Get set for St Helens MBC Open Weekend on 10 and 11 July. Friday and Saturday nights will never be the same again!
Football in cages leads the way in a major campaign to give young people interesting things to do on Friday and Saturday nights. A weekend of free nationwide activities on 10 and 11 July will kick start the campaign, which is part of the Government’s Aiming High strategy for young people.
St Helens Council operates a comprehensive programme of activities on a Friday and Saturday night which on Fridays also includes youth clubs all over the borough, girls’ dance sessions and a young women’s sports and fitness programme in Thatto Heath and Sutton respectively and a dry-bar alternative music event at the Citadel Arts Centre. Saturdays bring more youth clubs, a youth-only zone at Beacon Building on College Street and more cage football at Bold Miner’s Club.
See full details of the wide range of weekend activities on offer in St Helens.
FSN Cage Football is part of the council’s programme and is operated by Merseyside Fire Service and backed by DCSF funding.
David Boocock, Head of Youth and Sports Development Services at St Helens Council, says:
“We set up a portable five-a-side cage and invite youngsters to come in between 6.00 and 9.00 p.m. with Merseyside Fire and Rescue Service and have skills training from FA-qualified coaches at different venues on Friday and Saturday evenings.”
Open Weekend on Friday 10 and Saturday 11 July is a key milestone for local authorities and their partners to work together to improve positive activities for young people making sure there are things to do for young people on Friday and Saturday nights, the time young people and communities say they need them the most. Under Aiming High £679m is available nationwide between 2008 and 2011, with £2,747,000 of it in St Helens, to ensure there are places to go and things to do for young people.
David Boocock continues: “At the football they usually end up with a five-a-side game which confines the ball within the cage and doesn’t cause any nuisance to passers-by. It’s part of an ongoing service and we monitor levels of local anti-social behaviour to assess its benefits.
"We deliver in hot-spot areas to aim to reduce anti-social behaviour (ASB) by 10%. Up to 30 young people aged between 8 and 17 attend the Cage Football sessions each week. St Helens Council has also invested more than £1m in permanent flood-lit sports courts in parks and open spaces across the borough. The Cage Football sessions are a great way of raising awareness to young people of the permanent sports facilities in their local communities.
“We also signpost users to offer diversionary activities and work with partners to challenge any incidents of ASB.”
Dawn Primarolo, Minister for Children and Young People said:
“It’s no surprise that young people want and need activities on Friday and Saturday evenings. In a recent survey 66% of young people said that more activities would do most to keep them out of trouble. And yet a recent survey of local evening provision showed that only around 15 per cent of evening activities are available on Friday evenings and just 2.5 per cent on Saturday evenings.
“The Open Weekend is a fantastic opportunity for local authorities to really look at the type of youth provision in their area and involve young people so that they are given a say in the activities on offer. We must make sure young people have things to do and places to go at the times they need them most because this is the best way to tackle the minority of young people who cause disruption.
“Preventing young people from getting involved in anti-social behaviour should be everyone’s responsibility and we are playing our part by making sure the support and funding is available.”
For further information on the Open Weekend and what will be happening in St Helens go to www.direct.gov.uk/getinvolved or click here for full details of the wide range of weekend activities on offer in St Helens.