About

Horbury Churches Together (HCT) Youth Project

Horbury Churches Together (HCT) runs a youth project entitled Horbury Breakthrough Youth Project, providing a range of opportunities for all young people. The Project aims to address a challenging but vital series of needs in its catchment area of Horbury, Lupset, Middletown and Netherton, particularly with respect to disadvantaged and vulnerable young people.

Aims:

• To enable young people to maximise their potential by improving and enhancing their self-esteem, social, literacy and comprehension skills and capabilities on an individual and group basis.

• To use our wide community connections to provide opportunities for these young people to mix with and relate better to other sections of society especially other young people as well as older people, to benefit social cohesion

• To provide our deprived and rural areas with better access to life's opportunities and to encourage new experiences

• To encourage healthier eating and offer improved physical health and sporting opportunities

• To provide holistic and more comprehensive, guidance and support for young people which is not available in our catchment areas

In order to deliver these objectives, we:

• Provide a safe, welcoming and non-judgemental space for young people to use under the helpful and supportive guidance of empathetic leaders, some of whom who are professional and some volunteers. These are provided in individual, small group and larger activity formats

• Access open to all, predominantly at no cost to attendees, to ensure that no young person is prevented from benefiting no matter what their financial status

• Provide a wide range of subsidised activities aimed at encouraging young people to try new things and to get young people sharing experiences together

• Enable young people from a mix of social backgrounds to share enjoyment and learning bringing them together in informal settings aimed at benefiting social cohesion

• Through our Duke of Edinburgh Awards scheme activities, which enable young people to achieve Bronze, Silver and Gold Awards through expeditions, skills development, community activity and physical recreation.

History

• Horbury Churches Together began in 1993 with Anglicans, Methodists, Salvation Army and Evangelical Christians forming an alliance.

• HCT has, since 2001, had paid Youth Worker(s), working then mainly with 11 to 16 year olds. This has gradually expanded and now includes up to 25 year olds.

• In 2008 the Trustees decided to apply for a Big Lottery grant to expand the youth work. In August 2009 we were awarded a Big Lottery grant of £296,000 over 5 years to expand the social and community aspects of our youth work and to open an office in Horbury Methodist Church. Since then, 2 more Big Lottery grants have been awarded, the latter of which ended its term on 31st August 2025

• The project is overseen by the Trustees but activities are managed by a Youth Management Committee with officers shadowing the Chairman, Treasurer and Secretary of HCT. There is a minimum of 4 regular Trustees meetings per annum.

• Half-termly meetings of the Youth Management committee take place making 6 per annum with the elected officers and representatives giving their reports, organising events and allocating funds to specific youth activities and purchasing..

• The Youth Management Committee consists of over 60% elected young people under 25 years of age and they work together with the Trustees under the "Here by Rights National" framework.

• As part of the Lottery Grant agreement, Children in Need and some other funders, Young Christian activities are funded separately. For the Secular part of the Horbury Breakthrough Youth Project , we now need to raise over £100,000 per annum. This is undertaken by members of the Church Congregations, Youth Project Volunteers and through Lottery, Children in Need and other Trust Grants in a variety of ways.