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Contact: Dave Ashton, Senior Youth Worker, Tel: 01730 268252

email: [email protected]

1. Report Summary

1.1 The purpose of this report is to provide information on youth work in the East Hampshire district managed and supported by Hampshire County Youth Service. Information is provided on the key youth work issues, current work and planned developments. A list of current Hampshire County Youth Service projects in the East Hampshire district is attached as Appendix 1.

1.2 The Youth Work developed in East Hampshire meets a number of corporate strategic aims. The work enables young people to make the most of their lives and contribute actively to their community, meets aims 1 and 4. Through effective use of resources and monitoring of outcomes youth service work in East Hampshire is continually improving in meeting young people's needs meets aim 5.

2. Context

2.1 The East Hampshire district is co-terminous with the East Hampshire District Council boundary. It covers 230 square miles from Headley in the north to Horndean in the south. The district has a population of 109,000 of which 10,750 are young people aged thirteen to nineteen years old.

2.2 East Hampshire has four significant centres of population in Alton, Whitehill and Bordon, Petersfield and Horndean. Approximately 60% of the population live in these areas with the remainder in villages of various sizes.

2.3 There are six local authority and four independent secondary schools in the district. There is one further education college in Alton, and large numbers of young people attend further education in colleges outside the district. Special needs education is provided at Treloar School and Treloar College in the independent sector and at The Meadows School by the local authority.

2.4 The East Hampshire youth work team consists of a senior youth worker, six full-time youth workers, 20 paid part-time youth workers and 14 volunteers. A range of services is delivered, including building based youth work, detached and outreach youth work, information and advice, and the Duke of Edinburgh's Award.

2.5 The county youth service in East Hampshire works in partnership with a variety of voluntary organisations and key agencies, to ensure resources are used to maximum effect.

3. Curriculum

3.1 Social Inclusion

3.1.1 The Station Project provides opportunities across the district for young people with difficulties in their lives to access support and guidance through personal development programmes, including a range of one to one and group work activities.

3.1.2 A rural outreach project is making good use of the community safety partnership vehicle to make contact with and offer services and activities to young people in the central area of the district.

3.1.3 Detached youth workers operate in two parts of the district, working with groups of young people who have been involved in, or have been perceived to have been involved in anti-social behaviour.

3.1.4 Young people with learning difficulties and other disabilities have successfully integrated into the work at Bordon Youth Centre.

3.2 Democracy and decision making

3.2.1 Youth workers are very active in supporting young people's access to and active involvement in the Youth Focus Group, the district-wide youth forum. Support and guidance is also given to district council staff who are instrumental partners in facilitating this group.

3.2.2 Young people attended United Kingdom Youth Parliament events and a young man from Bordon was elected as an MYP. He is the fifth young person from the district to be elected since it's introduction and is being actively supported by youth work staff to carry out his role.

3.2.3 Youth work staff are involved in supporting two area youth forums in the north west and central areas of the district, as part of an action of the Community Strategy which aims to have one youth forum in each of the 4 areas of the district council. The other two are in the early stage of their development and are a key action for the coming months.

3.3 Personal and social skills

3.3.1 The district has two Duke of Edinburgh's Award Open Centres, one in Horndean and one in Liss.

3.3.2 Young people are involved in volunteering and developing skills in playwork through the district wide Young Playworker Project. This provides additional play opportunity for 8 - 12 year olds and gives an accredited learning outcome to each young playworker through Youth Achievement Awards or Access Credits for the Duke of Edinburgh Award.

3.3.3 Staff from several projects combined at short notice to form a team to deliver a mentoring and group work activity to 9 -10 year olds at 6 primary schools across the district. This work was financed by the Children's Fund and was aimed at pupils judged by themselves, their parents and teachers to be at risk, or to be experiencing difficulty, in their schooling. In all 57 children and their parents were involved over a 3 month period in some intense activity. Feedback shows it to have been hugely popular and evaluation so far suggests a significant level of success in changing the behaviour and outlook of many of the children.

3.4 New opportunities and challenging experiences

3.4.1 Young people in the Liss, Petersfield and Alton areas are involved in the development of music skills in conjunction with Youth Music, a specialist external organisation.

