Wales Outdoors

YOUTH WORK FUNDING

I recently lost in a bit to gain a simple residential for a group of approximately 20 young people. Under normal circumstances I would put this down to price (I am not the cheapest) and simply have some slight concern that the group will not be getting the kind of service that they would if they came to me.

On this occassion I had put in much work locating accommodation (the group specifically requested central Wales as they are a Wales wide organisation), caterers as they wanted meals provided and activities (I do not usually offer activities in Mid Wales). When I asked the group to confirm the told me a group decision had been made and that I had come second out of a selection of 6 locations/companies.

I had come second to a centre which is not even in Mid Wales and will be a nightmare for those traveling from North Wales, but is situated the Urdd Centre in Llangrannog

This centre offers a wide range of vicarious activity including skiing, go-karting, quad biking, zip wire, toboggans, roller blading and pedal cars........

Had I known that I was up against this centre and that the young people were to make the choice of venue then I would not have bothered quoting. Of course the young people would go for the instant gratification of a quad or go kart over real youth work and a programme empowering them to run their own cave or gorge trip.

I sincerely question the bodies that fund these types of residentials. I also have to question what the personal development that they are looking for. In my experience a quad session for a youth group achieves nothing and of the activities listed above all are personal with none that can possible have genuine positive outcomes for either the group or the individual - except that it was a 'good laugh'.

Should EU or Welsh Assembly money be used for a 'good laugh'?

Should young people be so empowered as to be able to choose how this money is spent on their funded residentials?

I would say NO to both.

I think that youth work needs a shake up. Adventure provision also needs urgent revision. Young people need to be out there walking, camping and working as teams in the outdoors with competition, vicarious pleasure and individual activities being a small part of any trip. Read here my ideas and commitment to working in more constructive ways.

Oh well, another opportunity for youth LOST forever..... Another abuse of public funding..... will there never be appropriate policies in place that ensure structured and recordable positive outcomes for the use of grant funding?

extracts of emails follow.......

The Thursday Post

With the advent of new sites to discuss some of the issues that I have been blogging about here, I have had a rethink regarding the purpose of this site.

The stats have been an average of 12 unique visitors per day. Not a great deal of traffic but these visitors have been spending a fair bit of time leafing through different articles. It is therefore worth continuing and as the stats have a consistent upward trend it is interesting to me to see how many visitors this blog could finally attract.

I have therefore decided to review the way in which the info is stored, re-publish some of the important articles, such as the first aid info and kit provision blogs and maintain these as a technical resource. These pages will be clearly linked to in a re designed side bar.

I do hope that the visitors keep on coming and that the site becomes a useful resource to those looking for information on activity provision and adventures in Wales.

Once again - feel free to comment. I moderate the comments only to keep out abusive remarks. ALL comments that are not abusive are published.

Blood Transfusions

Last summer I had a young teenage girl take part in an activity with me. Nothing unusual in that. I came to find out that she was a Jehovah's Witness. This has led me to consider those who I have in my care a little more deeply. I would certainly like your comments on the following proposal:

I think that it is incumbent upon us to care for those who take part in our led activities to the best of our ability. I think that any person, no matter what age they may be, who would refuse certain types of medical or other assistance following an injury whilst taking part in an adventure session, should be refused a place on the activity.

I am considering adding a clause to my booking form that states that any participant will agree to receiving any necessary care following any accident. I do not want an instructor put into a position where a client is seriously injured and will not accept proper care.

We rarely have accidents that result in hospitalisation - the occasional grazed knee, cut finger etc. The last trip to the hospital was in 2001 and this was a short slip on a hill walk and a rather nasty cut on the shin that required good cleaning and stitching up. But this is not the point.

We must look at the worst case scenario and protect clients and staff. I certainly would not want to have on my conscience a case of a teenager who died because parents did not allow a blood transfusion.

I don't wish to be disrespectful but Jehovah's Witnesses have got it wrong. Blood transfusions are not cannibalism and it is the eating of human flesh that the bible is telling us not to do. Why do these people believe in the absolute truth of the biblical word. 48% of Americans believe in creation and there is a $26 million museum being built to show the history of the earth with dinosaurs walking with humans and having a place on Noah's Ark!

I think I know who the 'dinosaurs' are! Worrying 48% though!

