Key life skills for North Wales care-experienced young people

Care-experienced young people supported by Action for Children’s Skills Plus service in North Wales have enjoyed a stimulating course of life competency skills thanks to funding from the charity’s Dragons Den style competition and the National Lottery.

North Wales Police, St John’s Ambulance and the Dangerpoint Team at Prestatyn were among those who delivered the wide-ranging series of life competencies that included safety in the home, career advice, road and transport safety, banking and budgeting skills, online safety, self-care, safety alarms, stress management and first aid skills.

Katy Alger, young person’s practitioner for Skills Plus in North Wales, said: ‘We were delighted to put on a very interactive series of life skills events.  It was critical to ensure subjects that can appear daunting or dry are presented in a stimulating way.  Providers such as the Dangerpoint Centre has real life simulations such as trains, cars and living rooms to better illustrate safety issues and the young people responded really well across the five days of life competency skills.

‘Bridging the gap between care and independent living can be extremely challenging for young people and we are constantly supporting them on this often-difficult journey.  Courses such as this can help equip some of the most vulnerable young people in society to navigate their way through the many situations they will face as they enter adulthood.  We’re very grateful to our backers at Action for Children and the National Lottery for making this important event happen.’

Curtis Gregory, a care-experienced young person, added: ‘The course was really great fun and so interesting, I learnt so much.  It was good to get together with other young people in a similar situation, share experiences and learn how to cope with the many different situations we will face.’