« Previous | Contents | Next »
Listen
4. Supporting youth work at local level
4.1 The consultation also brought out a clear demand for more support in delivering youth work at a local level, with 27% of responses calling for more interaction, collaboration or joint working. One local authority response said:
"Liaison groups for staff from different sectors/agencies should exist and their role and structure communicated to all staff"
Others called for local or regional co-ordinators to facilitate forums, networking, information sharing and Continuing Professional Development ( CPD).
4.2 While respondents felt that opportunities should be open to all young people, there was also a recognition that different areas face different challenges. For example, rurality and transport issues may be a key factor in involving more young people in some areas while in others not at all.
Local funding and local outcome agreements
4.3 The bulk of funding for youth work is channelled through local authorities with the Executive providing around £120m every year for community learning and development within the annual core local government finance settlement grant. This covers both youth work, adult learning in communities and support for community organisations. Local authorities are able to decide their own priorities but achievement through learning for young people is identified as a national priority for community learning and development in Working and Learning Together to Build Stronger Communities (2004) and it must remain a top priority for local authorities today.
4.4 Youth work has unique potential to lead to positive outcomes in a number of priority areas and to prevent costly problems which can arise when young people have little to do and stimulate them. We therefore intend to discuss with local partners the possibility of using Local Outcome Agreements for Children's Services, soon to be piloted, to place more emphasis on outcomes.
4.5 Local authority youth work has been subject to inspection by HM Inspectorate of Education for many years. More recently, partnership approaches to community learning and development have led to the inclusion of some voluntary sector partners in inspections in local areas. The HMIe publication How Good Is Our Community Learning and Development? 2, provides a self-evaluation framework to help youth work providers test the quality of their work. The new edition of How Good Is Our School? will place greater emphasis than before on young people's experiences out of school and the contribution made by youth workers in school. By 2008, it is planned that inspections will focus much more on integrated services for children and young people and we see youth work being a significant part of this approach.
The Outcome we want:
For local authorities to deliver positive outcomes for individual young people and communities.
The Action we propose:
- We will explore the possibility of local outcome agreements with a view to developing pathfinders with four local authorities through 2007-2008. We will monitor the effectiveness of this measure, with a view to including it universally if it adds value.
- We will support the continuation of HMIe inspections of community learning and development in local areas as a means of improving quality in youth work and identifying and disseminating good practice. We will also ensure the inclusion of youth work within future inspections of services for children and young people.
4.6 It is important that this strategy helps local providers work together, plan provision more effectively and develop more expertise together. More effective local support should help providers advocate the benefits and outcomes of successful youth work locally and, as a result, have more success in accessing funding to expand their opportunities for young people. Young Scot and Dialogue Youth units have an important role to play in these areas and in promoting local opportunities for young people. And in forging links with established local organisations such as those offering cultural and sporting activities in their communities.
4.7 We are anxious neither to add an additional layer of bureaucracy, nor to cut across existing structures such as Community Planning Partnerships where these are already working well for youth work. But the consultation process highlighted demand for more local networking opportunities specific to the youth work sector and we do recognise that local youth work providers would welcome the opportunity to share good practice and work more effectively together for the benefit of young people.
4.8 We are keen to encourage opportunities for people in a local area to share knowledge and expertise and work together. We are therefore asking YouthLink to assess demand for local and specialist networks and run pilots in 2007-2008. In working with partners locally, they will be expected to take account of existing strategic approaches, such as those developed by Community Learning and Development Partnerships. Where local providers are willing and able to collaborate in developing a more strategic local approach, they will be able to present stronger, more coherent bids for funding to local funders, in particular local authorities, and nationally. Major Trusts in particular have indicated that they would welcome local funding bids which demonstrate a strategic or collaborative approach. Networks should also be able to help local voluntary organisations access and influence community planning processes, something which, individually they tell us they find difficult to do effectively. We would also encourage the establishment and growth of more networks where specialist youth workers can share information personally or on-line and join together for specialist training events.
The Outcome we want:
To improve provision in local areas by giving youth work providers more opportunities to network, train, share expertise and work together to identify and fill gaps in provision for young people.
The Action we propose:
- We will ask YouthLink, as part of their Executive-funded work for 2007-2008, to pilot local and specialist networks, e.g. for detached youth workers or practitioners with a particular interest in music, physical activity or mental health, or who work with particular minority groups such as young people from ethnic minorities. Throughout the Year of Action resources from the Youth Opportunities Fund will be available to individual groups for start-up grants/costs.
The Outcome we want:
For local providers working together to be able to access additional funding to help address gaps in provision and work together more to provide more youth work opportunities.
The Action we propose:
- As part of the Year of Action for youth work we will set up a Youth Opportunities Fund. This will offer a total of £2.5m into which local groups and partnerships can bid for:
- funding for projects, particularly in areas of multiple deprivation, which fill gaps in provision and will deliver agreed outcomes for young people in those areas;
- funding for organisations which support young people involved, or at risk of involvement, with alcohol, drugs and/or antisocial behaviour;
- projects specifically intended to promote inclusion of minority groups or which address inclusion as a priority;
- funding for special events or conferences, run locally; and
- contributions to one-off costs of setting up local or specialist networks.
The Fund will also be open to individual voluntary organisations, both local and national, to bid for funds to support local recruitment campaigns for volunteers.
Apart from these volunteer recruitment bids, particular consideration will be given to bids from partnerships involving both local authorities and voluntary organisations and bids which involve some form of matched funding.
The Outcome we want:
For local networks and youth work providers generally to have clear accessible information on funding opportunities and criteria offered by charitable trusts.
The Action we propose:
- We will ask the main charitable trusts for young people in Scotland to collaborate with YouthLink and Young Scot in creating and maintaining a section of their websites which provide up-to-date information and application advice. This should enable organisations or groups seeking funding to identify which funding source is most likely to be in a position to respond positively to each separate funding request.
« Previous | Contents | Next »