Youth Worker-in-Charge Peter Williams highly commended at regional awards

2 March 2022

The Cardiff and Vale Regional Safeguarding Board recently held its annual Safeguarding Recognition Awards ceremony where a number of Council groups and individuals were commemorated. 

Among those praised for their hard-work was Peter Williams, Youth Worker-In-Charge who was highly commended in the category of Exceptional Commitment to Practice Demonstrated during Covid Restrictions.

Peter Williams has worked for the Council’s Youth Service for the past 14 years, beginning in a local youth club before moving into his current role 7 years ago. 

Peter’s main role is overseeing both the Inspire to Achieve and the Inspire to Work projects, which involves working with young people aged 11-25 in the Vale not in education, employment or training.

The day-to-day tasks involved with this position include providing support to young people in school, improving behaviour and wellbeing. With those aged 16-25, Peter could help with providing access to training or general support to help them enter education or employment.

Speaking about the work that led to this recognition, Peter said:

“Working in the youth service, we regularly work with vulnerable young people and the pandemic escalated some of these vulnerabilities. 

“When restrictions were brought in, a team of us began delivering free school meals to young people in the Vale and also did welfare checks on children and young people who schools hadn’t been able to contact during the week.  

“We then looked at how our provisions could be moved either online or into settings such as door-step sessions to continue providing support to the young people.”

“We identified other pieces of required work, such as purchasing items to make up wellbeing packs for young people and also creating activity packs of games that young people could complete outside of their school-work, while they were at home.”

Like many others throughout the Vale, the Covid-19 pandemic presented a number of different challenges. Peter and the team had to rethink how a lot of the work was to be done and required a lot of additional planning and resources.

The biggest challenge was keeping up to date with the changing restrictions and ensuring that the team’s practice was in line with these changes.

“The most rewarding part of my role and the work done over the past couple of years is the feeling of making a difference to young people and families,” added Peter.

“Some of the young people we work with have little support from others in their lives, so providing opportunities and ways they can progress and develop means that the work being done has a purpose.”

Peter’s commendation is recognition of all the hard work that he and the rest of the team have done throughout the pandemic.