Services for Young People

Memorandum submitted by John Huskins

This response to the inquiry is made by John Huskins, a former HM Inspector of Schools youth work specialist for 18 years based on his work with UK Youth to promote the Youth Achievement Foundations (YAFs) working with young people either excluded from Secondary School or at risk of exclusion. It describes the successful work done by YAFs throughout the country as part of the YSDFunder programme to prevent young people from becoming NEETs.

These programmes operate at approximately half the cost of students at Pupil Referral Units and are more successful in ensuring the students move on to education, employment or training and thus do not become NEETs. In the current economic climate, when more young people are likely to become NEETs, these programmes are even more important than in the past.

Youth Achievement Foundations

Secondary Schools Partnerships to prevent KS4 Students 'at risk' becoming NEETs

Educational Rationale

1. Youth Achievement Foundations have been developed by UK Youth to work in partnership with secondary schools to identify and support students at Key Stage 4 who are 'at risk' of exclusion through underachievement, challenging behaviour, and other personal problems. The approach builds on the experience of 7KS Enterprise College in North Lincolnshire and is based on the Youth Achievement Awards, created and developed by John Huskins together with mentor support based on his training handbook 'Priority Steps to Inclusion'.

2. The educational basis for the approach is to empower the students to take control of their lives and achieve their full potential through gaining recognised accredited awards. The students are enabled to progressively take increasing responsibility for their activities, their learning, themselves, and each other, and develop the social skills needed to successfully implement their life decisions.

This progression is represented in the following Curriculum Development Model:

© John Huskins 2007

Stage 7: an adult leadership role

Stage 6: taking full responsibility for actions

Stage 5: sharing responsibility

CDM 1-4: dependency; CDM 5-7 towards independence + social skills development

Stage 4: taking part – team building

Stage 3: priority social skills (self-esteem, feelings, empathy, values)

Stage 2: regular attendance, assessment

Stage 1: initial contact – selling the idea

3. This progression is managed through sensitive mentor support, initially developing trust and identifying individual needs, preparing in partnership a personal development plan. CDM Stage 3 is very important, with the focus on ensuring that each student has the necessary level of priority social skills before moving on to team building at CDM Stage 4.

4. Each YAF will provide a wide range of motivating practical, vocational and issue based activities through which this progression is encouraged. Mentors will be appointed with the appropriate skills.

5. Priority social skills: these are the skills necessary to contribute to & benefit from group work, classroom learning and employment, be able to benefit from and contribute positively to the activity. ie:

self-esteem (eg: a positive life view, a commitment to control and change their life)

recognising and managing feelings (eg: impulse and anger control, defer gratification, develop

alternative strategies for addressing conflict)

understand and identify with others (empathy) (eg: to recognise the feelings, needs and points of view of other students and teachers, or victims of crime),

values development (to identify, understand and explore alternatives to current values, beliefs and

behaviour, and their consequences, particularly in relation to the school ethos).

This is the main initial mentor task, to organise 1:1, group work, ice-breakers etc. designed to encourage the development of these skills (see relevant sections of Priority Steps to Inclusion). For some students this will happen quickly, for others it may take longer! But they need to complete this before moving on.

When they are ready, students move on the CDM Stage 4, group work and team building activities, through which the other important social skills are developed, with mentor encouragement, ie:

communication skills, including listening & assertiveness, non-verbal, literacy

interpersonal and relationship skills, friendships & support networks

problem solving, including decision making, particularly in terms of interpersonal issues, the

ability to set attainable goals, linked to self-control and delaying gratification

negotiation, how to reach compromise

planning, thinking ahead

reviewing skills, learning from experience.

6. The key to this social skills development is the use of the Youth Achievement Awards, which

have been designed to recognise and accredit young people's achievements, as they:

accredit progressive levels of responsibility

with any activities being used – they are very flexible

a peer education approach – through the Award Group

where young people assess each others’ Challenges

to promote social skills, and

develop study skills.

7. This is described in the YAF Curriculum Development Model:

Progression up the CDM Stages is recognised by the Home Office as evidence of social skills development which in turn is recognised as an indicator of a successful 'risk diversion' programme. (This recognises that young people are usually involved in a number of 'risk' activities, including school failure, drugs misuse, risky sexual behaviour, emotional problems leading to suicidal feelings, and crime, which need to be addressed together, holistically). Thus accreditation of the Youth Achievement Awards through Bronze and Silver and possibly Gold also provides evidence of risk reduction.

