A VIBRANT youth theatre company based in Haringey has been given a definitive seal of approval following an inspection carried out by other young people.

Award-winning Haringey Shed may have grown used to collecting accolades for its inclusive drama performances and creative workshops, but has now been named one of the best organisations for young people after being awarded the highest Youth Mark score of all those inspected.

Youth Mark is the quality award for organisations offering services for young people and carries more weight as it is determined by peers of a similar age following a rigorous four-month assessment.

Haringey Shed's ethos is to cater for children and teenagers of all abilities and needs and the young inspectors, aged between 15 and 19, were impressed by staff and volunteers' commitment to ensuring every member plays a part.

One of the accredited youth assessors said: "The strength of Haringey Shed is inclusion, providing opportunities for young people to take part, supporting those with disabilities and bringing young people of all abilities and needs together."

Measures to make sure everyone was involved include interpreters for young people with hearing problems and one-to-one support from volunteers for those who needed.

Lynne Hale, Haringey Shed director, said: "This was a very positive learning experience for us as an organisation. It was inspiring to see the way the youth assessors worked, particularly in their self-assured and effective presentation of their findings.

"I thoroughly recommend the Youth Mark quality award for youth organisations interested in a young person’s approach to monitoring and evaluation."

Interviews with staff, volunteers and young people revealed they see Haringey Shed as "one big family" and were proud to belong to the theatre group.

The strong sense of family and community within Haringey Shed stood out as something special, assessors said.

Another key finding was that the group involved young people in the organisation and management and not just in performance.

The young people are able to choose the themes for plays, designing choreography and fundraising for the organisation.

The Haringey Shed youth forum was found to be an integral feature that offered young people an opportunity to have their say.

But inspectors found that not all young people at Haringey Shed were aware of the Youth Forum and suggested the group's leaders make further effort to raise its profile.