Essex Youth Action and Young Essex Assembly

BASIC INFORMATION

Case study date: November 2005.

Local authority in which project based: Essex County Council

Date started: September 2003

End date if not ongoing: Ongoing

Type of organisation: Self governing elected representative youth group

Brief description

Essex Youth Action offers young people aged 13 to 19 - supported by a network of youth action workers - challenging opportunities for participation, involvement in decision making and volunteering. Local youth action projects offer a wide range of activities, while local youth councils and the Young Essex Assembly (YEA) - a self-governing elected body recognised as the official voice of young people - provide opportunities to become involved in decision-making. The county council supports the Assembly though funding for young councillors to develop their own projects, agreeing a formal method of consultation with the Policy Development Group for Children and Young People's Services, and and supporting members in monitoring council performance through the Hear by Right standards for youth participation.

Collaboration

The Youth Service is the lead partner, together with individual secondary schools, district and borough councils, Connexions and the county council.

Funding

Essex Youth Service funds three full-time workers plus a full-time YEA administrator. It also supports 12 half-time workers (one in each district), election costs (£25,000 per election) plus grant funding of £12,000 p.a. from Transforming Youth Work funds. The county council provides £10,000 p.a. - authorised directly from the office of the council leader - for YEA project funds. Each district and borough council pays £100 towards overall costs, and facilitates their respective youth councils. Some councils provide additional project funding. International work is supported through EU funding (€100,000 p.a. for two years) and the Connexions Service (£15,000 p.a. for two years).

Staffing

Youth Action Team includes one full-time manager, 12 half-time youth action coordinators, two project workers, a development worker and an administrator.

NATURE OF PROVISION

Which groups of young people does the project work with?

Essex Youth Action works with young people aged 13-19 throughout the county. Local youth action projects work with a wide range of young people. The Assembly has 79 members, with a 50:50 gender split. Each youth council involves around 20 young people, with slightly more young women than men. Participants' profiles match the overall profile of young people in Essex, including at risk, homeless, and disabled young people.

How was the need for the project identified?

Young people attending a county-wide youth service conference in 2002 identified the need for a representative body. This event set the agenda for a range of connected initiatives, and endorsed the need for activity supported by trained youth workers and funds to drive projects.

Following a pilot programme, the Youth Action Team was established in 2003 with youth action workers appointed in each locality plus an overall county-wide development worker. This structure reflected the need to elect representatives to the UK Youth Parliament, the needs of district councils, and the priorities identified by young people at the conference. During 2005, the YEA established a network of youth councils in district and borough councils to promote young people's voices in local decision-making.

How do young people become involved? What, if any, commitment do you ask for?

A range of methods - including cinema adverts, posters, websites and texting - are used to encourage young people to think about what kinds of youth action activity might interest them - from community projects to standing for the YEA. However, personal encouragement (for instance by a youth worker or teacher) is the most effective means of recruitment to the Assembly.

Recruitment to EYA is through standard electoral procedures (based on individual self-nomination). Prospective applicants receive an information pack outlining the commitment expected and the roles available. Those who stand as candidates take part in a training and short-listing day where they are helped to prepare a short manifesto. Those that do not go forward to the ballot stage are invited to join their local youth council, as are those who are not elected.

No specific time commitment is specified for local youth action. YEA members average four hours per week on the project during their two-year term of office. Over 30,000 hours of volunteering was recorded by young people in the first two years of the YEA. A total of 28,000 young people voted in the YEA elections in December 2004, through 165 ballot stations at a wide range of sites.

What are the main approaches and activities?

Youth Action in Essex seeks to provide interconnected pathways between activity at locality and county level, Each of the 12 youth action coordinators work with young people and other youth work staff to increase young people's levels of participation, but all youth workers in the county are expected to create a climate supporting youth action and involvement in decision-making.

At local level, young people become involved in a wide range of activity. This includes sports volunteering; conservation work, running activities for senior citizens or young people with different abilities; developing youth magazines, drama and video projects; and peer education on drugs and sexual health. Young people receive one-to-one and group support, with staff providing a structured space for young people to reflect on their learning, development, and achievements.

YEA's structure replicates that of the county council. The number of young councillors - 79 - therefore matches the number of adult councillors. The full assembly meets three times a year. A range of sub-groups meet more regularly, focusing on Connexions, a 'standards review and training group' using Hear by Right, and a county council liaison group (with a mandate to suggest, as well as respond to, policy). Specific groups also focus on citizenship education and international work. The first sitting of the Assembly comprises a two-day team-building and training opportunity, during which members select their specialist subgroup and elect the county's six UKYP representatives and their deputies. Members receive specific training related to their sub-groups.

YEA takes part in consultations with local councils, the police, health authority and many other service providers, and delivers its own projects, such as peer education on drugs and sexual health. Members are also involved in interviewing staff, training student teachers, youth action workers and county councillors, They play a key role in distributing a £60,000 grant fund for voluntary youth organisations.

