Spark will create opportunities for young people to receive emotional support, whenever it is needed, to enhance their wellbeing.
Spark provides a range of counselling and mentoring services for children, young people and their families in the Epping Forest and surrounding areas. We deliver these services in primary and secondary schools and within the community. We believe in building relationships, coming alongside a young person and their family, inspiring a sense of hope together.
To develop our work with children and young people further, we are launching our Level 5 Diploma in Counselling Children and Young people in January 2024. If you are a Level 4 counsellor and are looking for your next professional development opportunity, click Spark Level 5 Diploma for more information.
Counselling provides a safe and confidential space in which to explore your feelings with a trained professional who will listen to you and help you find ways to deal with emotional issues.
Our sessions last for approximately 40 minutes with a friendly, trained counsellor. You will be invited to meet us at Spark before your first appointment to ensure you receive the appropriate support.
We are pleased to be listed on the Counselling Directory.
Mentoring is an opportunity to build a relationship with another person who can be a positive and consistent role model in a young person’s life. A mentor can encourage a young person to make the right life choices and reach their potential.
A weekly meeting with a mentor in a relaxed environment. Meetings last approximately 1 hour and are an opportunity to talk through any issues or challenges a young person may be facing.
Our schools work is for children in primary years 5 and 6, and young people in secondary years 7-13.
We offer family communication sessions, with the aim of promoting positive relationships within the family.
Volunteering opportunities:
We are always recruiting for volunteer mentors! If you enjoy chatting with and listening to young people aged 11-23 and you have a couple of hours to spare during the day, why not contact us to
find out more? We give full training and ongoing support. We often find that the mentor benefits as much from the relationship as the mentee. Call Hasna on 020 8508 6743.
If you are a trainee level 4 counsellor, have received your fitness to practise from your college and are looking for a placement, please email spark@worthunlimited.co.uk. We offer lots of peer and group support and we are proud to have won the Counsellors’ Together ‘Volunteer Organisation of the Year’ Award in 2022 on account of our ‘family style’ atmosphere and our support for our trainees.
Volunteer Mentoring:
Billy, Spark Mentor, says:
‘Working with Spark as a volunteer mentor has been a great and rewarding experience. The training was excellent and the support has been brilliant. Being a mentor has given me the opportunity to work with young people and offer guidance and support to young people who may need someone to listen to their needs. I would highly recommend working with Spark and becoming a mentor to anyone!’
Receiving our news:
Follow us on Facebook for regular updates and news, or sign up to get the Spark newsletter by email here: Mail Chimp Sign-up
Other ways of supporting us:
We are a community charity serving young people right here in Epping Forest. We get no statutory funding and rely on grants and donations to keep our service going. If you want to make a difference to young people in your community, there are loads of ways to raise much-needed funds for us so that we can provide more mentoring and counselling sessions for young people who need them. Please head on over to our Enthuse fundraising page for more information.
Want to hold a cake sale or a yard sale to raise money for us? Fancy climbing Everest for us, or running the London Marathon?! We’d be happy to hear from you and would love to help you set up a sponsorship page for Spark! Contact spark@worthunlimited.co.uk, call 020 8508 6743 or pop in to the office to talk to one of our team.
Proudly supported by:
Adele co-founded Spark in 2009 as a result of seeing a need to support young people in the area. She believes that there is a huge amount to be done to meet the emotional and mental health needs of our young people and is passionate about making a difference by providing a service that is accessible to everyone. Adele is married with one child.
Hasna joined Spark as a Mentoring Coordinator in November 2021. She is passionate about working to better the lives of our future generations. Hasna is married and has a bright and beautiful toddler!
Mary joined the team at Spark in spring 2019 as a part-time administrator and feels fortunate to be part of a team that is making such a difference to the lives of our young people. Mary is married with two children and enjoys coaching athletics at her local running club.
Abi is a mother of three, and is acutely aware of the difficulties that young people and families face in today’s world; in her role as a qualified counsellor she has experience of working with those dealing with day to day stresses and those struggling to overcome serious mental and physical abuse. To this end, Abi is passionate about working with young people and families and feels that their mental health is as important as their physical health.
Victoria has worked at Spark part time since 2014 looking after the administration, funding and day to day finances. She is a wife and mum to 2 children and enjoys all sporting challenges! She loves seeing the difference Spark makes to the lives of young people and their families and feels privileged to be part of the team.
Kelly joined Spark as Counselling Coordinator in September 2022, having previously volunteered as a counsellor, delivering 1:1 support to children and young people in the local community. Kelly says that life can be very challenging for our young people living in today’s complex world, and that supporting them to develop good mental health practices is crucial in helping them move forward in their lives.
Amanda's passion is working with people, helping them through tough times and facilitating the changes they desire for life. Life can be difficult at times we can find ourselves in a dark place with uncertainty and sadness hanging over us. Having somebody who is focused just on you, who listens and will help you help yourself can make all the difference.
Loughton Youth Centre
106 Borders Lane
LOUGHTON
IG10 3SB
Tel: 020 8508 6743
E-mail: spark@worthunlimited.co.uk
Parking is available in a car park at the front of the building
The 167 bus stop is in front of the building.
It is a 10-15 minute walk from Debden station.
