Archived decisions

Specification for supporting high-risk young people (aged 14-21) in the youth justice system into education, training and employment (ETE)

May 2007

Learning and Skills Council

National Office

Cheylesmore House

Quinton Road

Coventry

CV1 2WT

Ruth Knapton (National Office)

&

Bryony Kingsland (SE Regional OLASS Team)

Developing systems to support young people from the youth justice system into education, training and employment

1. Introduction

    1.1. The purpose of this specification is to outline the scope and requirements of this funding in developing a multi-agency model to sustain young people's engagement in Employment, Training & Education (ETE) in order to reduce their risk of re-offending.

    1.2. The target group will be the most difficult group of young people (male and female) aged 14 - 21, who are normally resident in North Hampshire.

    1.3. The project will engage with employers and Public Sector Organisations and their major contractors in the North Hampshire area, to provide bespoke apprenticeship programmes (including young apprenticeships and other jobs with training) for the target group of young people. The main principle to be tested will be that of engaging the larger employers in supporting this group of young people. This will include engagement at various points for different young people: during Key Stage 4, Entry to Employment (e2e), pre ETE, leaving care, pre and post custody and on transition to adult services from aged 18 years. The result will be to provide a seamless ETE service for young people in this target group.

    1.4. Extra support will be provided from this funding through the appointment of Personal Support Workers (PSW) and for employer engagement through Job Development Officers (JDO).

    1.5. The project will produce, as an outcome of the funding, a model for a continuous, consistent service for these young people, from referral, and as appropriate, up to the age of 21 or until they are in stable employment and assessed as being at a reduced risk of re-offending.

    1.6. The young person will not have to be on a current court order for services to be delivered but they must have been subject to a court order prior to receiving support though this funding stream. This will mean that a young person can be supported post a DTO, ISSP etc when the young person is no longer under formal supervision by the Youth Offending Services. This will ensure continuous services can be delivered to a high risk group when criminal justice services are not available.

    1.7. The model developed will be produced in a format which can be disseminated nationally and which is compatible with other developments in supporting engagement with learning, training and employment e.g. train to gain, job-developers; EQUAL and ESF funded programmes etc.

2. Context

    2.1. The project will take account of the Every Child Matters agenda, aiming to support the five key outcomes for young people. The project will develop services for young people as outlined in the DFES Reducing Re-Offending through Education and Skills: Next Steps document (2006) and will link to appropriate regional and local 14-19 developments.

    2.2. The project is funded through the LSC Offenders' Learning Directorate and the Young People's Team to ensure a focus for young people who have committed an offence for which they have been subject to a youth justice order.

    2.3. The Youth Justice Board oversees the youth justice system in England and Wales and works to prevent offending and re-offending by children and young people under the age of 18, and to ensure that custody for them is safe, secure, and addresses the causes of their offending behaviour. The project will give consideration to the Board's remit in relation to young people.

    2.4. [DN insert LA and YOS, Connexions remit]

    2.5. The project should take account of the Youth Justice Board (YJB) `Keeping Young People Engaged' project http://www.youth-justice-trust.org.uk/yjt/publications.php and build on the YJB/LSC funded OLASS tri-regional Rathbone Resettlement pathfinder http://www.rathboneuk.org/sublocation.aspx?pageid=421&id=52 in supporting routes to employment through personal support workers (PSW).

3. Target Group

    3.1. The target group will be those young people at highest risk of re-offending. They will be disadvantaged and challenging young people who are persistent and prolific offenders.

    3.1.1. The age range will be 14-21; the upper age limit reflects the research-identified need to support young people in transition to adulthood effectively to minimise re-offending during this complex transition period where services providers change after aged 18 years.

    3.1.2. Although the age range will be 14-21 the expectation is that the majority of young people supported by this project will at engagement with the project be aged 15-19.

    3.1.3. Young people who are NEET and are receiving or have received high intensity interventions including ISSP, DTO and/or are prolific and priority offenders (PPO).

    3.1.4. Young people under 16 years of age (not categorised as NEET) but who fulfil the criteria in 3.1.3; that is they have received a sentence for their offence/s and/or are prolific and priority offenders (PPO).

    3.1.5. For young people in custody, support will be provided pre and post release.

    3.1.6. Children and young people in Care who are NEET (or aged under 16 years of age and are not in ETE) and fulfil the criteria in 3.1.3. or 3.1.4. above.

