The council asserted that the £100,000 activity scheme which was inclusive of sport, cookery, art, and music. The activity programmes received “extremely positive” feedback.
Enfield council leader Nesil Çalışkan declared the scheme in July subsequent a 17 percent increase in youth violence in Enfield within the past 12 months. Çalışkan stated that the council would be focusing on young people which have been classified by schools and social workers as being a potential risk of crime.
A report established by the council’s youth service support manager Graham Jimpson, report states: “The summer programme was a great success and enabled young people to engage in a range of positive activities and the feedback has been extremely positive. The opportunities this funding has provided have benefitted young people and enabled them to engage in activities they would not normally be able to engage in.”
A sum of almost 400 young people attended activities which were organised by the Alan Pullinger Youth Centre, which consisted of visits to Go Ape, swimming, ice skating, ZAPP, Thorpe Park and Margate.
The report notes: Anecdotally, members of the public commented how good it was for local young people to have access to such high-quality positive activities.”