We would like to offer your child the opportunity to join our youth café, open to all local senior school aged children on Wednesday’s from 6.30-8.00pm during term time in the grounds of the Pitstone Pavilion This year we are extending the invitation to year 6 children for the remainder of the summer term, as there is normally a lot happening in the last few weeks at school and last year some children couldn’t come along and find out what it is all about. You must accompany your child at the start of their first visit and have completed an online registration form, as under new data protection legislation we need to verify that the person giving consent is in fact the parent/guardian of the child.
Who runs it?
The café is primarily funded by Pitstone Parish Council. There is a pay-as-you-go fee of £2 per child per session towards running costs and materials (should you be experiencing financial difficulty please speak to the Café Manager in confidence), this includes squash/snack. No need to pay for whole terms, or sessions your child doesn’t attend. The café shop sells a range of other snacks and drinks, so your child may like to bring some extra cash. We contract the running of our Youth Café to an experienced youth worker and he employs an Assistant, but the rest of the adults needed (we have at least 8 adults on site each week to ensure adequate levels of supervision and interaction) are volunteer parents/members of the community. All helpers & staff are DBS checked. The café is simply unsustainable without volunteers, so please volunteer to help every other week or every week if you are able, to ensure that we can keep the café open.
What is it?
The café is a drop-in facility for young people to meet with friends in a non-pressurized environment. It helps their transition to secondary school and provides a venue for them to meet up with friends that may have gone to different schools. They can seek help with their homework or discuss any problems they may be experiencing, with our youth worker. There is normally a range of sports and activities on offer, plus table tennis/pool/consoles/games, and we try to offer workshops and craft sessions where volunteers can provide these. Some youngsters prefer to just chill out with their friends and chat. If your child brings their helmet they can use the skate ramps if the weather is dry. The café is not a traditional youth club and doesn’t provide a structured program like you find at Guides/Scouts. The young people are free to come and go as they please, so long as they sign in and out.
Membership
It is vital that we have accurate information so that we can reach you in the case of an emergency. For your child’s safety, we can’t grant them membership unless the registration form is completed.
Café Conduct
We expect a certain level of behavior from all the youths, not only to ensure the safety and wellbeing of other attendees but also to create an environment where the young people feel valued and respected. We operate a disciplinary system by which the child will be given two verbal warnings if their behavior is deemed to be unacceptable, harmful or dangerous to the young people and staff members around them. If a young person is still not co-operating, on the third occasion they will then be sent home until the next week, or banned for a few weeks, depending on the severity of their behavior. If your child is banned, the café manager will contact the parent of the person involved that
evening or the next day so that you can be kept up-to-date with the behavior of your child during café hours and can ensure that your child upholds the period of their ban. We hope that you will support us in this decision to try to provide the safest environment possible for all those that attend.
If you/your child has a Facebook account please join the Pitstone Youth Facebook page. You can also find information on our website www.pitstone.co.uk or via our Twitter feed. If the café ever has an emergency closure eg due to bad weather, the information will be posted by all these means.
We hope your child and you enjoy our youth café!
If you require any further information please contact us!