Peterborough Youth Consultation Project

BASIC INFORMATION

Case study date: October 2005

Local authority in which project based: Peterborough

Date started: 2000

End date: ongoing

Type of organisation: Statutory Youth Service

Brief description, including aims and objectives

Youth Consultation Peterborough involves young people aged 13-19 in a range of projects aiming to reach and support young people in expressing their views in the decision-making process. The focus is on building bridges between young people and decision-maker's to increase skills and confidence, support decision-maker's needs in partnership with the young people's agenda and to enable their voices to be heard. The use of web pages allows greater numbers of young people to contribute to reviewing services and organisations within the area. Overall the implementation of the Young People's Office has offered services better value for money and has developed a steady platform from which young people's views can be heard.

Funding:

Peterborough Youth Service £40,000 (core funding) April 2005 - 2006

£10,000 (external funding) April 2005 - 2006.

Staffing:

Young People's Office currently employs one full-time member of staff. Funding has also been secured for a part time position to support and develop the Active Involvement teams. Organisations are encouraged to make a contribution for the time and effort of young people's involvement.

An additional half time post is contracted through an employment agency until April 2006.

NATURE OF PROVISION

Which groups of young people does the project work with and why? Please provide information on numbers, age range, gender, ethnicity and any other relevant aspects

Project works with young people aged 13-19 in Peterborough, a unitary authority in the county of Cambridgeshire with a population of 156,050. There are 14,569 young people in the 13-19 age group, about 14% of whom are of minority ethnic origin. Nine of the 18 wards in the city are in the top 30% of the national index of multiple deprivation. About 14% of pupils speak English as an additional language. This is significantly higher than the county average and due, in part, to a growing number of refugees and asylum seekers in the city. Some 44% of 16 year olds achieved 5 or more GCSEs at grades A* to C in 2003. This is below the national average.

How was the need for the project identified, and by whom?

Youth Consultation Peterborough evolved from detached youth work with young people, which gradually grew from a meeting held once a month in a public venue to regular meetings in Peterborough Town Hall. The need for young people to have a place to meet and to get more heavily involved in project work on a more regular basis was identified and from that, the vision of a Young People's Office for Peterborough was born. The Young People's Office opened in late 2002 in the Town Hall. It relocated in 2004 to Bayard Place, Broadway.

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

Involvement is on a voluntary basis. The work done at the Young People's Office starts with young people's interest in giving their views and opinions on decisions that affect them. Through getting involved they get opportunities to be included in events to help challenge and question the way things can be done.

The Young People's Office has a rota system through which young people support the opening of the office. This ensures that the Young People's Office is always accessible, and doesn't just rely on a full time member of staff being available all the time.

The Young People's Information network provides a means for young people to find out about how they can get involved and contribute to information, advice and guidance services. Young people also become involved through youth workers and Connexions staff promoting the work of the project. Initiatives such as 'community based active involvement' seek to reach young people from each area of the city through visiting youth clubs to promote the work of the Young People's Office.

Facilitating work experience placements from local schools supports young people's learning opportunities.

What are the main approaches used and activities offered?

Youth Consultation Peterborough supports the active involvement of young people in decision making. Its programme covers the city of Peterborough and the surrounding area. Its work is framed within Article 12 of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, ie. "all young people have the right to express their views in decisions that affect them". The Young People's Office is the platform for many approaches to young people's involvement including Active Involvement Teams, Peterborough Young People's Information Network, Government and non-government consultations and research.

The team works in partnership with young people and various agencies around the city.

Young People's Office provides a base for young people to meet and develop their work on active involvement. The Active Involvement team, made up of elected and non-elected members, participate in decision making with local government and service providers. The team works to empower young people and develop the necessary skills to support the work. A range of consultation methods are used including peer research, campaigns, advising on questionnaire designs, involvement in competitions on the shape of services, commenting on promotional materials for the city and conferences. Young people have also been involved in recruitment and selection processes for The National Youth Agency, crime audit and youth service. Encouraging young people to help build partnerships with international visitors and national projects has helped develop their political views and increase cultural awareness as well as promoting the equality of different backgrounds.
The Young People's Office has developed and supported many initiatives to give young people the opportunity to be involved and included in decision making. Different working models include Roving Reporter teams, where young people take ownership and report on an event, interview panels, school based activities and focus groups. The project also uses online consultation, competitions, and small group work daily within the office itself. Youth Consultation also supports community based youth workers by visiting clubs and involving young people in their own areas. Other initiatives include developing tool kits, supporting the development of Hear by Right standards for active involvement, supporting the development of policy.

Central to the approach is the principles of Youth Work, Education, Empowerment, Equality and Participation.

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

The project relies on young people's interest. To generate this interest the Young People's Office works with other agencies, organisations and young people to provide opportunities for involvement and this is what shapes the project.

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

The strength of the Young People's Office is its ability to work as a team to support all young people, helping them to develop and shape their views through inclusion, peer education, peer research, discussion and debate, making new friends and having fun. The use of technology as a medium for involving young people also allows greater access and promotes a broader involvement.

Using peer education is a very successful tool when working with a range of young people to enable their voices to be heard. Often the "invisible" young person gets overlooked, the average young person that doesn't show up in any sort of statistical data as being in a minority. Our method is about inclusivity.

OUTCOMES OF WORK

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

Project offers young people opportunities to develop the necessary skills for active involvement in decision making processes. Many young people who have participated in the Young People's Office activities develop their self esteem and confidence to question and challenge things around them and also to raise their own awareness of how to use resources effectively and to speak up in group situations. Involvement in recruitment and selection gives the young people interviewing skills, a link with outside work and a sense of real responsibility and non-tokenistic value. Other benefits include a sense of fun and opportunities to network with other young people.

