« Previous | Contents | Next »
Listen
Social Justice ...a Scotland where everyone matters - Annual Report 2002
Every Young Person Matters
Our Vision
A Scotland in which every young person has the opportunities, skills and support to make a successful transition to working life and active citizenship.
The challenges facing young people
- Young people leaving school with low or no qualifications are more likely to be unemployed and living on a low income in later life.
- Young people who have long periods of time when they are not in education, training or employment whilst aged between 16 and 19 are more likely to be unemployed in the future.
- Young people who are detached from the school system, for example through truancy, find it hard to get used to the routine of work and are less successful in keeping a job and moving up the career ladder.
- Young people can be susceptible to peer pressure which makes them choose unhealthy lifestyle choices, such as smoking or alcohol misuse.
- Young people can be trapped by becoming teenage parents.
- Young people may be limited by access and transport difficulties.
Our long-term targets are to:
- Make sure that every young person leaves school with the maximum level of skills and qualifications possible.
- Make sure that every 19 year old is engaged in education, training or work.
Every Young Person Matters - case study
David Scrimgeour,
aged 16 years
"No school would enrol me... I was just sitting in the house, doing nothing."
A couple of years ago most people would have written 16-year-old David Scrimgeour off. No school in Dundee would accept him because of his disruptive and abusive behaviour. He had been excluded from every high school he'd attended - the school system just didn't have the time to deal with him.
David acknowledges that he was a problem: "I was in fights, causing trouble, arguing with teachers... the lot, basically. It was frustration. I couldn't cope in big classes and found it hard to make friends. I bottled up my problems and then just blew my top. Everybody would just stay out of my way."
That was 2000. Now, two years on, with the help of a youth counsellor at the Xplore Social Inclusion Partnership the future looks bright for David. It's early days but it seems that he has turned his life around. He's settled down and is renting a flat from the council. He has always had a keen interest in art but had never been in a classroom long enough to complete a project. Now he has achieved an SVQ in art and design, designed the logo for a new youth centre and is currently training to be a grill chef at a steakhouse in the city.
"David has had a complete transformation" says Xplore's Manager, Karen Tinney. "There's been a radical change. He was very aggressive and would just lose his temper. There would be no discussion - we had to really take time to get to know him."
Xplore's counsellor worked through a series of complex behavioural issues with David. He had experienced abuse as a child, which had obviously traumatised him a great deal. No one had been able to get close enough to help him deal with his situation.
The secret of Xplore's success is down to mutual respect. Xplore's staff emphasise the difference with their work. They treat every young person individually; everyone has different motivations. Attendance is purely voluntary, but the SIP expects a commitment from the young person to set goals with a counsellor and to work towards meeting these.
David certainly supports this ethos. He explained: "There's a lot of respect. From the start they treated me like a grown up. They listened to my point of view and worked things out with me."
Each person is assigned to a youth counsellor. Jimmy Dodds built up a rapport with David and helped him work through his frustrations. He passed on basic anger-management techniques and provided support when it was necessary.
"Jimmy is my mate now. We've got a great relationship" said David. "I've changed. It takes a lot for me to lose my rag. I'll snap when I'm working under pressure in a busy kitchen, but I wouldn't actually turn violent. I don't lash out like I used to."
David's employers are encouraging and supporting his development. He's currently studying towards an SVQ in catering, learning the basics such as knife and hygiene skills. The learning is all done on the job, not in a classroom situation. This type of learning suits David and he has risen to the challenge.
"There's a great opportunity for me now. I started as a commis, but I'm training to be a grill chef which is more of a challenge for me. Learning is done on the job. A trainer watches me working and then assesses me. It's not like I'm in a classroom with loads of people. It's a good team that I work with. I feel comfortable with my work mates and there are people I can turn to when I've got a problem."
David still manages to find time for his art and takes the opportunity to draw in his breaks at work. He sees an overlap between art and chef work. "Being a chef is completely artistic. I see art in everything that I do. Catering is art because it's all in the presentation - doing preparation and setting out the plate is completely creative for me."
He remains very upbeat and philosophical about his future - keeping his options open. "I'm quite settled at the moment. I'm going to wait a few months and then see how my job is going. If it's going well I'll stick at it. If not, then I can work part-time and go to college to work on my art."
