Youth Interventions
The Youth Interventions Team aim to be a catalyst for change in the lives of young people through targeted interventions.
Our Team
The Youth Interventions Team specialise in working with young people across West Yorkshire who may be identified as more likely to need or instigate any of the blue light services now or in their futures.
We deliver a range of highly engaging Youth Intervention Programmes which aim to make West Yorkshire safer both by challenging young people to change behaviours and providing essential safety experiences. Young people on our interventions, develop personal skills and qualities such as resilience and team work through a variety of activities and practical experiences.
Our interventions are developed and delivered by specialist Youth Intervention Trainers alongside our team of Youth Instructors who are all active Firefighters.
We work closely with partner agencies, organisations and schools to be the catalyst for change which many young people need to help them lead safer lives and engage and progress.
In 2016 the team received an Excellence in the Fire Service Award for an outstanding and innovative approach to partnership working.
Funding
Prevention work is essential to WYFRS and we are committed to delivering these interventions to all the young people who need them to make West Yorkshire Safer. We invest a lot of resource and specialist skills in our Interventions. However there are some costs we must recover through external funding.
Please do not be deterred from requesting an intervention because of funding. In some cases we already have external funding to cover the costs or we can help you apply for funding.
We can also help partners share cohorts to reduce costs and accommodate smaller learner numbers
If you have a young person or group of young people who will benefit from our Interventions, please just contact us and let’s sort the funding out together.
Core Interventions
These programmes develop character in young people by challenging their confidence, resilience, integrity and determination. They are practical and fast paced utilising firefighting skills to promote behaviour change to enable young people to face the challenges of life, society and future employment.
Shout
Shout
Giving young people something to SHOUT about, this programme is high impact with a focus on the development of practical firefighting skills to boost confidence and self-esteem. The course develops character as well as raising awareness of fire and road safety.
Primary age school children 8-11 years.
6 week course, 2 hours per week.
| Number of learners | Cost |
| 6-10 | £975 |
| Up to 15 | £1,248 |
Grit
Gaining resilience in teamwork, this programme encourages young people to work together to achieve. This high energy course uses practical firefighting activities to develop and stretch their ability to work together and overcome challenges. Determination and emotional resilience are explored, promoted and celebrated.
Secondary age pupils 11-16 years.
10 week course, 2½ hours per week.
| Number of learners | Cost |
| 6-10 | £1,820 |
| Up to 15 | £2,388 |
FireFit
This practical and active programme gets young people improving their lifestyle by focusing on physical and mental health and wellbeing.
Healthy living, eating and lifestyles are explored through a practical experience of using firefighter equipment in an innovative and inspiring way.
The programme is very successful at engaging young people who are considered most inactive.
Primary and secondary age school children 8-16 years.
6-8 weeks, 2/3 hours per week.
| Number of learners | Cost |
| 6-10 |
£975/£1,365 |
| Up to 15 |
£1,248/£1,774 |
Primary schools can use their PE and Sport Premium to fund this programme.
Firework
This programme is an alternative to work experience and focuses on developing transferable employability skills through a series of structured practical tasks. There is particular emphasis on time keeping, responsibility, health and safety, working with others and discipline.
Secondary and college young people aged between 14-18 years.
One week, 5 hours per day.
| Number of learners | Cost |
| 6-10 | £2, 106 |
| Up to 15 | £2,815 |
Educational Interventions
All educational talks are free of charge but are intended for youth groups, youth services, youth offending teams, Prince’s Trust programmes and any other agency working with identified vulnerable young people.
Short Talks
Consequences of Arson
Around 60% of fires in West Yorkshire are started deliberately. Many of these are small bin and refuse fires and they can lead to the diversion of resources from life threatening incidents. This session is an adaptable and open discussion between a highly experienced Youth Intervention Trainer and young people on the consequences of arson for themselves, their family, friends and the community.
Road Safety Awareness
An adaptable session for young people of all ages including awareness of the dangers of being a pedestrian all the way through to the causes of road traffic collisions and the impact on victims, family, friends and the community. It will enable young people to make fully informed and therefore better decisions when using the roads as either a pedestrian, passenger or driver.
ASB Impact
Young people engaging in and experiencing anti-social behaviour (ASB) has a negative impact on communities and also has a detrimental effect on an individual’s future progression. In response to an increase in hate crimes, attacks on fire fighters and young people experiencing ASB, this session has been designed. It helps young people identify how ASB impacts the people in their communities, what the consequence of ASB are and what preventative measures they can take to reduce the risk of them been involved.
Targeted Intervention Days
Find out more
Targeted intervention days are an intensive exploration of a specific risk theme or local issue. The day long session fuses practical scenarios with educational safety activities all central to the issue being tackled.
These sessions can be adapted to suit any group and be used to tackle specific issues. The one day sessions can accommodate up to 15 young people and be completed between 10 am and 3 pm or between 4 pm and 9 pm. The later sessions can also act as a diversionary activity around peak times for blue light calls to prevent high levels of antisocial behaviour (ASB).
Outcomes
Targeted Intervention Days aim to reduce the number of specific issues a local area experiences through an engaging and challenging session for the young people involved.
The day will challenge young people’s perceptions and ask them to take responsibility for their actions and build a relationship with their local fire station.
Themes
The five hour sessions can cover one of the following themes:
FAST, FURIOUS & FATAL
A session to look at road safety and the consequences of reckless driving, practically investigating what the aftermath of a crash is.
SPARKS
An experience-orientated session looking at the dangers of fire setting and ASB.
SPLASH
An interactive day focusing on the issues surrounding open water. It investigates what consequences could be of misusing open water and looks at plans to keep safe
ACTION STRIKE BACK
A challenging and provoking session for those involved or associated with ASB.
CRACKERS
Challenging young people to consider the effects of ASB and playing with fireworks and during the bonfire night period, or at other times of the year if an issue arises.
5 hour sessions.
| Number of learners | Cost |
| 1-10 | £520 |
| Up to 15 | £633 |
Crash & Burn
Find out more
An intense challenge to develop resilience in young adults. Course participants – min 6 and max 15 young adults.
Target group
For agencies which support and engage groups of young people aged 16 to 25, with the aim of progressing their personal development and specifically improving their resilience.
What is Crash & Burn?
It is a three-day practical course which helps build a young person’s ability to handle their emotions in a pressurised situation. The course is aimed at groups developing their skills for employment or further education and takes place for two of the days at their usual place of study. The middle day of the course takes place at a local fire station, when the group are given the skills to take part in a scenario such as “House Fire Persons Reported” – It’s a matter of life or death! To finish the course, the group reflect on their own and the group’s resilience during the course and look at the application of this learning for their future.
Why are we doing this course?
Young people are supported to develop better coping mechanisms in order to take control when life gets tough and focus on the future. They are more likely to gain education, employment or training opportunities and be less reliant on our service in the future, if they understand how they can be more resilient.
Outcomes
After experiencing the pressures firefighters face on a daily basis, young people will have the confidence to face unknown environments and take on a challenge. They will build their ability to work as part of a team and understand the need for resilience.
Ages 16 to 25
3 days, 5 hour per day
| Number of learners | Cost |
| 1-15 |
£100 pp + one off £150 admin fee |