Railway Children supported rail partners and British Transport Police during the world-renowned Reading festival weekend.
Date: 30th August 2023
Reading Festival is a world-renowned music event that takes place annually over the August bank holiday weekend, attracting more than 100,000 visitors every year.
A significant part of the festival’s audience is a cohort of teenagers who are celebrating their recent GCSE and A-Level results and marking the end of the summer. Due to the location of the festival site being close to the town centre and the train station, foot fall increases significantly over the course of the weekend.
For the first time, Railway Children supported partners from Great Western Railway, Festival Republic and British Transport Police during the event, while working alongside the Samaritans on an engagement stall at the station.
The stall was used to raise awareness of the ‘At Risk Right Here Right Now’ campaign, as well as promoting the Railway Guardian app and sign-posting young people to support services that were available at the festival via a QR code.
In addition to providing information, an experienced youth practitioner was present at the station over the course of the three days to offer direct support to anyone who needed it. For many teenagers attending the festival, it was the first time they were away from home, which can increase the risk of vulnerability.
Joe Clay, Programme Manager: Safeguarding Partnerships, said:
“This was the first time we have done anything like this, however, due to the amount of young people using the railway and the fact that for many, it may be their first time away from home, it felt right that we should support such an event.
“We engaged with well over a hundred young people, but also had a lot of engagement with staff from various parts of the station. Railway Children is in a unique position to offer support as we understand the issues that young people face while using the railway and externally.”
Ian Stack, BTP Chief Inspector at Reading Station, said:
“The joint partnership working at Reading Station with Railway Children and BTP during Reading Festival was a great success following several positive interactions with festival-goers who knew nothing about either organisations.
“The fantastic thing about hosting joint initiatives is that we come together to promote each other’s work and support vulnerable people using the rail network.”
Through our flagship youth participation programme, Youth Platform, young people are shaping our training materials, influencing key decisions and ensuring the rail industry truly understand youth vulnerability.
More than 25 million Tanzanians are living in extreme poverty, leaving many young women and girls vulnerable to hunger, family breakdown, and abuse.
Since launching in 2018, Railway Children’s Night at the Station has raised more than £880,000 to reach and protect some of the world’s most vulnerable children. This year, the charity is aiming to surpass the £1m mark – and is calling on the rail community and individual supporters to help reach the target.
As the UK marks Neurodiversity Week (16th – 20th March), we reflect on the unique strengths different minds bring to Railway Children, the rich potential of the neurodivergent young people we support and why we’ve established a Neurodiversity Working Group to ensure every kind of mind can thrive.
In India, Railway Children is reaching some of the most vulnerable young people through a powerful and proven approach: peer leadership.
Read our guide to claiming your compensation and learn how to easily donate it to vulnerable children.
