Community Collaboration: from high ropes to camper vans….

Both Wheels VLS and Challenge Academy CIC work with DCVS to deliver HAF activities (Holiday Activities and Food programme). The team hold regular HAF provider meetings to share updates and provide an opportunity to network. It was at one of these meetings that Marc from Wheels and Mel from Challenge Academy met. 

Our children’s team at Dudley CVS are really lucky to be able to work with some amazing organisations. Wheels has been operating since 1999 and is based in Stourbridge, they engage with teenagers who struggle in mainstream school, offering alternative education that offers a range of practical lessons like mechanics and construction alongside Maths and English.  

You may know Challenge Academy as the high ropes in Baggeridge Country Park, however they offer so much more. Challenge Academy CIC is a social enterprise based at Baggeridge Country Park. It has a spectacular facility designed to educate, challenge and get the most out of people, from high ropes to climbing walls and outdoor classrooms. The Reaching Communities grant will support ‘Branching Out’, a series of courses ranging from one to six days in length and specifically designed to help disadvantaged and vulnerable people across the Black Country. The courses aim to build community mental health and physical wellbeing by developing individual and group emotional resilience and mental toughness. This will help people to cope better with everyday stressors, develop essential skills for employability and support and maintain healthy relationships. 

Marc and Mel had a chat over a cuppa and realised how some partnership working could really be of benefit. Challenge Academy had just secured National Lottery funding to run their resilience programme and after several months of communication the young people from Wheels were one of the first groups to participate in their programme.

The students at Wheels have struggled with mainstream school and change and after the first session at Challenge Academy, the young people weren’t keen on going back. The team at Challenge Academy were not fazed by this and continued their efforts of engaging the young people with the programme. By the end of the programme all the students were fully engaged, and Marc said the growth he saw in these students was remarkable. 

Peer support was nurtured, and the young people were trained in skills such as problem solving. Marc has seen this training come to life after the course. He told us that if a problem occurs the young people refocus on their training and use their new skills to find a solution. These skills are lifelong! 

One young person, Jack, said he felt his confidence had increased and so has his resilience. He feels he now approaches things differently he feels able to voice his opinion. 

Challenge Academy offered a relaxed environment to deliver this programme, being outdoors really suited the young people. They also had the opportunity to cook on an open fire – this was a first experience for most of them! 

Now, this isn’t the end of the story…Challenge Academy had acquired a van to use for outreach but it needed turning into a campervan – who did they know that had the expertise to complete this job? You guessed it, the young people at Wheels. The young people are currently putting their skills into practice and we can’t wait to see the end result. 

Here are the links if you want to find out more: 

Wheels VLS – Putting Young People First 

Baggeridge Adventure Outdoor Activities – Challenge Academy