    3.1.7. Young women, young people from BME communities and single mothers, who meet the above criteria, (3.1.1. - 3.1.4) will be provided with gender and culturally sensitive programmes through the model of individualised support programmes, and through particular development activities to ensure an appropriate range of employment and learning opportunities.

    3.2. The number of young people in the target group for this project from North Hampshire data for the year 2006/7 was

    · YOS case-load:

    _ ISSP starts per year: 32 young people

    _ NEET high-risk offenders not on ISSP: 26 young people

    _ Custodial sentences: 10 young people

    · Connexions caseload:

    Note: not all will be at high-risk of re-offending

    _ Teenage pregnancy/care leavers/working with the YOS: 137 young people

4. The Specification

    4.1. The project will ensure, in both design and delivery that it complements and supports the Local Area Agreement (LAA), the Children's & Young People's Plan, the NEET Plan and the Hampshire 14-19 agenda.

    4.2. The project will test the systems and procedures currently operating and develop them to provide sustainable ETE cross agency working at all staff levels. This will include essential engagement of front-line staff in cross-agency working as well as middle and senior managers from the partner agencies.

    4.3. To ensure 4.2 above trust between agencies must be developed at all levels in the partner organisations; this is particularly key in developing confidence in sharing information about young people.

    4.4. Partners in this project must include the LSC; Wessex Youth Offender Service; Hampshire County Council and Connexions South Central and Connexions West of England.

    · Hampshire Probation Service (for transition from Youth Offending Services)

    · Learning providers - including Totton College, Farnborough College, Enham Trust, Basingstoke College, Andover College.

    · Positive Activities for Young People (PAYP) providers - Youth Service Andover, Hampshire and Isle of Wight Youth Options Basingstoke, The Source Aldershot and Farnborough.

    · Voluntary and Community Sector (VCS) mentor and support providers including Fairbridge Solent, Prince's Trust, Hampton Trust and Motiv8te.

    · VCS specialist intensive fostering provider: NCH.

    · Employer Alliance and Hampshire County Council representing the core employer organisations.

    · Mental health and substance misuse services linked through the YOS and Probation delivery arrangements.

    · CfBT Education Services (provider for young people in custody in the SE region)

    · Southampton City Council

    · DQ can an employability contract be entered in here?

    4.5. The project will be located in North Hampshire, spanning the District Council areas of Test Valley, Basingstoke and Deane, Hart and Rushmoor. This will include the towns of Andover, Basingstoke, Farnborough and Aldershot. This coverage will provide opportunities for employment in urban and rural areas and particularly in light industry and service and high-tech industries. North Hampshire currently has under-developed employer engagement and significant `pockets' of NEET young people [DN insert some numbers] , it also presents a significant challenge with high re-offenidng rates and higher rates of violent and drug related offences [DN add figures]

    4.6. Working in partnership with Public Sector Organisations and their major contractors in the North Hampshire area, and linking to current provision including the Wessex Youth Offending Service (YOS); the Leaving Care Teams (LCT); and Connexions Services, the project will develop routes to employment for young people through developing engagement with employers in area 4.5 above through the Job Developer Officer (JDO). Links already exist with the Train to Gain brokerage system and appropriate communications to employers will be supported through joint working.

    4.7. The routes to employment will include the development of an LSC funded bespoke on-line Apprenticeship Programme. (This is funded through a separate LSC funding stream and is not dependant on this project).

    4.8. The project will ensure that each young person on this project is provided with a Personal Support Worker (PSW). This person will remain constant and provide continuity, whatever the young person's circumstances; whether custodial, community placement or after their supervision order has completed until they are in sustainable ETE and their risk of re-offending is minimal.

    4.9. The PSW will provide intensive support. They will visit the young person while in custody and work with the YOI/STC to ensure that they have learning and training programmes relevant to the job/training opportunities available from them on release. The custodial placements for young people will be any YOI where the young person is held, any STC where the young person is held and Swanwick Lodge, Secure Children's Home in Hampshire if applicable.

    4.10. The PSW will provide a consistent point of contact for the young person but the PSW will not replace any function which should be carried out by the YOT case manager or Connexions staff. They may attend reviews as additional support for the young person but will not conduct reviews or in any way act as a replacement for the YOT case holder or any other professional engaged with the young person.

