Meeting documents
Youth and Play Service Advisory Committee
Thursday, 14th December 2006
Present
Chair
Cllr Sheila Clarke
Councillors
SA Brown, T Harney, DJ Hunt, PM Southwood, GCJ Watt
Council Officers
John Davies (Wirral Youth Service), Peter Edmondson (Head of Branch, Participation & Inclusion)
Apologies
Steve Chan (Acting Head, Play), Maureen McDaid (Head of Youth & Play Service), Cllr Chris Meaden, Cllr Don Prout
Index to Minutes
- Minute 10 - APOLOGIES
- Minute 11 - MINUTES
- Minute 12 - HEAD OF SERVICE'S REPORT
- Minute 13 - WIRRAL SUMMER HOLIDAY PLAYSCHEME PROGRAMME 2006
- Minute 14 - BEACON OPEN DAY
- Minute 15 - SOUTH WIRRAL YOUNG PEOPLE'S PROJECT AND THE 'DIG IT' PROJECT
- Minute 16 - YOUTH OPPORTUNITY FUND AND YOUTH CAPITAL FUND
- Minute 17 - YOUTH PARLIAMENT AND YOUTH VOICE CONFERENCE
- Minute 18 - RESPONSE AGENCY - AGE RANGE
- Minute 19 - DATE OF NEXT MEETING
Minute 10 - APOLOGIES
Minute Text :
Apologies - as above.
The Committee welcome four young people representining the Youth Forums: Hannah Hoyle (South Wirral), Jamie Johnson (Wallasey), Tanya Carr (Birkenhead) and Allan Mason-Whelan (West Wirral). The had been involved in the panels deliberating on the grant applications for the Youth Opportunities Fund and the Youth Capital Fund (see minute 16 below).
Minute 11 - MINUTES
Minute Text :
The minutes of the previous meeting, held on 21 September 2006, were accepted as a correct record.
Minute 12 - HEAD OF SERVICE'S REPORT
Minute Text :
On behalf of Maureen McDaid, Lindsay Davidson introduced her report, which presented an overview of the work undertaken by the Youth and Play Service during the period September to December. In particular, she referred to the following matters:
(i) The retirement of Linda Smith, Housing Worker in Response, and John Duffy, Youth Worker, who had retired after 26 and 30 years respectively.
(ii) The work of the Wirral Outreach Team, including the organisation of a successful sand sculpture competition, an increase in work related to drug and alcohol misuse and supporting young people to make positive contributions such as participation at Youth Forums and in training for elected members.
(iii) The work of the Birkenhead and Bebington Area Team, including the fact that recent staff shortages had been resolved.
(iv) The work of the Wallasey and Deeside Area Team, including work undertaken with an older group of young people (aged 18 plus) who were currently not engaged in employment or training.
(v) Higher attendance at Youth Forums, the next round of which would take place in January.
(vi) Wirral Youth Theatre/Youth Arts – that included holding regular drama-based workshops with older pupils from Meadowside and Foxfield schools, the securing of more funding for the Sound Steps Music Project and development of a music website and the provision of arts activities during holiday periods for young people assessed to be at risk of offending.
(vii) Activities to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Duke of Edinburgh Award Scheme and work with the organisations that helped to support it. During the autumn, 24 young people from the borough had received Gold Awards from HRH The Duke of Edinburgh and 156 had received Bronze or Silver Awards at the Town Hall, including some people from Clare Mount School.
(viii) Special needs and international work, including a proposed visit to Bremen, with whom Wirral had collaborated in youth activities.
(ix) The work of the Response Team – reference was made to the fact that a number of its clients were over the age of 20 years which was presenting a problem for the Youth Service overall in terms of resources (see also minute 18 below).
(x) Housing Advice Service – there were particular problems with a general shortage of accommodation.
(xi) Counselling services for young people.
In relation to the shortage of housing, Councillor Harney stated that Wirralhomes was currently conducting a housing needs survey, and it would be helpful if the Advisory Committee could look at their report. The Chair stated that she was aware that the issue had been included in the Youth Parliament Action Plan and Peter Edmondson confirmed that the Children and Young People Management Board was keen to assist and had enlisted the Director of Regeneration (who was responsible for housing matters).
