Youth services

Young Adventurers is a referral only project, for children aged 8-12, who need a bit more support over and above what they receive at school and home. Most of our children are referred to us as they lack in confidence or social skills.

The project is funded by Children in Need, local town and parish councils and Kent County Council.

The aims of the project are to:​

• Provide low cost recreational and educational activities for children aged between 8 and 12 years in their own community.
• Promote acceptable behaviour and responsibility by encouraging children to devise and adhere to their own 'Charter of Rights'.
• Increase children’s self confidence, skills and interests by introducing them to a wide range of activities in a safe and caring environment.

The project provides regular, low cost, locally based activities in a safe environment with an emphasis on behaviour and positive communication and has been very successful in supporting the children who attend.

How are the clubs staffed?

The clubs are staffed by project workers directly employed by West Kent. All staff and volunteers have an enhanced Disclosure and Barring check in place and references are taken prior to staff or volunteers working on the project. We work on a minimum adult to child ratio of 1:10. All activities are thoroughly risk assessed.

Where and when are the sessions held?

• New Ash Green: North Square, Longfield, DA3 8JT. Thursday night 6pm to 8pm
• Sevenoaks: The Hope Church, Mill Lane, TN14 5AX. Tuesday night 5.30pm to 7.30pm
• Swanley: The Junction, St Marys Road, BR8 7BU. Friday night 4.30pm to 6.30pm and Tuesday Nurture Group 4pm to 6pm
• West Kingsdown: West Kingsdown Primary School, Fawkham Road, TN15 6JP. Wednesday night 5.30pm to 7.30pm
• Edenbridge: Eden Centre, Four Elms Road, TN8 6BY. 8-12s session and nurture group Thursday 4pm to 6pm
• Dunton Green: Dunton Green Pavillion, London Road. Monday 3.15pm to 5.15pm
• Westerham: Churchill Primary School, Rysted Lane. Friday 3.15pm to 5.15pm.

Who can join?

Children who may be experiencing a variety of difficulties at home or who may be in need of additional support outside of the school or home environment. Children are referred to the project by:

• Teachers
• Parents
• Family support centres
• Social services
• Other professionals

How do I join?

Complete the Young Adventurers referral form and return it to youthservices@wkha.org.uk.

 

 

HOUSE is an open access youth drop in centre for young people aged 11-19, or up to 24 with additional needs. Our youth workers are on hand to provide advice, support and guidance around a range of fun and engaging activities for young people to take part in.

The sessions are an open drop-in club funded by Town and Parish Councils, West Kent and Moat Housing Associations and anonymous donations.

HOUSE takes place at The Eden Centre, Four Elms Road, Edenbridge, Kent, TN8 6BY.

We are open Tuesdays 5pm to 8pm, Wednesdays 5pm to 8pm and Fridays 6pm to 9pm.

The aims of HOUSE are to:

• Provide low cost recreational and educational activities for young people aged 11-19
• Promote acceptable behaviour and responsibility 
• Give young people a chance to say what they would like in their local area
• Increase young people’s awareness of health and well-being, substance misuse and anti-social behaviour
• Provide advice on training and employment.

How are the clubs staffed?

The clubs are staffed by project workers directly employed by West Kent. All staff and volunteers have an enhanced Disclosure and Barring check in place and references are taken prior to staff or volunteers working on the project. We work on a minimum adult to young person ratio of 1:10. All activities are thoroughly risk assessed.

Who can join?

You can refer yourself to us however we may need further information to accept you. 

How do I sign up? 

Complete our online web form

Our fitness fun and games sessions are a great opportunity for young people to keep active and try out a wide variety of sports and games.

The session run Wednesday evenings from 5pm until 6pm at Westerham Hall, and are free for 8-16 year olds.

For more information email us at youthservices@wkha.org.uk

 

We've partnered with Olympia Boxing to deliver boxing sessions to our young residents. 

Sessions are:

• Westerham: Westerham Halls, Quebec Avenue, London Road, TN16 1BG. Wednesdays 5pm to 6pm (Term Time only)
• Edenbridge: Eden Centre, Four Elms Road, TN8 6BY. Thursdays 7pm to 8pm

Complete our sign up form

Our youth team attend a variety of local festivals and events throughout the year. The team work with other local organisations such as Sevenoaks District Council to attend summer programmes, providing our residents with free activities for their children during school holidays.

They carry out a range of free activities such as glitter faces, large games such as Jenga and Connect Four, along with competitions and freebies.  

All our youth events are advertised on our website and social media pages. Please email us at youthservices@wkha.org.uk.

The project organises special outings which reflect the interests of the children, for example rock climbing, visits to the theatre or museums and short residential stays. These incur an additional cost, but where possible, the project will subsidise those children whose families cannot afford to pay the full cost.

If you would like to become involved please contact youthservices@wkha.org.uk 

We take the safety of all our children and young people very seriously.

All staff have an enhanced DBS and partake in a full training programme that equips them to work safely with young people. We risk assess all our venues and activities to ensure they are safe for young people to partake in.

We proactively challenge bullying and negative behaviour to ensure young people feel safe to attend our clubs and activities and will act efficiently if we receive any information that a young person feels bullied, threatened or targeted. We have club rules in place at all our youth work activities and any young people not adhering to the activities will be asked to leave.

All staff also have full Safeguarding Children training and we adhere to our organisational Safeguarding Policy.

Yes, we do require that all young people complete membership forms to attend any of our clubs and services. This is important to us, as we need to have parent/ guardian and emergency contact details, as well as information about any allergies or medical conditions.

Safety is our utmost concern, so we won’t let children or young people attend our clubs if we don’t have accurate and up to date information.

No, once you have signed a membership form, you needn’t bring anything else along. We ask that if you have any medicines that you highlight this to a member of staff upon entry and we can keep them for you for the duration of the session if needed.

Some of our youth clubs are free and some we do charge for, where we need to cover our costs and ensure we have the resources we need to deliver the session.

The maximum we charge per session is £2 per session, so it is a very minimal cost. If you are struggling financially, there are certain circumstances where we can waive this cost, so please get in touch to let us know. On certain occasions, such as trips, we may also charge a separate, but still minimal fee to cover our costs.

Absolutely! We have youth workers on hand to help smooth the way for young people who are nervous or shy. As a parent/ guardian, you are also welcome to attend a taster session with your child to see if the service is a good fit for you.

We take pride in ensuring our services are inclusive and welcoming to all.

Our youth workers receive a full training programme and have awareness and experience in working with children with ASD, ADHD and a variety of other additional needs. Please get in touch if you have specific concerns you’d like to talk through, we’re happy to help and see how we can support your child’s attendance.

As a parent/guardian, you are also welcome to attend a taster session with your child to see if the service is a good fit for you. 

We require an adult to drop off and pick up all children who are not yet attending secondary school. Once your child has moved on to secondary school we are happy for them to drop in themselves.

We will ask you when you register, to let us know which adults you’d be happy to collect your child. We will not release your child to any adult you have not approved and will always ask for ID if we do not recognise the collecting adult, or if they are collecting for the first time.