Monday 6 March 2006 -
09.00hrs
On Wednesday 8 March Terry Walker, Chair of Avon Fire Authority,
will officially open Avon Fire & Rescue Service’s (AF&RS)
new Youth Development Centre (YDC) at Bedminster Fire Station.
Avon’s YDC is a purpose built facility, which will be the centre
of all the service’s youth work providing educational skills and
qualifications to young people of the Avon area.
Avon's YDC is the first dedicated fire and rescue service youth
development centre in the country and Avon is the first service to
provide educational elements to the nationally recognised
Fireskills course - preparation for employment.
The fire and rescue service is no longer just about responding,
a vast majority of its time is spent preventing fires and accidents
in its community and protecting those who live, work and visit it
through educational work. AF&RS is one of a small number of
fire and rescue services that employs professionally trained
educationalists and youth workers to carry out, and work alongside,
operational firefighters educating a wide range of children and
young people in its community. As part of its day-to-day work the
service visits play groups, schools, colleges, universities, after
school clubs, young offender institutes and other centres for
youth.
AF&RS’s new centre will be home to its primary schools
safety education programme - Sparks, which is available to all 344
Primary Schools in the Avon area, Fireskills, which is part of
AF&RS’s youth intervention programme, the Fire Cadet Scheme for
12 to 18 year olds and the Junior Fire Setter Intervention
Programme, which educates children who set fires of the dangers and
supports their concerned parents, carers and teachers.
Sparks
The YDC is the administrative centre for the delivery of this
Key Stage 2 safety education package, which is delivered to primary
school children by operational firefighters across the Avon area.
The pack delivers core fire safety messages in a fun, informative
and active format as part of the National Curriculum.
Fireskills
Run at the YDC, the course is designed for disaffected and
disadvantaged young people aged 13 to 16 years old. The course
allows the students to take part in elements of the Fire Cadet
programme while still gaining educational qualifications. Those
referred to the course have an opportunity to gain two Key Skills
and a unit of Preparation for Employment.
Fire Cadet Scheme
This is a nationally recognised scheme designed to train 12 to
18 year olds using the Youth Training Association syllabus. The
scheme currently operates at a number of venues including Ashfield
Young Offenders Institute.
Junior Fire Setter Intervention Programme
This programme sees specially trained fire and rescue staff
visiting young fire setters to educate them to the dangers of fire
setting and supports their parents, carers and
teachers.