Councillor Watt referred to problems with Christmas celebrations in West Kirby on the previous Friday, during which it appeared that the authority of the Police had been challenged by outreach workers. Peter Edmondson confirmed that four youth workers had been present in the area that evening. The incident had highlighted the need for joint training on roles and responsibilities and he had met with the Police and youth workers, with a view to avoiding a repeat of such incidents. He stressed that relationships were generally good. However, young people had raised some issues relating to the Police, as a result of which a request had been made to meet with the Chief Constable. Allan Mason-Whelan stressed the importance of having youth representatives at any such meeting, and Peter Edmondson undertook to build that into the process.
Councillor Hunt commended the practice of youth exchanges which provided the chance to compare employment opportunities. Lindsay Davidson confirmed that most exchanges had themes, which were usually set by sponsors such as the EU and the Commonwealth.
In response to Councillor Hunt’s query about training of youth workers, Lindsay Davidson explained that there was a tradition of young people involved with youth clubs going on to become youth leaders. Training courses were run for the older members of youth clubs to encourage them to become volunteer youth workers.
Minute Decision :
Resolved -
(1) That the report be noted and Lindsay Davidson be thanked for delivering the report.
(2) That the Committee record its best wishes for a happy retirement for Linda Smith and John Duffy.
Minute 13 - WIRRAL SUMMER HOLIDAY PLAYSCHEME PROGRAMME 2006
Minute Text :
On behalf of Steve Chan, Lindsay Davidson reported on the various opportunities provided through the Wirral Play Council Summer Holiday Playscheme Programme in 2006. 30 playschemes and projects had been funded, primarily by a grant of £58,000 from the Council. They included full-time summer schemes, schemes for children with disabilities, the Outreach Play programme, the Mobile Play Project and the Wirral Play Day, held at Royden Park.
There had been an average daily attendance of 1180 over the various schemes and over 25,000 attendances in total. The schemes had employed 88 temporary play workers, 48% of whom had participated during the previous year.
During July and August, eight summer playschemes had been inspected by Ofsted Early Years, who had assessed the schemes from the point of view of a child and how they met the five outcomes from Every Child Matters. The Ofsted assessments were set out in Appendix 2 to the report - of the eight schemes, two had been assessed as good and six
satisfactory.
In response to members' questions, Lindsay Davidson explained that good use was made of the media in promoting playschemes, and a BBC bus had been present for the Play Day in Royden Park. With regard to the play workers, Lindsay Davidson explained that, for most of them, involvement in the schemes was summer work, which best suited young people or students. There were very few older workers, but she undertook to see whether any more might be recruited.
Minute Decision :
Resolved - That the report be noted.
Minute 14 - BEACON OPEN DAY
Minute Text :
Lindsay Davidson reported on the organisation and outcomes of the Beacon Open Day, held on 24 October 2006. She explained that one of the responsibilities of having Beacon status (for Positive Youth Engagement) was to organise an open day and other learning opportunities for colleagues and partners, both within Wirral and from other local authorities, with the aim of sharing good practice. Eight Beacon councils across the country had achieved that status for Positive Youth Engagement, so it had been a challenge to attract delegates, but Wirral’s Open Day had been attended by authorities as far afield as Cumbria, the East Riding of Yorkshire and Warwickshire. In total, 128 delegates had been registered on the day. Many delegates had rated the event as excellent.
As a follow-up to the Open Day, the Council was committed to peer lentoring and Learning sessions. All delegates from outside of Wirral had already been contacted to ask if they would like any follow-up support.
Councillor Harney stated that he had been very impressed with the event. He was aware that funding was available for training from the North West Employers' Organisation and hoped that some of that could be used to help to build on the strengths of the Youth Service.
Minute Decision :
Resolved - That all concerned in the organisation of the Beacon Open Day be congratulated on an excellent event.
Minute 15 - SOUTH WIRRAL YOUNG PEOPLE'S PROJECT AND THE 'DIG IT' PROJECT
Minute Text :
Lindsay Davidson reported on the Dig It project, a community based partnership initiative in which the South Wirral Young People's Project had engaged young people in a market garden project. She explained that, in response to community concerns about anti-social behaviour and complaints from young people about the lack of things to do, Merseyside Fire & Rescue Service and the South Wirral Young People's Project, a member of the Wirral Outreach Team, with the support of ward councillors, had worked together to find a solution. Some derelict land at Bromborough Community Fire Station had been made available for the creation of a market garden, whereby young people working alongside the Fire Service and other agencies would have the opportunity to learn new skills and make a positive contribution to their community.
