A “YOUTH Club in a Boot” is one of the successful ways support workers in North Yorkshire have kept in contact with children and young people throughout lockdown.

Throughout the pandemic, children and families support workers have been devising innovative ways of maintaining contact and relationships with the young people they help.

Some of their support work takes place in youth clubs, where staff provide practical and emotional support to children experiencing challenges and difficult issues in their lives.

When lockdown began, staff were faced with the challenge of continuing their work, despite restrictions such as social distancing and the closure of venues and meeting places.

One way they got round this in Scarborough, was by developing a ‘Youth Club in a Boot’, delivering packs to children containing activities and resources such as healthy, inexpensive recipes, tips for keeping fit and active, information leaflets and staff contact details.

Delivering the packs personally, enables support workers to have doorstep conversations where the workers can see for themselves that the young person is okay.

It also gives the youth an opportunity to maintain contact with an adult outside their home.

In between visits, support workers are able to keep contact virtually through video calling, phone calls or WhatsApp messaging.

The packs have contained different items each week.

They have included a plant pot and some compost, to encourage the children to find seeds such as apple pips to plant, as well as exercise challenges and the ingredients for a fruit bird feeder to hang outside.

Recently the packs have contained pencil cases with stationery added each week, to encourage the children to think about their return to school and to help with home learning.

The packs have also contained cheap, healthy recipes to make at home and contact details for services.

Elizabeth White, council senior early help, consultant said: “When lockdown began we contacted the young people who would normally come to our sessions to see if they still wanted to be involved and they all did.

“When we deliver the packs we also get to check in with them.

"It’s a good way for us to have sight of the children; sometimes you can hide how you’re feeling on a video call or present yourself however you want.

"But seeing them in person enables our support workers to make an assessment on how they look and act, as well as how they say they feel.

"If they say they want more support we can make referrals to additional services. For some young people our support workers are the only constant contact they have had with an adult outside their home throughout lockdown.

“When some of them returned to school we asked them if they wanted to end the home visits and none of them did."