Big Brother Burngreave, our specialist delivery partner in South Yorkshire, is an organisation with a unique approach to leadership.
Youngsters in the hugely multi-cultural Sheffield community are attracted to the project by the opportunity to play sport. As they progress through the age groups, they become leaders and mentors to the younger ones, with their leader status denoted by the colour of their t-shirts: blue for high school age, red for college, grey for six selected ‘Champions’ and black for three ‘Leaders’.
Tyrone and Tes, both 21, are proud owners of the coveted black t-shirts. They now appreciate the many profound ways that sport and the responsibility of leadership roles have benefited them.
Tyrone (pictured above, centre) is 21 and studying Physical Education and School Sport at Sheffield Hallam University. He first went to Big Brother Burngreave in 2018 having arrived in the UK from Italy as an asylum seeker two years previously, speaking almost no English.
“Coming to Big Brother pushed me and forced me to speak to people in my community and really brought on my confidence and communication skills. It boosted me so much,” he says. “When I first started, I wouldn’t talk much. I was very shy and quiet, but compared to three years ago it’s amazing how much I’ve changed.
“What Big Brother does is very important. Most of the bad stuff in the community happens because young people don’t have something that keeps them busy. Giving us responsibilities and keeping us occupied with physical activity is honestly the best thing you can do for young people.”
Tyrone started by joining in with weekly football and basketball sessions but says “it soon became much more than that – it became like a family.”
As he progressed into a volunteering role, Tyrone became more interested in sports coaching. He was supported in this ambition by the inspirational and indomitable Safiya Saeed, founder of Reach Up Youth (the charity that runs Big Brother Burngreave and Sisterhood, its project for girls).
Safiya supported Tyrone’s quest to become a PE teacher, helping him apply for the Level 2 Community Sports Leadership and FA Level 1 courses. Through local connections, she also helped him secure paid work as a basketball coach.
He ascended through the Big Brother leadership pathway, proudly wearing the grey ‘Champions’ T-shirt and in 2019 earning the coveted black ‘Leaders’ T-shirt.
“Becoming a leader puts weight on your shoulders - in a good way,” he explains. “You have to think about everything you’re doing. I’m aware that I’ve got young people and even people my own age looking at me. It comes with a lot of responsibility in how I carry myself.
“Being a leader and role model encourages you to stick to the right path. You might find yourself doing something that’s not good or helpful, and you remind yourself (or someone reminds you) that as a leader you shouldn’t be doing this kind of stuff any more.
“You learn and experience so much stuff that you wouldn’t necessarily go through otherwise. Kids come up to you with problems in their life or at college and that gives me first-hand experience of dealing with the type of issues that will come up when I’m in full-time employment.
“You feel a connection with the young people. There are so many people from different backgrounds. I love it – honestly, I love it! Seeing young people on their first day and seeing them even eight weeks in, you see a massive difference.”
Tes (pictured above with Safiya), also 21, has just finished a Foundation Degree in Sports and Exercise Coaching, is a youth worker at Element Society and an athletics coach for Sheffield City Trust. He got engaged just last week. He has a prosperous life ahead of him – and Big Brother Burngreave's leadership programme has played a massive part in the happy position he’s now in.
“From the start, I just loved it,” he says. “We were playing football, coaching and leading sessions. It was beautiful. It makes you feel more confident about yourself. I led a session with 10 people and soon enough there were 20 people and you know you’re responsible for its growth because they’re enjoying it so much.”
When Tes first started volunteering as a coach, he was leading young people who were his own age or only slightly younger. Inevitably, it was daunting at first. “I didn’t know whether they’d listen to me or take me seriously,” he admits. “But I learned that you have to prove yourself worthy of respect by setting an example - turn up on time, wear your t-shirt. In that way, the responsibility of being a leader makes you a better person.
“I want them to understand that being in Big Brother Burngreave is more than just coming here on a Saturday and kicking a ball. We are a team and a family. Wearing the same t-shirts is part of growing that sense of identity.”
With Safiya’s encouragement and guidance, both Tes and Tyrone have undergone extensive training to deliver workshops with young people on subjects like knife crime and mental health. Safiya also gives them public speaking assignments to promote the Big Brother project to children and adults. “She continually gives us these platforms to learn, grow and improve,” says Tes – who is also undergoing Levelling the Playing Field’s mentoring training.
“It’s given me so much confidence that will help me down the line,” Tes adds. “It gives you connections with people that I would never normally meet who are experienced and pass on knowledge to you. If it weren’t for Big Brother and Safiya being in my life, I would definitely never have gone to uni or be where I am today.
“The whole process has been amazing. I look at our ‘Champions’ now who were 12 or 13 when I met them, and I’ve been mentoring them from a young age. It’s beautiful. That’s something I contributed towards. I can be proud.”
Read more about our LtPF South Yorkshire specialist partners Reach Up Youth and their Big Brother Burngreave and Sisterhood projects here.