National citizens service

[Nousernameforme]

Has anyone sent their child on this and did they enjoy it or find it useful?
I can vaguely remember from posts on here it turned out to be a bit of a disaster later year with stealing and violence.
Is anyone considering sending their dc this year?

My DD did it last summer and absolutely loved it. We are East Midlands and I didn't hear about anything untoward happening.

It wasn't fantastically organised, we would get quite short notice requests to get them somewhere/pick up which isn't always easy when you are working. But overall I think it was a really good experience.

She enjoyed all the parts, I think there was a week at an activity centre, a week in Uni accommodation and a two weeks of fundraising for their chosen charity. She got on well with the mentors (who are mostly only a couple of years older) and most of her wave, and very much so with her group.