Swindon Borough Libraries Partners for Change Project

BACKGROUND

Case study date: January 2006

Local authority in which project based: Swindon

Date started: 2005

End date if not ongoing: 2008

Type of organisation: Statutory - Library Services

Brief description

Swindon Borough Libraries is a local partner in the Partners for Change initiative, which aims to involve young people 'at risk'in decision-making and service provision within library services in the South West of England. Between 2005 and 2008, the Swindon project targets two groups of young people aged 11 to 19: teenage parents and looked after young people. Young mothers and mothers-to-be undertake a training programme intended to encourage library use, improve literacy levels and help library services become more receptive to the needs of young people and babies. They are then offered volunteering opportunities within the library service. The looked after children project aims to use web-based methods of consultation to engage young people in plans for the new central library and encourage a sense of ownership.

Collaboration

Partners for Change is supported by The Reading Agency, South West Museums Libraries and Archives Council, The National Youth Agency and local authorities including Dorset, Gloucestershire and Swindon.In Swindon, the library service coordinates the local project, with other partners including U-Too Training (a local community business), Bromford Housing Association, the council's Looked After Children Education Service and the Foster Carers' Association.

Funding

Together, the Paul Hamlyn Foundation, The Reading Agency, South West Museums Libraries and Archives Council and The National Youth Agency provide funding of £145,000 for Partners for Change. The Swindon project has funding of £5,000 plus support and training resources until December 2007.

Staffing

The project is coordinated by a part-time library staff member, with a further six staff involved in events. Two staff from U-Too Training are involved (one on a weekly basis), and a housing association worker also supports the project.

NATURE OF PROVISION

Which groups of young people does the project work with and why?

The project targets two distinct groups of young people at risk in the Swindon area: teenage parents and looked after children aged 11 to19. The teenage parents' project includes work with young mums-to-be, 'graduate' mums - i.e. those with babies aged two to three months - and young families who hold tenancies with Bromford Housing Association. Currently the project is working directly with 12 mums and babies and made 40 individual contacts with young parents in the first three months of the project.

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

The library service identified young people as a priority user group in 2002 and developed a programme of activities for them. Following this, it identified the need to involve young people more widely in service delivery. The Reading Agency's 2004 report, Fulfilling Their Potential, provided the framework for developing this. Swindon became involved as a pilot in Partners for Change in 2005, which levered in a network of support and funding opportunities beyond the authority's own financial capacity.

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

Young mums become involved by enroling on a 10 week 'mums-to-be' training courses. Contact is re-established once their babies are approximately two to three months old, when the new mums enrol on a six-month long 'graduate' course. The project focuses on building relationships with the young people during training before inviting them to take part in helping to reshape library services.

The project also works with young families through its partnership with Bromford House. As part of a floating support scheme, the housing association provides seven flats for young families, who are offered the opportunity to become involved in library activities.

The involvement of looked after children comes through partnership work with the Foster Carers' Association.

What are the main approaches used and activities offered?

• The Teenage Parents Project provides a range of activities for young mums and families through provision of formal training, group work activity, peer education and volunteering opportunities. U-Too Training offers formal training (NVQ level 1) to mums-to-be to help them reach their personal and economic potential. The library service aims to support this by developing their skills to access the library, improve literacy levels, and as a result gain feedback on their attitudes to library use. Once their babies are approximately two to three months old, those completing the course move on to the 'graduate' courses (NVQ level 2), using their prior knowledge to engage in real decision making about library stock and services. Volunteering opportunities are available both as part of the graduate course and as a means of continued engagement. For example, young women on the graduate course help deliver components of the course for mums-to-be, assist with story-times and support other young parents in engaging with their babies. Following suggestions from the young mums, there are plans to organise a young parents' group so that they can keep in touch and exchange their views and ideas after completing the training.
  
  The work with young families uses activities designed to encourage library use, such as rhyme times and computer taster sessions. Plans to provide deposit collections of stock, and gain feedback on services are also in hand.
• The looked after children project plans to involve a small group of young people in the design of a web-based consultation on plans for the new central library. The consultation, including incentives for completion, will be rolled out to all local looked after children aged 11 to 19.

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

The young people drive the specific direction of the project through providing feedback and evaluation on library services.

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

Through working in partnership and making use of the expertise of organisations working with the project's target groups.

OUTCOMES OF WORK

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

The young people involved have all joined the library and are actively making use of the facilities on offer - all have attended story times with their babies, and their attitudes to reading and interaction with babies have improved. The training programme has provided opportunities to gain a nationally recognised qualification. The young people have also had an opportunity to make a difference in their local community and guide the future direction of library provision.

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

Engaging in dialogue with users and non-users help ensure services are relevant to the needs of all young people in the community. Specific examples include the young mums' contribution towards the design of storysacks for library users, including props and themes for story sessions to provide a starting point for parents to read with their children. Workers involved in the project report a better awareness of teenage mums and their needs and have developed their skills in working with this group.

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

The training offers qualifications at NVQ levels 1 and 2. Young people develop portfolios of their work and learning experiences over the duration of the course. These are externally assessed and show the learning outcomes of the project as a whole. The project is considering using The National Youth Agency's Act by Righttraining programme for further accreditation.

MEASURING EFFECTIVENESS

How is the project evaluated?

Overall monitoring of the project is coordinated through Swindon Borough Libraries - collection of statistics is the responsibility of the lead person on each project. Monitoring of the wider Partners for Change project is overseen by The Reading Agency and Swindon feeds into this monitoring at regular intervals. The young mums are also involved in the ongoing evaluation of service provision.

What are the findings of any evaluations to date?

An interim report for the Paul Hamlyn Foundation is due at the end of February 2006, which will evaluate the achievements of the first quarter of the project.

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

A large element of flexibility is built into the project, as the young people are encouraged to feed in new ideas, such as a young mums' group meeting in the library.

What factors help the work?

Partnership working, and the ability to draw on resources unavailable at local level.

What factors hinder the work?

The target group can be difficult to engage with. There have been occasions where no one has turned up for planned events, so library staff have had to learn to work to the young people's timescales and order of importance.

PARTNERSHIP/MULTI-DISCIPLINARY WORKING

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

• Having a specific remit to work with the user group and the funding to support activities and events;
• Access to a wide range of resources.

Has this partnership resulted in greater collaboration or increased understanding between partners?

• Sharing successes and challenges as the project develops;
• Greater awareness of the range of groups working with young people in the community

STRATEGIC IMPACT

Do you consider this project to be innovative?

It gives young people a real opportunity to make a difference to their community, by questioning why library services are delivered in certain ways and to encourage changes in library service provision as a result. At the end of the initiative, findings from Swindon and other local projects will be used to develop training and support materials for Their Reading Futures - the national workforce development programme for work with children and young people in libraries supported by the Reading Agency.

How do you disseminate the learning from the project?

Young people will organise stakeholder events, such as coffee mornings, to show new facilities and resources and demonstrate the value of involving young people in planning and delivery of services. These events will be videoed for wider dissemination.

The Looked After Children project will feed back its results through events linked to the new central library.

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

The project is seen as a way to implement new ways of working, such as the Hear by Right participation standards framework, and to develop the skills of individual staff to support young people's involvement in decision-making.

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

• Young people acting as advocates for the library service;
• Senior managers encouraging new ways of working when working with other user groups in the community;
• Continuing to develop the partnerships established as part of the project; and
• Further increases in issues and visitor numbers through the young people involved continuing to use library services and encouraging other young people to do so.

CONTACT DETAILS

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