How are young people involved in shaping the project/programme?

Young people organise and decide their own priorities and activities at all levels of the initiative. At local level, young people develop activities which respond to the needs they identify. YEA members have direct control of the project and its funding, and a 'procedures group' has developed its constitution and rules. While the YEA's activities have sometimes brought them into conflict with the authority, it has recognised the Assembly's right to express its views and have them taken seriously.

How does the project respond to the needs of different young people, particularly the most marginalised?

Involving marginalised young people and those who have most to gain from their involvement is central to the work. At local level, locality teams are responsible for achieving this. YEA has a sub-group responsible for meeting young people who would not normally engage in formal activities. The youth service's detached team has succeeded in engaging marginalised young people, and support - including translation and transport - is given to individuals according to their needs. The YEA has also developed a system of indirect representation to take up cases on behalf of other young people. Social Services staff have provided training on the needs of particular groups of young people, such as those in care.

OUTCOMES OF WORK

How do young people benefit from their involvement in the project?

Youth Action encourages young people to make new friends, develop skills, gain experience, be heard, be taken seriously, become more confident, gain respect and make a difference. Young people's own statements have highlighted gains such as increased patience, organisational skills and improved interaction with other age groups.

How do others (young people, organisations and wider community) benefit from the project?

Overall, Youth Action has touched more young people than any other project in the history of the youth service. Specific outcomes include:

cheaper bus fares for young people aged 14-16;
A proof of age card doubling as a library card and, in some schools, a lunch credit card;
commissioning of a bronze sculpture for Tending Council following fund-raising by young people;
more street lighting in a park and path area of Brentwood;
Some schools link to youth action work as an integral part of the citizenship curriculum;
YEA played a major role in the county's success Beacon Status for children's services bid.

Does the project contribute to community cohesion?

The project has made a major contribution to improving inter-generational respect, through bringing a more positive balance to the negative press young people usually receive.

How are young people's progress and achievements measured and recorded?

All youth workers keep records of session outcomes, and YEA members have developed guidance on how to keep a record of plans, actions and evidence. Youth workers support young people in creating 'Certificates of Evidence' which use their own words to record actions, skills used and learning outcomes. Essex Youth Service employs a specialist accreditation worker to advise staff and young people on what is available, but young people most frequently seek accreditation through MV or the Duke of Edinburgh's Award. The Youth Service has also developed OCN accreditation for citizenship activity and involvement in committees and decision-making.

MEASURING EFFECTIVENESS

How is the project evaluated and by whom?

Evaluation takes place at a range of levels.Both the specialist staff team and the YEA constantly evaluate their work, including young people assessing Youth Action processes against the Hear by Right standards.

What are the findings of any evaluation to date?

Essex now has Beacon Status for its Children's Services.
Young people feel there is still much to be improved including practice in school councils and some district councils.
The Chief Executive of the local Connexions partnership rated one of the main 2005 projects as 'excellent'.

What changes/developments have occurred - or are planned - as a result of evaluation?

The YEA had initiated a review of procedures.
Staff have highlighted the need for more support for young people because of the high volume of consultation requests from different agencies.
The council has commissioned 'Changemakers' to introduce a joint school and youth service support network for active citizenship in schools and school councils.
The YEA is in the process of forming a YouthBank.

What factors help the work?

County-wide impetus for change within the Youth Service following the formation of a 'Youth in the Community' task group in 2002;
Explicit support from senior officers and county councillors (including the leader of the council);
Realistic resources - both financial and human;
The creation of a specialist county-wide development post;
Embedding a strategy and new capacity in each locality, including a pump-priming development fund for local projects;
Intensive, intelligent training of specialist staff;
Cooperation of the schools and district/borough councils and local schools;
A good idea at the right time;
The enthusiasm, creativity and sheer hard work of the young people involved; and
Support and encouragement from the National Youth Agency.

STRATEGIC IMPACT

Has the learning from this work influenced wider organisational/service strategies?

Youth service procedures have changed to include young people in decisions historically made by officers. Examples include selecting staff, awarding grants, project design, evaluation and quality assessments of youth provision.

As a result of the work of the YEA, the county council now meets at times that are more accessible for young people. There is an expectation by county councillors that officers include and listen to young people asa matter of normal practice.

Some organisations previously working in isolation have met and shared information more readily as a result of the work of the YEA.

What plans do you have to sustain/develop this work?

The project is self-sustaining in its success - there is a feeling that it would take more effort to stop it than to sustain it. The forthcoming YouthBank should help to attract external (including corporate) funding. The next addition to the staff team will be four young people working one day per week to help support weekend meetings across the county.

CONTACT

John Maynard
East Division Youth Office
Park Road, Colchester
Essex CO3 3UP

Tel: 01206 711163
E-mail youth.action@essexcc.gov.uk
Website: www.essexcc.gov.uk/learning/youth