Agenda item

To hear any deputations received from members of the public in accordance with Standing Order 67.

A deputation was received from Roundwood Youth Club in relation to agenda item 8 – Brent Youth Strategy and Provision.

Representatives from Roundwood Youth Club began their remarks by highlighting that over 85% of a young person’s waking hours were spent outside of school or formal education settings. Roundwood Youth Club had been open for more than ten years, and the Club was home to many different activities and support groups helping young people aged 11-19 years old to flourish in a safe space. The Club had been denied access to the site for 4 weeks in October-November 2023 due to discrepancies between Roundwood School, the venue for Roundwood Youth Club, and the Council’s assigned representatives for youth provision, Young Brent Foundation. The Club had also been denied access during the school holidays. As a result, representatives felt this had caused disruption in training for upcoming mixed martial arts gradings and competitions as well as training for new youth workers. The lack of access had also affected Duke of Edinburgh volunteering hours and left over 60 other young people with no safe space to go. Representatives asked the Community and Wellbeing Scrutiny Committee to scrutinise the Council’s arrangements with Roundwood School and Community Centre and for the Council to revisit the promises made to Roundwood Youth Club when the site became a school.

The importance of young people seeing peers and having a routine was highlighted by representatives, and the lack of access to the Club had resulted in stress and had a negative impact on the mental health of young people using the Club. There had been a loss of sense of community, a loss of a space away from home, and young people felt restricted socially. The Club helped young people stay off their phones and the representatives highlighted that a healthy mind from a young age promoted a healthy adult life away from addictions.

The representatives also highlighted there was a range of different backgrounds attending the Youth Club, which created a diverse environment for young people to learn about each other’s cultures.

The representatives highlighted the range of skills they had gained from Roundwood Youth Club, such as self-defence, self-respect and discipline. The Club was a free space for young people in Harlesden and when it had closed the users had been worried it would not reopen. They felt that Harlesden needed these types of groups so that young people had a space to spend their free time away from the streets where there could be negative influences. Youth Club gave young people the opportunity to do multi-sports, youth games, cooking, receive advice on jobs and training, and receive support from youth workers. Alongside this, there was the opportunity to train young leaders, coaches and qualified youth workers. The venue also supported families with a food bank and family wellbeing programme. It was felt that the Club was now a fraction of what it used to be due to youth service cuts, and the Club had been running with no funding since 2020. Highlighting section 5.3 of the report, the representatives noted that there was £2m being made available for the improvement of youth provision buildings. They advocated for that money to instead be spent on improving existing youth services, as Roundwood Youth Club had an up to date and modern building which was not being used for its initial intent, with only one space available to use for youth activities while other spaces were empty. Representatives advocated for the site to be open every day after school, during weekends and during school holidays, and for funding to be spent on equipment, coaches and training. In concluding, the representatives hoped that the Council would take these issues into account in planning for youth provision and that the Council involved young people in future decision making.

The Chair thanked Roundwood Youth Club representatives for their presentation and for putting their thoughts articulately before the Committee. The Committee offered a round of applause to the group for their presentation.