Fresh funding for child support scheme

The Unity project is operated by the YMCA and is coming up to its second anniversary, working with children from eight to 14 at locations in communities close to the town centre.

Those attending its sessions, in term time and holidays, are selected because of personal issues and councillors who make up the Central Area Council '“ who fund the scheme '“ have been told it is over-subscribed.

However, the results achieved with those who do attend have demonstrated its value in tackling personal issues before they have been allowed to escalate into more serious problems.

Those who attend the sessions, run twice a week in five different areas, have been selected because of issues identified by families, carers or schools and councillors were given details of some of the transformations experienced by children involved at a presentation given by project co-ordinator Emma Turton.

Of the children attending, 60 per cent are female, with 40 per cent in eight to nine age bracket, 35 per cent aged 10 to 11 and the rest aged 12 or 13.

After hearing how some parents had even written to the service to highlight the growth in their child's confidence levels, councillors agreed to provide funding for a third year, to take the project through to the spring of 2020.

That is the maximum duration of the scheme, which will then have to be reconsidered by councillors as part of a wider review of how they spend their budget, money provided by Barnsley Council to help communities across five council wards around the centre of Barnsley.

Area Council members are to hold sessions in the months ahead to discuss their future priorities, which will help guide the projects they choose to fund in the years ahead.