I look forward to your considered opinions.........

Missing Clients

What a wasted day.

I got up early, made my way across a few valleys to my kit store to pick up some body boards and then drove down to Swansea. I met up with a few of my instructors and we waited.

We waited.........

We waited.........

They never turned up. They had not paid in advance. They were told to bring cash on the day. I am now, for the time being, out of pocket.

I have, over the course of 2006, abandoned several client groups and tightened up my operations, with particular regard to payment for sessions. currently I will only accept payment (cleared funds) in advance of the session or cash on the day. I will not accept bookings from booking agencies and big drinkers are not welcomed. I will not work alongside certain organisations and  business because of their poor environmental record. Many others I refuse to work with as I have ethics and they do not - it is important to me that we pay a decent wage, that we work to high standards, that we respect each others right to be providing adventure. I have also stopped working for a care home, a very lucrative contract, because of appalling levels of care to the clients that the home were not able to rectify.

That is a lot of work to turn away.

I am 42 years old and feel that life has to mean something. It is not about cash or prestige but about worth and integrity.

The major UK charity that had us waiting for an hour and a half and have not bothered to contact me to let me know why they did not turn up will have to pay for today. I will probably have to take them to court. Few like to pay for a service they have not received.

I will win as my terms are very clear.

Why, however, should my life be so troubled. I have done nothing wrong and yet I will find myself, once again, in front of some judge.

The solution is to turn away even more work. To only accept bookings that are prepared to pay 100% in advance, and give in to not one excuse. That means no late bookings, no 'can I pay cash', no activities provided if they are not paid for.

The thing is, as my business shrinks - I feel better. I can see things more clearly as I have more time to truly see. Rather than chasing after payments for an activity provided last month I can think about writing, developing new interests. The thing is, now that I am not chasing the dross I can concentrate on the quality.

So, lets hope that this, if it comes to it, will be my last court case and that life gently meanders through the golden years to come.........

Oh yeah, and think before you give to charity.... many have more money than they know what to do with. The charity that booked me for today we prepared, without blinking an eye, to pay an EXTRA £20 pp for the day than the rate I actually charged them! Amazing. And now, someones sponsored walk across the Gobi Desert or some such idiotic enterprise will have been for nothing............

Monopolies & Commercialism

This is part of a series of posts looking that the very unfair relationships and support systems that, in my opinion, infect the tourism and outdoor education industry in Wales.

I have been looking at these issues for about eight years and despite the Kafkaesque challenge of contacting my local and national politicians, the Welsh Assembly, the Prime Minister, local and national tourism associations and marketing gurus and local councils I have had NO adequate response to my questioning and the very unfair systems and favouritism remain.

I am not alone in holding these opinions. In fact they are widespread. Unfortunately those who benefit from the status quo become very angry when challenged and those whose business are disadvantaged often feel too isolated or powerless to stand up and argue for change. After all, we all have a life to live and a business to protect.....

I will use two examples, drawn from the many that I have evidenced, to illustrate these issues and hope that this will help to encourage a wider debate. The first example looks at LEA centres, the second will be published at a later date and will look at tourism in Wales.

And For Charity......

I have decided to give money away, to sign a bank direct debit mandate for £100 per month, as a charitable donation. This is in effect a donation made by Wales Outdoors clients to the chosen charity.

I am tempted to go for my personal favourite, the Free Tibet Campaign, as I believe that we do have to make a stand, no matter how long it takes, against government brutality and duplicity. I am under no illusion that the campaign will succeed in altering Chinese policy and returning the state to the Dalai Lama, but the campaign is still relevant whilst a vibrant culture is being deconstructed, a people are being abused and whilst our government remain slavishly devoted to this mighty economy. And remember, this is an economy that threatens to hasten the destruction of the global environment.

China has an appalling human rights record

• China kills its citizens
• China sells body parts of recently executed prisoners to the wealthy (there is some evidence of body parts ordered whilst the condemned is alive)

I do not want to deal with this nation, no matter how cheap their export goods are. Unfortunately I am sure that we all buy Chinese goods every day. It is not for us to apply pressure by attempting to withhold our cash, it is for the world governments to act big.

When Iraq invaded Kuwait for sideways drilling into their oil fields America invaded. When China invaded Tibet - because they wanted it - no action taken. I think that says quite a bit.

