Highfields Centre

Highfields Centre’s Summer Playscheme (2024)

admnhc4 — Thu, 19 Dec 2024 00:06:47 +0000

The Crafternoon and Creative Sewing last term was a blast! Young people coming together, interacting and sharing their thoughts and concerns in a safe space. We also learned about sustainability, using old crafts and fabrics to create amazing art and tote bags!

Our Summer was amazing! We had 4 weeks of fun. Hands on activities linked to the theme of ‘We are artists, scientists, travellers and performers!’

Children had a great time painting, making slime, making jewellery, creating costumes using old fabrics and a fantastic day out to Skegness.

So, make sure you book your place on next Summer’s playscheme by contacting us on info@highfieldscentre.ac.uk or call us on 0116 253 1053!

The post Highfields Centre’s Summer Playscheme (2024) first appeared on Highfields Centre.

Highfields Centre Empowers Youth Through National Citizenship Service Experience

admnhc4 — Wed, 18 Dec 2024 23:49:48 +0000

Highfields Centre was selected as a partner organisation to deliver a local & memorable community NCS experience for 33 young individuals (aged 16-18 years), aimed at fostering personal growth, teamwork, and their skill development to further prepare them for the world of work and gain independent life skills.

Each experience lasted 12 hours during which young people were encouraged to participate in social and recreational experiences to improve confidence and social skills, learn a breadth of practical skills by having a hands-on involvement in cooking, baking, leading sports activities as well as producing short films, photos and sharing experiences via hosting podcasts with new attendees to the club to understand young people’s needs and issues better.

The four areas we focused on were:

Develop Life Skills & Independent living.
Build Employability & Work Readiness
Enable social mixing from different backgrounds.
Residential Experience

Over the weekend residential, participants engaged in a diverse range of activities designed to challenge and inspire them. From the heights of rock climbing to the serenity of canoeing, the adrenaline-pumping zip-lining, and the precision of archery, each activity offered a unique opportunity for self-discovery and skill enhancement, allowing them to develop their skillset & confidence.

Beyond the thrill of adventure, the NCS experience served as a platform for forging lasting friendships. Through shared challenges and triumphs, participants bonded and supported one another. These connections extended beyond the weekend, providing a strong foundation for ongoing personal growth and community building.

As part of the programme, participants collaborated on the creation of a recipe book, showcasing their culinary talents and creativity. This initiative not only honed practical skills in cooking and recipe development but also fostered teamwork, communication, and cultural exchange. The recipe book stands as a tangible reminder of the bonds formed and the diverse talents within the group.

The success of the NCS experience would not be possible without the dedication and expertise of Highfields Centre’s youth workers. Their guidance and mentorship provided a safe and nurturing environment for participants to explore their potential, overcome obstacles, and celebrate their achievements. Their commitment to empowering young people is evident in the positive outcomes observed throughout the programme. Some young people who were experiencing low self-esteem, and encountering issues at home had stated they were undergoing some experimental social habits and felt the NCS Programme has created safe spaces to explore pathways to understand and reduce their intake and consumption of tobacco, vapes and alcohol amongst the older cohorts.

The NCS experience at Highfields Centre exemplifies the transformative power of adventure, friendship, and youth work. Through engaging activities, meaningful connections, and skill-building opportunities, participants emerge with increased confidence, resilience, and a sense of belonging.

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Highfields Centre Annual Report – 2024

admnhc4 — Thu, 05 Dec 2024 10:12:27 +0000

The post Highfields Centre Annual Report – 2024 first appeared on Highfields Centre.

Highfields Centre Annual Report – 2023

admnhc4 — Thu, 05 Dec 2024 10:01:02 +0000

The post Highfields Centre Annual Report – 2023 first appeared on Highfields Centre.

Highfields Centre Annual Report – 2022

admnhc4 — Thu, 05 Dec 2024 09:57:58 +0000

The post Highfields Centre Annual Report – 2022 first appeared on Highfields Centre.

