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Barratt visits young players at Premier League Kicks session

Southend United’s Sam Barratt paid a special visit to Southend United Community & Educational Trust’s Premier League Kicks (PL Kicks) session at PlayFootball Southend.

PL Kicks is a national project which uses the hook of Southend United Football Club and the power of sport to engage with young boys and girls aged 12-19 in deprived areas across Southend.

Barratt offered words of encouragement and advice to the excited young players and cheered them on as they played against each other on the PlayFootball Astroturf.

A mini round-robin tournament took place at the beginning of the session before the young players split off and played longer games, with plenty of goals scored, skills on show and smiles on faces.

Barratt commented:

“Programmes such as PL Kicks are massive for the local community and mean a lot to the young people who attend them.

“It’s great that 12-19 year-olds in Southend get to come down to their local facility, make new friends and enjoy themselves.

“I took part in community activities and grassroots football myself growing up, so I know it means a lot.

“My advice to these young boys and girls would be to work hard in school and keep playing football – which can be a great release for when things might get frustrating.”

For more information about SUCET’s PL Kicks programme, please contact Dan Hall on 01702 341351 or d.hall@southendunited-cet.co.uk.

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SUCET combines with Project 49 to help Southend’s disabled

Southend United Community & Educational Trust (SUCET) has combined with local community group, Project 49, to deliver weekly fun and engaging activities to adults with learning disabilities in Southend.

Project 49 is an award-winning, community-based resource run by Southend Care promoting healthy living and wellbeing for adults with learning disabilities, with a focus on putting people first.

Taking place from the start of September across six weeks at David Lloyd Southend, the weekly sessions put on by SUCET are aimed at encouraging physical wellbeing, independence and confidence.

The participants have a wide variety of learning disabilities including Downs Syndrome, Cerebral Palsy, Dementia and Global Developmental Delay.

Pete Shrimplin, Project 49’s Community Inclusion Co-ordinator, commented:

“The coaches Chloe and Jake have formed a good relationship with the participants, using verbal and physical instructions for everyone to understand in a simple and clear way.

“The variety of warm-up drills involved challenge everyone’s hand-eye co-ordination but are inclusive to all. The participants have to work and think individually as well as in teams and follow the coaches’ instructions, thus developing listening skills in a controlled and safe manner.

“Each person has responded positively by trying to the best of their ability, with some exceeding themselves in this short amount of time.

“Every week the participants clearly look forward to attending the session due to it being run by a local professional football club.

“We’d like to thank Southend United Community & Educational Trust for their input, the sessions really are proving to be popular amongst our group.”

For more information about Project 49, please contact them on 01702 212434 or project49@southend.gov.uk.

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NCS Summer Graduation 2019 the biggest yet!

On Thursday 5th September, Southend United Community & Educational Trust (SUCET) held its biggest National Citizen Service (NCS) Summer Graduation to date, with 482 people attending at Cliffs Pavilion.

Taking place annually since 2013, the Graduation ceremony celebrates the achievements and hard work of SUCET’s NCS participants.

A total of 22 teams split into four waves were welcomed on stage, with each team leader reflecting back on the summer as a whole.

A video was shown on the big screen highlighting the team’s achievements and showcasing their Social Action project.

This year 287 young people graduated from the NCS programme with £6,000.00 raised for 16 charities who were involved within the Social Action project. A total of 16 external staff members were hired, including four returning members from last year.

The young people spent a week at Kingswood Activity Centre then a week at Canterbury University gaining independence skills, finishing with a week at Roots Hall working on their Social Action project and helping the community.

Hayley Wren, SUCET’s NCS Programme Coordinator, commented:

“NCS Summer 2019 proved to be a big success, culminating in the biggest NCS Summer Graduation that Southend United Community & Educational Trust has run to date, which is amazing and demonstrates the progress that’s been made.

“We had some great Social Action projects taking place, with Wave 2 Team 4’s Southend Mind project even catching the eye of BBC Look East.

“The Graduation ceremony itself was a great success with many new NCS graduates taking the opportunity to be a part of the Local Youth Board.

“I’m really exited to see what’s in store for Summer 2020.”

To access our photo gallery from the evening, please head to our Facebook page.

For more information about SUCET’s NCS programme, please contact Hayley Wren on 01702 341351 or h.wren@southendunited-cet.co.uk.

