Dave McNicholl is chief executive of Warrington Youth Zone and writes a regular column for the Warrington Guardian

Warrington Youth Zone is the 14th OnSide Youth Zone in the country, there are currently 15 Youth Zones in the country with a further 7 in development.

The most northerly Youth Zone is in Carlisle and most southern being in Croydon in South London. All the Youth Zones have the same state of the art facilities exclusively for children and young people and are open when young people need them outside of school.

We have a rich selection of activities for children and young people to take part in from experiencing pottery to creating their own music tracks and learning to play an instrument. We have a broad range of sporting facilities including a fully equipped gym, boxing studio, sports hall, climbing wall and astro turf football pitch on the roof.

As a Youth Work organisation, the voluntary relationship that our team of Youth Workers have with children and young people is central to our work. Young people choose to attend the Youth Zone and choose the activities they wish to undertake whilst in the centre.

All the Youth Zones adopt the principle of ‘Try, Train, Team,’ and we see this come to life throughout each area of the Youth Zone. So, what does this mean?

Try – we are giving children and young people the opportunity to try new activities, many of which they may not previously have had the opportunity to attempt, whether climbing on the wall or learning to play a Ukulele.

Train – we employ a team of over 75 people who work directly with children and young people every single day, and each have a specific skill set and the ability to teach, coach and mentor children to boost their confidence and allow them to take the next step.

Team – whilst we have a huge range of equipment and facilities, we are not attempting to be the expert in any one area and see our role as finding skills and interest in children and young people and then nurturing that to the point that they have the confidence to join a group or club who are more specialist and will allow them to flourish. Our role is then to support them to join these other groups.

Our Project Zone sessions on Sunday evenings allow young people the opportunity to really focus and learn more about their chosen activity using the facilities within the Youth Zone.

If you would like more information about Warrington Youth Zone and our activities or Project Zone or if you are involved in a group or club that could support children and young people in a more specialist manner please contact us info@wyz.org.uk call 01925-997271 or visit our website www.warringtonyouthzone.org