Dreamcatchers is a step beyond traditional Youth Work. We are different, and better, in seven ways:

We operate on a purely Needs Led and Solution Focused basis.
Our work is based on the needs of the young people we serve. We never deliver a project that is not needed and wanted by Young People. We focus on the here and now and towards the future; we cannot change the past, so we never start there!


All our workers are trained Youth Life Coaches.
Coaching has been a perk of the rich and famous for many years. We believe if it’s good enough for Branson and Beckham, it's good enough for young people. We have worked with market leading training providers to create young people centred models for Youth Life Coaching and Learning Coaching. Our work offers a complementary blend of formal and informal Coaching to the young people and schools we serve and support.


We are the pioneers of Progressive Youth Work.
Many successful people today understand and utilise the various methodologies that make up “Human Development and Success Psychology” We have translated these complex theories into easy to understand models and practical tools young people can use immediately to make rapid and lasting changes in their lives. All our workers are trained as Progressive Youth Workers.


We focus on rewarding Pro Social Behaviour.
We understand that whatever you focus your energy and attention on is what you get. Therefore when you focus on Anti Social Behaviour you get more of it! By concentrating on encouraging, celebrating and rewarding Pro Social Behaviour we achieve fantastic results with some of the most disengaged young people from amongst the most deprived communities. Our projects offer a safe and positive alternative to gangs as we structure the projects to establish the same support mechanisms that young people tell us were the reasons they joined a gang in the first place.


We are Solution Finders.
Traditional ‘problem solving’ techniques start by identifying what is broken or doesn’t work and then trying to figure out how to fix it. We concentrate on one phrase “what do we want instead?” Once a positive alternative has been agreed we work towards achieving that. As what you focus on is what you get, surely you would prefer to get more solutions.


We deliver Appreciative Community Development.
When working with communities we utilise an appreciative approach. Regeneration projects often simply rip down and rebuild communities based on what has worked elsewhere. There is no one size fits all in community development or regeneration. We start by identifying what already works, what the community are proud of and what THEY want for their community’s future. We then support them to create a exciting vivid representation of how it will be once it is how they want it, and a goal driven action plan to make it happen.


We DO rather than just talking or writing reports.
Many organisations carry out extensive research, and then write long reports with broad sweeping recommendations hoping that people will take action based on all their work. For Dreamcatchers just knowing something isn’t good enough. Our work is based on Action Research. If we need to know how to better meet the needs of the people we serve we have a very straightforward approach… We ask them and create positive actions to achieve positive results with them.