hertfordshire county council andrew simmons deputy director – services for young people children,...

Hertfordshire County Councilwww.hertsdirect.org

ANDREW SIMMONS

DEPUTY DIRECTOR –

SERVICES FOR YOUNG PEOPLE

CHILDREN, SCHOOLS & FAMILIES

YOUTH CONNEXIONS HERTFORDSHIRE

INITIAL BRIEFING FOR HCC – SCRUTINY PANEL

5 OCTOBER 2009


Overview

PERFORMANCE AND BUDGETS

SERVICE DELIVERY

PROGRESS AND CHALLENGES

STRUCTURE & ORGANISATION

BACKGROUND AND CONTEXT


BACKGROUND TO YOUTH CONNEXIONS

• Youth Matters, Green Paper – July 2005

• Youth Matters – Next Steps – April 2006

• Aiming High for Young

People – 10 year strategy

for Positive Activities

- July 2007


Four key strands of policy

• Positive Activities for young people

• Information Advice and Guidance – including careers education and advice

• Targeted Youth Support – focus on vulnerable young people

• Involvement and making a positive contribution ( Volunteering )

BUT clear message about LAs leading and joining up strands into a coherent young person centred approach

NATIONAL POLICY DRIVERS


LOCAL CONTEXT – Developing IYSS

Developing Hertfordshire Integrated Youth Support Services – consultation June 2007

Key Messages from response• Development needs to be seen as a three year strategy• The importance of a coherent and joined up approach• universal access to services but recognised the need

for differentiated support.• Responsive to local community needs• Involve young people in helping shape and direct

service priorities. • Build on services and activities that are already

working well and are valued by young people.• Value for money and the avoidance of unnecessary

bureaucracy.

YOUTH CONNEXIONS – Organisation

Youth Connexions – established 1 April 2008

• Hertfordshire County Council, Youth Service

• Connexions Hertfordshire

Organisations merged to form new INTEGRATED YOUTH SUPPORT SERVICE within CSF

• Delivery restructured to align with District Council boundaries – 10 integrated teams under single management

Youth Connexions now part of Services for Young People portfolio – from September 2009


YOUTH CONNEXIONS - People

Staffing and Resources (FTE)

08/09 09/10

‘Connexions’ Activities 160 146.5

‘Youth Work’ 98 103

Projects 8 8

Integrated Management

admin & support 49 49

TOTAL 315 306.5


PERFORMANCE – Positive Activities & TYS

13-19 year olds data - REYS targets - April to August 2007 to 2009

0

2000

4000

6000

8000

10000

12000

Reach (Individual Contacts) Participation Recorded Outcomes Accredited Outcomes

District

Nu

mb

er

of

yo

un

g p

eo

ple

April - Aug. 2007

April - Aug. 2008

April - Aug. 2009 provisional

TARGETED YOUTH SUPPORT • Performance measured through Children & Young People’s Plan

POSITIVE ACTIVITIES


Numbers of young people in the 16-18 NEET group 1 October 2007 & 2009

0

50

100

150

200

250

300

Broxbourne Dacorum EastHertfordshire

Hertsmere NorthHertfordshire

St Albans Stevenage Three Rivers Watford WelwynHatfield

Address notknown & out

countyresident

District

Num

ber

of y

oung

peo

ple

NEET - 1 October 2007

NEET - 1 October 2009

PERFORMANCE – NEET Rate & IAG

National Schools Survey 2009 ECM Outcome "Achieve Economic Wellbeing"

1.00 1.50 2.00 2.50 3.00 3.50 4.00

The provision for 14-19 education inmeeting local needs

The information, advice and guidanceprovided by local services on options

post-16

The provision of opportunities post-16 forcare leavers

The provision of post-16 opportunities foryoung people with learning difficulties

and/or disabilities

Statistical Neighbours

National

Hertfordshire

NEET RATES BY DISTRICT

SCHOOL FEEDBACK

INFORMATION ADVICE AND GUIDANCE


VALUE FOR MONEY – Positive Activities


2008 funding per head and NEET rates - Herts, England & DCSF statistical neighbours

