Ben Harper
Ben Harper is 33 and born and bred in Totley, Sheffield. His dad ran a fish and chip shop in Shalesmoor and his mum was a nurse. Ben went to Dore Primary and then on to Silverdale.
He loves the place and only lived away briefly at 18 to do his gap year working for an inner city church year in Birmingham and a four month university exchange in Switzerland as part of his English degree at Sheffield University. “Working in inner city Birmingham aged 18 was both a high and a low”, recalls Ben. “Such a different experience to living in largely white middle class S17! The year was challenging – at 18 you think you can change the world and although there were some real great moments during the year, there were also many frustrations and challenges. Working closely in a team was also challenging – one of my team mates was later diagnosed as schizophrenic which explained a lot of his behavior through the year!”
And any regrets? “I regret not moving away from Sheffield for University. I made the decision to come back to Sheffield for Uni while feeling homesick on my gap year, so I realise I didn’t really invest fully in uni life and carried on doing many of the same things I had always done. That said, I love Sheffield and feel that the things I have been able to do and be involved in have been great- I probably wouldn’t be doing what I’m doing now if I had moved away!”
Ben is one of four brothers, the only one to have enjoyed school and progressed to university while the others, whom he describes as more practical in nature, didn’t have positive experiences of school. “Perhaps seeing how this affected them is part of what has given me empathy for our disadvantaged client group?” wonders Ben.
Probably- that and becoming a Christian in his early teens. “Church gave me a sense of purpose and belonging and I was very blessed to have some great youth workers who invested time into me and gave me opportunities to lead and develop my gifts. My youth workers played a huge role in my life as a teenager. They encouraged me in developing my character. I believe every young person should have a positive adult figure outside of their family while growing up! My faith is very important to me and motivates my work now” explains Ben.
After his gap year working among Birmingham’s children and young people, Ben became involved in youth work on his return to Sheffield. After graduating, he went to work firstly as a learning mentor at a Sheffield primary school, then for the local authority, gaining a Post Graduate Certificate in Education. He also worked with asylum seeker and refugee children and worked alongside mental health professionals to write a published resource pack aimed at building self esteem and resilience. Ben then joined a multi agency team as a part-time senior learning mentor, while also being a part time youth worker for a group of churches in S17 for nearly five years until the end of 2010. The opportunity arose to job share the manager role at Cellar Space in 2009 and Ben took over at Easter this year.
Cellar Space started as a small project to meet the needs of local disadvantaged young people. It has been so successful in transforming the lives of the young people who are referred there, the project has grown into a city wide resource, this Autumn expanding to offer full day placements for Key Stage 3 young people.
Asked what is special about cellar Space, Ben responds, “Our ability to work flexibly and responsively to each individual young person and our therapeutic and nurturing approach. Our values are based on acceptance, hope, commitment to each young person and creativity. We also really value our partnership with, but distance from, statutory agencies.”
Ben’s future plans include developing Cellar Space into work with primary-aged children and new projects, such as Food-i (the ‘i’ stands for inclusion, he smiles), in which every Monday and Tuesday, two groups of young people will descend on the cellar Space kitchens and under the watchful eyes of well trained and qualified youth-working caterers, prepare tasty, healthy meals for themselves and to sell to local schools and businesses for busy staff to take home that night! Life skills, qualifications, a career opportunity, enterprise and team work all right there. Fantastic.
When he’s not hatching plans to make Cellar Space even more successful, Ben enjoys walking, cooking and his ‘unlimited’ cinema card. He confesses to indulging in the odd ‘double bill’ at the cinema during school holidays! “There’s something quite indulgent about going to the cinema in the daytime!” says Ben. It’s not all armchair stuff, though. “I recently walked the Yorkshire Three Peaks, but over two days rather than one – next I want to try and do the national Three Peaks in the coming year. I find the countryside such an inspiring place to be –it always humbles me!
Ben concludes, “I love working with young people! It is a privilege to be able to positively influence and help shape someone. Young people are so open to this and so creative. I believe passionately that every young person benefits from positive supportive adults who take an interest in them. In the teenage year, it’s especially important for this to be outside the family unit as well as in it. It’s an extra privilege to work with young people who have had negative life experiences, restoring their hope and belief in theselves.”
Ben regularly speaks out in the press and on radio about:
- youth engagement
- any issues relating to young people
- emotional health & well being of young people
“I like it here. It’s sort of comfy, it’s not pressurised - some places are pressurised all the time.”
Nathan aged 13
"The Cellar built me back up. I’m not scared anymore.”
“When you come to the cellar you feel free”
“I always feel happy now I’ve come here”
“I don't kick off when I’m frustrated anymore”
"I’m capable of doing a lot more things”
“...One of the best things about it (the Cellar Space) is the staff because they are easy to talk to and always listen. You can have help with your reading and writing, you can work in groups or one to one. Everything you do makes you feel more confident about yourself and ready to stand on your own two feet. I’ve been coming to the Cellar space for the last 4 years and it’s really changed my life. It made me like school more and it’s helped me get more qualifications. My attendance at school has got better.”
Mark
“It’ helped me know that I can do stuff all by my self - I don’t kick off when I’m frustrated anymore”
Scott Age 13
“I like coming here because it helps my confidence get better”
Kimberley age 15
The Cellar Space has been the only learning environment to keep our son’s interest in the last two years. It has been an excellent experience for him during a difficult period in his life. We are very appreciative of the work done by all the staff. We also value the excellent feedback and communication from the staff.
Parents Linda and Phil
"As Head of Sheffield’s Key Stage 3 Inclusion Service I have worked with the Cellar Space in a number of capacities during the past four years and can recommend this service without reservation.
The quality of work that the staff team does with some of Sheffield’s most vulnerable children is outstanding and is highly valued by other partners including schools, social care colleagues, alternative education providers, youth justice and mental health services.
Often Cellar Space is the only organisation still able to engage and work proactively with those most hard to reach children and young people. The young people often have complex mental health needs, safeguarding issues, learning needs and vulnerabilities within their families. The team approach is flexible, patient and persevering and the quality of the skills, knowledge and experience within the team enables them to deliver outcomes in terms of learning, social and emotional literacy and engagement. The service offers good value for money."
Sue Walker—Head of Key stage 3 Inclusion service
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