Meeting documents
Youth and Play Service Advisory Committee
Tuesday, 27th September 2005
Present
Chair
Cllr Les Rowlands
Councillors
O W Adam, T Harney, ED Prout, PTC Reisdorf, GCJ Watt
Deputy
DE Roberts (for Cllr SA Brown)
Members
Andrew Hughes (Youth Forum), Chelsea Renahan (Youth Forum)
Council Officers
Steve Chan (Acting Head, Play), Lindsay Davidson (Deputy Head of Youth Service: Policy Development), Debbie Dawson (Acting Senior Participation Worker), Jim Lester (Head of Branch, Cultural Services) , Maureen McDaid (Head of Youth & Community Service), Lyn Williams (Acting Head, Community)
Apologies
Maureen Bonny (Wirral Play Council), Cllr Chris Meaden
Index to Minutes
- Minute 1 - INTRODUCTIONS AND APOLOGIES
- Minute 2 - MINUTES
- Minute 3 - MATTERS ARISING
- Minute 4 - PRESENTATION BY YOUNG PEOPLE ON YOUTH FORUMS
- Minute 5 - HEAD OF SERVICE REPORT
- Minute 6 - REPORT ON PLAY SERVICES: APRIL - JULY 2005
- Minute 7 - "YOUTH MATTERS" - IMPACT ON WIRRAL YOUTH SERVICE
- Minute 8 - ENHANCING THE YOUTH SERVICE (TRAINING LOCAL PEOPLE TO BE YOUTH WORKERS)
- Minute 9 - DATE AND TIME OF NEXT MEETING
Minute 1 - INTRODUCTIONS AND APOLOGIES
Minute Text :
At the request of the Chair, members and officers introduced themselves to the meeting. The Chair welcomed two of the four representatives from Youth Forums - Andrew Hughes and Chelsea Renahan, who were attending their first meeting.
Apologies - as shown above.
Minute 2 - MINUTES
Minute Text :
The minutes of the previous meeting, held on 10 February 2005, were circulated.
Minute Decision :
Resolved - That the minutes be received.
Minute 3 - MATTERS ARISING
Minute Text :
In response to Councillor Watt's enquiry, Maureen McDaid explained the current position in relation to the filling of vacancies within the Youth Service. Turnover was at a normal level, though certain key staff were on the point of retiring (see also minute 5 below).
Minute 4 - PRESENTATION BY YOUNG PEOPLE ON YOUTH FORUMS
Minute Text :
Chelsea Renahan and Andrew Hughes gave a presentation on youth forums. (A representative of the inspectors undertaking the Joint Area Review of children's services was present for this item). They explained that four forums had been established, for Birkenhead, Wallasey, South Wirral and West Wirral. They were open to all young people between the ages of 13 to 19 and their purpose was to give young people the opportunity to discuss openly their opinions regarding issues in the areas in which they lived. Young people were concerned that the forums should be about their own issues, and various reasons given by young people for attending were that they were being heard; meetings were open to everyone, not just established youth groups; the atmosphere was comfortable and allowed everyone to have an equal say in putting forward their opinions; the young people would not be judged or stereotyped, and could be themselves; they were not aimed at a specific age group, but attracted a good mix of ages and all supported each other.
Participants in the forums were anxious to stress that they had both rights and responsibilities. Those rights included the right to participate in decision-making that was relevant to their lives and to influence decisions within the family, the school, or the community that might affect them.
Each forum had been given a small budget of £500 and had invited applications for grants. Members of the forums had filtered through the application forms, which had been designed and completed by young people and then decided how best to allocate the funding. In all, 115 members had taken part in the process, which had led to some very successful and pro-active projects. Andrew Hughes described his participation in a barge trip for young people of the Pensby area, one of the activities funded by a grant.
For the future, the aim was to make youth forums more interactive for the newer, younger members, who tended to get left out in some of the discussions. It was intended to make the youth forums more youth-led, with young people putting issues on the agenda and facilitating the meetings.
Members of the Advisory Committee asked a number of questions:
* How often did the forums meet?
Quarterly.
* Did the forums have guest speakers on relevant issues?
Yes, but that could be rather formal.
* How could the youth forums interact with the Council?
The forums would welcome Councillors attending their meetings or becoming involved in other ways.