3.4.2 All projects have involved young people in a range of challenging outdoor activities over the past year, including rock climbing, sailing and snowblading at Calshot, white water rafting at Woodmill and high and low rope courses at Tile Barn and the Sustainability Centre near Clanfield.

3.5 Healthy Lifestyles

3.5.1 Drug and alcohol education and support for young people and parents has been delivered to a high number of young people in youth projects, schools and colleges across the district, by our own team and in conjunction with local health providers. This activity has recently been carried out with young recruits at the Army base in Bordon and was well received by those taking part and by more senior officers. Future events are being planned with the Army.

3.5.2 Information, support and guidance on all health related matters is available to young people through all youth service provisions, with involvement of and referral to our specialist team when necessary.

3.5.3 Activities take place in all projects to coincide with several national health campaigns, notably smoking reduction, mental health and AIDS awareness. This usually involves specialist health staff as partners in these programmes.

4. Partnerships

4.1 The senior youth worker chairs East Hampshire Children and Young People's Strategy group (0 - 24 years). This is a sub group of the East Hampshire Community Partnership and was established to ensure delivery of the youth action plan. It now incorporates Connexions and Children's Fund and has agreed to be a formal link to the Hampshire Children and Young People's Strategy Group.

4.2 Links with Connexions are re-developing and they have recently started to use the facility developed last year in Bordon Youth Centre. Youth Service and Connexions staff run successful joint sessions in Alton and Petersfield. It is intended that this will be replicated in Horndean and Bordon as Connexions staff become available.

4.3 The Youth Service is the lead agency on youth elements of the Community
Safety Plan and has enabled over 600 young people to have an active contribution to the last two community safety audits. Youth workers provide information and support for young people at Say No And Phone (SNAP) events in all four areas of the district.

4.4 A major partnership with Drum Housing Association (DHA) provides Rkdia, a key youth facility in Horndean, with a close link to supported housing for twelve young people. The building and housing support staff are provided by DHA, with the area youth work team basing their programmes from Rkdia.

5. Buildings

5.1 The Youth Service is directly responsible for Bordon Youth Centre on the site of Mill Chase Community School.

5.2 Other building based youth work takes place in buildings or rooms which are either rented or provided free as part of a partnership arrangement. Whilst tenure on some of these is reasonably secure, at others it is less so.

5.3 Quality of buildings is variable, ranging from an excellent facility at Bordon Youth Centre to barely adequate rooms in the CAB building in Petersfield.

5.4 Good premises to support high quality youth work is on ongoing concern for this district, and the Senior Youth Worker, County Estates Practice and other staff are in a constant search for better facilities. Rental costs are prohibitive in most parts of the district, and particularly in those areas where we have the biggest challenge.

6. Staff development

6.1 Four full time staff and two part time staff are nationally qualified with another full time worker is to complete in June 2006.

6.2 Two part time staff started their degree course in September 2004.

6.3 Seven part time staff have a local qualification and another two will complete this summer.

7. Summary

7.1 This report provides an overview of the youth work supported by the Hampshire County Youth Service in East Hampshire district.

8. Impact Assessment

8.1 Equalities best practice is applied through all recruitment and staff development processes and in all youth work delivery points.

9. Personnel Implications

9.1 This district employs 7 full-time youth workers, 20 part-time youth workers and a full-time administrator. There are 5 part-time vacancies at the moment. Fourteen volunteers are deployed in a range of projects.

9.2 External funding supports a number of the above posts, which may be at risk if the level of funding reduces.

10. Financial Summary

10.1 The Youth Service formula funded allocation to the district in 2005/2006 is £245,000.

10.2 Breakdown of external funding for 2005/2006 is:

11. Crime Prevention Issues

11.1 High quality youth work reduces the likelihood of young people being involved in crime. The district has a core programme which actively encourages young people to take part in positive activities and avoid crime. Detached and outreach staff respond in specific areas identified in conjunction with the Community Safety Co-ordinator, with successful outcomes over the past two years.

12. The Views of the Local County Councillor

12.1 This report was not circulated to councillors in light of the pending election.

13. Recommendation

13.1 That the current development of youth work in East Hampshire District be welcomed.

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.