Inspection Summary Report - Long Tower Youth Club

Long Tower Youth Club

Inspection Summary Report - December 2025

• Long Tower Youth Club’s vision, ‘Empowering young people for the future’ is realised through the staff’s skilful interactions with the young people and the range of well-planned developmental experiences provided for them.
• The staff have high expectations for the young people; they build trusting relationships that encourage young people to take ownership of their learning and personal development.
• The youth work curriculum is flexible and responsive, with an appropriate balance of generic and targeted programmes which enable the young people to engage meaningfully, progress at their own pace and develop key life skills. All of the sessions observed were effective, well-structured and underpinned by clear planning.
• Inclusion and well-being are prioritised effectively, in particular, through the staff’s strength-based approaches, and reinforced through open, regular communication with parents.
• The young people who attend the youth club are happy and secure, work well with their peers and engage confidently with others.
• The consistent celebration of achievement and the staff’s use of affirming, intentional feedback contributes to the young people’s increased motivation and self-esteem, which are key factors in promoting resilience and long-term personal growth.
• Clear progression pathways, including the provision of Essential Skills, raise aspirations and help the young people overcome barriers to personal development.
• Through the wide range of leadership programmes available, the young people are gaining valuable experience and developing skills for the next stages of their education, training and employment.
• Continuous professional learning is an important strategic priority which builds on and further develops staff capacity to deliver and extend well-planned and enriching provision for the young people.
• The youth club is strongly rooted in the local community and has forged extensive links with a wide range of external agencies for the benefit of the young people.
• At the time of the inspection, the evidence provided by the youth club demonstrates that the arrangements for child and adult protection align to the current statutory guidance.

Next steps

Deeply rooted in its locality, Long Tower Youth Club is a vibrant community of learning for the young people and staff, providing a significant and beneficial service within and beyond the immediate area.

The centre lives out the vision of ‘Empowering young people for the future’.  The inspection has highlighted an area for action which will enable Long Tower Youth Club to achieve its vision more fully: to build on the participative structures already in place and extend the reach of the young people’s voice to advocate for their wider community and beyond.

The District Inspector will monitor the youth centre’s progress in addressing the area(s) for action, as part of ETI’s monitoring processes.

The aspects of practice which should be shared more widely are:

• the progressive pathways to leadership, including support for young people to access courses in further and higher education, and the strategic investment in continuous staff professional learning to build staff capacity and enrich the young people’s development; and
• the extensive collaboration and mutual support between Long Tower Youth Club and its community partners in protecting young people from harm and improving their life chances.