Richard Taylor | Dunbar Area Christian Youth Project #YouthWorkChangesLives
Summary
TLDRRichard Taylor, a youth worker with the Dumbarton Area Christian Youth Project, discusses his 18 years of school-based experience focusing on religious moral education and mental health support for young people. The project employs a full-time staff and relies on volunteers, including 'classroom buddies' for reading and numeracy support, and facilitators for programs like 'Seasons for Growth' to help children cope with loss and change. Taylor also highlights the 'Andy Man Club' model adapted for high school boys to address mental health and reduce suicide, emphasizing its success in creating a safe space for peer-to-peer support.
Takeaways
- 😀 Richard Taylor is a youth worker with the Dumbar Area Christian Youth Project, having worked there for 18 years.
- 🏫 His work is primarily school-based, focusing on contributing to the religious moral education curriculum and providing pastoral support, particularly for young people's mental health.
- 🙏 The Dumbar Area Christian Youth Project employs a full-time youth worker and an admin worker, with the rest of the operations run by volunteers from local churches and the Rotary Club.
- 👫 Volunteers act as 'classroom buddies', offering support in reading and numeracy, and getting to know the children on a personal level, which aids in pastoral care.
- 📚 The project runs 'Seasons for Growth', a program to help children deal with loss, bereavement, and unwanted changes in their lives, which has been beneficial for both the students and the schools.
- 💼 The 'Seasons for Growth' program requires trained facilitators and can be expensive, but it has been funded by the parent council in some cases.
- 👥 Small 'check-in' groups are facilitated by volunteers with life experience, providing a supportive environment for children to share their struggles.
- 🔒 The check-in groups maintain an open relationship with school staff, ensuring any significant issues discussed are fed back to the teachers.
- 👦 Richard also runs a young men's Mental Health Group at Dumbar Grammar School, inspired by the Andy Man Club, aimed at reducing male suicide through peer-to-peer support.
- 🏠 The young men's group meets at a local church, providing a discreet and supportive space for open discussions about mental health.
- 📈 The project is expanding with older students leading groups for younger ones, showing a positive development in peer support and mentorship.
Q & A
Who is Richard Taylor and what is his profession?
-Richard Taylor is a youth worker with the Dumbarton Area Christian Youth Project, and he has been working in this capacity for 18 years.
What are the two main aspects of Richard's work in schools?
-The two main aspects of Richard's work in schools are contributing to the religious moral education curriculum (RME) and providing pastoral support, particularly focusing on helping young people with their mental health.
How is the Dumbarton Area Christian Youth Project organized?
-The Dumbarton Area Christian Youth Project employs Richard as a full-time youth worker and an admin worker, with the rest of the work being organized and run by volunteers, most of whom are connected through local churches and a few from the Rotary Club.
What is the role of the volunteers in the classroom?
-The volunteers, acting as 'classroom buddies', come in to do paired reading and numeracy support work, allowing them to get to know the children and provide pastoral care and support.
How do the volunteers get to know the children they are supporting?
-Volunteers get to know the children by being allocated to a class and spending time with them during paired reading and numeracy support, which allows the children to open up about their family situations and struggles.
What is the 'Seasons for Growth' program and how does it help young people?
-The 'Seasons for Growth' program is a tool designed to help children and young people deal with loss, bereavement, and unwanted changes in their lives, such as parental separation or other uncontrollable life events.
What are 'Check-in Groups' and how do they support schools?
-'Check-in Groups' are small groups of six or seven children facilitated by volunteers with life experience. They provide a platform for young people to share things they haven't with any other adult, thus supporting the school by offering insights into students' lives.
What is the purpose of the 'Andy Man Club' and how was it adapted for Dumbarton Grammar School?
-The 'Andy Man Club' was set up to help reduce male suicide through peer-to-peer support. It was adapted for Dumbarton Grammar School by using the same model but under a different name, as a mental health group for young men, facilitated by a team of male volunteers from local churches.
How does the 'Andy Man Club' operate within the school environment?
-The 'Andy Man Club' operates in a discreet location off school grounds, where young men can meet to share their feelings confidentially and without judgment in a peer-to-peer support setting.
What is the new development with the Lads Group in Dumbarton Grammar School?
-The new development with the Lads Group is that some of the older boys are now leading a group for the younger ones, with S4 boys facilitating a group for S2 students, providing a supportive environment for them to share and talk about their feelings.
How do the young men in the Lads Group communicate their feelings?
