Uniformed youth leadership provider Challenger Troop CIC has done it again! They are changing lives every day in communities all over the country and the success of their programmes has continued to grow this autumn as they reached more communities than ever before. Having seen their innovative, adrenaline enthused programmes in action, we at Burning2Learn just had to find out more and spread the word about their remarkable achievements and the very real impact that they are having within our communities!

Connecting communities

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Challenger Troop CIC Community Newsletter

Created by Burning2Learn December 2014

High impact programmes

Over the past eight years Challenger Troop CIC has run military inspired programmes in schools that encourage young people to become more self-reliant, respectful and resilient. Traditionally, each programme lasts between 6-12 weeks during the school term and each team is made up of groups of young people from the same school.

This year, Challenger Troop has extended their programmes which support young people and their community. Essentially, if you took the key messages and skills that young people pick up from the core school programme, reduce from 12 weeks to five days and ramp up the intensity - that’s what you can expect from the Challenger Troop community programme. It shares the same aims as the school programme, only with the added benefits to

communities as well. Leader of the community programmes, Neil Andrews, explains:

“What’s incredible is the transformation that a standard issue uniform and trusted empowerment can cause a young person to make.”

Since the community do not run in schools, the young people who take part are usually identified by local authorities or external sponsors, such as the Community Safety Partnership or the Troubled Families Group. Once a group of young people have been identified, the first stage is a presentation to young people in their local community centre. At the end of the presentation any young people interested in taking part in the programme are interviewed by the Challenger Troop team leaders. Following that, all that’s left is for the instructors to pick the group up bright and early on Monday morning and take them off for day one!

Regardless of what you may expect from this programme, if there’s one thing parents can be sure of, it’s that their son or

daughter is about to take part in a potentially life-changing experience that will stay with them for the rest of their lives. Neil reinforced this view when he stated:

“The past stays in the past and young people are encouraged to look ahead and aspire towards their own new achievements.”

From the moment they arrive the participants learn the importance of mutual trust and respect with the instructors, and as they step off the minibus they shed anylabels or negative past they may have had and are

programmes

Challenger Troop Community Programme

experiences

thrown into something brand new. None of the instructors are afraid to trust the participants with responsibilities and independence, but this works both ways; the instructors are just as happy to withhold that responsibility until it is earned.

Taking part in a week of challenging military style training is certainly ‘action packed’ to say the least and almost never turns out to be quite how the participants expected. On day one they are issued their own uniforms and day sacks, taught how to shine their boots to perfection, given a lesson or two in foraging and are totally responsible for setting up their own watertight camp - and that’s just in the first morning!

Across the week they will also face the mammoth Challenger obstacle course, fitness drills that are not for the faint hearted and occasionally a five-mile run for good measure! They’ll also boost their communication and team building skills through bush craft and field craft activities, including late night recces. Before they

head off to join their friends and family at the awards ceremony, the participants will finish off the intense week with a treat as they take on their group at archery and lazer quasar.

One of the most commendable things that the Challenger Troop team leaders do is enforce a strong set of values and standards. This teaches immeasurable life skills which are all transferable. In the community programme, there’s a particular emphasis on the Challenger Troop ‘C DRILS’: Courage, Discipline, Respect, Integrity, Loyalty and Selfless commitment.

Raising an awareness of these skills is the first step and practical implementation immediately follows with this programme. The positive impacts of applying new skills is hugely beneficial for the young person and for the community on the whole.

Throughout the week the participants are positively encouraged to give their all, 100% of the time. Team Leader

Vicky Collings elaborates, “There are always a few trips and falls on the assault course, but that just makes the young people even more determined as they smash through the rest of it”.

That’s what makes the military ethos approach so effective, the determination that it instills. With Challenger Troop, young people are learning that it’s ok not to get it right first time, they’re learning how to pick themselves up and go again and again and every time that they do they demonstrate their growing strength and resilience. That’s a huge achievement, particularly when you’re talking about young people who, in many cases, usually spend their week in front of their XBox or bunking off school. These same young people are now empowering themselves to take ownership in challenges that they come up against, they’re learning to be resilient and understanding the relevance and importance of key life skills such as perseverance and working with others as a team.

