Smiles for Miles Base Project

“The sky’s the limit for young people with the right basket of support and provision”

The Smiles for Miles Base Project is a new project offering increased youth provision and support for Children and Young People in Rotherham over a two-year period between 1st October 2021 and 30th September 2023.

Delivered in partnership with children and young people, the project is all about co-production, supporting young people to reach their goals as defined by them and lead the direction of the project based on their articulation of what they need or would like to “have a go at”.

Our priorities for the project are around early intervention, improving spaces and places that matter to communities, bringing people together and building strong relationships in and across communities. We want to provide young people with the right activities and support, in the right place, at the right time.

The project is funded by the National Lottery (Partnerships Yorkshire and Humber).

Our thanks go to National Lottery players who raise £30million each week for good causes like ours.

Voluntary Action Rotherham (VAR) is the lead organisation on behalf of the Children, Young People and Families Consortium.

VAR will oversee and coordinate the project working directly with the funder and all Service Providers.

12 members of the Children, Young People and Families Consortium will deliver a range of services in the project and will work together in pooling information skills and knowledge to support young people to reach their goals.

Who is the project for?

Smiles for Miles is aimed at children and young people in Rotherham aged 9 to 19, or upto 25 for young people with special education needs or disabilities.

How did the project come about?

The Different but Equal Board worked with young people attending organisations involved in the project to come up with the name “Smiles for Miles”  and together, they identified which kinds of support and activities should be on offer. Ongoing discussions with partners and the voice of children and young people then shaped that offer and will continue to do so over the next 2 years.

The following film was produced as a result and in support of our bid to the National Lottery, which will give you a good flavour of what to expect:

What is on offer?

Two main bases (JADE Youth and Community / YMCA Rotherham) and a satellite base (Clifton Learning Partnership) will increase youth work provision and provide young people accessing the bases with a trusted adult for 1 to 1 support. The trusted adult will help young people access other opportunities in the project through our ‘basket of support and provision’.

The basket of support and provision is delivered in partnership with the bases and will also be available to all young people. Throughout the project, young people can get involved in a range of opportunities, such as:

Download our timetable to see what’s happening between January – March 2022

Download our Poster to share the project with others

Click the drop down for more details of the activities and support available

How to get involved

If you know which activities you would like to get involved in, please feel free to contact our service providers directly for support with registration.

If you are unsure, or you want to find out more about the project, please contact our Project Coordinator

Smiles for Miles is available to all children and young people in Rotherham aged 9-19 (Upto 25 with SEND).

If you are supporting or know of a young person who would like to get involved in the project, please download our referral form for external partners.

Once complete, please this return via email to our Project Coordinator who will support you to connect your young person with the relevant service provider.

Alternatively, please feel free to use our contact form to make inquiries about the project.