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Princes Trust Students progress on to study with the Blues.

Both Vicki and Matt started with Southend United Community & Educational Trust on our Princes Trust 12-week Team Programme, where they gained the skills and confidence they needed to get back into education, employment or training.

Potential Princes Trust students will work as a team to complete a community project, making a positive difference to the local area. Take part in an action packed residential trip. Have two weeks work experience in something they’re interested in. Develop English and Maths skills and as part of the course spend some time developing interview and CV skills to ensure your confidence is sky-high for when taking the next step.

Matt had this to say “my previous college was not the right environment for me, I found out about the Princes Trust Programme through Facebook and contacted Faye. My favourite part was definitely the residential. I also enjoyed working as part of a team and making new friends.”

“I am really happy that I have progressed on to the BTEC and I enjoy playing football and studying at the same time. I also enjoy wearing the kit and studying at a professional ground.”

 

We also caught up with Vicki

“I was referred to the Princes Trust programme via Southend Community, I attended a college interview, didn’t have the grades required so went on to the Princes Trust Team programme”

“I Really enjoyed the Team programme as it gave me confidence and helped me with skills for interviews, it also helped me to get another chance at Southend Community by helping me to achieve a place on the BTEC Sport programme”

“Really enjoying the BTEC so far, I like the training, the lessons and I have met new friends”

 

If you are aged 16-25 and are looking to get your life back on track. Contact Faye on 01702 341351 or email f.lambert@southendunited-cet.co.uk

Programme start date 24th September

 

 

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SUCET Celebrate #GirlsFootballWeek

 

Last week Southend United Community & Educational Trust celebrated #GirlsFootballWeek with a real array of activities. Starting off with a Southend Brough tournament. With over 120, 10 teams. This was a great way to showcase girls football and the talent that is right here in Southend. The tournament was held on Tuesday 24th April at Chase High School. After some tough games and some excellent football, Southend High went on to take home the trophy. We hope to host many more of these tournaments in the future.

Georgia Raby Assistant project officer spoke about what it is like as a female working in football.

She had this to say.

“ When I was at school there were not a lot of opportunities for me to play football so I had to play with the boys, after I finished my A levels I wanted to find a job working in football and Southend United gave me that opportunity, I look after the Every Player Counts programme, and Premier League Girls. I am also the futsal manager for our college girls and it’s great to see them play as I never really got that opportunity and to see them grow is great!”

I would say to girls that want to work in football, there are definitely jobs out there so don’t give up and keep looking. I also would urge any young girls wanting to get into football to start playing for a local team.”

We then finished the week off with a trip to Colchester for a girls Football Festival. With St Martins secondary school from Hutton representing the Blues. They came up against 4 teams from Colchester. It was a great way to showcase girls football across Essex and showed how much girls football had grown.

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MK Dons game dedicated Community Day

Southend United’s fixture against MK Dons will be dedicated to Southend United Community & Educational Trust (SUCET) to celebrate its achievements over the last 12 months.

SUCET is a vital part of Southend United’s community engagement strategy within the local area. It delivers an outstanding 75,000 hours of engagement per year to people of all ages, backgrounds and abilities per year across important agendas such as sport, community cohesion, health and education.
The work that SUCET delivers is equally valuable to the borough of Southend by creating an astonishing social value of £7.3 million per year through its programmes. By using the badge and brand of Southend United it is able to engage with members of society in innovative ways to help create maximum impact for its service users.
It is estimated that with new facilities within the Fossetts Farm Development it will be delivering an increased figure of £10.3 million of social value per year to the residents of Southend.
If you’re at the game on Saturday keep an eye out for SUCET’s flyers around the ground, the video which encompasses everything the Trust do and how you can get involved!
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Fairways represent the Blues in Next round of the EFL Kids Cup 

On Tuesday 6th March Participation Officers Dan Hall and Dan King took Southend primary school, Fairways, to Oxford for the next round of the EFL Trusts annual competition, the Kids Cup. The winner of this round would then go through to play at the home of English football, Wembley Stadium.

The team felt confident after their first game, securing a win over Walsall,  they then went on to get draws against Northampton, Peterborough and Plymouth finishing off the group with another win, this time against Portsmouth. This meant the boys topped the group with 9 points and not conceding a goal in the group stage.