To date, considerable progress had been made and the young people had levelled the ground and moved more than 80 tons of top soil, which had been donated by the Council. They would shortly be in a position to erect polytunnels. The young people had also been investigating the possibility of creating a sensory garden on the site and had been in touch with the Lyndale School to look at its sensory garden.
Councillor Harney stated that he was very impressed with the work of the Youth Service and the Fire Service in sponsoring the scheme, which he regarded as a valuable community facility. He also pointed out that the Fire Service were helping to encourage people in fitness activities. Overall, the project ought to serve as a model as to how young people and the community could work together, particularly in making good use of otherwise derelict land.
Minute Decision :
Resolved - That the report be noted.
Minute 16 - YOUTH OPPORTUNITY FUND AND YOUTH CAPITAL FUND
Minute Text :
Lindsay Davidson reported on developments in relation to the Youth Opportunity Fund and the Youth Capital Fund. She explained that in April 2006 Wirral had been allocated £210,472 from the YOF and £182,041 from the YCF for the financial year 2006/07. The two funds were aimed at improving provision for young people aged 13 to 18 years; giving young people a voice in making decisions about the allocation of the funding; helping to involve disadvantaged and hard to reach young people; improving things to do and places to go for young people in their neighbourhoods; investing in youth facilities, particularly in deprived areas; and contributing to the outcomes of Every Child Matters.
Young people therefore were involved in all stages of the process as applicants, decision makers and beneficiaries. Following consultations, a panel to consider grant applications had been recruited, which included some harder to reach young people. They had undergone some training, involving practice applications. Application had been invited in two tranches, and meetings had been held to decide on the applications on 28 October and 9 December 2006. The young people themselves had decided that, in addition to allotting funding to each area, a sum should be set aside for the purpose of assisting vulnerable groups across the whole of Wirral.
Jamie Johnson stated that 91 applications had been considered at the second meeting and the overall value of the applications meant that the available funding was over-subscribed by £900,000. It had therefore been necessary to apply the agreed criteria and in some cases, to limit the funding applied for. Tanya Carr stated that the panel had found it necessary to say no to some schemes, which helped the participants to appreciate the effect that limited resources had. As to other lessons learnt, Allan Mason-Whelan felt that in future it would be better to have one deadline rather than two, so that all applications could be judged together. Allan thanked Lindsay for her support and stated that, although the young people were representing particular areas, they had found it necessary to be impartial in deciding on projects.
The Chair asked whether the Committee could see a full list of the applications, particularly to ascertain what themes were emerging from them. Lindsay Davidson replied that that information could be supplied. Many of the applications centred around arts and crafts, dance equipment and theatre activities. The exercise itself had been a very enjoyable one in terms of team building and developing the ability to listen and communicate. All of the young people (12 in total) had worked very hard
She added that the letters of approval (or non-approval) were being prepared to be sent from the grant panel. They would include various conditions attaching to the grants. The next step after that would be to monitor the projects as they were being implemented. A similar sum was likely to be available for the following year and she hoped that the young people involved at the current time could pass on their knowledge to those who would be deciding on the next set of applications - she added that Debbie McCabe (Advisory Youth Worker, Curriculum) had been to a regional conference to compare the experience of other authorities in dealing with the YOF and YCF. There had been different approaches, e.g. in one authority applicants had been required to give presentations.
Minute Decision :
Resolved - That all the young people involved in deciding on the grant applications be thanked for their work and congratulated on the outcome.
Minute 17 - YOUTH PARLIAMENT AND YOUTH VOICE CONFERENCE
Minute Text :
Peter Edmondson reported on the success of the Youth Parliament and the Youth Voice Conference held on 16 October 2006, and submitted the lists of issues raised both from the round-table discussions and at the subsequent meeting with the whole Council. The report submitted proposed how the Council and its partner organisations should now respond in order to address the points raised. It was intended to inform the Cabinet and to seek to have the various matters referred on to the appropriate overview and scrutiny committees, or to other bodies such as Merseytravel. It was also intended that young people would be involved at each stage of the process, starting with the next round of Youth Forums. The results of the various deliberations would be reported to a feedback session for all Councillors (provisionally arranged for 11 July). It was also intended to hold a similar event in Local Democracy Week 2007 (in October).
