As part of the Council's Suffolk 2020 fund, SCC are launching a Virtual Centre of Excellence for youth work, which can be used by Felixstowe groups old and new.

The project seeks to enable organisations to deliver accessible, good quality youth provision across Suffolk. This will be supported through the creation of a virtual 'Centre of Excellence' which will provide an accessible 'one stop shop' of support for established or new youth groups.

Suffolk County Council will work with Voluntary and Community Sector partners and others to provide much needed training, mentoring and infrastructure. This will include a comprehensive menu of support and training to help youth groups develop and grow. Areas of support will include training in safeguarding, policies & procedures, risk assessments, safe recruitment, managing volunteers, youth work skills, operating procedures, and governance. This will instil confidence in the sector and provide a secure foundation for providing youth provision in a safe and sustainable way.

The project will also help youth groups to create pathways for individuals who have an interest in working with young people. Support will be offered to volunteers to gain the experience, training, skills, and confidence needed to forge a career in youth and social work.

A budget of £500,000 has been granted for this project through Suffolk County Council's Suffolk 2020 Fund. This £3m fund is supporting a range of schemes which meet with policy priorities of the Council as it seeks to inject funds in to areas such as innovation and use of technology.

Councillor Paul West, Cabinet Member for Communities said: "I am delighted that the Suffolk 2020 fund will be supporting this important project.

"There are already an incredible number of volunteers ensuring that youth provision is delivered to young people in Suffolk. This project will help build strength into that provision and act as a catalyst for others to start up groups, in the knowledge that the tools they will need to do this are available, at no cost to them."

"A supported and more vibrant youth sector in Suffolk will lead to improved mental health and wellbeing in our young people, particularly as we start to emerge from a challenging year.

The development of safe spaces for young people to build their confidence and resilience is vital in that recovery, and Suffolk County Council recognises how vital this work will be in the coming months and years."