Archived decisions

Contact: Dave Ashton, Senior Youth Worker, tel: 01730 268252 Val Webster, Youth Service Manager, tel: 01962 846805

1 Summary

1.1 This report provides information about Youth Service work in East Hampshire District. The report includes reference to significant achievements and key issues that are being addressed. Information is included on current work and planned developments. To complete the snapshot picture, a list of current Youth Service projects and details of other networks, projects and initiatives are attached as appendices.

2 Background

2.1 The Youth Service district of East Hampshire is coterminous with the East Hampshire District Council boundary. With the exception of Voluntary Action East Hampshire no other agency has this co-terminosity. The district is served by two health authorities, two primary care trusts, two social services local offices, two education areas, two youth offending teams and three careers service offices. In turn many of these agencies are not coterminous with each other, presenting a significant challenge to effective multi-agency working.

2.2 The district has a population of 109,000 with 10,500 being aged 13 - 19. Attendances at district projects in the last quarter were 3,831. The district covers a large, principally rural area in excess of 230 square miles, with four significant centres of population. Alton and Petersfield are well-established market towns. Bordon/Whitehill continues to undergo significant development in its makeup as the Ministry of Defence changes the size and nature of operations in the area. Horndean is on the southern edge of the district, south of the Butser Hill divide and joined to the Havant/Portsmouth conurbation.

2.3 The District Council organises itself on committees located around the main centres of population outlined above. There are also 36 active Parish and Town Councils serving the needs of immediate localities. This provides a range of opportunities for relevant and creative responses to people. The new cabinet system of local government was implemented in June of this year and includes a portfolio holder for youth issues.

2.4 Key issues across the district include public transport, facilities for young people, safe routes to school and access to facilities for older people. Emerging issues from the community safety audit include fear of crime, school crime, bullying, vandalism and burglary. The context of this is that East Hampshire has low levels of recorded crime across the area and in all crime categories.

3 Youth Service Projects in East Hampshire

3.1 The Youth Service provides a wide range of opportunities for young people across the District. This is delivered through 21 projects, details of which can be found in Appendix 1.

4 Progress report on current work

4.1 During the two years since the re-focussing of the Youth Service, implemented in September 1999, significant developments in East Hampshire have taken place. Staffing, premises and curriculum areas have all been improved in a systematic manner.

4.2 Staffing levels and morale were at a low ebb in September 1999 with less than 50% of the part-time team in place. Following two successful recruitment campaigns the staff team is now 95% complete, including a full-time youth worker in training.

4.3 There is a high commitment to training with 13 staff completing the youth work foundation course in March of this year. Eight staff have recently embarked on the part-time certificate course, which is a challenge for the district to provide appropriate support but one which staff are tackling with enthusiasm. Motivation levels, attendance at meetings and skills levels are high, with an interest across the team to move into new areas of youth work and respond to a wider range of young people's needs.

4.4 Premises have been upgraded in all four areas:

_ Bordon Youth Centre - toilets re-designed including the formation of a new toilet for people with disabilities and office/meeting room. Complete re-furnishing and carpeting to the main area have improved the environment significantly.

_ Nexus Youth Project (Alton) - complete redecoration and some re-furnishing have improved the setting considerably.

_ The Hub (Petersfield) - complete re-decoration and re-furnishing

_ Horndean Youth Project - complete re-decoration and re-furnishing.

4.5 Increased motivation and the enthusiasm of newly appointed staff have created a wide range of developments within the youth work programme over the past year and have seen a doubling of the number of youth work sessions available. The following list is not exhaustive, but gives a good flavour of achievements in that period:

_ hosting of a successful United Kingdom Youth Parliament election event with young people in several districts. Three young people from East Hants were subsequently elected;

_ development of The Voice, a young persons research group meeting weekly to practise researching skills and carry out research with wider groups of young people;

_ Bridging the Gap intergenerational photography project in Liss. The photographic exhibition has been donated to the Liss Archive Society;

_ a wide range of activity days involving young people in outdoor activities and arts-based projects;

_ very effective detached projects in Clanfield and Alton;

_ inclusion projects with behaviourally challenging pupils at Horndean and Mill Chase Schools;

