GSF Platform

BACKGROUND INFORMATION

Case study date: October 2007

Local authority in which project based: Great Yarmouth Borough Council

Date started: April 2004

Type of organisation: Voluntary youth organisation

Brief description

The national charity Girls’ Friendly Society (GFS Platform) has been supporting young women since 1875. It has four community projects, the first established in Great Yarmouth in 1989. GFS Platform Great Yarmouth aims to address the needs of young women aged 14-25 who are pregnant, have children or are excluded from mainstream society. This is done through several projects, including the mentoring project described here.

In 2004, the project became one of 27 pilot sites for the Department of Health’s (DoH) Young People’s Development Programme (YPDP). This national programme sought to reduce risk-taking behaviours in young people aged 13-15 through a holistic programme of education and targeted support. Mentoring and volunteering were a key component of the GFS Platform project. The DoH funding came to an end in March 2007 but the work continues with funding from other sources. From April 2007, the project also receives funding from a new Department of Health programme Youth Work 4 Health (YW4H).

Collaboration

The National Youth Agency supports the project in its role as the training and coordination agency for YPDP and YW4H. Other partners include schools, primary care trusts, youth offending teams, mental health teams, children’s services, the Matthew Project, YMCA, the Seachange Trust and Mind.

Funding

GFS Platform Great Yarmouth is core funded from a range of sources including GFS Platform. During the pilot of YPDP, it received £58,000 pa for three years, with funding for this work now coming from local high schools for individual young women. Under YW4H, it receives £35,000 for one year.

Staffing

As well as the core-funded GFS Platform staff who support volunteering in other areas of work, the project employs a team leader and three members of staff (YPDP), a team leader (YW4H) and volunteer mentors.

NATURE OF PROVISION

Which groups of young people does the project work with?

Each year, the project works with up to 20 mainly white young women (mentees) aged 13-15 identified as being ‘at risk’. Most have a poor school record: either not attending or at risk of exclusion.

Volunteer mentors are young women with and without children recruited from other areas of GFS Platform’s work.

How was the need for the project identified?

The selection for the pilot sites of YPDP was based on teenage conception data and the Index of Multiple Deprivation: Great Yarmouth has high rates of teenage pregnancy, high unemployment and low achievement in schools. The project also had extensive experience of working with hard to reach young women and their parents. The YPDP funding enabled the project to work more intensively on a holistic basis.

How do young women become involved? what, if any, commitment do you ask for?

Young women are referred to YPDP/YW4H by teaching staff and mentors in schools (the project is within an Education Action Zone), Connexions, Children’s Services, Youth Offending Team and the local Attendance Behaviour Service. The project liaises with the referring agency to identify the often complex needs of participants. Many of the young women are initially vulnerable and isolated so need encouragement from staff to join. Once a young woman decides to become involved, she is assigned a mentor to support her. The mentor offers ongoing encouragement and motivation to ensure the young woman has the confidence to access the wider range of educational and volunteer programmes on offer.

What are the main approaches used and activities offered?

The project provides opportunities for young women to gain skills and knowledge to raise their aspirations; re-engage with learning; and recognise the implications of risk-taking in a supportive and nurturing environment. This is delivered through a structured developmental programme lasting a minimum of 48 weeks a year. This covers a variety of health issues, including sex and relationship education (SRE), emotional and physical wellbeing, sexual health and substance misuse issues. Other components include education, training and employment, lifeskills, access to services and arts and sports activities.

Volunteer mentors are used extensively. Many mentors have participated on other GFS Platform programmes and say they want to give something back. They assist project staff by supporting group work activities with the young women and once they are sufficiently trained, they act as ‘key workers’ offering one-to-one support with their mentees. They receive internal and external training including youth work and mentoring training, first aid, child protection, sexual health and communication skills. They also have monthly supervision with the project manager.

A range of volunteering opportunities is also on offer to mentees to develop their skills and experience. One group is working with a local arts group to produce a documentary about the impact of contraception on women’s lives over the last hundred years. Another group volunteers in a nursery, within the framework of an accredited manual covering roles and responsibilities, health and safety etc.

GFS Platform is also committed to mentoring and volunteering in other parts of its work. Examples include its Babybuddies project which provides peer breastfeeding support; young volunteers working in GFS Platform’s offices to gain administration skills; and its Neighbourhood Renewal Funded sexual health work. For the NRF work, young women receive 12 weeks training covering all aspects of sexual health including negotiating relationships, safe sexual practice, and sexually transmitted infections (STIs). Once trained, they support the work of the Sexual Health Co-ordinator in the delivery of SRE in schools and other outreach settings.

How are young women involved in shaping the project?

Mentors and mentees develop individual learning programmes and are encouraged to act as ‘consultants’ to evaluate and redevelop pertinent aspects of the service. They are also involved in applications for funding to continue and develop the work.

