Keeping Our Girls Safe (KOGS) is a registered charity working with children and young people to Educate about unhealthy relationships, child sexual exploitation (CSE), grooming and risks; to Empower them to have confidence and self-esteem; and Inspire them to make positive life choices.
Established in 2011 KOGS was set up to address the gaps in the service provision available to young people around prevention and early intervention by educating young people on unhealthy relationships and supporting those that had been groomed or exploited in a holistic way.
KOGS are based in Oldham and work across Greater Manchester. Our work is outreach as we believe that young people work better in familiar environments. We work in schools, colleges, youth centres and within communities.
EDUCATE
KOGS use different arts including dance, drama, film, photography, craft, music and poetry to explore sensitive issues, build confidence and transferable skills, and as a therapeutic engagement tool.
KOGS offer informal educational programmes that are interactive and engaging and provide young people with a positive outlet to explore topics such as unhealthy relationships, abuse, CSE and risks.
EMPOWER
KOGS work with young people to build confidence and self-esteem. We promote positivity by working around issues such as body image, self-awareness, pressures and expectations, and self-perception.
Young people are often vulnerable to exploitation because of a lack of self esteem or the confidence to seek help. Working on these areas helps them to feel more in control and empowered.
INSPIRE
KOGS programmes allow young people to gain skills, build safe peer networks and raise aspirations. The use of different arts allows young people to try activities and gain skills that they would not generally have access to.
Some of the programmes we offer are accredited which allow the young people participating to achieve a recognised qualification which can be topped up with additional activities.
The Team
KOGS is registered with the Charities Commission (charity number link to external website)
- Elaine Mclean (Chair)
- Anne Ryan
- Adele Thomson
- Christine Cook
The Staff
KOGS Staffs
- Hayley Harewood (CEO)
- Nicola Pomfrey
- Claire Harewood
- Volunteers
- Peer mentors