What we are doing
Jobs
- We are supporting the UK Government's New Deal initiative. The New Deal for the Young Unemployed has helped 44,300 young Scots into jobs. The number of young people aged 18-24 who have been unemployed for over six months is now only a quarter of the 1997 level.
- The Beattie Inclusiveness projects, managed by Careers Scotland, have already given individual support to over 8,000 vulnerable young people through 13 projects. The Executive is funding the establishment of a new network of key worker support.
- New Futures Fund has helped 5,000 people aged 16-34 with intensive support on the road to employment.
- Modern Apprenticeships were introduced to address the skills deficiency at craft, technician and trainee management level. There are currently 23,300 young people on the programme, receiving training and gaining qualifications which will significantly enhance their career prospects.
- Strategic targets for Careers Scotland include reducing by 6,000 the number of 16-19 year olds for whom not being in education, training or employment is a negative experience, and increasing by 6,300 the number of 16-19 year olds with additional support needs in education, employment and training. These targets will be met by the end of academic year 2004-05.
Education
- Tackling truancy and exclusion, bullying and discipline. All these will help pupils to have a better school experience.
- Involving parents in their child's education.
- Our New Community Schools are delivering a range of services to help children to overcome the barriers to learning and positive development - family support, family learning and health improvement. More than 500 schools are now participating in this radical initiative, which has the twin aims of promoting social inclusion and raising educational standards in Scotland.
- Providing extra help for those young people who have particular needs, for example, those in local authority care.
Health
- The Health Education Board for Scotland (HEBS) is continuing to promote non-smoking and to provide smoking cessation projects for young people.
- A new expert group has been set up to improve sexual health in Scotland. It will focus on the need to continue to improve sex education for young people and to reduce unwanted teenage pregnancies.
- The Healthy Respect project is testing action to promote sexual health and reduce unplanned teenage pregnancies and sexually-transmitted infections in Lothian. Lessons learned and good practice will be shared across Scotland.
- The Walk the Talk project, delivered in partnership with the voluntary sector and community education, continues to support the involvement of young people in developing accessible health services for young people.
We have
- Introduced Breathing Space, a telephone advice line for people, particularly young men, who have low mood and/or are at risk of suicide.
- We have established the National Programme for the Improvement of Mental Health and Well-Being which is taking action to promote positive mental health and wellbeing. Key priority areas for the programme include children and young people.
- We will shortly be publishing a strategy and action plan for the reduction and prevention of suicide. Key priority for the plan will be young people and in particular young men.
- The Scottish Health Promoting Schools Unit will work with schools to help them become health-promoting schools.
Housing
- Improving the help given to young people who are leaving local authority care on housing and life matters.
- Rough Sleepers Initiative has helped many roofless people across Scotland. It supports a variety of projects from accommodation to health from day centres to advice and guidance.
- The Housing (Scotland) Act 2001 gives a duty on local authorities to prepare homelessness strategies which should include continuing efforts to prevent and to tackle rough sleeping.
Crime
- We will break the cycle of offending by targeting persistent offenders who commit the vast majority of youth crime, much of which is against young people and those in deprived areas.
What we will do
- Roll out the successful Educational Maintenance Allowances pilots from 2004-05. Last year around 6,500 young people from low-income families received financial support to stay on at school or college in four pilot areas. When the rollout is complete we will support around 39,000 16-19 year olds from low-income families throughout Scotland to stay on at school and/or FE college.
- Build on the 13 Beattie Inclusiveness projects, managed by Careers Scotland, which have been set up to improve education, training and employment outcomes for young people. New developments will mean that a number of the projects, working with partner agencies, will provide intensive support for young people to help them move into, and sustain, real jobs. Securing the support of local employers will be crucial to its success. This work will be piloted over the next 18 months in different areas across Scotland, with young people who have a range of different needs. Initially, the initiative will build on the Inclusiveness projects in Glasgow, Lothian and Renfrewshire.
Milestone 7
Halving the proportion of 16-19 year olds who are not in education, training or employment |
Trend
Broadly Constant
There are small gender differences with males marginally more likely than females to be not in education, training or employment.
