As a response to a review of our services and a consultation period in 2006 - 2007, The Mitchemp Trust is planning to develop and expand its services from 2008. During 2007-2008 a trial of the New Start Adventure Programme (NSAP) was conducted and aimed to provide the following:-.

A greater emphasis on programme choice for young people.

Greater contact, impact and engagement opportunities for young people.

Building and maintaining momentum by providing a continuous programme over a two year period.

Broadening the range of activities and content.

Creating better exit opportunities through the pathway process.

Under the NSAP, the under 12 programme now features an Induction, Access Camp and Skills & Personal Development Weekend and the over 12 programme now includes a Learn and Achieve weekend, Challenge Camp and Pathway process.

40 young people were involved in this trial, the final part of which took place in May 2008. A full review will take place during the next financial year. As part of this programme development an Outreach Youth Worker has been recruited to focus on the referral and outreach or pathway process.

The Mitchemp Trust continued to recruit and train volunteers in line with the requirements of the now more comprehensive programme.

In order to represent the increase in the provision for young people, please see the graph below which represents the number of young people taking part in programme or activity days.

During this period the number of young people who start the voluntary programme and complete it has also continued to grow. The graph below represents this increase.

Young people were asked throughout their course to provide feedback on both the activities and their own development. The graph below shows how they rated their experience.

Volunteers are a key factor in the success of the programme. Recruitment during this period continues to improve as does the number of volunteers who are returning for more than one year. The volunteers are increasingly recruited from the youth and education sectors and are able to act as positive role models and provide effective supervision and support for the young people. The graph below shows the increase in volunteer numbers over the last three years.