‘‘helping to create a sustainable
community in Hesters Way’’

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The Hesters Way Children and Young People’s group is the most well established of the action groups. It was developed in response to the obvious need to improve and increase services for children and young people and their parents. In 2007 it merged with the Extended Schools cluster and now holds the budget on behalf of the local schools 

Meeting information

The group has made the decision to plan its work around the five principles of ‘Every Child Matters’ (also known as SHAPE), the Government strategy for children and young people. These five principles are:

• Being healthy
• Staying safe
• Enjoying and achieving
• Making a positive contribution
• Achieving economic well being

These five principles form the specific aims of the group and its objectives have been built around them.  The group considers that it is important that its objectives are a mixture of what children and young people want and what the demographics identify as their needs.

The aims of the group are as follows:

• A mapping exercise carried out during the summer of 2004 to establish where young people live, where they attend organised activities and where they ‘hang out’.
• An audit of existing services amongst the membership of the group.
• Identification of needs carried out by the local Sure Start programme.
• Sharing of information gathered by consultation with children and young people by the Children’s Fund.
• The production of a Video Diary Room to enable targeted consultation with children and young people. 
• A play audit of the area.
• Links with the Maiden project, which gathers demographic data across Gloucestershire.
• Sharing information, within the group, on issues identified.

Background information

In Hesters Way 23.2% of people are aged 0 –15 compared to 18.4% of a similar age in the whole of Cheltenham. This concentration is even higher for the under 5s where there are nearly double the town average. Hesters Way also houses high numbers of lone parents under the age of 20 and has many households with no adults in employment and with dependent children. 

The three wards that make up the area (Hesters Way, St Marks and Springfield) are in the worst four in Cheltenham with regard to youth crime, housing over 65 of the town’s youngest offenders (aged 10 – 14). Facilities for young people are limited although the Oasis Youth Centre and the Youth Centre at Springbank provide excellent services they are insufficient to meet demand. Summer provision has increased over the past few years and this has lead to a reduction in anti social behaviour.

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Registered in England & Wales. Registration Number: 3685423 Registered Charity No. 1084194. 
Registered Address: Hesters Way Community Resource Centre, Cassin Drive, Cheltenham, GL51 7SU