It’s been a sceptical week as the government claims once more it’s going to offer us a ‘new’ narrative and vision. It’s been a long period of retreat, within which it’s almost taken for granted that local authority youth services are finished. It’s a frustrating time, wherein open access youth work is derided and abandoned for not giving value for money. Hence it’s a breath of fresh air to hear of a Council defying what is fed to us as inevitable

Celebrating Nottinghamshire County Council’s continuing Youth Service Offer

I thought IDYW colleagues would appreciate a positive contribution from a local authority perspective.

 
Through their long term interest in Youth Work’s contribution to the development of Nottinghamshire’s young People, Elected Members and Senior offices of the County Council have ensured, despite budget reductions across the Authority, that there is a well-developed open access Youth Work offer, young people can be proud of.

 
This situation has arisen through consistent close interaction of young people with Elected Members, where they can ‘tell their stories’ which promote a positive narrative around the life changing outcomes high quality youth work interventions and interaction has achieved for their lives. This has been developed through regular briefings and visits to provision and invitations to high profile set piece events.

 
The Council’s facilitation of the Nottinghamshire Voluntary Youth Partnership has also contributed the continued success of the Youth Service through a robust and constructive dialogue with Elected Members and Offices around quality, value for money, grant aid and avoidance of duplication. This Partnership is supported by uniformed, faith based, Young Farmers, and independent voluntary youth clubs and projects.

 
‘Every Penny that the Council have spent on the Youth Service has been worth it’, Vice Chair of Nottinghamshire’s Children and Young People’s Committee, speaking at the Launch of the D2N2 Youth Work Alliance 15th October 2016.

 
The Youth Service is charged with the delivery of the Youth Offer of high quality, safe and enjoyable positive social education activities outside of the school day. This supports the delivery of the Council’s Early Help strategy for young people through the open access activities prioritising delivery in the communities of highest need. This is not only to ensure the delivery the Council’s statutory requirements under Section 507B of the Education and Inspections Act 2006 as it relates the duty to secure services and activities for young people to improve their well-being, but to enhance their current and future life chances .

 
36 JNC Youth Workers work alongside over 300 part-time Youth Support Workers.

 
The Youth Service will deliver open access youth work provision which engages young people in confidence building activities in areas of the highest need through;

• 31 Young People’s Centres (three in partnership with the Voluntary sector) operating between 4 and 7 evenings per week
• 4 Mobile Youth Centres operating 4 evenings per week.
• 3 Youth clubs operating one evening per week
• Voluntary Youth Work development and support team

 
The Youth Service also delivers enhanced provision for those with additional levels of vulnerability;

• The Looked After cohort are offered access to safe and enjoyable positive social educational activities through the offer of the ‘Platinum Card’ to gain free access to provision.
• Facilitate a structure for all young people, through the Young People’s Board and Members of the UK Youth Parliament to voice their opinions and to shape the services provided for them by the Council and its partners. More specialist forums are in place for Young Asylum seekers, Disabled and the ‘No Labels’ Children in Care Council and its six sub-groups
• C Card and Sexual Health advice (externally funded)
• Peer led smoking prevention programmes for Y 8 pupils (externally funded)
• Youth Work in Hospitals (externally funded)
• Twelve Link Clubs with fully accessible programmes, for young people with disabilities
• Annual 4Uth Award for Outstanding Achievement to raise a positive profile of the young people of Nottinghamshire

 
For further information contact Pom Bhogal, Service Manager ;
Pom.bhogal@nottscc.gov.uk

Tomorrow we will post a complementary explanation of what exactly the D2N2 Youth Work Alliance is.