Youth Service

We’re MonLife’s Youth Service and we’re here to help young people across Monmouthshire meet friends, explore interests, access support, and grow as fully rounded individuals. From a shoulder to lean on, to someone who’ll listen, whoever you are and whatever your situation, we’re here for all of Monmouthshire’s young people.

Unlike other areas of young people’s lives, Youth Work is based on a voluntary relationship between young people and youth workers. Young people can choose whether or not to take part, and are at the centre of all that we do, being involved in the decision-making, design and delivery of a service to meet their needs.

Working in the community and in schools, our youth workers take a person-centred, rights-based approach, grounded in respect for young people and the principles of inclusion and equal opportunity. We support young people’s personal, social and educational development, empower them to develop their voice and influence, and support them to reach their full potential. As a Youth Service, we value Education, Expression, Empowerment, Participation and Inclusion for all young people.

Our service:

supports the development of a future generation of healthy and confident young people, who feel safe in their community and empowered to make a positive difference
helps young people gain skills, knowledge and understanding, and supports their personal development
encourages and supports young people to express their ideas, opinions, emotions and aspirations
equips young people to exercise their own rights, carry out their responsibilities, develop leadership skills, and engage with the issues affecting their lives
supports young people to have a voice, be partners in, and share responsibility for the opportunities, learning processes and decision-making structures which affect their own and other people’s lives and environments
is non-judgmental, inclusive and welcoming to all young people

All members of the Youth Service are professionally qualified Youth Workers and Youth Support Workers, and are all registered with the Education Workforce Council (EWC) with a license to practice. This is the same as teachers and those in other education professions such as colleges and work-based learning / training providers. All staff hold up to date enhanced Disclosure & Barring Service (DBS) checks and are fully training in safeguarding young people.

Youth Centres

We operate four Youth Centres in Monmouthshire, open to young people aged 11 to 18 (School Years 7+); support is also available to ages 19 to 25. These are safe, warm and welcoming spaces for young people to meet one another and have fun. Our centres offer a range of activities and amenities for young people including internet access, pool tables, games consoles, sports equipment, arts and crafts, and refreshments.

It is also a way for young people to access guidance or support from the centre’s team of dedicated and friendly area youth workers whenever needed. Centres are designed to be a one-stop shop for young people, where they can access information or be signposted to other services if needed, such as counselling, education, wellbeing support, etc.

Our centres are open after school in the week during term time, as well as over half terms and summer holidays. Our youth workers can offer:

issue-based workshops
targeted group support
friendships and family support
LGBTQ+ individual support and group support
sexual health and relationship support
mental health and wellbeing support
school and education support
life skills support
transition guidance
and more!

If you would like any more information about any of these, please see our ‘Get in touch with a Youth Worker’ section below.

Our Youth Centres:

The Attik, Monmouth Youth Centre, Whitecross Street, Monmouth, NP25 3XR

(located next to Monmouth Library)

Tel: 07966 141 701, 07812 064 634 or 01600 772 033

Email: youth@monmouthshire.gov.uk

The Cabin, Abergavenny Youth Centre, Old Hereford Road, Abergavenny, NP7 6EL

(located next to the skate park on Old Hereford Road)

Tel: 07971 729 246 or 07827 88 00 55

Email: youth@monmouthshire.gov.uk

Bulwark, Bulwark Community Centre, Chepstow, NP16 5RF

Monday (3:30pm – 6:00pm) and Tuesday (3:30pm-6:30pm)

Tel: 01291 425 427, 07816 127 172 or 07970 035 351

Email: youth@monmouthshire.gov.uk

The Zone, Caldicot Youth Centre, 1 Chepstow Road, Caldicot, NP26 4XY

(located in Caldicot’s town centre, next to the police station and opposite The Cross)

Tel: : 01291 425 427, 07816 127 172 or 07974 629 780

Email: youth@monmouthshire.gov.uk

We also have excellent links with area comprehensive schools, town councils, local communities and residents.

Our youth workers also connect with young people in other areas of Monmouthshire outside of Youth Centres through community outreach work. This is to provide support, guidance and fun for young people when out and about. If you see any of our youth workers around, feel free to say hi!

We can also offer volunteering opportunities in some of our youth centres. This is a chance to give something back to your community, provide a springboard to future employment or enable you to learn new skills. To be a volunteer, you must be aged 16+, want to work with children and young people, and be able to give a few hours a week/month.

For more information about our youth centres or any of the groups or support our centre staff can offer, please email: youth@monmouthshire.gov.uk.

**Please note this is the only official site for information related to MonLife’s Youth Centres (the Attik, the Cabin and the Zone)**

Youth Clubs

As well as our youth centres, we run part-time youth clubs in different areas across Monmouthshire.

Some of our youth clubs are for Year 6s only to help with the transition to secondary school. These are run by experienced staff once a week during term time, and are great opportunities for young people to meet peers from different primaries before starting secondary school, as well as getting to know the youth workers in their area.

