more beneficial.


The rise in Anti Social Behaviour has been accompanied by the enforcement of Anti Social Behaviour Orders (ASBOs). Manchester has issued the majority of these with 710, costing housing associations some £10,000 per order.


Vandalism is a huge problem and it is difficult to find any part of the country that is not affected. Costs are difficult to collate but as an example the London Underground spends £60 million year on the problem.


Case Study 5 - Youthwise© Policy Heading: Being Safe - Every Child Matters


Our experience


At the invitation of Salford Education Service, the Youth Charter was invited to visit the Barton Moss Secure Unit. Geoff Thompson visited and delivered a half-day workshop reflecting the Youthwise programme. The existing facilities provided an opportunity of complementary “added value” to the current sports and recreation programme. The success of the Youthwise module was acknowledged and well-received by staff and young people alike and identified an opportunity of the importance and need of a measurable output in sporting and personal development provision in secure facilities.


Trevor Campbell was a young prodigious basketball player who came into contact with the Youth Charter at the beginning of its existence. Unfortunately Trevor was very much influenced by peer pressure of anti-social behaviour in his area and despite his talent for basketball, he ended up in prison. At the request of his probation officer, the Youth Charter arranged for Trevor to secure a Masters Sports Bursary and he has now not only turned his life around by securing a first team squad place with the Manchester Giants, but he has also started up a small business with this mother and girl-friend. Trevor now shares his experience of the Youth Charter, acting as an ambassador, engag- ing young people in the area to direct their energy into positive projects.


Following the initial visit to Wetherby Young Offenders Institution (YOI), the Youth Charter established a link with the Leeds United FC training facility located within close proximity to the prison. An intervention and prevention awareness day and visit was brokered for the ‘Space Football project’ based in Huddersfield. As a result of the Deputy Warden moving to Buckley Hall YOI, the Youth Charter was again invited to introduce its approach to young inmates who had mostly come from the Moss Side and Manchester area.


A number of sessions were held with the BBC Black Britain TV series that were granted unique access to film a live intervention with some of the most challenging young people within its offenders programme. The success of the intervention saw ongoing programmes delivered to inmates with the then Director General of the Probation Service, Martin Neary and Her Majesty’s Inspector of Prison’s, Lord Ramsbotham witness Youthwise in Institutions first hand. As a result, upon release, two inmates were based at the Youth Charter HQ to develop the programme with a view to securing funding for roll out to other institutions throughout the country.


in Institutions


Quote Our purpose is not to constrain individual opportunity and prosperity in the interests of society as a whole. On the contrary, it is to use the power of society acting together to enable prosperity to spread, not just to a few but to all - Tony Blair


Fig. 3.4 HRH the Duke of Wessex, president of the Commonwealth Games meets members of Thorn Cross YOI during the Youth Charter Connecting communities event at the 2002 Commonwealth Games.


The references underlined in this report can be hyperlinked on the electronic version via the Youth Charter website: www.youthcharter.co.uk


page 24 *Refer reference pages 45 - 46 *Refer reference pages 45 - 46 page 25


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