Project HOPE Survey – Voices of the Youth 2024

Tarek Islam — Tue, 09 Apr 2024 02:45:24 +0000

Welcome to our latest blog post, where we dive into the findings from the Highfields Centre’s Project HOPE Survey. This survey provides invaluable insights into the community’s views on education, employment, and the arts. As we explore these findings, we gain a deeper understanding of the community’s needs and aspirations, helping us tailor our programs and services at the Highfields Centre to better support and engage with our members.

Survey Findings:

29.5% view the Highfields Centre as super awesome.

27.4% think it’s pretty good, while 35.8% consider it OK.

68%-70% of respondents expressed a desire to be part of a team that decides on the activities and projects at the Highfields Centre.

26% have tried and loved arts activities in the past year, with a significant interest in digital and creative arts if they lead to job opportunities.

37.9% find it very hard to find work or training gigs, with a lack of awareness about available opportunities.

37% are interested in specific skills like video editing, graphic design, and DJing.

50% are interested in sessions to boost confidence and social skills.

Major community challenges include mental health issues, drug use, bullying, and depression/isolation, with a strong call for support and resources.

Conclusion: The survey from the Highfields Centre’s Project HOPE paints a picture of a community eager to engage, learn, and overcome challenges. Much like a mosaic, each piece of data represents a part of the community’s collective experience, revealing a complex but hopeful landscape. With a significant number of individuals looking to play an active role in shaping the center’s future, it’s clear there is a vibrant energy ready to be harnessed. By addressing the expressed needs for job-related training, mental health support, and more inclusive decision-making, we can pave the way for a more empowered and connected community. Together, we are building a brighter, more resilient future, one initiative at a time.

Please see survey results below more detailed information.

List 3 things or ideas you would like to see here at the Highfields Centre.

None

Basketball

more basketball sessions

more activities for children, more sports & easy access

more basketball, less kids & refreshments

basketball sessions, different age groups & more sessions

basketball, football & gym activities

indoor football, swimming & summer camp

sauna, Steam room & swimming

more basketball

more free sessions

more sessions

more basketball sessions, football & table tennis

youth basketball, futsal sessions & video editing classes

Job opportunities

Job opportunties More Sport sessions Help in getting jobs Services for struggling families

Music Festival Football More outdoor trips

Gym open on the weekends

Sports Job opportunities for younger years(13+)

More football More sport opportunities More Youth Clubs

Football Gaming

Sport activities Music festivals Food stores

More sport sessions More volunteer opportunities Developing relationships with other organisations to help with running services and to increase popularity

Leicester satelite training Trips: Go karting Water world Dubai

Basketball Football Gym activities

More activities for kids More sports Easy access

More basketball Less kids Refreshments

Basketball sessions Different age groups More sessions

Football Swimming Summer camps

Suana Swimming Steam room

More sessions

Town center More free sessions

Basketball for youth Futsol Video editing club

More football Employment fairs/events Badminton sessions

Basketball

More basketball Session Football Table tennis

LGBTQ+ Representation Dance shows Art projects/adventures

Help to get jobs Improve to help others More cool stuff

Hair and Beauty Engineering Nails

Different jobs Activities

Exercise/Nutrition Info Music Male support

Badminton Arts&Craft

Big tech cameras Gaming PCs Anything to do with content creating like youtube

Gym Swimming Archery

Farming Dawan table

Beauty Sports

Digital tech skill Strongly on Admin and codimg

Self defense lessons English lesson

Short,easy projects

Volunteers

POST CODES OF PARTICPANTS

None

LE1 2GX

LE2 1DE

LE4 0BN

LE4 5HU

LE5 4OE

LE1 2FU

LE4 2FX

LE3 1NS

LE5 2AZ

LE2 0FU

LE2

LE5

LE3 9SE

Not provided

LE2 6ID

LE5 0ET

LE4 5LE

LE2 1BP

LE2 0FF

LE5 6GE

LE2 0EA

LE1 2GJ

LE2 0FN

LE3 4SE

LE1 2QX

LE2 6LD

LE2 0FA

LE4 5DE

LE5 0EL

LE3 1EW

LE3 6AN

LE4 0SJ

LE3 9HE

LE3 5GR

LE5 1SF

LE2 9RD

LE3 2UT

LE4 0QW

LE2 6LP

LE2 8PA

LE3 1RR

LE3 1DS

LE2 6LH

LE2 6QJ

LE4

LE4 2IX

LE3 8BG

LE2

LE1

LE3 2XB

LE3 1RF

LE2 1GG

LE18 1AJ

LE5

LE3

LE4 7ZS

LE9 6BF

LE5 0PB

LE2 1PH

LE4 9EB

LE4 6ET

LE2 1GD

LE5 3SA

LE5 0EZ

LE1

LE5 3DN

LE3 9PN

The post Project HOPE Survey – Voices of the Youth 2024 first appeared on Highfields Centre.

