BLOG – Our summer of youth work
For many families, the summer holidays are not a time of relaxation but a period of increased pressure and financial strain. While schools close, work continues, leaving many parents balancing employment with childcare challenges. As access to free school meals is lost research suggests that up to 645,000 children could experience holiday hunger during the summer break.
At Groundwork Greater Manchester the summer holidays is one of the busiest times for our Youth team who run regular activities which help children stay safe, active, connected and well-fed throughout the holidays.
In this blog we highlight some of the activities we delivered across Manchester this summer delivered in partnership with Manchester City Council, the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) and The National Lottery Community Fund.
Play in the Park
Spending time outdoors with others plays a vital role in young people’s development. Outdoor play helps children and young people build confidence, communication skills and positive relationships. Yet in today’s increasingly digital world, young people have fewer opportunities for face-to-face interaction, with more time spent online and fewer safe, accessible spaces where they can meet, play and socialise.
To help address this, we delivered weekly two-hour play sessions in Crumpsall Park and West Gorton Park between June and September, providing safe, supervised opportunities for children and young people to spend time outdoors. Activities ranged from team sports and games to arts and crafts, all designed to encourage social interaction, creativity and active play.
Over the 14-week programme, 670 children and young people, from Reception to Year 11, took part in the sessions, including many who attended regularly. While the drop-in nature of the programme made formal impact measurement challenging, observations showed that participants were engaging positively with one another, playing safely and enjoying their time outdoors.
The benefits extended beyond the children themselves too. Parents and carers also had opportunities to connect while dropping off and collecting their children, helping to build friendships and support networks that continued long after the summer holidays had ended.
Holiday Activities Fund
Outdoor play continued through the Holiday Activities and Food (HAF) programme in Crumpsall Park, where we hosted all day provision for a month of the summer holidays which ensured local children and young people could enjoy a healthy, active and social summer in a safe outdoor environment. Although the youth centre was undergoing redevelopment, the programme operated successfully from the Park itself.
Over four weeks, around 400 children and young people attended the programme, including members of our regular youth club, participants from our Play in the Park sessions and some new faces too. Every attendee was eligible for free school meals, and we provided 450 nutritious meals to them this summer, serving up spaghetti bolognese, chicken and rice and homemade pizza alongside fresh fruit and healthy snacks. By working with a local Halal caterer, we could ensure the food reflected the needs of the community as well as being healthy and fresh.
Young people took part in a wide range of activities throughout the day including football, wellbeing walks and creative sessions where they painted bird boxes and plant pots to take home or gift to friends and family.
Feedback from parents was overwhelmingly positive. Many valued having a safe place for their children to spend time away from screens and where they had opportunities to make new friends, stay active and make new experiences. One parent told us that without the programme they would have struggled to afford days out and was grateful that their children could still make happy summer memories alongside their peers.
Young women outdoors
Building on our regular women-only youth groups in North Manchester, the Women Warriors took part in walking, hiking and outdoor activities in green spaces across Greater Manchester. The programme gave participants the opportunity to build friendships, boost confidence and discuss issues affecting their lives, while also introducing them to new places, experiences and activities beyond their immediate neighbourhoods.
Over the summer, a younger group known as the Little Sisters joined the programme. Typically aged 14-15, compared with the 15-16-year-old Big Sisters, they share the same passion for supporting their community and creating opportunities for other girls and young women. Youth Worker Frankie brought the two groups together through trips and activities designed to appeal to both age groups. During a visit to Langley Allotment, participants learned about growing food and sustainable gardening. The Big Sisters acted as positive role models when engaging with volunteers and staff, while the Little Sisters gained confidence in speaking up, asking questions and sharing their own ideas.
A key focus of the summer programme was empowering young women to have a voice in shaping their community. Frankie supported the group to host a stall and run engagement activities at Crumpsall Hope Fest. They spoke with residents about community safety, shared their own perspectives and gathered ideas from people living in the area. The experience helped them develop confidence, communication skills and a greater understanding of how young people can contribute to positive change. Following the event, the group wrote to their MP to share the findings from their community consultation and outline their ideas for making local neighbourhoods safer. They are now eagerly awaiting a response.
Through outdoor activities, peer support and community action, the summer programme helped the Women Warriors strengthen their leadership skills, broaden their horizons and realise that they have the power to make a positive difference in their communities.