-The young men in the Lads Group use a cushion as a tool for communication; whoever holds the cushion is the only one who speaks, allowing them to share their feelings in a structured and supportive manner.
Outlines
😀 Youth Work and Mental Health Support
Richard Taylor, a youth worker with the Dumbar Area Christian Youth Project, discusses his 18 years of school-based experience. His role involves contributing to the religious moral education curriculum and providing pastoral support, particularly focusing on young people's mental health. The project employs a full-time youth worker and an admin worker, with additional support from volunteers connected through local churches and the Rotary Club. Volunteers engage in activities such as paired reading and numeracy support, allowing them to build relationships with students and offer pastoral care. Richard also mentions the 'Seasons for Growth' program, which helps children cope with loss and change, and 'Check-in Groups' that provide a platform for students to share their struggles with adults who can offer support and experience.
👨👦 Mental Health Groups for Young Men
The script describes the establishment of a mental health group for young men in Dumbar Grammar School, inspired by the 'Andy Man Club' model aimed at reducing male suicide rates. The guidance teacher at the high school sought to implement a similar support system for struggling young men. Richard assembled a team of male volunteers from local churches and identified young men in need of support. The group meets at a local church, providing a discreet and comfortable space for open discussions about feelings. The pilot project was successful, with young men beginning to express their emotions for the first time. The group has since expanded to include older students leading sessions for younger ones, fostering a supportive environment where young men learn to share their feelings and experiences.
Mindmap
Keywords
💡Youth Worker
💡Pastoral Support
💡Religious Moral Education (RME)
💡Mental Health
💡Seasons for Growth
💡Volunteers
💡Classroom Buddy
💡Check-in Groups
💡Andy Man Club
💡Peer-to-Peer Support
Highlights
Richard Taylor, a youth worker with 18 years of experience, discusses his role in the Dumbarton area Christian Youth Project.
Taylor's work is primarily school-based, focusing on religious moral education and pastoral support, particularly in mental health.
The Dumbarton area Christian Youth Project employs a full-time youth worker and an admin worker, with additional support from volunteers.
Volunteers come from local churches and the Rotary Club, contributing to the project's success.
Volunteers act as 'classroom buddies', providing support in reading and numeracy, and building relationships with students.
The project offers 'Seasons for Growth', a program to help young people deal with loss and change.
The 'Check-in Groups' facilitate open discussions on mental health without the need for formal qualifications.
Volunteers with life experience lead these groups, providing a safe space for young people to share their struggles.
The project has a positive impact on schools by providing support structures for young people facing difficulties.
Taylor highlights the importance of open relationships with school staff for effective pastoral care.
The 'Andy Man Club', a mental health group for men, is adapted for high school students to address mental health concerns.
The adapted version of 'Andy Man Club' is facilitated by local male volunteers and takes place at a local church.
The pilot project for the young men's mental health group was successful, with participants opening up about their feelings.
The group uses a cushion as a speaking object to encourage sharing in a non-judgmental environment.
The project is excited about the development of older students leading groups for younger ones, fostering peer support.
The transcript emphasizes the importance of trivial conversations alongside serious discussions in the group dynamics.