Allan Mason-Whelan agreed that the day’s events had been successful – a number of good points had been made, and he hoped that progress would be made on them. Councillor Brown referred to the fact that the Council had already passed a motion that acknowledged the problem of climate change and aimed to ensure that energy conservation should be one of its highest priorities, particularly in relation to its own premises.
Councillor Southwood asked whether July might be too far off for the proposed review session, and was advised that the committee calendar did not allow an earlier opportunity. Councillor Harney suggested that, in the meantime, any further views could be fed in to the members working party which was looking at the various issues and would need to try to prioritise them.
The Chair asked whether it would be possible for elected members to attend meetings of the Youth Forums. Councillor Harney welcomed such an opportunity for young people to hold councillors to account.
Peter Edmondson stated that the points raised by the young people had created a lot of discussion among elected members and chief officers, who had been impressed by their contributions. Inevitably, some of the proposals could be implemented quicker than others. He added that the National Youth Agency had given Wirral an honorary mention in one of its case studies on engagement with young people.
Minute Decision :
Resolved - That the report be noted.
Minute 18 - RESPONSE AGENCY - AGE RANGE
Minute Text :
Further to minute 6 (21 September 2006), when the Committee had endorsed a recommendation to redefine the Youth Service’s age range as: Young people aged 13-19 years, and specifically targeted young people aged 20 until their 25th birthday who have additional needs and need support with transition into adult life/services, Lindsay Davidson reported on the current caseload of the Response agency. A significant proportion of Response’s clients were over 19 years of age (in the second quarter, 133 individuals), and most of those young adults presented with multiple and increasingly complex needs. Response workers were finding it increasingly difficult to access services for those vulnerable adults, and meeting their varied and demanding needs was putting a strain on the agency’s resources (the example of a recent case was quoted, which had also drawn in mainstream Youth Service staff).
It was felt that the limited resources would be more appropriately deployed towards improving services within the priority age range of 13-19 years, and it was therefore proposed that, from 1 January 2007, the Response agency did not take on any new cases/referrals for young people aged 20 or over. In order to inform young people and referring agencies of the age range change, there would be a press release and associated mail shots. In addition, a leaflet giving information about alternative agencies, for example the Adult Social Services Department and the Citizens' Advice Bureau, would be produced.
Housing was felt to be the most problematic area for people aged 21 to 23. They could be defined as being intentionally homeless, albeit that the reason for their being in that situation might have been a lack of support in maintaining their tenancy. The fact that they were usually single people also meant that they were often treated as less of a priority by other agencies. The Chair stated that the Service had been placed in an unfortunate position but accepted that it was unable to give young adults the same priority as those young people within its target age range. Councillor Southwood asked what information would be made available to the young adults concerned, and Lindsey Davidson advised that some money would be provided by the Neighbourhood Renewal programme to meet the cost of appropriate leaflets. Councillor Hunt suggested that a website could be developed that could also provide the necessary information, and Councillor Southwood expressed the hope that some record could be kept of those that approached Response but had to be referred elsewhere.
Tanya Carr referred to her own experiences, and those of her friends, in trying to obtain support in finding housing, and the Chair suggested that Tanya be consulted in the preparation of any information materials.
Councillor Harney proposed that action be taken to make other services aware of the needs of young adults, particularly through the relevant overview and scrutiny committees (Housing and Community Safety; Social Care, Health and Inclusion). He felt that those committees would benefit from hearing the experiences of the young people concerned. Tanya Carr added that account should also be taken of those young people under sixteen who might find themselves in difficulties with housing or other problems but who might be deemed not to fall within the age range for some agencies' services.
Minute Decision :
Resolved -
(1) That, reluctantly, this Committee supports the proposal to revise the age range for clients of the Response agency so that, will effect from 1 January 2007, it does not take any new cases/referrals involving young people aged 20 or over.
(2) That the Council's Cabinet be requested to approve the change, but that other committees, in particular the Housing and Community Safety and the Social Care, Health and Inclusion Overview and Scrutiny Committees, be alerted to the needs of the young adults who will be affected by this decision.
(3) That those committees be requested to receive the views of young adults and any evidence that they might wish to present.
Minute 19 - DATE OF NEXT MEETING
Minute Text :
Minute Decision :
Resolved - That the Chair agree a date for the next meeting, in March 2007.
(Minutes Published: 1 March 2007)