cadence comments about blueprint

5 Jan 2009

Depression among the young at alarming level?

On the first day of the year when work is unavoidable, for those people still lucky enough to have a job, a headline like the one above, is well ... depressing. On the other hand if you read the article things are not so clear cut ... more

24 Dec 2008

Back in 2009

Cadence wishes all our clients and network a prosperous 2009. More news on Cadence projects and context for our research and policy work will be here in the new year including updates on ... more

28 Nov 2008

World class youth centre in Bridgwater

The YMCA in Bridgwater, Somerset, has been successful in a bid to the myplace fund. Cadence worked on a play strategy for the local authority and held a consultation at the current YMCA building, so we were pleased to see this announcement ... more

17 Nov 2008

Streets infested with children

If it was not for the word 'infested' this could be a positive headline. During Cadence's consultation on children's play in Somerset someone said that 'the message to children and young people, from adults, about their place in the public realm is very confusing - they want them away from the TV and Playstations, but not playing outside near their homes'. It always seemed a succint way of capturing the current confusion in the public discourse about the youth of today. The person who came up with this quote worked for Barnardo's and it is their survey that found that 35% agreed with the proposition that 'nowadays it feels like the streets are infested with children'... more

12 Nov 2008

Certainty - at any cost?

Donald Rumsfeld's famous "unknown unknowns" phrase got an airing on a Radio 4 discussion about politicans and uncertainty on Sunday. The point being made was that politicians are not allowed to admit they don't know something: the public demand certainty from them. Baronness Estelle Morris ... more

15 Jul 2008

Youth crime and role models

Today's announcement of the Youth Crime Action Plan coincided with Hazel Blears launching a search for role models to inspire Black boys. It's not clear whether this was intentional, probably not, but both are relevant to Cadence's work on a Blueprint for community based youth work. These two bits of news appear to link to another recent story, namely the resignation of Ray Lewis, Boris Johnson's Deputy. Was/is Ray Lewis perhaps the sort of role model the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government might be searching for? ... more