_ mentoring and befriending work with pupils at The Petersfield School;

_ the introduction of information and support sessions at four of the six secondary schools, Alton College and Lord Mayor Treloars College;

_ working with 180 young people to complete a community safety survey in order to ensure a youth contribution to the next community safety plan. Early results are providing interesting information for Police, district council and others;

_ successful extension of the Duke of Edinburgh's Award Scheme including moves towards further development of the Local Award Committee to include even more groups;

4.6 With such a strength and variety in the youth work being delivered the youth work team in now in a position to advance provision in a number of ways. Key targets for the coming year include:

_ establishing a much needed information, advice and support service across the district. This will be a major new project and will depend on high levels of multi-agency support;

_ introducing Connexions to the district, incorporating it into projects and developing partnership initiatives with colleagues from other agencies;

_ implementing systematic accreditation of young people's learning across all projects;

_ developing a rural outreach programme;

_ maximising funding and other contributions from external sources to widen the opportunities available to young people;

_ developing a range of volunteering opportunities for young people, particularly through young worker schemes.

5 Work with partner organisations

5.1 The improved profile of the Youth Service in the district has brought increased credibility and high demand on our resources as advisers and potential partners. Two newly founded voluntary youth organisations, Horndean Independent Youth Association (HIYA) and The King's Arms, leaned heavily on our advice and policies in their setting up period. Partnership projects are well established at Rkdia (Horndean) and Woodlands youth group. Discussions are underway with a number of parishes, all of which are expected to result in additional youth provision.

5.2 The inaugural meeting of the Local Strategic Partnership has identified youth matters as a key issue. The Youth Service will be pivotal to the development of the strategy and its implementation. Not only does the Youth Service have the knowledge and expertise, but it also acts as the vehicle for involving young people effectively in this new and exciting process.

6 Resources

6.1 The Youth Service delegated budget in East Hampshire District for 2001/2002 is £225,836.

6.2 External funding secured to date is:

_ Whitehill Town Council £1,200

_ Police Crime Prevention £4,000

_ Liss Parish Council £1,800

_ East Hampshire District Council £3,338

_ Private companies £220

_ Alton Town Council £400

_ Hampshire County Council Adult and Community Learning Unit £12,000

Recommendations

1 That the current developments in Youth Service work in East Hampshire be welcomed.

2 That the proposal for the development of an Information and Support Project and the Connexions service within the district be supported.

Section 100D - Local Government Act 1972 - Background Papers

The following documents disclose facts or matters on which this report, or an important part of it, is based and has been relied upon to a material extent in the preparation of this report.

N.B. The list excludes:

1. Published works

2. Documents which disclose exempt or confidential information as defined in the Act.

Nil

Appendix 1

Hampshire County Youth Service

East Hampshire District: List of projects

Appendix 2

Other projects, networks and initiatives

with Youth Service role

Alton interagency forum

Information/advisory

Basingstoke and North Hants drug and alcohol reference group

Advisory

Bordon interagency forum

Information/advisory

Community safety partnership

Partnership/advisory

Duke of Edinburgh's local award committee

Advisory

East Hampshire District Council officer youth briefing group

Advisory/co-operative working

East Hampshire Primary Care Trust young people's HIMP group

Information/advisory

Havant & East Hampshire young carers project steering group

Advisory/co-operative working

Havant & Petersfield drug and alcohol reference group

Advisory

Havant & Petersfield social inclusion partnership

Information

Healthy alliance management group

Advisory

Other projects, networks and initiatives continued

Healthy living centre steering group

Advisory/partnership

Heatherlands action group

Advisory

HIV prevention and sexual health promotion planning group (North & Mid Hants)

Information/advisory

HOCROC (Horndean, Clanfield and Rowlands Castle) interagency forum

Information/advisory

Local strategic partnership

Advisory/partnership

Petersfield interagency forum

Information/advisory

Petersfield youth agency forum

Advisory/co-operative working

Rkdia advisory group

Partnership working

Teenage pregnancy implementation group (Portsmouth & SE Hants)

Advisory

Woodlands youth club management group

Partnership

Young people's mental health network (Portsmouth & SE Hants)

Advisory