Chart 7: Percentage of 16-19 year olds not in education, training or employment
Source: Labour Force Survey, Office for National Statistics
Local Action to Deliver for Young People The Glasgow Schools Corporate Vocational Training Programme provides S3 and S4 pupils the chance to study for a vocational qualification along with Standard Grades. Currently there are 450 pupils studying for vocational qualifications in construction and hospitality. Glasgow City Council propose to provide an extra 750 places from August 2002 and extend the programme to Administration, Care, Health & Fitness, Horticulture and Sports & Leisure. All Glasgow secondary schools will be involved, allowing 20% of S3 and S4 pupils to participate. The positive impact of the programme can be seen by the fact that it was heavily oversubscribed for the 2002-03 academic year. Places will be ringfenced for 140 "hard to reach" children released from the standard curriculum: 50 care leavers, 50 pupils from minority ethnic groups, 40 pupils with special educational needs. Feedback from the pupils and schools is positive so far but as yet it is too early to evaluate results. There is currently funding up to 2004 which is being covered by the Executive's Better Neighbourhood Services Fund, plus the council's own resources and the European Social Fund. Programmes such as this help to engage young people in the school system, increasing attendance and ultimately their attainment. They will leave school better prepared and be more likely to move into education, training and employment. |
Milestone 8
All our young people leaving local authority care will have achieved at least English and Maths Standard Grades and have access to appropriate housing options |
Trend
Not Available: Collecting statistics for the first time and will be available in 2003.
Local Action to Deliver for Young People The Big Step Social Inclusion Partnership (SIP) is one of 48 SIPs throughout Scotland and one of 14 thematic SIPs which work with a specific group of people. The Big Step aims to improve opportunities and address inequalities faced by young people looked after in Glasgow by addressing avoidable and structural factors to remove barriers faced by young people leaving care in accessing services and advice. The Big Step was commended in the For Scotland's Children 15 report (October 2001) for its development of an interagency protocol, which has overcome previous difficulties associated with confidentiality and enables data to be shared on individual young people for research purposes. Progress towards specific objectives includes: The Big Step has worked jointly with Drumchapel SIP and Greater Easterhouse SIP in progressing two new developments for accommodation and support projects. The projects bring together a range of local housing providers working in partnership with the voluntary sector - Quarriers in Drumchapel and NCH Scotland in Easterhouse. These projects will provide up to 30 new supported accommodation places each. It is envisaged that the model of provision will be replicated across the city providing up to 270 places. The Big Step, along with Greater Glasgow NHS Board, has established a "Pathways to Health" project. Two nursing staff from the Yorkhill NHS Trust are working in the Council's Leaving Care Services. These services have contact with over 400 young people who are either preparing to leave care or who have already left care. Pathways to Health provides direct service and advice to young people and staff working with them in care and out of care settings. The service has recently been increased with two Mental Health Promotion workers employed by Penumbra, also located within the Leaving Care Team. |
Milestone 9
Bringing the poorest-performing 20% of pupils, in terms of Standard Grade achievement, closer to the performance of all pupils Trend |
No Change: The gap between the poorest-performing 20% of pupils and all pupils is broadly constant. Girls perform better than boys at all stages.
Chart 9: Average tariff scores in S4
Source: Scottish Qualifications Authority
Local Action to Deliver for Young People St Ninians High School, Kirkintilloch have initiated a programme called Reach for the Stars. This is aimed at promoting positive behaviour and raising self-esteem among S1-S3 pupils and also tracks the achievement of individual children throughout their school careers. Since the programme started in the mid-nineties, levels of attainment by pupils in national exams have been increasing. For example, at the end of the academic year 2001, 99% of S4 pupils achieved a general award or better in Standard Grade English while 50% of the S4 cohort from a year earlier had achieved more than Highers. |
Milestone 10
Reducing by a third the days lost every year through exclusion from school and truancy |
Trend
Unauthorised absence: increasing in both primary schools and secondary schools. These figures include days lost through exclusions and pupils having time off to care for a family member or for holidays during term time, which have not been authorised. We currently are unable to measure truancy as a separate category.
Exclusions: the number of half days lost through temporary exclusions is increasing slightly. Permanent exclusions are falling.