175

225

275

325

375

425

475

0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14

NEET %

Fu

nd

ing

per

hea

d

Bracknell Forest

Hertfordshire

Hampshire

Bedfordshire

England

Cambridgeshire

Trafford

BuckinghamshireSurrey

W Berks

Cheshire

Oxfordshire

VALUE FOR MONEY – Connexions Grant


BUDGET HEADLINES08/09 09/10

Area Based Grants £8,767k £8,469k(Connexions and PAYP)HCC Youth £4,650k £4,882k

Total Base Budget £13,417k£13,352k

Other funds £2,854k £2,570k

Total Income £16,272k £15,922k

YOUTH CONNEXIONS - Resources


A coherent package of services to help all young people achieve their potential

Delivered directly by Youth Connexions and by partners working through District Children’s Trust Partnership 11 – 19 Groups and 14 – 19 Strategic Area Partnership Groups of schools and colleges (SAPGs)

Positive Activities Targeted Youth Support Information Advice and Guidance Volunteering & making a positive contribution 14 – 19 Learning Provision

SERVICE DELIVERY – The Youth Offer


SERVICE DELIVERY – Wider support to Youth Sector

• Voluntary sector support - work through Pro-action to build capacity and capability

• Lead Channel Mogo and Mogozout developments – Hertfordshire’s Youth Portal

• Manage Youth Opportunities Fund and Youth Capital Fund – C£1m of DCSF funding per annum

• Working with and through District Children’s Trust Partnerships


• Hertfordshire Children’s Trust Youth Board

• Members of the Youth Parliament

• Youth Advocates, Youth Councils and Youth Forums

• Direct involvement in service planning

• Support young people in advocating on key issues

• Support and advise on Youth led events

SERVICE DELIVERY – Youth Involvement


Inherited stock of premises in need of refurbishment or replacement against Aiming High criteria

• New builds in– Hemel Hempstead ( My Place )– Watford ( DCSF Funds)– Borehamwood ( new central Youth Connexions

Centre)– St Albans ( part of Ariston redevelopment )

• Small works improvements e.g.– Bishop’s Stortford (youth gym)– Three Rivers (new astroturf pitch)– Hatfield (integrated Youth Connexions Centre)– Cheshunt (one stop shop)

BUT building time lag slows visible signs and still significant work to undertake

SERVICE DELIVERY - Premises


• Significant increase in volume and outcomes of positive activities over past 18 months

• More holistic integrated approach to supportingyoung people – staff working across previous boundaries

• Continued low NEET rates despite recession• Quality assessments of IAG remains strong• Local partnership arrangements generally

developing well• External funding to support infrastructure

developments

YOUTH CONNEXIONS - Progress


• Embedding effective partnership arrangements in some areas• Opportunities for further coherence through ‘Services for Young

People developments• 14 – 19 Learning developments including the raising of the

participation age in 2013• Managing expectations within the resources available• Consistency of approach – whilst recognising local needs• The economic downturn• Recruitment and retention of staff• Further improvement in quality and appropriateness of premises• Further growth in participation and outcomes • Outdoor Education developments

YOUTH CONNEXIONS – Key Challenges


We know from Sian's involvement how much time and effort went into the production - we've seen how much she's grown as an individual and the reaction from the audience on both nights shows how well it was received. It's a string to her bow and opportunity that she grasped with both hands. From a member of the audience, thank you for the entertainment; from a parent, many thanks for all of the team's efforts in getting the performances put on. Friday's ovation for all involved shows how everybody's efforts were appreciated with the Snappy G's team deserving so much credit.

William’s mum came to say ‘Thank you’ after staff got him ‘out of a pickle’ the day before

‘What a wonderful time my son had' and ‘how enthused he is do some more’.

Mum commented that this was the first time that James had achieved and passed anything so he felt really good and confidence had increased.Six months later James secured a job with the local swimming pool as a Life Guard and passed his First Aid Certificate and Health & Safety training and was in the local press for saving a child from drowning. Mum commented that “James is feeling good about himself and happy at work”“James feels that he has achieved at last and can move on with his life”

YOUTH CONNEXIONS –Parents & Carers

hertfordshire county council andrew simmons deputy director – services for young people children,...

Documents

young peoplechildren

youth work

young people portfolio

young peopleinformation

youth connexionsyouth

differentiated support

neet group

integrated teams