Services for young people

Memorandum submitted by Trevor Hutchinson, Senior Detached/Outreach Worker

1. How youth services could meet the Government volunteering priorities that will include the National Citizen Service.

Through the development of programmes delivered by trained, qualified and experienced youth and community workers. Young people from more challenging backgrounds and communities will be more difficult to engage. Generally, unless they see direct benefits to them volunteering (material gains such as ‘payment in kind’, opportunities towards employment), it will be difficult to encourage them in values of ‘big society’ where they possibly feel largely excluded. These attitudes can be challenged through youth work practice and principals that bring about a more positive outlook and broaden their points of views.

2. The relationship between Universal and Targeted Services

Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea Youth Support Development Service has a fully integrated service that works seamlessly between universal / generic and targeted services. This ranges from Borough Wide youth events and generic youth club provision to targeted support such as Teenage Pregnancy, sexual health workshops, school support programmes for suspended young people, drug treatment, Advice, Information and Guidance (Connexions) and so on.

3. Which young people access your youth provision / service?

Young people from a range of social and racial background use the service, this is further extended through Holiday Activity Programmes that attracts young people from all over London. YSDS through its integrated strategy also provides a service to the most challenging and vulnerable young people in the Borough.

4. What role could young people play in shaping services?

By allowing full access to the Service where they can fully influence the decisions making process. This can be achieved through bodies such as Youth Forums or committees.

5. What are the roles of the voluntary, community, statutory and private sectors?

The statutory side of YSDS often grant aids the voluntary and community sector to deliver generic and specialist activities. In turn, the voluntary and community sector is able to increase their service and provision to local young people.

6. How the value and effectiveness of youth services should be assessed?

By bringing together notable practitioners of experience, researchers familiar with youth work, policy makers and young people together to develop fresh standards to monitor and assess youth services and youth work practice. This must be a voluntary body with minimal ties to Government but must have legislative powers to bring Services and practitioners to task if agreed standards are poor or not met.

7. The impact of spending cuts to youth services and provisions?

Services are developing strategies to offset reductions in funding, within statutory sectors, many are looking at alternative sources of funding and aligning themselves closer to voluntary sector partners. It has been noted that detached / outreach and streetbased youth teams are fairing well in the present climate.

8. Recommendations to Select Committee for further action.

To highlight attention to Parliament the value of statutory youth services that support the most vulnerable young people at the margins of our society.

To explore the possibility that statutory services are in an advantaged position to deliver the National Citizen Service. It could be streamlined to deliver this priority and other issues important to young people such as forming positive relationships and engagement with their communities and encourage active citizenship and civic responsibilities through experienced youth work practices and principals.

December 2010