Archived decisions

Children's Services Department

Hampshire County Council - Targeted Youth Support Pathfinder

Briefing No.2 - February 2006

1. Introduction and aims of the Targeted Youth Support Pathfinder

This is the second briefing paper aimed at keeping those who work with 13 to 19 year olds in the county, up to date with the progress of Hampshire's Targeted Youth Support Pathfinder.

To help all young people achieve the five outcomes in the Children Act 2004, the Green Paper, Youth Matters, visualises services working together to form an integrated youth support service.

One of the major new proposals in Youth Matters is the development of Targeted Youth Support for vulnerable young people. Hampshire will be playing a leading part in developing and influencing this new approach, by being one of 14 Pathfinders in England aiming to:

    · Improve outcomes for young people.

    · Improve young people's experience of services.

    · Improve the efficiency of service provision.

The initial focus of Hampshire's Youth Support Pathfinder is on targeted services for vulnerable young people in the Test Valley district. Staff from the Children's Services Department are working with local young people, officials from the Department for Education and Skills, members of the National Remodelling Team (NRT) and with representatives of local agencies, to develop workable models for the delivery of targeted youth support. Successful models from the pathfinders will be used across Hampshire and influence services throughout the country.

2. Governance

The governance of this pathfinder will be through the recently convened Youth Matters Group, which will be leading developments in the county in response to the proposals in the Green Paper.

As the pathfinder is focussed on the Test Valley district, the Local Strategic Partnership has been approached for its support and will receive regular progress reports.

    3. The Discovery Stage

This pathfinder project is following a structured process developed and tested by the NRT, and the key steps at this stage include:

    · Focussed interviews with young people, strategic managers and operational staff from various agencies.

    · The gathering of existing data and performance indicators.

    · Workshops for young people, mapping the journey they currently take through existing services.

Thirty focussed interviews have been conducted with strategic managers and operational staff. Two hundred young people, living in Test Valley district, have been consulted about their experience of the services they receive and the improvements they wish to see.

An additional 38 young people have taken the opportunity to share their views at a workshop held recently at Calshot Activities Centre. Thanks to youth workers and colleagues from Hampshire County Council's Recreation and Heritage Department, the consultation process was punctuated with some enjoyable and challenging activities, including climbing, ski-bobbing and archery. The views young people expressed will be taken forward in the development stage.

4. The Development Stage

The information gathered from the structured interviews and the young people's workshop, will be used to help identify particular issues and set priorities for action.

The development stage will include:

    · Multi-agency and young people's workshops, examining the issues identified in the mapping process and identifying ways forward.

    · Making recommendations to senior managers, through the Youth Matters Group, about new service models and how improvements can be delivered.

5. Time-frame and resources

The time-frame for the Hampshire Youth Support Pathfinder is November 2005 to the end of September 2006. It is recognised that this is a tight time-frame. However, sufficient resources have been made available to work through the pathfinder process in the time available.

Support for the pathfinder includes a substantial time commitment from two members of the NRT, and resources have been made available for organising and delivering workshops. The county youth officer will be leading the project team for Hampshire County Council and resources from the DfES have been made available for back-filling.

6. Briefings

Regular briefing papers will be produced to report on progress. For further information contact Ray Barnard, youth service manager, on 01962 846424 or email: [email protected]