Adviza youth clubs in East Reading, use it, improve it, or lose it #rdguk

One of the Youth Clubs in East Reading is poorly attended, use it, improve it or lose it. Parents/young people tell us what you think?

Click the image for the full flier with times.

A little while ago the Council decided that due to budget cuts it was going to contract out youth clubs. The Council still does targeted work with young people itself but Adviza (used to be Connexions Thames Valley) now runs the youth clubs which anyone can turn up to.

At the time we had concerns about this and thought, and still think, this may be the slippery slope to the Council ending the funding for youth clubs. Surprisingly and worryingly councils have no legal duty to fund youth clubs! And many other local authorities now don't fund any in their area at all.

In East Reading, in Newtown there are currently two youth clubs run by Adviza. One on a Monday night taking young people from age 10 up to age 13 (it says 11 on the flier but they have dropped the age to attract more people), which unfortunately is poorly attended. And one on Wednesday for young people from 13 up to 19 which is well attended. Both youth clubs are at Sun Street Youth and Community Centre, both are free and both offer a mixture of activities.

We are concerned that if the Monday session (ages 10 up to 13) continues to be poorly attended this youth club will be ended.

Parents/young people – what do you think of these youth clubs? Why don't people go to the Monday one? How could it be improved?

There is more information and a link to the flyer on the Council's website.