Founded in 2001, The Drop In Portland was established in order to provide Portland's young people an environment in which they can reach their fullest potential. What started off as a small community venue has grown into Portland's Leading Youth Provision; one that’s committed to supporting and empowering children of all backgrounds.
Our vision
"We will inspire and empower every young person on Portland to realise their full potential."
We operate in one of the most deprived wards in the country -some of our neighbourhoods are in the bottom 5% for child poverty in the UK.
Further, some live in the 10% most deprived neighbourhoods meaning, low family levels of education/skills, health and employment.
As an established and respected provider of youth services,
we provide targeted youth support through carefully planned and delivered sessions, physical activities and aspire to offer routes to work experience, for our older young people.
Our mission
To engage with a network of stakeholders and with our community to ensure that every young person on Portland has a voice and access to a positive and nurturing environment to develop life skills, independence, and wellness.
Our objectives
Over the next three years The Drop In will deliver both strategic and operational objectives:
Consolidation & Collaboration
We will consolidate our position as the lead provider of targeted youth provision on the Island, we will build our reputation, outreach and collaborative relationships, to support our aspirations.
Expansion & Outreach
We will focus on expanding our provision both to the number of young people we reach, but also in terms of the range of life-skilled based services we offer.
We anticipate a need to have set out how that may be achieved physically through additional space and in terms of community outreach, in partnership with statutory partners and community groups.
Youth Provision for Portland
We will secure new premises and embed our vision to cover not just life-skills but also a “one-stop shop” style provision for all young people, expanding our staff base, skills and expertise .
At The Drop In, our top priority is the health and wellbeing of the young people that attend our service and of our staff members.
Our policies ensure that we are doing this safely and to the best of our ability.
Safeguarding Policy
The Drop In Board recognises the importance of its work with children, young people and adults in need of protection and its responsibility to protect everyone entrusted to our care.
This organisation is committed to the safeguarding of children and vulnerable adults and ensuring their well-being.
The Drop In believes every child, young person and adult has the right to be treated with dignity and respect. Children and young people have the right to be safe and enjoy the activities they take part in. Parents and other guardians have a right to know that organisations provide a safe environment for this and The Drop In recognises its responsibility to safeguard the welfare of children and young people.
Drug & Alcohol Policy
It is the responsibility of the youth worker – as an informal educator - to introduce issues relating to drug and alcohol use and its implications into the youth work programme. These programmes should be exciting and challenging, complementing the education that young people receive in school and from parents/carers. The Project Coordinator & Youth workers should ensure that drug and alcohol education reflects the diverse attitudes of young people to drug and alcohol use and is culturally appropriate.
Grievance Policy
It is the policy of The Drop In to ensure that all staff members have access to a procedure to help resolve any grievances relating to their employment quickly and fairly. This policy does not form part of staff members’ contracts of employment or other agreements relating to their work for The Drop In, and it may be amended at any time. This procedure applies to all staff members regardless of length of service. It does not apply to agency workers or self-employed contractors.
OCTOBER
2023
what's this funky bus for?
Every other Thursday, we use this bus, serving hot drinks and biscuits to our young people! It's a place for you to come and hang out with friends, and chat to our youth workers.
FIND OUT MORE?
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Annual
General
Meeting
RSVP
All parents and general public are welcome to join the first hour of The Drop In's AGM 2023.
Oct 26 | 18:00
Portland Community Venue