Below is our FAQ section, most of your questions should be answered here. However we love talking to people, so feel free to contact us directly if you have a query
Mary’s is a youth club for young people aged 10-19, we have been part of the local community for over 40 years
Mary’s is an open access youth club, which means that any young person aged 10-19 can become a member
Membership to the youth club is free, as are most of our activities. There are occasions when we will have to charge a small fee for certain activities but we always make this clear on the bookings page
We have a regular weekly schedule as well as activities during the half-term and school holidays. Click here for the timetable
We mostly operate out of Mary’s community centre on Upper Street, Islington.
On Mondays we run drop-ins at Popham Community Centre, and Wednesdays we go to Mildmay community centre.
See the timetable for more
We are open 50 weeks of the year and run activities all throughout.
We close for one week during the winter break, and one week in August.
Note that we do run a different programme during holiday periods. You can see what timetable we are currently running here
We run a variety of different sessions during the term, ranging from drop-ins to educational activities, yoga and mindfulness sessions, and sports based sessions. Click here to find out more
During the half term and holidays we also run a variety of offsite trips and activities. Whichever timetable we are currently running will be found here
Mary’s youth club is young person led, which means that the young people tell us what it is that they would like to do. We do often have set sessions but it is entirely optional whether the young people take part, and they are free to opt out or do something different
1.Not for the sessions that we run during the weekly programme, for these young people are welcome to turn up whenever they like (just be mindful that some activities are catered for specific age groups and genders)
2. For organised activities that take place outside of the weekly schedule (such as those during half term and holidays), it is necessary to book in advance.
This can be done here
There are snacks provided at all activities, a warm Friday night meal every week at Friday drop-in and snacks and full meals (where appropriate) provided on trips and residentials.
Mary’s is fortunate enough to have fully qualified, experienced youth workers as well as youth work apprentices, youth work students and volunteers. Everyone is trained and supervised based on their role. All staff are DBS checked
Also, as training and development are the at the forefront of what we do, our youth workers are also qualified in things such as Cheerleading, Cricket, gym
Yes, all of the staff (including administrative staff) go through the safer recruitment process, meaning they are all DBS checked
We are an independent, non-denominational, inclusive charity driven by the community. We are not part of St Mary’s Church
For anything related to youth work, you can call, text or whatsapp our lead youth worker Jordan on 07816 073 016
The 1 day course is designed for work places that have been deemed low risk (based on your own assessment). It normally works for office spaces and work places with smaller numbers of staff.
The 3 day course covers the same as the 1 day course but in more depth. and also covers additional topics that are necessary for environments assessed to be higher risk, such as warehouses, or have higher staff numbers
You can have a look at this course comparison list. Or contact us to discuss
We run courses here in St Marys Neighbourhood centre, Upper St, Islington.
But we are also open to coming to your location. Contact us to discuss
We are legally required to offer 6 hours of training. We therefore normally run from 10-5pm. This includes 30 mins for lunch and two short breaks.
However this is flexible and we can adapt to the group
We provide teas and coffees available, but you will need to bring your own lunch.
We are based in Angel, which has some amazing local restaurants, as well as supermarkets and cafes all within walking distance
We provide some materials during the course, and a ‘tips and reminders’ list that we send via email after the course, but we do not provide the slideshow of the full course, so we recommend you make your own notes throughout
There aren’t any written tests or exams for this course. Your activities are all assessed by the trainer throughout the day. So maximum participation is encouraged.
It is a mixture of presentation, group, pair and individual activities, and practice!
You will practice the things that you learn multiple times throughout the day, so that you leave feeling confident in your knowledge of Emergency First Aid
These courses are designed to meet the Health and Safety (First Aid) Requirements
At the end of the course (if you meet the requirements) you will receive a certificate from Mary’s
The First Aid certificates are valid for 3 years
To receive the certificate you have to be 16.
However it is possible to attend the course if you are under this age so that you can learn the vital skill, it just means that you will receive an AQA award rather than the certificate
Yes we do. In these courses we can come to you on a date that works. We can also offer mixed certificate courses, where some participants all begin together for example, some stop after the 1 day First Aid course and the others continue on to complete the 3 day course.
Feel free to contact us to discuss
Discounts are available for Angel Bid members, Youth Work colleagues, and those who work for charities. We also offer group discounts. Feel free to contact us to discuss
Yes, all our trainers have L3 in Education and Training and hold their own 3 day certificates in First Aid
We will send you an invoice once you’ve secured your spot. You can then pay via cash at the youth club, card over the phone, or through bank transfer
We are building a sustainable financial future for ourselves and use our skills as trainers to facilitate courses, including these First Aid courses
Note that we also do Youth Work training courses, click here to find out more
All proceeds from the sale of all of our courses goes back into the youth club
To cancel the training completely: we require a minimum of 48 hours notice, in order to issue a refund
Individual participant cancellations: we operate a day rate of £500, this rate applies regardless of how many participants show up on the day.
However, we can offer a refund for individual participant cancellations above the amount of £500, if we receive notice of cancellation 48 hours or more before the training date
This is one of the ways that we fund the youth club activities, and because a large part of the work that we do with young people is building group cohesion, we know that we are well qualified to offer these days (plus we know how to have fun!)
Yes, we run team building activities that are a couple of hours, to overnight (for our camping days)
Depending on the activity we can potentially host here at the Community Centre, or another place of your choice
That’s fine, we’ll be happy to help you work that out. Just organise a chat with the team, and we can discuss what you are trying to achieve, what types of activities your team might be interested in and go from there
Possibly! We are naturally creative and are here to give you the best experience we can, so are happy to discuss ideas and requirements that you have
It depends on the activity, how many participants and how many hours you’d like to book, but we keep our prices competitive, and can work to budget, so please get in touch to discuss
We usually work with 5-12 participants, but it is possible to have bigger groups. Contact us to discuss
All funds generated go back into the Youth Club, helping to fund the activities that we do
Yes, it is possible to volunteer directly with young people and this is a great way to support us
There are lots of ways that you can support us, we are looking for assistance with admin, fundraising, events, marketing
No, whether you’re interested in back office roles, or volunteering directly with young people, you don’t need any prior experience or specific qualifications
You fill out this volunteer application form and then someone from the team will get in touch.
Each volunteer role is different, and while some are one-off, short term commitments, others are longer term, so get in touch to discuss
Yes, and we will sort it out for you
Yes, we can write a reference for you after you have completed your project, or volunteered with us for a minimum of a month
We’re happy to hear that you are considering this! You can head over to this page for a full list of ways to help. Or get in touch to discuss we are open to all kinds of positive partnerships
You can contact us to discuss what you would like to donate, then we can make arrangements for getting the items to the youth club. We are always looking for things that can be donated to the young people themselves, their families, for our events or fundraising days
That’s great to hear. This is something that we are passionate about too. There are many ways that we can support you with this, so get in touch to discuss, there
Of course! We are open to partnerships of all kinds, and love creative and interesting ideas, get in touch to discuss
Yes, we are open to offering volunteering opportunities. Staff can volunteer directly with young people, help out at events, take place in a trolley dash, or organise a fundraising even. This page has more details if you are interested in this
You can volunteer, gift us something from our amazon wish–list, organise a fundraising event for us, book us for First Aid training, our CPD offer, or Team Building, sign up for our Newsletter, follow us on socials. And of course you can donate products, time or money. All offers of support gratefully received.