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

The project is able to offer a high level of support, both on a one-to-one basis through the project workers, and through liaison with other professionals. The young women also benefit from volunteer mentors who offer emotional support, practical help and advice, and advocacy and liaison with local agencies. As many of the mentors have children, they need flexible support and good quality childcare with a nursery provided through GFS Platform.

OUTCOMES OF WORK

How does the project contribute to the five Every Child Matters outcomes for young people?

Along with other voluntary sector providers for children and young families in the area, the project has mapped its work to ensure it is contributing to the ECM outcomes. The YPDP/YW4H project makes a particular contribution to:

Being healthy – health related activities form a key component of the programme. Young women gain knowledge, skills and experiences in a broad range of health related areas;
Making a positive contribution – mentors and mentees have access to a wide range of Millennium Volunteers accredited volunteering activities both within the project and the local community.

What skills and knowledge do young women gain through their involvement in the project?

Mentors benefit from an extensive training programme designed to build up their self-confidence and lifeskills. Many of the skills gained by the mentors are transferable to the job market: of the eleven mentors who have worked on the programme to date, seven have progressed to paid employment. Mentees too gain knowledge and practical skills in a broad range of areas, including sexual health, drugs awareness, food preparation and hygiene, DJing, circus skills, first aid and driving. They also increase in confidence through the development of communication and interpersonal skills, and working in teams.

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

All work is linked to Getting Connected. Feedback from the mentees as they complete each module shows they enjoy their work and value the individual portfolios they produce. Other accredited programmes used include Community Sports Leaders Awards, OCR, Duke of Edinburgh’s Award, NVQs, local Youth Award Credits and the Youth Arts Award. A variety of informal methods are used to monitor distance travelled and soft outcomes including witness statements from staff, personal assessments by young people and star charts for Learner of the Month Award.

What has changed for other young people, organisations or the wider community as a result of the project?

Young people in the local community have access to authoritative advice and peer support on pertinent issues such as sexual health and breastfeeding;
The wider community benefits from the contribution of mentees and mentors who progress to paid employment and voluntary work;
As the programme enables mentees to access local services, partner organisations have a way in to offer additional support in areas such as health, housing and education.

MEASURING EFFECTIVENESS

How is the project evaluated and by whom?

The YPDP work (and now YW4H programme) was monitored by The NYA on quarterly assessment visits. The project also participated in evaluation of the programme by the Social Science Research Unit (SSRU). All work is evaluated by young women through action plans and individual feedback. Regular reviews are also held involving young women’s families, schools and other agencies.

What are the findings of any evaluations to date?

The SSRU evaluation of the wider YPDP programme found that 88 per cent of young volunteers enjoyed volunteering. The project also has personal testimonies from the young women, their parents, teachers and other support agencies as to the value of the work and distance travelled.

What changes/developments have occurred as a result of evaluation?

Changes implemented include having smaller group sizes; a high ratio of staff and volunteers to young women; and the recruitment of more mentors.

What has worked well and why?

Partnership working is a particular strength, drawing on the specific expertise other agencies can offer. The use of mentors to re-engage marginalised young women has also been very successful in raising the aspirations of both mentees and mentors.

What has been difficult and why?

The mentees require a high level of support and the project has sometimes struggled to have enough mentors to meet this need adequately. Time and planning are required to ensure that mentors have specific roles and responsibilities and are making a meaningful contribution to the programme. The mentoring programme has also been a victim of its own success in that many mentors have left to go onto employment.

PARTNERSHIP AND STRATEGIC IMPACT

What other agencies does the project work with?

As a voluntary sector organisation, the project views partnership working as crucial to meeting its outcomes and offering a broad range of opportunities to participants. It works with a variety of specialist and expert providers to deliver workshops and training to mentors and mentees.

What does the organisation/project bring to partnership work?

GFS Platform has extensive experience of working with at risk young women both with and without children and is seen as an expert agency locally. It can offer the high levels of support which facilitates the young women’s re-engagement with mainstream structures and other agencies.

Has this partnership resulted in greater collaboration?

The multi-disciplinary curriculum of YPDP has encouraged the project to seek expertise and knowledge from other local partners and thus increased collaborative working.

How do you consider this project to be innovative?

The project believes it is uniquely placed to engage with the client group through its single sex provision, flexible approach and high staff ratios.

How do you disseminate the learning from the project?

The project has been cited as a model of good practice in a government teenage pregnancy strategy document. It also features in documentation produced by the NYA to promote health work and highlight the benefits of volunteering.

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

All models of good practice across the whole organisation, including the YPDP, are shared with other community projects and branches.

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

The project is having ongoing discussions with high schools, Children’s Services and education representatives.

CONTACT INFORMATION

Sue Battersby, GFS Platform (Great Yarmouth), 24a South Quay, Great Yarmouth NR30 2RG. Tel 01493 852253. Email: Sue.battersby@gfsplatform.org.uk