A Manx charity is using the outdoors in creative ways to engage and help young people who are struggling.

The Children’s Centre has a variety of services aimed at helping children, young people and families who are going through significant challenges in their lives.

Based at Wallberry Farm on Old Castletown Road in Braddan, the charity initially took over the area as a community farm project.

However, following the restructuring of the charity in 2018, The Children’s Centre moved its whole operation to the farm.

Head of the charity Joff Whitten said: ‘It’s a whole site operation and we do way more than we ever did back in the age of the community farm.

‘People who knew the community farm, it’s actually quite different from how it was.

‘We’ve got a technology suite with 3D printing and virtual reality, we have a forge, a pottery area with kiln, outdoor activity equipment and a one-to-one talking room where we can do parental counselling sessions and parental support or work with young people who need a quiet space.

‘There’s much more variety and depth and what we’ve tried to do is create a space where any interest a young person might have, we can cater for it.’

He explained what The Children’s Centre does.

‘We provide support when children, young people and families need it most’ Mr Whitten said.

‘By offering understanding and encouragement, that’s an incredibly useful way to meaningfully engage with them and develop trust so they feel able to open up.

‘We have all these different opportunities for them as experiential approaches, evidence tell us, are more impactful than just talking alone.’

He continued: ‘We’ve got three core groups of people that we work with. These include those with learning challenges, such as dyslexia, dyspraxia, ADHD, autism and people on the neurodivergent spectrum.

‘Then there’s the emotional challenges, so that’s anxiety, selective mutism, wellbeing, mental health and illnesses. They are very prevalent in young people.

‘The third one is behavioural, so that’s challenging behaviours within schools and irresponsible behaviours in the community. This can include people who are beginning to fall into the rabbit hole of a potentially negative adulthood.

‘Arguably, strategies to impact, help and develop them are quite similar. If you’ve got a young person who’s acting up in school it’s often because they’ve got low self-esteem and insecurities.

‘They look like they’re confident but if you dig in they’re not at all. Boosting their confidence is a way of making them behave less antagonistically. You could do the same when it comes to someone with aspergers or ADHD.

‘There’s loads of different ways of engaging with the world. Boosting their confidence and giving them a sense of achievement is hugely important.’

Mr Whitten described how essential the farm was to the way the organisation works, saying: ‘Our focus is always on the best outcomes for children, young people and families.

‘But we also need to ensure we have the right environment with enough resources to create a safe, therapeutic and compassionate place where those we work with are comfortable to see things differently.

‘Every circumstance is different, we adapt to the challenge of the family in question.

‘How do we do that? Firstly, we have a highly qualified and experienced team. Secondly, we have as many resources as we can and a space where flexibility and fluidity is available at every turn.

‘You don’t know what you’re going to get, so if we only have one way of delivering support, they might not respond very well in that moment so it’s all about adaptability and inspiration.

‘The resources we have at the farm are absolutely essential for us to be able to do this.

‘I came from places like this in the UK and this is completely unique. It’s an amazing resource that the island should be genuinely proud of because there’s very few places like this.’

The centre is solar-powered, as of last year, which Mr Whitten feels is a necessity.

The buildings have 36 metres of solar panels which generate about 20 kilowatts of energy per hour.

He added: ‘It’s not just about tokenism or green washing the charity, it’s about making us financially sustainable.

‘It’s also about modelling behaviours and so many of the young people we work with are genuinely fearful of the climate crisis.

‘That’s their future. They’re told off for their behaviour in school and then they’re reading the news saying that in 20 years time the world is going to be unlivable, they think “why should I bother?”

‘So, we absolutely have to try and look at modelling good practice and good behaviours which is why we did the solar conversion.’

Mr Whitten stressed that anyone can make a referral to The Children’s Centre, whether they’re a ‘parent, teacher or healthcare professional’.

The charity is not funded by the government, so it has to generate all money to run the organisation. It’s proud to say that 89p of every pound is spent directly working with young people and families.

Most of its work is focused on one-to-one sessions for individuals who will come to the charity for at least a year.

‘We also have small groups of about six young people working with two adults and that’s usually at a point where they’ve started making some progress and some changes,’ said Mr Whitten.

‘We look at those groups as behavioural or nurturing or social.

‘They learn some social skills, because if you’ve been out of school for a year, re-integrating back into the classroom is a huge step, so that’s the gentle point to help young people get towards that idea of going back into a classroom environment.

‘We also have school visits. Sometimes schools have a group internally that they want to bring.

‘Occasionally a primary school will also come for a whole day to experience the farm and do a number of creative and horticultural activities.

‘The other vitally important group of people we couldn’t do any of our work without is parents.

‘We focus on the whole family, so if a child is in a state of significant challenge it’s probably because the family is too.

‘We have parental support and coaching, with one-to-ones, and parenting courses.’

l For more information on The Children’s Centre, go to its website.