PODS: More than just a positive meeting place
Sport, music, dance and drama are just some of the activities available for young people in Warwickshire hoping to beat after-school boredom this autumn.
PODS – or Positive Operational Drop-in Strategy – are managed by Warwickshire County Council’s Positive about Young People programme (PaYP) and offer 8 to 13-year-olds something to do, somewhere to go and someone to listen.
The free sessions are held between one or two evenings a week and will begin again from 27 September 2010 at various locations across the county. PODS are run by trained activity workers from PaYP and other appropriate agencies working with young people.
PODS staff hope to build relationships, talk, listen and be a positive role model for people, signposting them to other support services where necessary such as Early Intervention teams or Mentoring.
Apart from the usual activities, those attending PODS have the opportunity to get involved in projects tackling issues such as bullying, violence, internet safety and knife crime.
‘Streetz R Watching’ (originated from the Whitnash POD) and ‘Street Ikons Community Dance Project’ (originated from PODS in Rugby) are just two examples of groups created during POD sessions.
Both have since gone on to spread their community safety messages across the county, performing at events such as PaYP’s Celebration of Partnerships and the High Sheriff of Warwickshire’s Crimebeat awards.
Mark Bolton, Operations Manager for Positive about Young People, said: “PODS provide a safe, relaxed and constructive environment for young people to beat boredom and express their thoughts while having fun.
“In addition to the usual exciting activities, PODS can often provide the opportunity to get involved in wider projects that really can make a difference to the community.
“According to our evaluation of last year’s activities*, 93 per cent of attendees thought PODS were good for the people and the area they live, with 100 per cent of parents giving the programme a satisfactory to excellent rating, so the figures speak for themselves.”
PODS are not just there for young people – agencies will endeavour to make PODS available to the wider community. It is hoped that PODS will become positive community focal points.
For more information regarding Warwickshire County Council’s Positive about Young People programme or to find out where the nearest PODS sessions are to you visit http://www.warwickshire.gov.uk/payp or call 02476 754174.