Apply for a young person's membership

The Springfield Centre is an independent charity that runs largely on the support of our incredible volunteers and trustees, alongside a team of paid staff. The team here at Springfield have high expectations for your young person. We want the Springfield Centre to be a great place for young people to meet, learn new skills and enjoy themselves.

The Trustees have been thinking of ways to improve the experience of young people who come to the centre and have decided to introduce a formal membership system. A formal membership system means we can better plan our programme of activities, it means we can plan the staff we need to run activities and help us to decide on our fund-raising strategy to invest in our members.

What are the benefits to memberships?

By being a member of The Springfield Centre, young people will be entitled to come to the different sessions we have on offer here. By paying an annual membership fee of £12, young people will then be entitled to: 

• Our fortnightly Girls and Boys Groups for free.

• Our multisports sessions for £1 per session.

• The option to book onto our other sessions for an additional cost (these will be outlined later in this letter). 

• Access to free support from professional youth workers and support staff and the potential for young people to progress onto volunteering and paid roles in the future. 

• Training opportunities for young people to develop skills in the trades, art, cooking, sports and a range of other industries, some of which will include an additional cost. 

What do I need to do to sign my young person up for a membership? 

For your young person to be a member of the Springfield Centre, you must do the following: 

• Complete the application form at the top of this page.  From Monday 8th January, only young people who have filled out an application form may attend our sessions.

• Your young person must then fill in the section for them, having read the terms of their membership. Please make sure they understand that their refusal to follow any of the boundaries outlined in this letter may result in their membership being revoked. 

• There will be a grace period of four weeks following your application for the membership fee to be paid. 

What does my young person need to agree to be a member of youth@springfieldunlimited? 

When signing up for a membership, young people will need to agree to the following: 

• That they will not cause damage to the Springfield Centre or any of its belongings. 

• There is strictly no smoking or vaping on the premises or around the building.

• That they will not be verbally or physically abusive to either staff or their peers. 

• That they will not force entry to the building. 

• That they will leave the building when their sessions have ended.

• That they will treat staff and volunteers with respect and listen to any safety information given to them. 

• In return, staff and volunteers will treat all young people with respect.

What will happen if my young person ignores the membership agreement? 

Wherever possible, incidents will be resolved with young people at the time they occurred. Young people will be given the opportunity to engage with staff to discuss what has happened, but we appreciate that some young people will be unable to regulate themselves at the time. Where incidents happen because of frustration or because a young person was upset, staff will work with that young person to decide the best course of action. 

However, if young people ignore the boundaries and refuse to engage or listen to staff, there will be a three step process: 

1. First, we will speak to young people involved to correct their behaviour. If they refuse to, we will then:

2. Arrange a time to speak over the phone or, ideally, visit you at home to discuss what has happened. During this conversation we will work with you to understand how we can ensure that your young person can continue to access our services. 

3. If there is no change in behaviour following this discussion, young people will have their memberships revoked. 

What happens if their membership is revoked? 

If young people lose their membership to the centre, they will be unable to access any of the sessions we deliver. We will then inform you of the steps that need to be taken in order for your young person to reapply for their membership. 

What about if I can’t afford the annual membership fee? 

If you can’t afford to pay the annual membership fee, email leonie.hudson@thespringfieldcentre.co.uk or call us on 07745518026. We may be able to offer reduced or funded places, but this will be done on a case-by-case basis.

How can I stay in touch with the staff at the Springfield Centre? 

To get in touch with us, either email leonie.hudson@thespringfieldcentre.co.uk or call 07745518026. To stay up to date on sessions, join our Whatsapp Community by scanning the QR code below: