Keeping Young People Safe at 224 Youth Zone
At 224 Youth Zone, the safety and wellbeing of our members and staff will always be our number one priority.
Like other Youth Zones we will be introducing bag checks and handheld metal detector (wand) checks as young people and adults enter the building. These checks are a preventative safety measure designed to ensure that weapons or unsafe items do not enter the Youth Zone. This also means that we can also detect and confiscate vapes, 224 will be a no vaping site so we ask that young people do not bring them to the site.
We understand that parents and carers may have questions, so we want to reassure our community that:
- These checks are carried out respectfully and with the young person’s consent
- They are not based on suspicion – every young person is treated equally
- Our team will always explain the process and make young people feel comfortable
- We operate a strict zero-tolerance policy on weapons to protect everyone in the building
- All staff carrying out a wanding check have received adequate training
224 Youth Zone is committed to providing a safe, welcoming space where young people can relax, have fun and grow in confidence. Introducing wanding at the start of our sessions is part of our ongoing work to make sure every young person can enjoy their time here safely.
We believe that young people deserve places where they feel secure, supported and able to be themselves, and these measures help us protect that environment.
If parents or carers have any questions, please don’t hesitate to speak to a member of our team.
To ensure young people know what to expect, we will soon be sharing a video of what wanding involves alleviating any anxiety so everyone knows what to expect when they visit us for the first time.
Thank you for continuing to support us in keeping 224 Youth Zone a safe space for all.
Check out our video below to find out more about the process.