Youth Provision Scrutiny Review 09/10
Children and Young People Scrutiny Commission
The key questions we aimed to answer in this review were:
- What youth provisions are currently in place within the borough at different age ranges?
- Are youth activities meeting the needs and being fully utilised by young people?
- Are young people aware of what youth activities are available in the borough?
The Commission was impressed by the wide range of youth provisions available to young people in Hackney and Hackney's Youth Offer. Members were also very pleased to hear about the dramatic improvements the council's Youth Service have made in recent years that were recognised when they were awarded the National Youth Agency Quality Mark in May 2009.
However, this short review identified possible areas for improvement, including the need to ensure as many young people as possible are able to access the services, either through targeting specific community groups that currently use the services less, or by widening the age range the services are available to.
Evidence for this review was collected over a period of three months at two formal meetings. The Commission heard from officers from the Council's Youth Service about the wide variety of work they carry out. Commission members also attended five site visits as part of the review to a variety of youth provisions in the borough, including council maintained, commissioned and voluntary organisations. Commission members visited: the Blue Hut, Hoxton Hall, Laburnum Boat Club, Hackney Police Cadets and Frampton Park Youth Club during the review.
The Commission heard from young people involved in the council's youth participation programmes, for example Hackney Youth Parliament and the Area Youth Forums, as well as talking to young people during the site visits.
Other key themes emerged through the site visits including the involvement of youth providers in the preparations for the 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games and the importance of providing accredited training and qualifications through youth provisions, and both of these areas were addressed in the recommendations.
Finally, the Commission were aware of the challenging financial situation over the coming years that will make providing the existing Youth Service difficult and were particularly concerned about the end of the Area Based Grant in 2011 that previously supported so much of the youth provision in Hackney. The Commission was keen to hear about the plans to maintain the improved level of service so that the young people of Hackney continue to benefit from the opportunity to engage in interesting and stimulating programmes in their free time.
The Commission's final report
The Commission's final report was approved in June 2010.
The Commission made 6 recommendations that aimed to ensure as many young people as possible are able to access youth provisions, access training and gain accredition for the activities they take part in, and make the most of the opportunities of the 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games.
Response from the Cabinet Member
The response from Cllr Krishna (the Cabinet Member for Children's Services) went to Cabinet in October 2010.
The response noted that "this report highlights the work that is underway and some of the challenges faced, but even in this financial period we are committed to expanding and improving what is available in Hackney and to reach more of our young residents to give them the best possible start."
What has happened as a result of the review?
The Commission received an update on the progress against each of the recommendations made in this review in December 2010 (the update against Recommendation 6 was received in November 2010 so it could be included as evidence in the Services for Disabled Children review).
The Commission thanked Members and officers for their contributions and highlighted a number of successful outcomes, in particular the extension of the current youth offer to 11 year olds.
- Update on Recommendation 6 - activities for disabled young people (November 2010)
- Update from the Youth Service (December 2010) (PDF)
- Update on Recommendation 4 - further information about the funding of Youth Services (December 2010) (PDF)
- Update on Recommendation 2 - young people's involvement in the preparations for the 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games (December 2010) (PDF)
Page updated: 22 Nov 2011
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