High impact programmes

Character, Resilience, Determination, Courage, Discipline, Respect and Integrity

KCC Community Warden, Adam Mckinley, recently took part in Challenger Troop’s communityprogramme with a group of young people from Maidstone. Having worked with a variety of early intervention agencies and local authorities offering support to young people, Adam’s positive reaction to the community programme really reinforced the significance of Challenger Troop’s unique work.

He explained that he had come along to develop relationships with the young people in his community. In taking part alone, Adam has already made a difference.

At Challenger Troop every group develops a strong team bond. They share incredible experiencesand support each other throughgrueling challenges which builds relationships that they will remember every time they look back at their week. For a Community Warden to have been part of these experiences with them and to have become a trusted team member is an invaluable achievement. Adam Mckinley is now in a pivitol position to support the young people as they integrate their skills and attitudes learnt at Challenger Troop back into their community.

What struck us most after meeting him was the potential that this programme provides. Challenger Troop offer communities a platform to harness the talents of young people, to teach them life skills, attributes and morals and that connects them with local authorities through an experience that creates an irreversible bond. Adam clearly has formed a fantastic relationship with this group of young people from Maidstone, and will keep up the momentum to further develop it within their community.

It is clear that the potential for the impacts those young people can go on to have in their community is phenomenal. You can turn a whole community around, and that is why the work that Challenger Troop does is so inspired and so worthwhile - because it’s real.

Talking to Adam Mckinley really reinforced this view as he described the changes that he had seen the young people make. He shared a conversation that he had with one lad about how the week had been for him. The participant explained why it was nice to be involved in something new that was worth sticking to, “About now, I’d be jumping over the wall to go home

and I’ve earnt myself a bad reputation”. He went on to say he has often wanted a fresh start but hasn’t been able to, “When they (teachers) say ‘fresh start’ only one teacher gives me one”.

“To come to this they’ve got to want to do it. It will always continue to be offered to them but they’ve got to want it.”

The young person continued to talk about how Challenger Troop had helped him and said, “It keeps me out of trouble; I started army cadets and it makes me proud when I make my mum and dad proud. I would normally be sitting at home dossing.”

After speaking with Adam it became evident that enhancing qualities such as respect, independence and pride instills a changed outlook within young people on their lives and the way that they behave.

“If I had my way, every school child would have this.”

Proven outcomes recognised by local authorities Case study: A Kent County Councillor Community Warden’s response to Challenger Troop’s military style approach on supporting young people.

We caught up with PCSO Tommy Tucker who has been involved with the programme on three occasions now and has seen improvements in his community in Dover each time, he states:

“The impact has been phenomenal.”

Tommy shared a story of a young person who has turned his life around as a direct result of being a Challenger Troop participant. The participant was heavily involved in smoking drugs, unmotivated and had very few aspirations. After spending a week on the community programme he has now stopped smoking completely and volunteered to mentor future participants. This young person has worked with Challenger Troop one day a week for the last year passing on the skills that he learnt from his experiences. And it’s not just the young people who see a reversal of roles and a changed perspective:

“It enabled us to engage with the kids and see a different side of them.”

Once that trust starts to develop, young people feel more confident

in getting involved and theirself-esteem rockets tenfold, “They overcome some of their fears, they learn to get on as a group or as a team and they realise that even though they’ve got a troubled family that doesn’t matter, school and everything else is left behind.” Furthermore, the week itself becomes a journey for everyone involved and brings people at every level of the community together.

“Now we’ve all got something in common in the villages”.

All of the Challenger Troop teams are having similar success stories to these case studies. The ever increasing geographical outreach of Challenger Troop is achieving incredible rates as they are now operating all over the country, with teams in Dover, Medway, Malling, London, Thanet, Wand-sworth and many more.

“The instructors are absolutely superb and have brilliant interactions with the young people. For me, it’s one of the most positive things I’ve seen running in Kent.”

Proven outcomes recognised by local authorities Case study: PCSO Tommy Tucker on bringing people in communities together.

Maidstone,

Project Worker, Katie Marnham, on how Brighter Futures successfully referred 7 children to the Challenger Troop course last summer

Challenger Troop decided this summer to run courses that specifically supported Troubled Families and worked with family support organisations in Maidstone, Thanet, Dover and London. The courses were offered across the ages and the young people that attended all arrived with different capabilities and circumstances.