Revitalising Leicester’s Garment Industry: A Path Forward

Tarek Islam — Thu, 11 Jan 2024 18:10:36 +0000

Revitalising Leicester’s Garment Industry: A Path Forward

Introduction

In the bustling heart of the UK, Leicester’s garment industry, once a beacon of thriving commerce, faces a pivotal moment. Recent challenges have brought to light a need for change and revitalisation.

The Shifting Landscape

The exodus of major fashion brands from Leicester has marked a turning point. Driven by concerns over working conditions and negative media focus, this shift has left a void, resulting in diminished work opportunities and economic strain.

The Impact

Job Losses: The departure of brands has led to a sharp decline in work, causing widespread job losses and economic challenges for many local families.
Economic Ripple Effects: The downturn in the garment industry impacts not just the workers but also the local businesses and suppliers, contributing to a broader economic challenge.

A Call for Revitalisation

This situation presents an urgent need for action:

Attracting New Business: Proactive efforts are needed to attract new brands and businesses, highlighting Leicester’s potential for high-quality, ethical garment production.
Investing in Skills: Upskilling the workforce is crucial to position Leicester as a hub for ethical and skilled manufacturing.

FAB-L’s Advocacy

FAB-L stands as a critical advocate in this revitalisation effort. Key initiatives include:

Improving Working Conditions: Championing Leicester as a model for ethical practices to attract conscientious brands.
Community Engagement: Garnering local support to create a unified appeal for bringing businesses back to Leicester.
Policy Influence: Collaborating with policymakers to create incentives for brands to operate in Leicester.

Conclusion

The need to rebuild Leicester’s garment industry is clear. It’s an opportunity to foster a more ethical, sustainable future. FAB-L is dedicated to leading this transformation, ensuring that Leicester reclaims its place as a proud and ethical centre of UK manufacturing.

The post Revitalising Leicester’s Garment Industry: A Path Forward first appeared on Highfields Centre.

Open Mic Youth Event 16th December 2022 Young Futures – Open Mic

AVA — Wed, 01 Mar 2023 16:24:41 +0000

Our youth Workers arranged an end of Term and Celebration event to Launch our newly funded Project By Violent Reduction Network and Leicestershire PCC -Young Futures.

The aim of the event was to encourage local youth to showcase their talents, get on stage and perform, sing & rap and provide them with a platform to show off their skills to a supportive and lively audience.

We had a super fantastic turnout of local youth attending our open mic night and it further allowed us to engage new youth from the community and invite them to our youth development sessions.

It was positive to see local artists to come and perform their music, which then inspired many young people to also pluck the courage to perform on the night. This has now also sparked a further interest from young people who attend weekly music & digital art sessions as part of our current youth offer.

Young people’s contributions were further recognised by the youth workers by giving them a free meal during the event and cash prizes to the best performers on the night.

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Blog – Youth Residential at PGL Liddington (October 2022)

AVA — Wed, 01 Mar 2023 15:09:24 +0000

Our work with young people is all about focusing on young people’s character development. Last year, we took 12 young people (8 young men aged 14-18 years and 4 young women aged 13-19 years on a 3-day residential to PGL Adventures in Liddington, Wiltshire.

As well as the physical health benefits, our youth residential trips have proven to have a positive effect on children and young people’s self-esteem and confidence levels, thereby improving their emotional health and wellbeing. We encouraged our young people to explore their newer and greener environment, take responsibility for creating their own beds and practice good housekeeping and hygiene, and generally teach them how they can sustain themselves with minimal adult interventions to promote independence and be more aware of themselves and their abilities.

