Written evidence submitted by Integrated
Youth Support Service, London Borough of Hounslow
The relationship between universal and targeted
services for young people
It is imperative that there is access for young people
to both Universal and Targeted Services. This not only gives young
people a degree of choice, in relation to being able to come into
contact with good role models and have their needs identified
in an arena that does not label them. But also allows them to
receive initial support and be able to be sign posted or referred
as and if the issues require it. This will also include young
people who want to engage as providers rather than consumers,
and not just look at a deficit model of young people's engagement.
Targeted services have a part to play in the development of young
people who identify or are identified as needing additional support.
This is not new to the youth service environment, but additional
funding and properly supported workers allow for a better service
to assist young people in participating in the development of
a progressive life plan.
It is important to distinguish those young people
who require additional support from a targeted service to those
that require universal access and one should not replace the other.
How services for young people can meet the Government's
priorities for volunteering, including the role of National Citizen
Service
Many young people are involved in volunteering across
the UK and in particular we have a well focussed youth and adult
volunteering programme in Hounslow, that supports the work we
undertake with young people. The mapping of youth volunteering
is problematic because of the constant changing of the third sector
organisations accrediting the volunteers and supporting them.
There needs to be a national database of volunteers, where the
volunteering is taking place, the rewards process and trigger
points, and a national recognition process. Young people need
to be involved in the planning, organisation, administration and
delivery of such programmes and evaluate their effectiveness.
Currently with NCS and other programmes it does feel that there
is a considerable amount of tripping over each other to provide
accredited programmes. It is important that young people from
all demographics are listened to so that the final outcome/programme
is successful in its up take
In Hounslow we have had a number of our full time
paid staff access youth work careers through their beginnings
in volunteering with us, this is important in an area such as
West London due to housing and living costs and we have been unsuccessful
in the past in relation to getting people to move from other areas
of the country to this area, as the cost has been prohibitive.
The "grow your own" programme, therefore enabled local
young people to train, gain experience and then subsequently become
paid staff in a service they know and understand in an area they
know and understand and enables the demographic of an area to
be more relevantly reflected.
Which young people access services, what they
want from those services and their role in shaping provision
Young people from all demographics of life engage
with Hounslow's youth service. Some seek assistance in planning
for the next stage of life, education, relationships, specific
issues, leisure, etc.
What most young people want is to be able to engage
with adults that they can trust. Adults who will not judge them,
adults who will help them to establish a sense of purpose and
direction, adults who will praise them for there achievements
even if it is not totally successful. This should be a parent,
but not all young people are in that position and even if they
have such parents, they do not always recognise the benefits of
what they have.
The Youth Service in Hounslow does work with many
very vulnerable young people, those at risk from many issues that
life deals them currently. The staff members are skilled at mediation
and advocacy and support young people in a number of arena's in
a non-judgemental way that enables the young person to grow and
develop rather than be judged and labelled.
Young people should be and are involved in decision
making regarding their futures and their communities and we have
a number of examples that demonstrate this. A real strength of
the staff team has been to promote cohesion and respect and share
lives with others.
The relative roles of the voluntary, community,
statutory and private sectors in providing services for young
people
We all have a part to play, but the understanding
of social structure and intervention is best placed in the realm
of the youth work sector. Personal development has been the key
to producing valuable and effective citizens. The voluntary sector
and youth services have been key to this, however the private
sector has been key in providing additional funding for activities
and social development that supports the LA.
However mutually supportive the relationship is,
often the third sector or in the case of this Borough, small voluntary
and community sector organisations need the support of the LA
Youth Services who support through the capacity building and training
that is on offer to them and continue to make an impact on their
organisation.
The training and workforce development needs of
the sector
It is important that there is a positive development
plan for all staff. Those employed in a full time capacity should
have a professional qualification as defined by the NYA with relevant
experience across the sector. If line managing others they should
also have and be availed of managerial qualifications and experience.
Part time or support youth workers should be qualified
as defined by the NYA and given the opportunity to advance to
a professional qualification. The provision of a part time training
courses run via a university that allows for the attainment of
the full time equivalent degrees should be available.
The opportunity to build training consortia's between
a number of local authorities can be a possible way of sharing
resources. This will need better and more constructive ways of
working, planning and implementing. There is no need for more
external companies to offer such, as they tend to be costly and
not always locally relevant. This can be achieved with the various
training sectors involved in the youth training and development
departments that we have at present.
The impact of public sector spending cuts on funding
and commissioning of services, including how available resources
can best be maximised, and whether payment by results is desirable
and achievable
The Service has had significant cuts since 2006,
and over 17 staff have left the Connexions and Youth Service since
then, the direct effect has undoubtedly been on administration
and management but the most profound impact has been on the front
line staff, now having to undertake administrative and other tasks
on instead of the administrators thus taking them away from front
line delivery. The effect being front line delivery is affected.
Uncertainty of planning for the out of school provision, both
evenings, weekends and during holiday times has also had an impact
to often paralyse staff, with no discernable funds and no consistency
of approach the work is much more ad hoc and means the experience
to young people is being compromised. It would be worth making
more use of the closure times of schools to maximise available
space and reduce capital expenditure but often this too is costly
and problematic as it is often a new experience for schools to
keep the young people "on board" whereas in the past
they may have been discussing their exclusion and therefore not
able to return to school at other times.
How local government structures and statutory
frameworks impact on service provision; and
How the value and effectiveness of services should
be assessed
It is difficult to discuss local structures at present
as we are in a transition period and awaiting change, although
it looks as though Youth work is being diluted by a locality management
structures. What was in place and was showing an improvement with
the community getting more involved in its own development has
been curtailed until the new structure is determined.
Services ought to be assessed on the personal development
of the client groups and the positive development of local communities
not just the little they cost. Investment structures should be
adopted in order to measure the success of local ventures. Measurement
can include the numbers benefiting form each venture, sustainability,
diverse inclusion. And community cohesion.
The clarity of purpose is being lost, a number of
officers feel that Early Intervention is for younger children
and miss the key role the Youth Service has to play in the world
that enables young people to be picked up when the issue presents—there
is a battle for "priority" in the current climate and
treated work and work with parents is being seen in many areas
as a catch all for work with teenagers and again replacing the
work with teenagers—there is a substantial need for young
people agreed over 13 years to have places to go without their
parents where they will feel supported, listened too and developed.
It is always essential to remember that the young people we work
with often have parents who are not always giving them the best
advice are not the best people to support them and working with
them will impact on a later generation, the mistakes made with
this generation are not going to be prevented and we would see
a lost generation of teenagers who feel the system and the world
is against them.
1 April 2011
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