Musings on Section 7

We pray for young people in education

Young People who find school easy and need to find a challenge.

Young people who struggle in formal education

Young people who find themselves Not in Education, Employment or Training

These are your young people and we pray for them: We know you love them

Looking at this section I have to say something about the work of the Amelia Trust Farm.

From "http://www.ameliatrust.org.uk/"

The Amelia Trust is a working farm is set in 160 acres of countryside in the beautiful Vale of Glamorgan. It offers a calming and therapeutic environment. The Trusts core objective is to support and educate vulnerable and disadvantaged young people. Through fun and work based activities the young people are empowered to participate, learn new skills and develop potential. The many people that make up the daily community on the farm include skilled staff and volunteers, young people who are discovering life, adults with learning difficulties in work placements and members of the public enjoying the countryside; it is a fantastic recipe that makes the Amelia Trust an amazing place to be.

Some who although registered with a disability find the simple learning of a special needs school not quite challenging enough, others who have behavioural problems and need to escape from the static routine of the school day. Some young people who have simply never had the chance to learn some of the life skills that they need but find that the farm is a place where they feel comfortable to do so.

You will find me working outdoors here on a Monday, sometimes on my own improving the farm for those who use it, other times working alongside the Youth Workers of the Farm who all have their own practical skills in forestry, carpentry or animal husbandry to share with the young people as well as their Youth Work Skills. Together with a group of young people we can work towards much larger projects such as the Prayer Labyrinth installed with the assistance of Network (Now Methodist Women in Britain) or the latest project to improve the accessibility and usability of the pond area at the far end of the forest walks with a new dipping platform, bird hide and circular walk around the pond (due to be opened this summer).

But the farm is more than a classroom or a place for volunteers to keep busy it is also open to the public every day from dawn to dusk and sometimes I just find the peacefulness of a quiet spot on the farm away from people and the noisy machinery to sit and chill out for myself.

Also as exams come to an end we think of young people who are high achievers, those reaching for the top of their potential. Hoping for the results they deserve and a space to study further in whatever way that is for them be it a place in University, on a Modern Apprenticeship or some other form of training or simply the  results that mean they can start the career of their choice without the difficulty and stress of re-sits.