Edmonton Youth Activities

Edmonton nursery told to improve after failed inspection

A NURSERY in Upper Edmonton has been told to improve after failing an inspection by Ofsted.

Craig Youth Pre-School has been given a notice to improve after it was found to be inadequate and failing to meet the needs of the children who attend.

Inspector Samantha Smith said of the nursery, based at Craig Youth Centre, in Lawrence Road: “Equality and diversity is not sufficiently promoted and children are not given clear messages about what is acceptable behaviour.

“In addition, staff do not sufficiently observe or assess children's progress or plan appropriate activities, indoors and out, to help them make progress towards the early learning goals.”

She said the nursery's capacity to improve is also weak, and issued a list of improvements that need to be made after the inspection, with the report published on Monday, January 2.

The nursery, which looks after 20 children under the age of five on weekday mornings throughout the year, was re-registered in 2011, after a previous incarnation was also deemed inadequate and told to improve.

Youth Emergency Shelter Society needs your help - Edmonton ...

The Youth Emergency Shelter Society gave refuge to local teens who had no warm house or loving family to come home to this holiday season.

The charity is having its own troubles, however, with donations coming in at a crawling pace.

YESS has reached $450,000 of its $1-million holiday campaign goal. YESS fell short of its goal last year, which led to staff positions being eliminated, and some full-time jobs being rolled back to part-time.

"We didn't have to close any programs, but if you don't make your goal year after year, the consequences get a little more severe," says YESS associate executive director Sue Keating.

Keating is concerned because donations tend to drop off after Christmas.

With three locations in Edmonton, the charity provides a unique service that goes far beyond putting a temporary roof over the heads of street teens.

YESS helped 3,000 youth last year aged 15 to 21.

Some who walk through the doors are facing mental illness, some have undiagnosed learning disabilities, some are immigrants or refugees with no connection to their cultural communities, and some are desperately trying to beat dangerous addictions or escape prostitution or gangs.

YESS works with youth one-on-one, helps them navigate the health system, and connects them with alternative learning programs and other valuable community resources.

"We always feel like we've seen it all and heard it all, and then the next kid comes through the door," Keating says.

PUBLIC MISCONCEPTIONS

The public still has some misconceptions about YESS that frustrate Keating.

Some people believe the youth who take advantage of its services are simply delinquents who choose not to follow their parents' rules. Keating says that is not the case; on the contrary, 75 per cent of YESS clients report they have been severely abused at home.

"The fact of it is that many of them, when they hit the streets, it's because the street is safer than going home," she says.

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