The Free Tibet Campaign reminds us of these issues, celebrates the Tibetan culture and keeps up the pressure for the torture and abuse to stop.

And have you heard of Falun Gong?

If only our politicians would do their job with a little more morality, a little more backbone.

I ask that if you have read this that you respond with support for this choice or with a suggestion of an equally deserving cause. I will not consider any charity that supports animal experimentation, so most medical research charities are out, and I will not consider any charities that simply deal with the problem. Underlying issues have to be what it is all about. Perhaps Greenpeace are deserving, especially with Japans push to re-start whaling..... What do you think?

Merthyr Tydfil Council

Anyone living in 'the valley' will have noticed a £280,000 roundabout renewal at the bottom of Merthyr Tydfil town centre. This expenditure was defended by the council who stated that the costs did not come from the local taxpayer but from 'other' funding sources.

The roundabout was fine as it was and the new design I believe is both dangerous and unrepresentative of the area. The silver futuristic metal 'radio mast' like sculpture will serve as a fine climbing frame for drunks on a Saturday night. I wonder how many casualties this new piece of street art will generate?

I don't care where the funding comes from, local, national or European.... the money could certainly have been better spent. In an area where there are third generation unemployed, where the key planning developments are all out of town such as the recent B&Q, MacDonald's and Pizza Hut trading Estate, soon to be eclipsed by the massive M&S development on the other side of the A470, in an area that still sees whole communities suffering from petty crime and with the police unable to combat these annoying offences, surely the council should make a stand.

Funding is available for many projects. I believe that those seeking financial aid must think clearly about the uses of any money gained and not to apply 'just because it is there' and 'someone else will get it if we don't ask for it'. I have looked at funding through training agencies and believe the skilling of a workforce is a valid use of 'our' money. Funding of business developments such as assistance with buildings, marketing and equipment I believe is not a good use of public money, more about this in the future. The development of prestigious art landscapes in town centres is a valid use of funding only when the most urgent of social issues have been dealt with.

Paedophiles

There is a debate that has been popularised by the tabloids and seems to have recently influenced government decision making. The key question is 'what can we do about the sexual abuse of children?'

For those involved in outdoor education there are many problems associated with working with young people. There is an ongoing debate amongst instructors centered around how much physical contact there should be between leader and group member.

I thought that I would jump on board this topical issue and detail my opinions and operational procedures as well as the shortfalls within the system that are clearly apparent.

SHORTFALLS - Since starting my business and offering activities to schools and youth groups, specialising in working with difficult and often damaged young people, I have never been asked to provide evidence that I or my staff have a Criminal Records Bureau (CRB) certificate or have undergone child protection training. What is the point in a school getting CRB checks in place for their staff and then not doing the same for sub-contractors? Two companies that I have been directly employed by have undertaken CRB checks and had training courses in place. These two instances are the only occassions in a 12 year period!

The system is creaking and reliant on goodwill and voluntary labour. Funding seems to be just not available to administer the record keeping and enquiries required to ensure that all staff and volunteers coming into contact with young people have a clean bill of health.

OUTRAGEOUS!!

I am simply going to copy communications between myself and managers for a childrens resource centre (kids home). I have worked there for two years and the young people have enjoyed and benefitted from the adventure activity programme, which was two afternoons per week.

The young people I work with are never going to be involved in group activities that like the beach photo here. They live a life coseted by adults and being moved from one home to another. This IS abuse and will never encourage good integration and development into a valued member of society.

It costs up to £7,000 PER WEEK to look after a young person in a private care facility. The home in question is very pleasant, has two cars, has 7 or 8 staff on site, a school etc. You would think that the key aim would be to effect a change that hopes to take the client out of the care system for good (by this I include social work visits, secure, prison).

I think that the emails speak for themselves. The teaching staff, two teachers and one teaching assistant, supported the comments that I made but were too aware that they may loose thier job if they 'rocked the boat'.

The system is in crisis, private companies are making real profits at the taxpayers expense and where are the outcomes that we would all like to see. I truly welcome debate and comment re the crisis in social care for young people. I would like to take this issue further but lack the resources and time.....

I have removed the names and details of the company and home in question for reasons of confidentiality.