Transcripts
hello everybody my name is Richard
Taylor I'm a youth worker with the
dumbar area Christian Youth project I've
been working in this town for 18 years
now and most of my work is
school-based I I would say that first of
all I'm not an expert in this field but
I am experienced in it and take from
that whatever you want there are two
aspects to my work in school one is
uh to contribute to the religious moral
education curriculum or rme but the
other part of the work is the Pastoral
support and in particular with a focus
on helping young people with their
mental health that's in the primary
school but also in the in the other
cluster primary schools in in dumbar and
in the grammar school so the dumbar area
Christian Youth project is uh it employs
myself as a full-time youth worker and
uh we also have an admin worker but the
rest of the work is is is organized and
run by
volunteers the majority of the
volunteers are people that we have
connections with through the local
churches um and then we've also got
we've also got a handful of uh people
from the Rotary Club as well who um have
heard about what we're doing so what we
have is a team of volunteers who become
um we we haven't actually got a name for
it but kind of a classroom buddy if you
like a friend of the class and what they
will do is come in and do paired reading
um and numeracy support work that's a
that's the kind of core of it most of
the volunteers would give perhaps two
hours a week uh they'd work out a time
that uh suits them and the teacher and
what works best for both both parties um
and know and what happens is because
they're allocated to a class they get to
know the children they get to know uh
the characters in there and although
they're there to often to do the the
kind of curriculum stuff what we find is
that they get to know them and as as
they're doing the reading for example
the children they'll start to tell them
about the the families and they'll start
to share with them uh some of the
struggles that they're going through um
and of course that in itself is a
massive big uh help to them it's it's
pastoral care it's pastoral support it's
an adult who's invested and interested
in them uh and for some of them they
might be one of the few adults in their
Lives who do
care we also have uh some volunteers and
I do this myself as well uh running
small groups in the school seasons for
growth is a fantastic program it's a
tool to help children and young people
um deal with loss
bereavement uh and unwanted changes in
their lives so by that we mean things
like parents splitting up things that
are happening in their Liv lives that
they have no control over so the program
has been a huge huge help to those young
people and it's been a help to the
school as well because it means that
they've got something in place to offer
when uh a young person is struggling
with those those kind of things uh it is
quite expensive you have to train people
to facilitate it uh maybe I don't know 2
or300 pounds to do that what you might
be able to find as as we did is that the
parent Council uh uh are prepared to
fund that the other small groups that we
do in school uh are check-in groups it's
maybe about six or seven children in
each group what what's good about a
checking group is that the people
facilitating it don't necessarily have
to have any uh qualifications in mental
health um but what they can bring to it
is experience so you um some of the
volunteers that come in have had life
experience you know most most of our
volunteers are re tired folk uh they've
brought their own children they've had
their children's friends around and they
know what it's like for young people
growing up so it is I would say a really
accessible um way of supporting
schools the positive thing about checkin
groups and in fact the seasons for
growth and the classroom friends is that
when we do those groups we often find
that the young people will share with us
things that they haven't shared with any
any other adult um and so we have an
open relationship with the staff we we
we feedback to them uh anything that's
come up in discussion and uh and what we
often find is that we We join the dots
so you know a child might have been
behaving in a particular way in class
that the teacher
can't understand and then they'll come
to a checking group uh and all will be
revealed you know they might have been
having a a family argument or something
that they've not been able to talk about
to the teacher
I'd like to talk now about the work that
we do in dumbar grammar school um where
we run a young men's Mental Health Group
uh Andy man Club is a mental health
group for men and it was set up uh um to
help reduce male
suicide and it's a peer-to-peer support
group so the men sit in a group together
and uh confidentially uh without
judgment share and then I got a call
from from a guidance teacher at the high
school who said I've heard about Andy's
man club would it be possible to run it
in the high school because we're getting
a number of young men who are really
struggling with mental health and were
concerned about their safety um is it
possible to run a group in the school so
the answer was not an Andy man club we
can't use that name because that's an an
over 18s organization but what we could
do is use the same model and bring that
into the school environment and so what
did was I I I rounded up a team of
volunteers all men from the local
churches um and then we through the
guidance team we identified uh young men
who were struggling with the mental
health the venue for that is the local
church staes which is just across the
road from the school so you know less
than 5 minutes walk from the school and
you're in the Stables it's discreet it's
not in school and uh it's a it's a it's
a lovely little uh meeting space the
pilot project went really well what we
found was that the um the lads began to
talk about their feelings for the first
time and uh and the feedback from them
was that this is something they enjoyed
we we had around about 30 Lads that uh
asked to come to the group and so we
ended up splitting it we ended up with
two groups that met on the same day um
and that has continued um to where we
are
today
um I have to say people have this
romantic idea that a Lads group like
that is everybody fully engaged with it
uh I'm afraid not I mean we have a
cushion that we used to speak through
and uh if you're holding the cushion you
only you speak so have you got anything
to get off your chest no pass it on pass
it on pass it on and then maybe the
sixth or seventh one I'll pause and say
well I have actually my mom mom and dad
are arguing and I'm really really
struggling I'm worried that my dad's
going to leave us and now all of a
sudden you get all the all the boys
listening in and uh and then maybe a
couple more later somebody else will
share something else but then in between
those conversations will be football
results and there'll be uh somebody had
a burger that was undercooked or just
trivial things that perhaps are more
important to them than they are to us
one of the things that we're really
excited about with the lads group is
that we've got a new uh development with
it which is some of the older lads
leading a group for the younger Lots in
in S2 so S4 boys facilitating a group
for S2s we've just started that we've
been running it for I think three
sessions now and uh it's it's just so
encouraging to see these Lads facilitate
and uh these younger Lads learning how
to share and to talk about their
feelings
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