Contact: Colin Poynter, Youth Service Manager, Tel: 01962 846246, email: [email protected]

1. Introduction

1.1 This report provides an overview of the role of Hampshire County Youth Service in the support, facilitation and development of young people's active participation.

1.2 Youth work that leads to the increased participation of young people in democracy and decision making, supports: Corporate Strategy Aim 1, Maximising life opportunities; Aim 4, Building strong and safe communities; Aim 5, Improving services. The participation of young people in planning and evaluation better equips services to work towards the five outcomes of The Children Act 2004, which states that children, young people and their families must be involved in the design, development and delivery of services.

2. Context

2.1 In her message at the start of the Youth Service 2005 Annual Report, Emma Biermann, Chair of Hampshire County Youth Council wrote:

2.1.1 "From a nervous, ignorant and walked-over 15 year old to someone who now has more confidence, a broader mind and maturity, I would now like to think of myself as a `youth activist'. In a nutshell, I think this describes the journey I have made over the past four years, since my association with Hampshire County Youth Service began.

2.1.2 A journey that I probably would not have accomplished had it not been for the life-changing organisations I have joined. If someone asked me what I had gained or learnt from being involved in the Hampshire County Youth Council, UK Youth Parliament, or Connexions local committee, the list would be endless..."

2.2 Participation is a fundamental aspect of youth work, not just as an end in itself, but as a method of facilitating the personal and social education of young people.

3. Background

3.1 Youth workers have always sought to enable young people to have a say in decisions that affect them, their peers and their local communities, and to learn how local democratic processes work. More recently, the growth of interest in the UK Youth Parliament and in European and global affairs, has provided opportunities for young people to have their say, and influence key decision makers in national and international forums.

3.2 The Youth Service has been at of heart of promoting the participation of young people in decisions that affect them; working with partners such as Connexions to encourage services and agencies to involve young people in planning, evaluating and developing services.

3.3 In 2005, the Youth Service was one of a number of partners who worked together to produced the Children and Young People's Strategic Partnership (CYPSP) Participation Strategy for children, young people and their families. Based on Hear by Right, The National Youth Agency and Local Government Association's standards for the active involvement of children and young people, the strategy commits agencies to involve children, young people and their families in the planning, and evaluation of services.

3.4 Participation in this report refers to a style of working, it is not simply making sure that young people are consulted, but about encouraging them to act and think collectively, to co-operate, and to be part of planning, evaluation and decision making processes. Participative work in the Youth Service ranges from involving young people in planning an activity in a youth centre to supporting them to represent the young people of Hampshire at meetings of the Association of European Regions (AER).

3.5 Participation is a key part of every youth workers role. However within each Youth Service district one youth worker has been identified to champion the participation of young people in every aspect of service delivery and, more broadly, in influencing the decisions that impact upon their lives and those of their peers.

3.6 The Youth Service employs two Development Youth Workers (Participation), based in the Development & Training Team. Their role is to promote, develop and support participation work across the Youth Service and in partnership with a wide range of partners, including borough councils, voluntary organisations and national bodies such as the UK Youth Parliament.

4. Examples participation work

4.1 The youth service supports the participation of young people in a variety of ways. As with all good youth work, it starts from where young people are, their needs and their agenda. For some young people this is about very local issues, such as transport or a place to meet, for others it is about global issues such as fair trade, poverty or the environment.

4.2 The following examples provide a snapshot of the work the Youth Service is doing at a local level to ensure the active engagement of young people in the issues that affect them:

4.2.1 In Eastleigh a number of young people are involved as Young Inspectors who visit and inspect Youth Service projects in the district, providing feedback to the Senior Youth Worker on the standard and accessibility of local provision

4.2.2 At the Totton Youth Forum, young people from the two secondary schools and local youth projects meet bi-monthly to explore concerns that effect their lives in Totton, and what they wish to do about them

4.2.3 In Winchester, with the support of youth workers, young people attend regular parish council meetings, where the public part of the meeting has been dominated by issues related to a skate park, ensuring their views are heard

4.2.4 In Test Valley a pilot of the Targeted Youth Support Team, outlined in the Youth Matters green paper, will seek the views of over 200 young people on how such a service should be implemented

4.2.5 In Gosport, youth workers support a group of young people who appraise bids for grants to support local youth provision.