Debbie Dawson stated that information on the activities of the youth forums were fed into the area forums through the reports of the area co-ordinators. Maureen McDaid suggested that the issue of interaction with the Council could be discussed at the next round of youth forums to ascertain the general views of the young people. Chelsea Renahan added that there was no real substitute for speaking directly to young people.
Minute Decision :
Resolved -
(1) That Chelsea and Andrew be thanked for their presentation.
(2) That information from youth forums be included as a standard item on each agenda for meetings of the Advisory Committee (see also minute (9) below).
Minute 5 - HEAD OF SERVICE REPORT
Minute Text :
Maureen McDaid presented an overview of the work undertaken by the Youth Service during the period April to July 2005, in relation to:
(i) the Wirral Outreach Team, where she referred in particular to the number of staff changes and to the work undertaken in parks during the summer months;
(ii) work in the Birkenhead and Bebington area;
(iii) work in the Wallasey and Deeside area, including a very successful community celebration of VE Day, centred around Leasowe Youth Club;
(iv) participation work, including support for the UK Youth Parliament representatives, and a feature on Radio Merseyside earlier that day;
(v) the Wirral Youth Theatre and Youth Arts;
(vi) outdoor education and the Duke of Edinburgh's Award Programme;
(vii) other developments, including promotion of quality standards in collaboration with youth services in the other Merseyside authorities.
She paid tribute to the contribution made to Wirral's Youth Service by Graham Ashdown, Youth Worker at the Pensby Youth Club, and Peter Jenkinson, Head of Play, who were due to retire in the near future; she also reported that youth workers Liz Hawkins and Christine Marchant had recently graduated from the JMU Youth and Community Course. In response to a query by Councillor Adam, the Committee was advised that existing vacancies were in the process of being filled, but that a further review of the structure of the service was likely, subject to negotiations with the trade unions.
Minute Decision :
Resolved -
(1) That the report be noted.
(2) That Graham Ashdown and Peter Jenkinson be thanked for their service and accorded the best wishes of the Advisory Committee for a long and happy retirement.
(3) That Liz Hawkins and Christine Marchant be congratulated on achieving their qualifications.
Minute 6 - REPORT ON PLAY SERVICES: APRIL - JULY 2005
Minute Text :
Steve Chan reported on the range of opportunities provided by the Play Service over the period April to July 2005. He explained that Wirral's Youth and Community Service provided full-time open access play provision through play and community settings at Beechwood, Gautby Road, Charing Cross, Leasowe Adventure Playground, Livingstone Street, and Woodchurch. Wirral Play Council, a voluntary organisation grant-aided by the local authority, provided a comprehensive summer programme consisting of 25 temporary summer holiday playschemes. It also managed a number of externally-funded play initiatives. Their annual Play Day, which celebrated National Play Day, was organised in conjunction with the Youth and Community Service.
He went on to describe the operation of Play Services in more detail, both generally, at the various centres and through summer playschemes. He outlined the budget for each and the activities involved. A key issue in the delivery of play services was the need to ensure appropriate standards. All of the play services were subject to random inspections by Ofsted. The highest standard was "good", which had been achieved by Gautby Road, Livingstone Street, Woodchurch and the Wirral Play Council's Special Needs Programme.
Steve Chan also described the work carried out in schools, where good play practice was promoted in school playgrounds. Councillor Harney asked about the training for that service, and was informed that it was undertaken through the Youth and Community Service through an organised programme involving a number of schools.
Councillor Prout referred to the shortage of lighting at the Leasowe Adventure Playground. Lyn Williams replied that officers were currently negotiating with the lighting section of the Technical Services Department, and Housing, on that issue. However, there would be an ongoing cost for maintenance. The Chair felt that lighting ought now to be an essential feature of play provision and, of course, needed to be vandal-proof.
Minute Decision :
Resolved - That the report be noted.
Minute 7 - "YOUTH MATTERS" - IMPACT ON WIRRAL YOUTH SERVICE
Minute Text :
Maureen McDaid briefed the Committee on the potential impact for Wirral Youth Service following the publication of the Youth Green Paper, "Youth Matters". A copy of the summary report was circulated. The DfES' consultation period ran until 4 November, and the Director of Education and Cultural Services was organising the Authority’s response. "Youth Matters" set out the Government’s vision for youth services and how, with partners, youth services could positively respond to the diverse needs of young people today. The proposals aimed to address four key challenges:
(i) how to engage young people in positive activities and empower them to shape the services they received;
(ii) how to encourage more young people to volunteer and become involved in their communities;
(iii) how to provide better information, advice and guidance to young people to help them make informed choices about their lives;
(iv) how to provide better and more personalised intensive support for each young person who had serious problems or got into trouble.