8. The Bronze Youth Achievement Award is used to accredit activities at CDM Stage4, Taking Part. The group of young people, acting as the Award Group and guided initially by their mentor, will agree their first Challenge and how each is going to contribute to its completion, using the headings in the Bronze Booklet. As the activity proceeds each member of the group will keep a record of evidence, notes, photographs, witness statements etc. as appropriate, for inclusion in the portfolio. When all four Challenges have been completed, with initial support from the mentor to ensure the portfolio is ready and the Award Group has agreed it meets the necessary standard, it will be sent for moderation. All students should easily complete the Bronze Award in the first term, and Silver at CDM Stage 5, Sharing Responsibility, well within the first year, or if not, early in Year 2. In Year 2 they will be encouraged to mentor other students for Silver Challenges or, in a few cases, move on to attempt Gold at CDM Stage 6. This progression from Bronze to Silver and possibly the Gold Youth Achievement Award is important as evidence of the student's progressive empowerment, taking responsibility for their life.

The Youth Challenges, a junior version of the Youth Achievement Awards for Key Stage 3 are shown on the diagram, and may be used if thought appropriate, eg: with slow learners as they only require 6 hour activities rather than the 15+ hours required by the Youth Achievement Awards.

9. Alongside the Youth Achievement Awards, other accredited awards should gained, some starting from the YAA portfolios which evidence can also count towards the ASDAN CoPE Award and the Wider Key Skills. All mentors should have been trained by UK Youth in the Youth Achievement Awards (youth worker, portfolio building and moderation training) and by ASDAN for CoPE and Wider Key Skills. 7KS will also provide training in accreditation to ensure students receive maximum recognition for their achievements. The Accreditation Mentor should have received this additional training and be responsible for ensuring portfolios are moderated and Awards presented as quickly as possible after completion.

The role of the mentor

10. Mentor personal development role (Personal, Learning & Vocational/Activity/Issue Mentors):

Mentors are responsible for identifying individual student needs, preparing & assessing Personal Development Plans with students, and encouraging & monitoring accreditation.

All mentors need training (based on Priority Steps top Inclusion) in their role, so that they can:

Identify needs, prepare personal development plan

Provide a safe environment

Engender a sense of belonging

Listen to their perception of reality

Provide space for risk taking & discovery

Engender trust & acceptance of students as they are

Build confidence and self-worth (self-esteem)

Encourage to explore feelings & hopes for future

Help to empathise with experiences of others

Recognise & explore the values they are living by

Mentor training is provided by:

• 7KS Enterprise College (curriculum development, behaviour management, accreditation)

• UK Youth (Youth Achievement Awards)

• ASDAN (accreditation: ASDAN Awards, Wider Key Skills etc)

• John Huskins (Educational Rationale and ‘Priority Steps to Inclusion’)

• Bolton Lads & Girls Club (Community Mentoring)

Partnerships with Secondary Schools

11. The purpose of YAFs is primarily to prevent Key Stage 4 students 'at risk' of exclusion from becoming NEETs. Thus the first stage in the partnership with a secondary school is to identify those students.

YAFs can provide three levels of support to students:

a) Provide personal support throughout year by Community Mentors and youth work drop-in opportunities for those students underperforming through minor behavioural problems but who otherwise are coping with the curriculum, for whom this additional personal support from sensitive mentors or youth workers will enable them to cope successfully with difficulties which may arise during holiday periods when YAF mentors are not available. This is aimed in particular at supporting students with family problems which may arise, at the Maslow 'physiological' and 'safety' levels, eg: abuse.

b) Part-time provision for personal development +(a) through motivating activities, CDM, with mentor support, to enable to stay in & benefit from school leading to Youth Achievement Awards

(YAA), and when appropriate, vocational activities. These are suitable for students who are coping with the main curriculum but who have a range of behavioural problems which the YAF empowerment programme can address. For some, part-time vocational experiences may also be appropriate when these are available.

c) Full-time provision + (a), empowerment through CDM, relevant, motivating practical activity & vocational curriculum leading to accreditation (eg: YAA, Wider Key Skills, Functional Skills, CoPE). This is the main YAF programme described previously, for students unable to benefit from the normal school curriculum.

The same approach can be developed within a secondary school, and work with students from other schools.

© John Huskins 2010

December 2010