How do other young people, organisations or the wider community benefit from the project?

Young people are helping to shape Peterborough by being stakeholders in the decision making process, enabling them to express views on a wide range of local and national issues, including Connexions, libraries, health services, crime prevention, neighbourhood renewal. Training in IT and presentation skills have been particularly useful in helping young people's views to be heard. The added value of the work that is done to promote a healthy attitude of partnership between adults and young people greatly benefits the community.

Does the project contribute to community cohesion? If so, how?

The opportunity for different groups of young people to work together to develop and influence services in their City in a meaningful way is our working method for supporting community cohesion. Because of the nature of our work, opportunities are provided for young people from different backgrounds to work with a variety of new faces, ranging from other young people to influential decision makers from a broad range of cultures.

How are young people's progress and achievements measured and recorded? Please include details of any accreditation offered

Young people are encouraged to write about their experiences at the Young People's Office and record their findings of any event. This is done individually or collectively through meetings or young people writing up their experiences for contribution towards the YCP website. Peterborough Youth Service's outcome forms allow young people to share their views on sessions, and how it could be improved. YCP is also supporting the integration of Act By Right in community youth centres.

MEASURING EFFECTIVENESS

How is the project evaluated and by whom? Please include both internal and external processes

Youth Service, Ofsted, Hallmark Research Project

What are the findings of any evaluations (including Ofsted inspections) to date?

Quality Audit inspectors found the Young People's Office to be 'an example of good practice'. The work seen 'typified the youth work agenda and empowered young people to take active roles in decision making throughout Peterborough'.

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

Peterborough City Council has embraced the importance of young people being involved in decision making by supporting the work of the Young People's Office. The Young People's Office could easily be integrated into a corporate role as the project evolves and develops itself over time.

What factors help the work?

The continual interest from young people to be involved in sharing their views and opinions.
Having a base for young people to meet and share their views
Strong positive support from working partners, locally and nationally.
A strong working, well informed, committed team.
An interest in helping the decision making process of young people and the partnership between them and adults.
A broad understanding of communities and their relationships.
The knowledge and skills developed through youth work practice.
Having high expectations for young people's aspirations.

What factors hinder the work?

Occasional tokenistic view towards young people's involvement.
Lack of ICT equipment within projects or clubs, denying young people the opportunity to be involved in decision making.
Young people not being offered the appropriate support to sustain their involvement.
Not having the appropriate networks and partnerships with schools.
Not having the right resources or staff.
Lack of children and young people's strategy to use as a framework for young people's involvement. (Although this is being addressed)
Staff from other projects not being fully aware of what we do or our agenda.
Lack of expertise within the management framework.

PARTNERSHIP/MULTI-DISCIPLINARY WORKING

What other agencies do you work with (if not specified in section 1)?

Other services worked with are in effect an overall integrated service working with and for young people. These include a wide range of Peterborough City Council departments and agencies including: social services, regeneration, Positive Youth Action, Young Minds, Connexions Cambridgeshire and Peterborough, Youth Offending Team, Cambridgeshire Health Authority, Cambridgeshire Constabulary, Office of the Deputy Prime Miniser (ODPM), The Electoral Commission, DfES, Children and Young People's Unit, Connexions Service National Unit, National Youth Agency.

When working in partnership, what is the distinctive contribution of your organisation/project?

Partnership work provides a base to define a working level with the service/organisation, and then opportunities for young people to negotiate terms and accept responsibility for decision making work. Project has started using partnership agreements to develop a clearer understanding within the work that we do for young people and adults.

Has this partnership resulted in greater collaboration or increased understanding between partners? If so, how?

Yes, greater collaboration and increased understanding between partners because of sharing the benefits of using toolkits like 'Hear By Right', 'Act By Right', 'Are You In' - active involvement toolkit (Peterborough Youth Service) and the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child.

STRATEGIC IMPACT

Do you consider this project to be innovative? If so, how?

The Young People's Office is unique in its ability to work with a variety of different sectors and offer as many opportunities for young people to be involved in decision making as possible.

How do you disseminate the learning from the project?

PYC is constantly developing new ways to record and present work that is done, through websites, focus groups, presentations/conferences, written reports, conversations, discussions, video, visits and quality assurance systems.

Has the learning from this work influenced wider organisational/service strategies? If so, how?

It has influenced policy making and decisions as the project's work has been recognised nationally in reports. Locally we have impacted on the Children and Young People's Strategy, and Peterborough Youth Service has evolved its core principles to include Active Involvement. Nationally we have influenced the Every Child Matters document through attending a conference based on making recommendations for the paper, and we have been developing ongoing consultation work about the five key issues in "Every Child Matters".

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

Looking for new and innovative ways is always one of our priorities for developing this work. We plan to continue to work in partnership with services and organisations, and to balance our community based and national based work. We have plans to develop our own training material to support other people in reaching the same understanding as we have of active involvement through our work.

Overall the implementation of the Young People's Office has offered services better value for money and has developed a steady platform from which young people's views can be heard. Not only is it a young person's right to participate in decision making within their City, it is also their right to have a say in how Government money is spent towards their needs. Article 12 of the United Nations UN Convention states that "Every young person has a right to a say in decisions that affect them". Our vision is that not only is this more effectively brought across, but that it is done globally.

CONTACT DETAILS

Peter Rouncefield
Young People's Office
PeterboroughYouth Service
Bayard Place
Broadway
Peterborough
PE1 1EU

Tel: 01733 742657

E-mail: cu@ycp.info

Website: http://www.youthconsultation.co.uk/