Services for young people

Memorandum submitted by Middlesbrough Integrated Youth Support Service

1. Youth work targets within the universal services. –

Young people access youth provision on a voluntary basis. However youth workers deliver issue -based work to raise young people knowledge and awareness of issues affecting them giving a better understanding to young people. This allows young people to make more informed choices in their lives. Whilst engaging with young people in this voluntary manner youth workers are able to assess the needs of young people and signpost to relevant services, or in the case of CAF referrals become either the lead practitioner or involved in a multi-agency team to consider support packages. The targets of contact, participation, recorded outcomes and accreditation are tools of engagement to encourage participation in positive activities, so diverting them from anti-social behaviour and promoting pro-social behaviour.

2. Youth work in its self promotes positive ways for young people to engage in society.

Volunteering and peer mentoring programmes are encouraged and young people supported to participate. Young people are actively encouraged to look at their environment and to participate in addressing issues.

· Duke of Edinburgh projects

· The Mayors award for younger 10-14 year olds.

· Arts Awards

· Sports Awards

· OCN accreditations

· Youth opportunity panels

· Focus groups/ consultation groups

· Myplace projects.

· Volunteering for projects- fund raising, intergeneration work.

· Youth work promotes community engagement addressing issues relating to crime, health, Social involvement through citizenship programmes young people having a voice within their communities through a curriculum development model.

3. There is a wide cross section of young people who access youth provision.

Youth workers encourage integration within the community. Young people participate in planning, developing and delivering of programmes. Young people have also been involved in the design of youth centres. Example: - The Manor Y&CC, Myplace and the voluntary sector project Linx. Through consultation processes with young people from a wide cross section of the community undertaken, the needs of young people are identified including any interests they may want to develop. A high consensus of young people want a safe place to go to enable them to meet up and socialize with their friends, along with meeting others. The majority of youth provision has high attendance rates, however, in the more deprived areas of the town this is especially so. Many young people from BME backgrounds, children looked after and young people with disabilities attend specific provision and integrate into all generic provision. Currently 7% of attendees have an identified learning difficulty.

4. Through combined area plans service across all sectors.

Relevant services working in partnership and pooling resources to deliver both targeted and universal services that meet the needs of young people and by working in partnership reaching the most vulnerable and socially deprived young people. For example the partnership with Barnardo’s to deliver the Youth Crime Action Plan (YCAP) in particular the Operation Staysafe delivery plan included partners from the Youth Service, Barnardo’s Social Workers, Police and neighbourhood safety teams joining forces and resources to complete an operation to an exceptional high standard improving the lives of many vulnerable young people. Also being able to apprehend schedule one offenders and other criminal behaviour leading to missing from home young people.

5. Workforce development, require a baseline framework across all services working with children and young people qualification.

This is important to create a shared understanding of Youth Work and other disciplines working with young people.

6. The impact of public spending cuts could be reduced by services pooling resources.

This would improve outcomes for young people. Payment by results can have a negative effect for young people most at need the most vulnerable maybe more marginalised reducing opportunities for those young people and their families which could result in a negative effect on the wider community.

6. Local government structures and statutory framework impact on services and provision by reducing the opportunity for partnership and interagency working. No cross over of skills expertise of people. Service providers would operate in silos, reduces creative opportunities.

7. Value and effectiveness – impact on the outcomes of young people, there is a need to identify long term targets. The continuing target reductions: for teenage pregnancy. Impact on young people entering first time offending, developing effective projects to reduce young people re offending. Reducing the numbers of NEETS.

December 2010