Archived decisions

Extract of Ofsted Publication - July 2005

Effective youth services - Good practice

Key findings

· Youth services have responded positively to the government's Transforming Youth Work national initiative. Targets to extend the reach of youth services and increase the emphasis on accreditation have generally helped to focus their work and make it more responsive to local and national priorities. However, even the best services sometimes found it difficult to reconcile the aim of extending their work and increasing the emphasis on accreditation with simultaneous pressure to engage disaffected young people.

· The number of services judged to be inadequate and giving unsatisfactory value for money was high in proportion to the number of inspections carried out. Of the 31 services inspected in the first year of the inspection programme, 6 were good or very good overall, 17 adequate, and 8 inadequate. Value for money was good in 4, satisfactory in 19 and unsatisfactory in 8.

· Strong commitment from the local authority was a key feature of the most effective services. It showed itself in a clear sense of identity for the service, strategic direction, sufficient funding to meet the service's aims and strong management structures. Inadequate services often lacked such leadership, as well as the insight to examine their work critically and identify the improvements needed.

· Young people's achievement was at least satisfactory in nearly nine in ten youth work sessions and good or very good in just over a half. It was highest in project-based work and youth information advice and counselling and lowest in detached and centre-based youth work.¹ Young people developed positive attitudes and values and increased their self confidence. They learned to take part in society as individuals and responsible members of their community.

· Youth work practice was at least satisfactory in nearly nine in ten sessions and good or very good in well over half of all sessions. In the most effective practice, youth workers had established positive relationships with young people and contributed substantially to their personal development.

· Services which put their curriculum policies into practice effectively had designed them in consultation with staff, partners and young people. They were understood well by managers and workers, and implemented consistently. They actively promoted equality, inclusion and diversity. The quality of curriculum leadership and coordination was unsatisfactory in 39% of services. They frequently lacked both the capacity and expertise to put into practice the intentions expressed in policies.

· Quality assurance was unsatisfactory in 39% of the services inspected. Most services had quality assurance policies, but these were rarely understood well or implemented consistently. Relatively few services had developed management information and data-collection systems to enable them to judge their performance objectively and assess value for money. Services found it difficult to measure their cost-effectiveness and take full account of best value. They found most difficulty in judging young people's achievement.

· In effective services, both strategic and operational management were good. Operational managers were involved consistently in strategic decision-making. They managed the work efficiently, ensured that young people played a role in aspects of operational and strategic management, and incorporated partnership working into the service's overall provision. They integrated their aims clearly within overall local and national priorities.

· Effective services had good supervision and performance management arrangements. Training plans for staff were closely linked to service development plans, and managers deployed staff flexibly to respond to changing circumstances.

· The number and quality of staff were key factors in successful youth services. Good services had sufficient well-qualified and appropriately trained staff and maintained a good balance between full- and part-time workers. Too many unqualified or inexperienced staff affected the quality of the work.

· There were substantial differences between the quality and levels of staffing and resources in different services, but some services performed well despite shortcomings in resources.

· The majority of services safeguarded young people well and provided them and youth workers with a safe working environment.

Recommendations

To improve the quality of the services they provide for young people, local authorities and youth services should:

· Improve quality assurance arrangements, particularly through enhancing needs analysis, management information systems and budget monitoring, as well as the planning and evaluation of work by managers and workers

· Focus on the educational outcomes of their work and improve the opportunities for young people to gain accreditation for work undertaken

· Improve the leadership of the curriculum and ensure that curriculum policies are realised in practice

· Increase the involvement of young people in service provision.

Ofsted - Effective Youth Services, Good Practice

July 2005

Ref: HMI2445