Connexions Nottinghamshire received the Royal seal of approval when it welcomed the Earl of Wessex, HRH Prince Edward, to its centre on Carlton Street on Tuesday 27 April.
Chaos descended on the Connexions Carlton Street office as space was made available and equipment set up to accommodate the range of displays. The decision was made to close the centre for the duration of the visit to allay fears about security issues.
But by 3pm all was ready for our VIP visitor and despite the news that he may be arriving late, he got there bang on time.
W
ith our partners, we put on a musical and dramatic extravaganza to provide the Earl with a showcase of Nottinghamshire's young talent. After arriving, the Prince was introduced to Connexions Chairman, Tim Richmond, and Chief Executive, Jean Pardoe, by the Lord Lieutenant of Nottinghamshire. Jean then went on to introduce other staff and the young directors of the Connexions Board.
The Prince was shown around the Carlton Street centre by Shadow Young Director for the County, 18 year-old Sam Ellis. Sam acted as the prince's host and did a fantastic job of making our Royal guest feel at home. The Prince was treated to 4 displays:
- a presentation about young people and mental health issues, lead by Connexions' Health Development Manager, Helene Denness. This included an impactive display and short film. Helene was joined by Denna and baby Connor. Denna, who recently spoke at the Mental Health conference, chatted freely with the Prince about how she overcame her own mental health problems. Connor also participated by hurling a toy at the Prince.
- An impressive music and fashion performance from Connexions' partners and Entry to Employment providers SOUNDTRACKS (pictured)
- a drama about the positive impact of mentoring on young people from Connexions' partners Build, staring young actor Joshua Lyon
- a short extract from a imaginative and innovative play called Discontented Winter - a challenging and controversial play, the story of two princes, who are kidnapped by rival girl and boy gangs, incorporating urban sound and performance and brought to life by young performer with a rap telling the complete story to finish - again arranged by Connexions' partners creativeroom
The young people involved had a great time. . Here are just a few comments:
"It was inspiring to perform for him, to know that he was interested in the work we have been doing." - Lee, Soundtracks
'It was a fantastic experience to meet Royalty and he seemed to be a really nice bloke." Lisa Smith, Soundtracks
"It was a great opportunity for our trainees to show off all their good work. All the young people present have been working really hard to get their presentation right. This visit makes the young people feel that someone really cares about what they are doing." Patcee Francis, Creative Director, Soundtracks
'It was a fantastic experience and Prince Edward really seemed to enjoy himself. It was a great honour to be the one to show him around the centre'. - Sam Ellis, Shadow Young Director, Nottinghamshire County.
"He was really interested in all the young people and spent a lot of time asking questions and seemed really genuine. The Lord Lieutenant was really nice too. " Elaine Bagshaw, Shadow Young Director, Nottingham City.
In addition to the displays, the Prince also stopped to chat to members of Connexions staff, who had gathered in the centre, about their jobs.
Info on Partners involved
1. SOUNDTRACKS is a music organisation based in St Anns covering the East Midlands region. They offer various levels of training from Basic skills through to HND. SOUNDTRACKS work very closely with Connexions and People's First.
2. SOUNDTRACKS Creative Industries E2E programme is proving very successful, offering Music Production, Internet Radio Production, Graphics, Web Design, Fashion and magazine production. Their unique way of delivering learning has engaged our trainees and subsequently our retention rate is very good. The scheme embeds basic skills into its training courses and provides OCN qualifications.
3. Build work closely with the Connexions Mentoring Manager to raise the profile of mentoring. BUILD is an acronym for Black (people) United In Learning Development. BUILD Nottingham Mentor Programme was established in 1991 as a vehicle to community self-reliance and independence. The programme focuses on the communities' young (Protégés), tapping in on the experience of mature responsible adults from within the community who volunteer their services as "positive role models" (Mentors).
4. BUILD is founded on the concept of "Each One, Teach One", regenerating the skills, positive attitudes and knowledge base from its adult community back to the young, through the process of Mentoring. The role and concentration of BUILD Nottingham Mentor Programme is to rebuild self-esteem and cultural deference.
5. The creativeroom aims to:
* Promote creative expression within the Youth Service. Bring together youth workers, local artists and young people
* Showcase models of good practice
* Create debate about the role of the arts in youth work
* Provide an opportunity to get to know other projects
* Give young people a voice
* It aims to empower and inspire young people to engage and express themselves through urban/contemporary arts.
