Lindley Educational Trust

Supporting Young People Through Community and Adventure

By Rehna Yaseen, Head of Youth & Community · 13 Nov 2026 · 7 min read

How a weekly youth club becomes a first step towards outdoor learning and residential visits, and what your school can take from it.

Lindley Educational Trust is an educational charity dedicated to helping children and young people thrive.

Alongside Hollowford, our residential outdoor centre, we also run two community-based youth programmes, working directly with young people in the places they live. One of these programmes is based in Ashton-under-Lyne, in Greater Manchester, where we deliver a weekly youth club for local young people, funded by BBC Children in Need. The youth club is based in a church which shares its grounds with the local primary school, situating it at the centre of the community it serves.

At its heart, youth club is about giving young people somewhere safe, welcoming and fun to spend their time. It's a place where they can relax, meet friends, try new activities and talk to trusted adults if they need support. On any given week you'll find young people playing table tennis, challenging each other to a game of pool, jumping on the PS5, getting involved in group activities or simply hanging out and chatting. While those activities might seem simple, they're often the starting point for conversations, friendships and opportunities that can have a real impact on a young person's life.

What makes our youth club unique is the way we combine youth work with outdoor learning. We believe young people benefit from having access to both. Through youth club, young people build relationships, confidence and a sense of belonging within their community. Through outdoor experiences that are offered as part of the youth club programme, they are encouraged to step out of their comfort zones, try new things and discover what they're capable of. This way they get the best of both worlds!

Throughout the year, young people take part in adventurous activity days and residential trips to the Hollowford centre. For many young people these experiences are completely new. These opportunities help develop resilience, build resilience, essential life skills and self-belief in ways that are difficult to replicate elsewhere.

Because it is rooted in the local community, the club is run by local people who have come through the youth club themselves, understand the area, the challenges young people face and the barriers that can sometimes stop them from accessing opportunities. This means we're able to build genuine relationships with young people and their families, creating a space that feels familiar, trusted and relevant.

For many young people in Ashton, the first step towards an outdoor adventure is simply coming through the youth club door. They might come to play pool or see their friends. By coming back each week, they get to know the people around them, build relationships with them and find the confidence to try something new.

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Recent evaluation identified six conditions that help make this possible. Each one has something school staff can use in their own visits:

• Build trust over time. Regular sessions give young people and their families the chance to get to know the team and build relationships at their own pace.
• Create a space where young people feel they belong. A familiar, welcoming venue gives young people somewhere they can relax, spend time with friends and ask for support when they need it.
• Offer a gradual route into adventure. An activity at the club can lead to an outdoor activity day and, when a young person feels ready, a residential at Hollowford. For some, that will be their first night away from home.
• Develop leaders from within the club. A lot of the leaders who now run sessions first came to the club as young people themselves. They are role models that understand the community.
• Work with local partners. Relationships with schools, the church and other community organisations help the club stay connected to local families and respond to what young people need.
• Keep the longer view in mind. The aim is for young people to carry what they learn into everyday life, whether that means developing life skills, supporting someone else or feeling ready for the next challenge.

Ashton Youth Club offers an example of how small steps can be part of a longer journey. The relationships built at the club help young people feel ready to take on a new challenge at Hollowford. When they return, those same relationships give them a place to reflect on what they achieved and decide what they want to try next.

What can your school take from this?

• Before a first residential, could pupils try an activity in the school grounds, a local day visit or an outdoor activity day? Each step makes the next one feel more achievable.
• Pupils and families who have met the leaders and seen the venue, through a visit, photos, a video or a parents' meeting, can feel more at ease before departure.
• For some pupils this is a big moment. Talk to pupils and families about worries such as homesickness, and agree how staff will support them.
• Involve older pupils, former pupils or young leaders as buddies or ambassadors, so pupils see someone like them taking part.
• When pupils return, give them a chance to talk about what they achieved and decide what to try next, in class, at a club or in a pupil voice group.
• Youth clubs, churches and community groups can help you reach families who might otherwise miss out, and can tell you what is stopping pupils from taking part.
• Cost, unfamiliarity and family worries can stop pupils joining in. Ask families what would help, and plan around the answers.

Find out more

See Lindley Education Trust and the Young People they support on BBC Countryfile and find out how they use the funding from BBC Children in Need https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/m0033k1b/countryfile-countryfile-ramble-for-bbc-children-in-need-2026

Rehna Yaseen

Head of Youth & Community