Innovative youth project getting to root cause of antisocial behaviour

An innovative new project for local secondary school students is helping get to the root cause of antisocial behaviour.

The youth engagement programme at Ysgol Morgan Llwyd is being delivered by Groundwork North Wales and is part of a wider Safer Streets initiative for Wrexham.

Since the coronavirus pandemic, there has been a notable rise in antisocial behaviour among young people in schools and in the wider community.

This is alongside a rise in young people noting that they are suffering from low mental health.

The project, which is backed by Wrexham Council and North Wales Police, focuses on addressing the root causes of youth antisocial behaviour in the area.

Earlier this month North Wales Police and Crime Commissioner Andy Dunbobbin visited Ysgol Morgan Llwyd to find out more about the initiative – which is also being run at Ysgol Clywedog and Ysgol Rhosnesni.

Each identified school has been allocated two days per week of engagement where the youth team at Groundwork North Wales will provide support, opportunities and in-depth discussion around the topic of antisocial behaviour in a school setting, as well as identifying current issues and problems highlighted in their communities.

Groups will also have the opportunity to learn new skills and qualifications through participating in the activities.

While at Ysgol Morgan Llwyd Andy Dunbobbin met Aaron Jones, Senior Youth Lead, Groundwork North Wales; Jenny Pope, Youth Practitioner, Groundwork North Wales; Emily Reddy of Regional Cohesion Coordination at Wrexham County Borough Council; and Head of Year, Mr Sion Davies.

The pupils were creating planters to be sited in the middle of the schoolyard.

In addition to building the wooden planting troughs themselves, the pupils had picked out the soil and a selection of plants to display in the planters and make an attractive focal point for the school and their fellow students.

Mr Sion Davies from Ysgol Morgan Llwyd, commented: “The project has helped the young people massively.

“They have really enjoyed it and learnt from it too.

“They are always excited to take part and I think they have really developed, not just as pupils, but as people too.”

At Ysgol Clywedog, a group discussed what they would like at the school and what would make a difference there.

They agreed on an amnesty bin at the school for the students to dispose of any sharps or anything untoward.

The group also said that they would like to have something at the school that they have contributed to and decided that they would like graffiti art at the school.

Andy Dunbobbin, Police and Crime Commissioner for North Wales, commented: “It was a real pleasure to see the innovative work being undertaken by Groundworks, North Wales Police and Wrexham County Borough Council at Ysgol Morgan Llwyd as part of a wider plan of tackling ASB across the city.

“Delivering safer neighbourhoods is a key priority of mine as Police and Crime Commissioner and an important part of this is engaging with local communities and understanding how we can work together to understand why problems such as ASB occur, how it affects people and how we can fight it together.”

The Safer Streets Fund is a £75 million Home Office programme that encourages Police and Crime Commissioners and local authorities to bid for investment for initiatives to prevent neighbourhood crime across England and Wales.