Other youth clubs (such as Portskewett & Sudbrook Youth Clubs) are usually for ages 11+ to give those who live further away from youth centres a place to socialise and relax in a warm and safe environment once a week during term time.

Current Youth Clubs

All our youth clubs are staffed with experienced staff, and we encourage community members to volunteer to get involved. We offer a range of facilities from computer games to sporting activities. Social events to places such as swimming trips and outdoor adventure activities are also organised throughout the year.

The current youth clubs operating across Monmouthshire are:

Abergavenny Transition Youth Club

Mondays, 4:15-6:00pm

Portskewett & Sudbrook Youth Club

Portskewett Church Hall, Crick Road, Portskewett, NP26 5UL

Tuesdays, 6:00-8:00pm

Caerwent Youth Club

Caerwent Community Centre, NP26 5NS for ages 11-14 years

Tuesdays, 5:00-6:45pm

We can also offer volunteering opportunities in some of our youth clubs. This is a chance to give something back to your community, provide a springboard to future employment or enable you to learn new skills. To be a volunteer, you must be aged 16+, want to work with children and young people, and be able to give a few hours a week/month.

You can also check out other volunteering options available for young people through GAVO (sign-up required) HERE.

For more information about any of our youth clubs, please email: youth@monmouthshire.gov.uk

Get in touch with a Youth Worker

Need to talk to a youth worker? Got a question?

As well as speaking in-person, our youth workers can also offer one-to-one support digitally, including phone calls, texting, Facebook messages, WhatsApp, video calls, and more. To get in contact, please use the following contact details:

The Attik, Monmouth Youth Centre, Whitecross Street, Monmouth, NP25 3XR

(located next to Monmouth Library)

Tel: 07966 141 701, 07812 064 634 or 01600 772 033

Email: youth@monmouthshire.gov.uk

The Cabin, Abergavenny Youth Centre, Old Hereford Road, Abergavenny, NP7 6EL

(located next to the skate park on Old Hereford Road)

Tel: 07971 729 246 or 07827 88 00 55

Email: youth@monmouthshire.gov.uk

Bulwark, Bulwark Community Centre, Chepstow, NP16 5RF

Monday (3:30pm – 6:00pm) and Tuesday (3:30pm-6:30pm)

Tel: 01291 425 427, 07816 127 172 or 07970 035 351

Email: youth@monmouthshire.gov.uk

The Zone, Caldicot Youth Centre, 1 Chepstow Road, Caldicot, NP26 4XY

(located in Caldicot’s town centre, next to the police station and opposite The Cross)

Tel: : 01291 425 427, 07816 127 172 or 07974 629 780

Email: youth@monmouthshire.gov.uk

PLEASE NOTE: This is not a 24-hour service! If you need to speak to someone urgently and can’t get hold of us, we recommend you contact:

999 in an emergency
- 101 for non-urgent police
- 111 for non-urgent NHS guidance
- 0800 328 4432 for safeguarding concerns
Childline (call 0800 1111 or chat online, BSL interpreting available)
Samaritans (call 116 123, o 0808 164 0123 i siarad yn Gymraeg 7-11yp)
Shout (text ‘Shout’ to 85258)
Young Minds (text ‘YM’ to 85258, or parents/guardians can call 0808 802 5544 9:30am-4pm Monday-Friday)
CALL (call 0800 13 27 37, or text ‘help’ to 81006)
MEIC (call 080880 23456, text 84001, or chat online, yn Gymraeg hefyd, available 8am-midnight)
The Mix (call 0808 808 4994 (3pm-midnight), text ‘themix’ to 85258 (available 24/7), or chat online (4-11pm))
Hopeline (call 08000 68 41 41, or text 07860 03 99 67, available 9am-midnight)
CALM (call 0800 58 58 58, or chat online, available 5pm-midnight)

All these support services are available 24/7 every day of the year unless otherwise stated, and are free and confidential. We’ll get back to you as soon as we can!

If you would like moe information about any of the centres, clubs or projects we run, please email us at youth@monmouthshire.gov.uk

Trips and Events

We regularly run trips and events for young people living and going to school in Monmouthshire. Some of these are open to all young people aged 11+, others are for specific groups of young people only. These are often run at a reduced cost for young people to make them more accessible to all.

Looking for more information on a trip or event we are running? Check out our social media pages, or email youth@monmouthshire.gov.uk.

Facebook – Instagram

You can also get more information on trips running for a specific area by contacting the area’s youth centre.

The SHIFT Project

The SHIFT Project offers support to young people with emerging mental health, emotional or wellbeing issues. This is to help young people develop resilience through non-clinical support, using youth work approaches in school and the community, such as one-to-one mentoring and small group work.

SHIFT youth workers provide person-centred, direct support which is tailored to young people’s needs. This is to help young people establish and maintain positive and safe relationships with a trusted adult, access support in their communities and develop cultural connections. SHIFT youth workers can also support young people to access information, advice and guidance, referring and signposting where necessary.

The project is delivered across Monmouthshire in schools and communities, and is open to young people aged 11+ through referral.

For more information about SHIFT, please email: youth@monmouthshire.gov.uk