A major expectation contained within "Youth Matters" was the improved and increased participation of young people in local and national decision-making processes. Any future arrangements for the delivery of services for children and young people would have to involve children and young people in the design and delivery of those services, and the processes whereby children and young people were engaged would have to take account of needs, cultural diversity and be accessible.
Within Wirral, the participation programme had already started and individual targets were being set for youth clubs. Further engagement through youth forums and the UK Youth Parliament would be promoted, and an application for Beacon Council status for engagement with young people was being prepared for submission to the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister. There was already a good level of volunteering within Wirral, eg through the Duke of Edinburgh Award scheme, but there was also a need to promote less formal volunteering opportunities that could lead young people into accredited placements. Further work would also be necessary in finding new partners in the provision of services.
Councillor Harney referred to the targeting of support to assist each young person that might have a serious problem or who got into trouble (paragraph 31 in the summary report). Maureen McDaid replied that that followed on from the principles in "Every Child Matters" for assisting vulnerable young people.
Councillor Reisdorf asked about the availability of funding. He was aware that £40m of government money was to be provided, but he queried how it might be allocated. Maureen McDaid stated that generally it would be allocated per capita, based on the youth population in each local authority area, but funding would also be available for specific pieces of work.
Minute Decision :
Resolved - That the report be noted.
Minute 8 - ENHANCING THE YOUTH SERVICE (TRAINING LOCAL PEOPLE TO BE YOUTH WORKERS)
Minute Text :
Maureen McDaid informed the Committee of the development, implementation and outcomes of the approved policy option ‘Enhancing the Youth Service’ (training local people to be youth workers). She explained that, in view of the problems in recruiting and keeping youth workers and the current expansion in demand for individuals with youth work skills, the Council had allocated a sum of £120,000 for the financial year 2005/06 to be used to set up and manage a formal one-year training scheme, using attachments to existing youth teams. The initial aim was to provide six local people with the qualifications and experience necessary to play a full part in future youth work on Wirral. The pilot was to be reviewed on completion of the year’s training. It was hoped that the scheme would contribute to provide local people with skills and qualifications that could help them into employment if they had previously been unemployed, and it was intended that it met the Council's declared priorities in the Corporate Plan (under paragraph 2.2.2 of Employment and Training Needs and under 5.2.1 of Reducing Anti-Social Behaviour), by increasing the number of youth workers available.
The PSL Group (formerly Pentra Services Ltd), a Wirral Intermediate Labour Market provider, had been engaged to recruit, employ and oversee the overall welfare of six trainees. Ms McDaid went on to describe the training programme. With regard to the outcomes, three of the trainees had gained employment, one of whom had been accepted at Liverpool John Moores University to study Social Work (full time), commencing in September 2005. Of the other three, two were on the Youth Service pool list and undertaking paid work on an as-and-when basis; the third was looking for employment in fields related to youth work.
The benefit to the Youth Service itself was that it had gained from additional staff support, enhancement of the skills of the senior post created to support the implementation of the scheme and a re-kindling of interest in youth work, as evidenced by the number of applicants for the trainee positions. Although the Service itself had been been unable to retain the services of the majority of the trainees, in future consideration would be given to offering any more trainee posts for which funding was provided a longer period of training, with the opportunity to gain a full-time qualification in youth work. Whilst no funding had yet been approved for future years, consideration was being given to the possibility of sharing a scheme with other local authorities.
Minute Decision :
Resolved - That the report be noted and the Director of Education and Cultural Services be requested to provide a further report on training opportunities for youth workers.
Minute 9 - DATE AND TIME OF NEXT MEETING
Minute Text :
Minute Decision :
Resolved -
(1) That the next meeting be held on Tuesday, 10 January at 6.15pm at the Town Hall, Wallasey.
(2) That any requests for matters to be put on the agenda be submitted either to the Chair or to Maureen McDaid.
(3) That Wirral's youth forums be given the opportunity to propose items for the agenda; also that copies of the agenda and minutes be made available to the youth forums.
(4) That officers preparing reports for the Advisory Committee be requested to ensure that they are free of jargon.
(Minutes Published: 4 January 2006)