    4.11. The project will support a minimum of forty (40) young people in the age range and fitting the criteria for the target group, into ETE through successful referral and support these young people until they are considered able to sustain their ETE and the risk of re-offending is considered to be minimal.

    4.12. Four personal support workers (PSW) will be appointed and they will hold case-loads of between 5-10 (five and ten) young people each at any one time depending on the support each individual young person requires at any given point in time.

5. Current situation

    5.1. [DQ how many yp now and how many supported into ETE? Need to show how this funding will increase performance in ETE engagement. Might want to estimate reducing in reoffending rates? ]

6. Outcomes and Evaluation criteria

    6.1. Outcome 1: Forty young people will be supported into and be placed in positive ETE destinations which are sustainable.

    6.1.1. Evaluation Criteria:

      · at least forty (40) young people were referred to the scheme

      · forty (40) young people were supported by PSWs

      · the young people were engaged in ETE, with appropriate support

      · the ETE provision was for 16hrs per week or more

      · the ETE provision offered continuity of ETE or a subsequent ETE placement was available to the young person

      · young people commented positively on their ETE placement

    6.2. Outcome 2: Four Personal Support Workers will hold case-loads of five to ten (5-10) young people each at any one time and provide regular, intensive, effective support for each young person in their case-load.

    6.2.1. Evaluation Criteria:

      · Each PSW confirms they have received appropriate support including an appropriate induction to the project and their employment, information on the structure of the project and the relationship to all partner organisations.

      · Each PSW has held caseloads at any one time of 5-10 young people

      · a regular record of contact/support/advice and actions has been kept by the PSW

      · the PSW line-manager confirms the above record for each PSW

      · PSW have received regular support and guidance from their manager

      · Each young person has had the opportunity to express their views on the support they have received through the project and this has been recorded appropriately.

      · Young people's families/carers have had the opportunity to express views about the placements/support.

    6.3. Outcome 3: One (1) Job Development Officer (JDO) will be appointed and will work within the area and remit of this project to provide appropriate ETE placements for young people through advocating for young people with employers and employer organisations. [DQ programme development officer role to add? .5? ]

    6.3.1. Evaluation Criteria;

      · appropriate ETE placements were available and offered to young people

      · employers reported that engagement with young people was appropriately established and supported

      · young people reported positively about the ETE engagement process

    6.4. Outcome 4: Inter-agency working developed throughout the project will be sustained at the end of the funding from this specification. It is anticipated, if demonstrating success and added-value, that support would be mainstreamed by contributions in kind from Wessex YOS, Connexions, Leaving Care Service and the Probation Service, and for the funding of ETE programmes the LSC.

    6.4.1. Evaluation Criteria:

      · Where success is demonstrated partners have developed processes for mainstreaming

      · Employers are engaged in any mainstreaming developments proposed.

    6.5. Outcome 5: There will be continuous monitoring of the project using existing NEET and re-offending information systems, measuring the results of performance of the project against the performance indicators of South Central Connexions and Wessex Youth Offending Services.

    6.5.1. Evaluation Criteria:

      · [DN for discussion at partnership initial meeting]

7. Timescale for the Project

    7.1. The project will commence during July 2007 and complete by March 31st 2008. A report and dissemination will take place post March 31st 2008.

    7.2. The Evaluation will be carried out through contract with the LSC SE region. [Lisa Cheetham to confirm amount - timescales etc]

8. Equality: Access to Services and Monitoring

    8.1. All agencies in the partnership have individual equality and diversity polices and procedures. The programme would in addition seek to ensure that known disparities in provision for this target group, particularly access to services by young women, BME communities, and young offenders with learning disabilities and difficulties, are monitored effectively to ensure that commitment to equality of opportunity are translated into reality.

9. Management Arrangements

    9.1. The project will be managed by South Central Connexions through partnership working via a project steering group consisting of the

    · Director of Operations Connexions South Central

    · The Head of Service Wessex YOS

    · The Service Manager Leaving Care Service Hampshire Children's Services

    · The LSC Regional OLASS team

    9.2. A part time project manager will be a member of Connexions South Central and will report to the Steering Group.

    9.3. Young people will be engaged in the project to inform developments. This may be individually and/or through focus groups.

    9.4. Young people's families will be kept informed at stages throughout the project as appropriate.

    9.5. Employers will be engaged in the project as appropriate.

10. Costs

Add breakdown here include admin.