Chart 10a: Unauthorised absences
Source: Scottish Executive
Chart 10b: Half days lost through temporary exclusions
Source: Scottish Executive
Local Action to Deliver for Young People Four schools in North Lanarkshire are piloting an initiative aimed at reducing truancy and exclusion. Selected pupils benefit from two years of vocational training with the emphasis on team building and leadership. The Skill Force initiative employs retired military instructors and helps equip pupils with the skills and confidence they need once they leave school. |
Milestone 11
Improving the health of young people through reductions in smoking by 12-15 year olds, teenage pregnancies among 13-15 year olds, and the rate of suicides among young people |
Trend
Smoking: Improvement
Pregnancies: Not available
Suicides: Slight increase in male suicides. Female numbers remain constant at lower rate than males.
Chart 11a: Percentage of 12-15 year olds smoking regularly
Source: Office for National Statistics (1982-1998); National Centre for Social Research (2000)
Chart 11b: Teenage pregnancies: Rate per 1,000 females aged 13-15 (3 year average)
Source: Information and Statistics Division: National Health Service in Scotland
Chart 11c: Suicide among teenagers and young people: Rate per 100,000 people aged 11 to 24 (3 year average)
Source: Information and Statistics Division: National Health Service in Scotland, General Register Office for Scotland
Local Action to Deliver for Young People The Healthy Respect demonstration project in Lothian is a testing ground for action to promote sexual health, prevent unwanted teenage pregnancies and reduce sexually-transmitted infections (STIs). Delivered by multi-sector partnership led by Lothian Health, it went live in February 2001. The project has 12 components that focus on teenage pregnancy, STIs and young people's self-esteem/confidence. Key components include pilot chlamydia testing programme, sexual health training for teachers, mass media campaigns, outreach work, training and support. It targets young people generally but also focuses on key priority groups (e.g. looked after children or marginalised young people, parents, young men). Healthy Respect is trying to help those young people make better choices about sexual activity. The project combines area-wide/setting-based strategies with work in areas of deprivation. It will identify lessons for the rest of Scotland. The Adolescent Deliberate Self-Harm Service set up in Glasgow in 1999, aims to provide a flexible service to young people aged 12-17 following an episode of deliberate self-harm. It has incorporated evidenced-based practice into service delivery. The service has produced positive findings such as improvement on treatment compliance from 46% to 78%. The service is offered on a seamless basis from assessment, through treatment to follow-up and discharge, promoting continuity of care. The success of the service has led to the funding of a further four nurse therapists. The service is now provided seven days per week, three- hundred and sixty-five days per year to all district general hospitals across the city of Glasgow. Referrals are also accepted from GPs, social workers, school nurses and other professional colleagues via the four adolescent psychiatry outpatient teams. |
Milestone 12
No one has to sleep rough |
Trend
The number of people sleeping rough is reducing but those who did were reported as sleeping out on more occasions in May 2002 and October 2001, compared to May 2001.
Table 12a: Total number of people sleeping rough in the study period
May 2001 | October 2001 | May 2002 |
500 | 471 | 406 |
Note: The study collected information on people who had slept rough during previous 7 days.
Source: George Street Research, for Scottish Executive Homelessness Unit
Table 12b: Average number of people sleeping rough per day
May 2001 | October 2001 | May 2002 |
64 | 87 | 94 |
Note: Although a lower total number of individuals slept out in October 2001 and May 2002 than in May 2001, those who did were reported as sleeping out on more occasions.
Source: George Street Research, for Scottish Executive Homelessness Unit
Local Action to Deliver for Young People The Streetwork project works with people in Edinburgh who are at risk on the streets - young people and rough sleepers, both in the city centre and the outlying housing schemes. Set up in 1992, the project's initial aim was to provide informal education as well as working with young people in a severe crisis. With funding from the Scottish Executive's Rough Sleepers Initiative, in 1997 the project expanded to tackle the wider issue of street homelessness. Streetwork works with people who do not easily fit into existing provision or meet service expectations. These are primarily people who may not be seen as the responsibility of any one agency and who may remain on the margins of, or be excluded from, a number of agencies and services. People who use the project are also often disconnected from their families. The project refers people onto other services, and provides support in accessing services. Many of the project's clients have mental health difficulties and suicide and self-harm are big issues. The project starts by helping people with basic needs, such as finding a place to stay. In addition, it helps to instil a sense of belonging through group activities with other clients and staff. The project runs a coffee stall training and education project, helping people gain self-confidence as a step towards other employment opportunities. |
« Previous | Contents | Next »