We want Star House to be as accessible as possible to as many young people as possible. As part of a wider piece of work to develop in this area, we are introducing a trial period of late-night openings every Thursday and are inviting small organisations to share in our space for free.
The offer:
Currently, Star House is open 9am-5pm Monday-Friday (later by appointment or special event). We want to extend an offer to youth organisations in Sheffield to use the ground floor space for delivery work on a Thursday evening (5pm-8pm) free of charge. The use of the space must be for the benefit of young people and any proposed activities must be open access*.
*We will consider applications for more targeted activities, but our preference is that they are open access.
Defining ‘young people’:
Use of this space is available for ages 11-25. For safeguarding purposes, we expect under-18s and over-18s activities to be delivered separately (our space can easily accommodate this).
How it will work
If your expression of interest is successful, we will contact you within 3 working days to discuss next steps. We are hoping to get organisations into the building as quickly as possible, so please think about whether you are ready to mobilise quickly before applying.
Depending on interest, we may introduce a rota that allows multiple organisations to benefit from the free use of space throughout the trial period. Alternatively, we may “pair up” organisations who can deliver simultaneously in the space together.
The trial will run for an initial period of 6 weeks. We hope to begin the trial as soon as possible.
Successful organisations will be given access to the ground floor space between the hours of 5pm-8pm on Thursdays. You will be responsible for the young people attending your sessions and for ensuring that the space is looked after with care and consideration. A member of staff from Sheffield Futures will be on call during these hours in case of emergencies only.
About the space:
During the day (9am-5pm, Mon-Fri), the front open area of Star House is an informal, relaxed environment for young people to occupy freely, where they can partake in any available activities or use any available resources if they wish (books, games, WIFI, etc) but with no obligation on how they use the space. It is also used as a waiting/Reception area for young people attending sessions with Sheffield Futures or our tenants, and it is often used for group sessions. E.g. every Tuesday from 5-6.30pm, the space is used for our Wellbeing Cafe.
- There is wheelchair access and a disabled toilet.
- There is a water cooler in the front and kitchen facilities in the back (for staff use only).
- A duty manager is on call during open hours.
Eligibility:
To be eligible for this offer, you must:
- be a youth-focused organisation, or have specific youth-focused services or activities
- have less than £250k annual income
- be able to provide sufficient staffing for the proposed use of the space
- be able to provide a risk assessment for the proposed use of the space
- be based in Sheffield or South Yorkshire
- be able to meaningfully participate in feedback and evaluation at the end of the trial period
Offers we will consider:
While this is not an exclusive list, it gives an idea of the types of activities we are hoping to see:
- General youth clubs
- Educational workshops
- Clubs geared towards hobbies (e.g. sports, crafts, theatre, music)
- Training and skills sessions
You may wish to run weekly sessions throughout the trial period, or just a one-off. We are open to various arrangements – please include this information in your application.
The rationale behind our offer:
For young people in full-time education or work, the building closing at 5pm presents a barrier to them being able to use the space and access support. We want Star House to be as accessible as possible. It’s an incredible privilege to have this space – a space dedicated to young people in the city centre – and we owe it to young people to preserve and promote it for their benefit.
Recent research, including a 2024 consultation facilitated by Chilypep for Sheffield Health and Social Care about a new 18-25 service, and a survey carried out by the ICB in late 2023, suggests that there is demand for later-hours city-centre support. Our trial will test this demand.
If the trial proves successful, we will look at extending the offer further.
Timeline and Key Dates:
To get the trial up and running quickly, we expect a short turnaround. We will however keep a 2nd wave EOI open; successful applicants from the 2nd wave will go onto a ‘waitlist’ and must be ready to mobilise quickly if a slot opens up.
These dates are subject to change.
- 1st wave Expressions of interest open 20th August 2024
- 1st wave Expressions of interest close 30th August 2024
- Confirmation of participating organisations by 4th September 2024
- 2nd wave Expressions of interest open 30th August 2024 (rolling)
- Trial begins 12th September 2024
- Trial concludes 24th October 2024
- Evaluation and feedback December 2024 (dates tbc)
To register your interest, please complete this form.