Levelling the Playing Field’s network of organisations in Newport joined forces to recognise young people driving positive impact in the local area.
Last week, on Thursday 1 June, Maindee Primary School hosted the Newport Community Takeover event which celebrated 24 ethnically diverse young people from Levelling the Playing Field’s specialist partners in the town. The young people were recognised for their engagement, dedication, perseverance, care for others, leadership and volunteering.
Levelling the Playing Field (LtPF) is a project run by the Alliance of Sport in Criminal Justice, in partnership with the Youth Justice Board. It uses the power of sport and physical activity to engage and improve health and life outcomes for ethnically diverse children who are more likely to enter, or already involved with, the Criminal Justice System.
Positive Futures, Community Youth Project, Newport Yemeni Community Association, The Gap Wales, Maindee Primary School and Newport Youth and Play Service are all members of a multi-agency partnership that has been unified by the Levelling the Playing Field project and has worked to support children and young people across the area.
The event was attended by many leading figures in the community, such as Commonwealth Games gold medal-winning boxer Sean McGoldrick, who has led many community sessions with young people for Positive Futures.
Gwent Police & Crime Commissioner, Jeff Cuthbert, who funds Positive Futures’ initiatives in the area, also attended and said: “Newport has many young people who are in danger of drifting into a life of crime if they’re not offered more positive activity.
“The organisations assembled here have shown they are a wise investment in preventing this from happening. Their great work reduces offending, meaning there are fewer victims and young people are prevented from ruining their lives for decades to come by becoming involved in crime.”
John Griffiths, Member of the Senedd for Newport East & Severnside added: “Diversionary activity that gives young people things to do, places to go and constructive use of their time is massively important for them, their family and their community. All partners here today are giving young people opportunities, choice, access to education, training and get them thinking about their futures.”
The Newport Community Takeover at Maindee Primary School was the fourth and final edition of the 2023 Levelling the Playing Field Regional Awards. The Levelling The Playing Field Awards are designed to recognise the dedication and efforts from young people, role models and leaders in positively impacting their communities through sport across the project’s four delivery areas: South Yorkshire, West Midlands, Gwent and London.
All winners from each of the regional awards will now be invited to the 2023 Levelling the Playing Field National Awards at the Alexander Stadium in Birmingham this July.
In Newport, each of Levelling the Playing Field’s specialist partners submitted their own award winners. Those recognised by each specialist partner were:
Positive Futures
Florin, Darius, Mohammad, and Joao
Cousins Florin and Darius are from the local Roma community and attend Positive Futures’ sessions in Pillgwenlly to do football, boxing, swimming, fishing, go-karting and more.
Florin said: “Matt, Declan, Lauren and all the Newport workers are kind to us. They are like big brothers and sisters. I always feel happy when I see them.”
Darius added: “Sometimes school can be tricky and sometimes things happen on the streets. We feel safe with them. We can tell them anything that happens. Life would be boring without them.”
The Positive Futures team helped Florin and Darius play a full season with a football team with other young people from across the city they didn’t previously know.
As part of the Levelling the Playing Field multi-agency partnership’s early intervention activities, Matt Elliott from the Newport Youth Justice team is central to delivery of sport sessions and forming relationships with young people. He said: “We support young people, but it’s a two-way street. Seeing kids like Darius and Florin flourishing really brightens our day.”
The Gap Wales
Muhamed, Abdennour, Ashenafi, Sana
The Gap Wales supports refugees and asylum seekers on arrival in Newport, including weekly sport and physical activity sessions.
One such newly arrived person was Ashenafi. “He’s certainly had a few challenges,” says The Gap manager Mark Seymour, “but thanks to a lot of community support he is now really flourishing. Ash is now the person he’s supposed to be. The change in him has been huge. He is back in education, his family unit is transformed and he is growing into an excellent volunteer.”
Ash helps out with The Gap Wales’s bike repair service and has earned his Football Leaders qualification. “I’m really excited about his future now, whereas for a long time I would not necessarily have said that,” adds Seymour. “He is a huge success story and that’s thanks to cross-sector working across Newport’s partners, who have all played their part.”
Muhamed, an Iranian-Kurdish refugee, is deaf and mute. He also volunteers at The Gap Wales bike repair shop in town. Mark concluded: “He navigates life really well considering his disabilities and adversities. He brings with him a little bit of mischief and chaos – but we value and celebrate what he’s achieved.”
Community Youth Project (CYP)
Najlai, Saeeda, Nikolas, Roman
Sarah Miller, Lead Youth and Community Worker, says CYP: “provides a safe space for young people where they can have fun, be themselves and feel welcome.” They also link in with other local delivery partners to give young people more opportunities.
“Levelling the Playing Field has professionalised the partnership working that was going on before. It helps us out even more in supporting young people to achieve their ambitions. We create smiles, joy and new friendships.”
Newport Yemeni Community Association (NYCA)
Alice, Ehab, Isa, Hilmee
NYCA focus on early intervention through sport, education and volunteering opportunities to steer children in the multi-cultural area of Pillgwenlly away from crime and exploitation.
“Sport is just the medium to get us together,” says NYCA chairman Reggie Al-Haddi. “It creates a sense of brotherhood and sisterhood, a sense of community and family.
“Our award winners today are over the moon. They’re all a perfect examples of what can happen when the community works together – grassroots and mainstream organisations – to put young people on the right road.”
Maindee Primary School
Juliana, Jasmina, Ilhaan, Jaroslav
Martine Smith from Maindee Primary School has worked tirelessly to ensure that the school has become a community hub, with many evening and weekend sporting activities run by local partners in the LtPF network taking place on its grounds to support young people.
Smith said: “We’ve become a ‘super shield’ for young people. There’s no competition between the partners, it’s pure collaboration. We all look out for each other.
“Historically, young people in Newport have got a bad rap and there hasn’t been much for them to do. They needed safe spaces and safe faces and, together, that’s what we provide. Our multi-agency approach is working; it’s impacting positively on families. We’re building a community and giving young people role models to look up to. They want to become youth workers themselves with Positive Futures, CYP and NYCA. It’s wonderful to see.”
Newport Youth and Play Service
Marko, Mohammed, Abdiwale, Abdiraham
Marko arrived in Newport from Sudan in 2018 aged 14. After a very lonely start, he has embraced every opportunity to play sport with Newport’s many partners, including the Newport Youth and Play Service. Marko has now earned his Sports Leadership Level 1 qualification and is on his way to completing his Duke of Edinburgh bronze award.
Chloe Chandler, Wellbeing and Homelessness Coordinator at Newport Youth and Play Service, said: “Marco is so good at setting up the teams that we practically leave our football sessions for him to run now. He is a great example of how our support network can help young people thrive.”
With thanks to New Reach PR