Mk Dons awaited them in the semi-final but this did not faze the Blues taking an early lead and holding off attacks from the Dons until the final whistle with some smart and skilful play.

The boys had booked themselves a space in the final taking on a strong looking AFC Wimbledon side. Southend took the lead early on with a long ranged strike but Wimbledon quickly replied with an equally good goal. This was the first time that the team had conceded all tournament. Despite this they kept fighting for a goal. Unfortunately, AFC Wimbledon then went on to rack up 2 more goals in quick succession making it 3-1 to Wimbledon at fulltime.

Dan Hall, Participation Officer said ” The school were fantastic doing both themselves and the club proud, they did very well not to concede a goal until the final game, it was just not meant to be on the day. We are looking forward to seeing who we will be taking next year”

If you want to get your school involved in our next Kids Cup please call Dan King on 01702 341351.

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Southend United Football and Futsal Scholarship Open Training Day

On Thursday 15th February potential students got the chance to experience what it is like to study and train with Southend United Community & Educational Trust.

30 16-18-year-olds were put through their paces by 11 aside coaches Ross Johnson and Joss Pountney with some passing and shooting drills, then moving into small sided games. This was a chance for students to show what they can do on the pitch

Charlie Barlow, Futsal officer was on the lookout for players that could be a part of his futsal team.

Our education programme enables you to study and train like a true professional.  working towards a level 2 or 3 in BTEC in sports and excellence, with the opportunity to progress within the club.

Come along to our next  Taster day on Thursday 12th April to find out what college life is like with a training session from our managers and coaches, experience a lesson with our education tutors and find out about other opportunities with the Blues.

 

Take a look at the video above to get a real taste of what the students got up to.

 

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NCS Gets Teens on the Pitch at Roots Hall

 

 

At Saturday’s Fixture against Doncaster Rovers Young people that have made an impact in the community through  National Citizen Service (NCS) graduates will enjoy VIP treatment as they join the players on the pitch to launch NCS Match Day, a special awareness-raising event organised by Southend United Community & Educational Trust

 

A handful of lucky Southend United fans who all graduated from the NCS programme – during which they gave back to the local community  by volunteering and fundraising –  will be going to the game as special guests of the Club

 

The event, supported by Southend United Football Club  supported by Southend United Community & Educational trust  will be part of a wider EFL Trust campaign that sees NCS Match Day reach over 30 EFL and Premier League clubs across the country, highlighting the positive work that young people have done in their local community.

 

In 2017, NCS Matchday reached over 3 million people, with over 500 footballers players across the country celebrating NCS and the young people that have given n back to the local community..

 

NCS is a flagship government initiative that provides young people aged 16-17 the chance to take on new challenges, experience exciting activities, make long-lasting friendships and develop vital skills that will support them later in life. It was launched to tackle three core issues of importance to society: social cohesion, social mobility and social engagement.

NCS Ambassador, Goalkeeper Ted Smith is a big supporter of the programme: “I’m really proud to be chosen as NCS ambassador for Southend United Community and Educational Trust as I am a graduate myself.”

 

“I think NCS is brilliant. It gives young people the chance to experience a variety of activities and challenges whilst building new friendships and benefitting the local community.”

 

“Ultimately, NCS lays a solid foundation for these guys to go on confidently and achieve whatever they want in the future.”

 

In Southend, the NCS programme is delivered by Southend United Community & Educational Trust, with the support of teens who have already graduated from the programme, and made its mark on people’s lives and the local community. Participants enjoy a number of fun-filled team activities while away on a residential retreat, before returning to South East Essex to help local charities raise money through various different community-based events, like sponsored walks, fun days and other such events. Over 300,000 young people have now completed NCS nationally.

In Southend the NCS programme is delivered by SUCET, with the support of teens who have already graduated from the programme, and has made its mark on people’s lives and the local community.

 

Almost 400,000 young people have completed the NCS programme to date, giving up an incredible 11.7 million hours to social action projects since NCS started.

 

Hayley Wren , NCS Co-ordinator at Southend United believes that more young people in Southend can benefit from NCS: “I would encourage any young person to take part in NCS. It is a unique opportunity where you can develop life and employability skills, make new friends and have lots of fun.”

 

Follow #NCSMatchDay to keep up to date.