5. Hampshire County Youth Council

5.1 Hampshire County Youth Council (HCYC) seeks to be a voice for the young people of Hampshire and increase their awareness and influence over issues, which concern their lives.

5.2 Two young people are elected as representatives from each district as voting members of HCYC, and all young people are welcome to attend and contribute to the monthly meetings.

5.3 HCYC aims to provide Hampshire County Council and other appropriate authorities with the views of young people, both in relation to matters particular concern to young people and to issues of concern to the local authorities.

5.4 Members of Hampshire County Youth Council meet regularly with elected members of the County Council, including members of the Cabinet.

5.5 This year three members of HCYC attended a conference in Brussels on issues that affect young people across the European Union.

5.6 Three young people from Hampshire, including the Chair of HCYC, sit on the committee of the British Youth Council, an umbrella organisation for youth councils and forums across the country.

5.7 One member of HCYC sits on the board of the Children's Rights Alliance England actively campaigning for children's rights and advocating on behalf of other young people.

5 UK Youth Parliament

6.1 UK Youth Parliament is a non political organisation representing young people's views directly to government via civil servants and MP's.

6.2 Hampshire has six members and six deputy members of the UKYP who are elected annually. The Youth Service encourages all Hampshire schools and youth projects to participate in these elections as part of their citizenship curriculum.

6.3 One of the Youth Service Development Youth Workers is seconded to the UK Youth Parliament for a day per week, leading their international work.

6.4 Through the UKYP, young people from Hampshire are involved in an group advising the Children's Commissioner.

6.5 Members of the UKYP and HCYC have been to Poland to assist young people in Biala Podlaska set up a youth council of their own.

6 Young people's views on participation

6.7 The difference Hampshire County Youth Service has made to the lives of young people through its work on democracy and decision making is captured in the comments below:

6.7.1 "The youth workers encouraged us to decide what to do in the group and although it took a long time, we planned our own programme"

6.7.2 "I was elected to the UK Youth Parliament and have put our views to politicians including government ministers It was great to have our views listened to"

6.7.3 "Having made a successful presentation to the local council I feel I could do it again if there was something I really wanted to change"

6.7.4 "I now know a lot more about who is responsible for decisions in my local area"

6.7.5 "I learnt a lot from being involved in interviewing people for real jobs It is bound to help me when I apply for jobs in the future"

6.7.6 "Not only did we make a difference to the decision taken by the council but I feel much better at putting over my point of view I seemed to influence the other members of the group."

7 Financial implications

8.1 The salaries of the Development Youth Workers (Participation) is currently met from the Transforming Youth Work Performance Improvement Fund which will cease to exist from 1 April 2006.

8.2 Other costs are met from existing budgets including some funding from other agencies.

8 Personnel implications

8.7 To maintain support at the current level, the costs of the existing youth workers will be supported from efficiency savings within the youth service budget.

9 Impact assessment

9.7 A race and equality impact assessment has been considered in the development of this report. Youth workers often work with marginalised groups of young people who may not be able or willing to access other services. Youth workers work proactively with groups of young people with specific needs, e.g. gay, lesbian and bisexual young people, single sex groups, children looked after, young people with disabilities, black or minority ethnic groups, and are therefore well placed to provide these young people with opportunities to become active participants and involved in decisions that affect them directly and indirectly.

10 Crime prevention issues

11.1 High quality youth work reduces the likelihood of young people being involved in crime. Facilitating young people's participation in democracy and decision making encourages them to seek legitimate routes to challenging existing laws and influencing the development of future ones.

11.2 Young people are disproportionately likely to be victims of crime and their influence in Community Safety Partnership and similar groups, can be invaluable in creating initiatives to address this.

11 Recommendations

11.7 That the work of the Youth Service in promoting the active participation of young people is noted and 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:

Published works

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

Nil