The 3-day residential trip further helped young people relax, take part in physical activities such as zip wire, raft building, team building activities, giant swing, buggy building and climbing the Jacob’s Ladder.

Young people had the opportunity to take stock to make their own decisions and discover who they are by facing such tasks and challenges when undertaking these outdoor activities by themselves or working as part of a team.

Our youth residential trips offer a unique opportunity for local young people from Highfields to gain their independence, make their own decisions and build new friendships.

Undoubtedly, our youth residential trips has brought about positive, long-term change to young people and our youth workers, both in and out of a conventional youth club setting. Young people and youth workers work together and overcome physical and emotional challenges in outdoor spaces and connecting with greenery and river activities. This has helped with building positive relationships, supporting and encouraging each other to overcome their fears.

This residential trip increased young people’s confidence, communication and team building skills. It provided them with an opportunity to overcome obstacles; build resilience and gain first-hand leadership skills. These key skills will help them in the future, and allow them to use these to overcome real life situations and adversities.

Young people chose specific activities that were physically challenging which required a methodical approach, as well as working together within a group to successfully complete each activity. Everyone needed to focus and make conscious decisions to push personal boundaries by overcoming their fears and having a real desire to succeed. Young People supported each other and identified leaders within the group to make important decisions regarding the weekend’s programme. They also took part in two workshops, the first one was on knowing their rights for stop and search with the police and the other workshop was identifying why youth club settings add value to their lives and how to shape future services according to young people’s current needs. Overall, it was a thoroughly productive weekend and thanks to all our participants for making it so!

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University of the Arts London student speaks with the Fashion-workers Advice Bureau Leicester (FAB-L)

Tarek Islam — Thu, 10 Nov 2022 09:00:00 +0000

As part of my university studies, I learned that Leicester, located in England’s Midland regions, stands at the forefront as a fashion manufacturing hub for the UK. While this has contributed to Leicester and the UK’s economic growth, a report led by ETI and the University of Leicester back in 2015 stated that many of Leicester’s garment factories have a history of long-standing labor rights violations. In 2020 during Covid-19 Lockdown expose by Labour Behind The Label showed factories breaking Covid-19 protocols and still operating during the lockdown behind closed doors.

Amidst the chaos, Fashion-workers Advice Bureau Leicester (FAB-L) was created in partnership with 3 trade unions and brands with the intention to genuinely help the industry, its people and to bring about a change. I interviewed FAB-L’s senior community engagement and outreach worker Tarek Islam sho quotes “Garment workers know that they should be paid more, but they’re still willing to work for less than the minimum wage, because most workers have no other choice and are vulnerable, they would rather have some income rather than no income.”

Tarek Islam – senior community engagement and outreach worker

He also reinforces on the issues of language proficiency and inadequate skills building amongst the community which in turn act as barriers towards growth and raising their voices. He said, “Most workers belong to ethnic minorities and have come to the UK to make a living, in many cases English is not their first language and hence find it difficult to communicate their needs to both their employer and the government, there is not as single state-funded support or welfare rights service available to help workers, and there are some official services available to help them but they are online, workers find it challenging to be a part of them simply because of language difficulties.”

From our conversation it’s clear to see that FAB-L in the past few months has been doing a great job in tackling these issues, from legal services to support groups and encouragement of trade unions, the people’s organization has supported up to 80 garment workers with issues ranging from welfare rights to recovering wages and improving working conditions in factories.

Tarek states “We have also been working with various universities & NGOs. We have worked with the likes of the University of Leicester, the University of Sussex, and other trade unions in carrying out programs to advocate for better working conditions for garment workers.

Tarek believes that “while it may take time to change the industry results in the last few month show and prove things can change, the garment industry in Leicester can get better but slowly but surely, there is a lot of work to be done and we all need to work together”

He went on to say that everyone in the supply chain should be able to do their part as ethically as possible, from the consumers, the brand, the manufacturer, and even the government, to make sure no such scandalous practices in the past happen again

Written by: Jumana Amthaniwala (+447570681216)

London College of Fashion, University of the Arts London

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