Raising Aspirations Scrutiny Review 09/10
Children and Young People Scrutiny Commission
The Commission agreed to complete a review into raising the aspirations of young people as a way of breaking the cycle of inter-generational deprivation and this work contributed to the Council's wider policy review into Family Wellbeing and Child Poverty carried out in 2010/11.
The Commission focussed on three main themes related to raising the aspirations of young people from the evidence heard: mentoring, parental involvement and careers advice, and the recommendations focussed on these areas.
The key questions we aimed to answer in this review were:
- What strategies/initiatives does the Council and its partners in Team Hackney have in place to assist parents to help raise the aspirations of their children?
- Are parents aware and/or benefiting from these policies?
- How can 'raising aspirations' help eradicate Child Poverty?
The Commission received evidence from a number of government departments leading on work to combat child poverty through raising aspirations, including the Child Poverty Unit, the "Extra Mile" project in the Department for Children Schools and Families, and the Cabinet Office's recent "Unleashing Aspirations" report, as well as from local sources, including the Learning Trust, ReachOut! organisation, and the Connexions service in Hackney. The Commission also held a site visit to the Fairbridge Centre as part of the review, and some Commission members attended a Child Poverty Beacon Open Day organised by Tower Hamlets Council to share good practice around the issue.
A major theme identified through this review was the importance of positive role models for young people to help them raise their aspirations and aim higher. The Commission heard about various mentoring schemes already active in Hackney, but it was felt that there is a lack of co-ordination and leadership around the issue of mentoring.
Members were particularly interested in the issue of parental involvement in raising the aspirations of children and young people. Evidence heard at the meetings emphasised the strong influence of parents on their children's choices about the future, and there was concern amongst Members that parents were not being supported enough to help their children make these decisions.
Another key theme which emerged strongly from the evidence was the careers advice and information about future choices that is provided to young people. The Commission was concerned about the quality and availability of careers advice provided to young people in Hackney.
A recurring topic during the evidence heard at the meetings was the age group that work to raise the aspirations of young people should focus on. The Commission felt that young people should be given support to raise and pursue their aspirations at a younger age, and not just in the final years of secondary school when they may have already become disillusioned.
A major piece of evidence for this review came from the research carried out on the Commission's behalf by Hackney Youth Parliament through interviews and workshops with young people and parents/carers around the topic of young people's aspirations, the barriers they may face and the support they needed to overcome these barriers. This research, as well as evidence heard at meetings, highlighted how crucial the influence of parents is on young people's aspirations. Therefore, many of the recommendations focused on helping parents to give them the confidence and knowledge to support their children in being able to make informed choices about their futures.
The Commission held a successful pilot project at City Academy as part of the review to address a number of the key themes that the evidence had highlighted, namely the lack of positive local role models, the narrow range of career options shown in schools, and the age range work to raise aspirations should concentrate on. The pilot project received very positive feedback from the students involved and the staff at City Academy, and confirmed the Commission's view that more needs to be done to show examples of successful professional people who have been educated in Hackney to the current students in Hackney schools.
The Commission's Final Report
The Commission's final report was approved in January 2010.
The Commission made 7 recommendations that aimed to raise the aspirations of young people through mentoring, parental involvement and careers advice, and the recommendations focussed on these areas.
Response from the Cabinet Member
The response from Cllr Krishna (the Cabinet Member for Children's Services) went to Cabinet in March 2010.
The response noted that "This review from the Children and Young People Scrutiny Commission helps to highlight some of the challenges that local authorities are faced with when they are sincerely committed to enabling all their local resident. The review makes a number of concrete suggestions about how best to tackle these challenges."
What has happened as a result of the review?
In September 2010 the Learning Trust's Community & Partnerships Senior Adviser attended the Commission to provide an update on progress made in implementing the recommendations. The Commission thanked Members and officers for their contributions and highlighted a number of successful outcomes such as the implementation of new mentoring schemes.
Page updated: 18 Nov 2011
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