A Week in the Life at St Andrew's Club

19 Feb 2021

The National Youth Agency describes Youth Work as a ‘complex series of professional principles, practices and methods often described as the science of enabling young people to believe in themselves and build positive futures.’ At St Andrew’s Club we do this day in, day out, regardless of National Lockdowns or Pandemics.

Here is a typical Lockdown week of Sarah, Youth Club Manager at St Andrew’s Club, demonstrating the Club’s commitment to our members and their families...

Monday
Since the announcement of the National Lockdown in January, St Andrew’s Club has moved its provision back to Virtual Andrew’s with the addition of 1:1 sessions with those members who are most vulnerable.

The week starts with:

• an update and check-in through the part time youth worker WhatsApp group, individual staff members agree their role in the programme for the week;
• Louise sends through the ingredient list for the week’s Zoom cookery session;
• The Club’s weekly timetable is shared on social media and the website;
• A delivery of 30 recipe boxes containing enough food to make a meal for at least 4 people from Kitchen Social which arrived at the end of last week was organised ready to be distributed;
• A delivery of a further 50 hot and delicious recipe boxes – very kindly donated from Brigadiers Indian Restaurant – and ready to be distributed.

Tuesday
Parents book their young people into the week’s online sessions over the phone; staff shop for the ingredients; package up for each individual family and begin dropping off ingredients’ packs to families in a COVID safe way. Each pack also includes a booklet containing joining instructions for cookery and Thursday’s Games Night session.

Staff begin putting together activity packs for members containing age appropriate resources. Some of the contents of the packs include:

• Arts and Craft resources
• Age appropriate reading book
• Pens and pencils
• Frisbee
• Skipping rope
• Challenge/activity booklet designed by staff for either Junior or Senior Club
• Some families will also receive a recipe box

Tom’s fitness challenge video is posted on social media, this week’s challenge is timing how long one can hold a plank! After his impressive effort of almost 5 minutes (!), Tom encourages members to keep practicing.

Wednesday
Packs begin being distributed to young people by staff in a COVID safe way, along with any Cookery packs which were not distributed on Tuesday.

Cookery takes places via Zoom at 5.15pm with Louise logging in from home and 6 members joining the session, supported by Adrian who also logs in. A brand-new recipe is made each week!

Thursday
Staff begin making check in phone calls with families, the results of the calls are logged and reported back to Sarah regularly for action.

5 members and 3 staff log into the Virtual games night with Stacey leading. There are lively games of 21, which ended in everyone teaming up against to get Edson out as he kept winning! They also played word association and memory games. There was lots of noisy fun had by all!

More members activity packs are distributed.

Friday
Check in phone calls continue.

Some staff members carrying out maintenance jobs around the club in preparation for the Club reopening. So far there have been repairs to the basketball hoops and a thorough clear out of the Junior Club storage garage.

6-8pm the Youth development are logged into their training session with the Mousetrap Theatre project supported by Stacey (this has now concluded).

Thank you to all our hard-working youth workers and lovely supporters who have made it possible to continue to deliver sessions during these difficult times. If you would like to donate to our work of enriching young lives, please visit our online fundraising page here. Thank you.