One of the courses was carried out with the support of an organisation called Brighter Futures, of Wandsworth, South London. Although this particular group had a much wider age range than originally agreed, Katie conveyed that they still managed to work effectively, “A child only five years old saw

her two sisters attend and was desperate to be involved! One of these sisters told me recently she would like to attend again next summer.”

Katie explained Brighter Futures’ approach to working with children 5-10 years old who have experienced domestic abuse, and said, “We support families through home visits and through the Community Group Programme to explore the impact of domestic abuse and give them a space to talk and to meet other children that have had similar experiences to each other. For some of the children they are showing signs of low self-esteem, eating disorders, selective mutism, self harm and for others they are managing their feelings through angry outbursts.”

As such, Katie then went on to say, “Taken into account the history that this group of

children came to the with, Challenger Troop achieved a great success with this course, and the children that attended gave very positive feedback about their experience.”

She went on to give an example and shared, “One young person was anxious about going to Challenger Troop as he felt he was physically not able to manage the activities. We explained that all the activities would be completed as a team, but the young person was anxious that he would let the team down. On his return from the experience these anxieties had been forgotten and he only spoke of positive experiences.“

This case study reinforces the effectiveness of Challenger Troop’s unique military style approach to learning as it appeals to young people with ranging backgrounds, academic levels and life experiences.

Working with families within the community

Testimonial: Nathalie Reeves, Project Manager, Troubled Families Dover

“Challenger Troop makes these young people believe in themselves, gives them pride, gives them self-esteem and allows young people who live in the same community to share the experience together.”

Nathalie has continued to support Challenger Troop and recently attended an Awards Evening in Aylesham where she talked about the positive impacts of their community programme,

“For young people to have something to be part of is really important, they don’t have to join the army but it’s something they can take on with them in life - it’s really, really positive!”

programme

Celebrating our students’ success with community Awards Ceremonies

This October Challenger Troop teams in Malling, Swale, Maidstone, Wandsworth and Dover hosted awards evenings to celebrate the participants who successfully completed the community programme this half term. Burning2Learn headed to Aylesham to join in with parents, families and community leaders as they celebrated the achievements of their young people and to understand why these awards ceremonies are such an important part of the programmes.

Awards were given out to commend young people who had showed attributes such as a positive attitude, being a positive role model, having great determination and a

positive mental attitude in approaching the challenges they faced. These awards are tremendously important as they recognise and applaud the positive behaviours and attitudes of young people and reinforce the self-esteem and confidence of the participants.

When the participants marched in the instructors were bursting with pride as the room erupted with applause. You could see and hear how much it meant to them all and it really gave the families a chance to see what they had achieved. Amongst the guests was The Deputy Lord Lieutenant Major Dennis Bradley, who addressed the friends and family of the young achievers:

“Ladies and gentlemen, it’s a great privilege for me to be here today. This is the third time I’ve been to see the Challenger programme and I am very impressed with it. You’ve learnt confidence, determination and you’ve learnt to work with a team... and most importantly when I came round earlier to talk to you, you all had smiles on your faces and said you enjoyed it - and I really do believe you meant it!”

The instructors shared stories of young people who had empowered themselves to support their team mates asbest they could, “During the run he was up the front all the way, getting behind the others”.

Another who was mentioned was a young person who had been encouraged to control his aggression and who had learnt to channel it in the right way, “This lad showed great courage and determination in boxing and found a means of controlling his aggression”.

After all the awards had been given out, Major Bradley thanked the participants and encouraged them to spread the word of their achievements within their community,

These awards ceremonies demonstrate the incredible journey that the young people come on, and all in the space of a week! Major Bradley’s closing remarks reinforced the impact of the Challenger Troop community programme as he thanked the participants for contributing in their community,

“When you leave here today go and tell all your friends what you’ve done and what you’ve achieved. I salute you.”

“Can I just say a really big thank you to you for what you’ve done in your community in cleaning up this building, I think that is absolutely fantastic, well done.”

Working with families within the community

Challenger Troop (CIC)Challenger House

Army Reserve CentreSt John’s Road

Tunbridge WellsKent TN4 9UU

UK

Telephone · 0845 548 5070Email · enquiries@challengertroop.org

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© Burning2Learn 2014