Youth Connect Newsletter

YOUTH CONNECT ANNUAL REPORT Welcome Volunteers and the Duke of Edinburgh Award Scheme Kayaking D of E at the Palace Locality Team news All About Referrals?

Youth Connect facts and figures Joining Forces Making a difference — what we do Focus on Personnel Advisors Youth Connect Conference

Welcome to the 2015-16 Annual Report for Youth Connect.

Youth Connect is a part of Bath & North East Somerset Council’s Early Help services for young people. The service provides a wide range of positive activities, information, advice, guidance and targeted youth support to young people who need it most. Youth Connect operates three teams; Bath, Somer Valley and Countywide. Each team contains Personal Advisers who specialise in advice and guidance relating to employment and training, and Youth Workers who run youth work sessions and offer targeted support to young people whose main issues are not related to information advice and guidance.

All young people can attend open access youth work at youth hubs in Bath, Peasedown, Radstock or the Mobile bus which meets young people in Foxhill, Paulton, Bishop Sutton, Chew Stoke and Timsbury. Youth hubs also offer project nights, trips and residentials.

Personal Advisers are linked to schools and Bath College.

They also operate drop-in sessions for unemployed young people in Bath, Somer Valley and Keynsham. Group work programs and one to one sessions are available to help young people get back into employment, education or training.

Good news stories Hello and Goodbye Youth Connect Support Services

Youth Connect main office is based at the Civic Centre, Market Walk, Keynsham (Floor 2 North).

Staff awards

Providing positive activities, advice and support to young people who need it the most

Volunteering in Youth Connect and Duke of Edinburgh Award A Big “Thank You” to Our Volunteers Volunteers work across the service in youth hubs, mobile provision, Duke of Edinburgh’s Award and add value to the work we do with young people. Young people also work as volunteers which develop their own sense of self-worth as well as developing their own sense of being a good citizen and supporting their communities.

1183 Young people took part in the Duke of Edinburgh Award last year through schools and our Open Award centres , 434 young people achieved an Award, congratulations to all of them and thankyou to the volunteers who helped them achieve there awards.

Southside Youth Hub enabled a group of 9 young people from their regular ‘project night’ to organise a Halloween party for 40 children and their parents. It was a fiendish success! The young people planned the event, set up the premises, took a lead role in the disco, ran the games, served the hot dogs and even helped with tidying up! These are young people who often have challenging experiences in their family and community life., can be perceived as failures by the education system and are vulnerable in terms of a number of risk factors. During our informal reviews with them it was obvious they had gained a real sense of self-worth and achievement through their involvement. Young people can be great volunteers and they get lots out of the experience.

Volunteers from across the voluntary and statutory sector come together four times a year for training, networking and support. This year the volunteers have covered fundraising, child protection, substance misuse, group work and building positive relationships with young people. Thanks to Bath team leader Dave Wiles for organising this valuable event for local volunteers. Currently Youth Connect has 24 volunteers working within the service.

Kayaking at Riverside Youth Hub For the past 3 years Bath Canoe Club and Youth Connect have offered kayaking sessions to young people. Riverside is lucky enough to be situated in a fantastic site on the River Avon (next to Morrisons on the London Road Bath). Young people receive a Paddle Power certificate and have a great time. Paul Carroll is a volunteer for B&NES, the Duke of Edinburgh’s Award and the Canoe Club. He is a fully qualified kayak instructor and knows the River Avon well so the young people are in safe hands.

Accreditation Skill Me Up Awards are Youth Connect’s very own youth achievement award. Young people undertake a variety of activities over 12 hours and receive a certificate for their portfolio from the Operational Manager. They often go on to achieve ASDAN awards, Food Hygiene, First Aid, Sport leadership and Paddle Power Awards.

Buckingham Palace Doe 60th Celebration Event Four Doe volunteers and seven participants went to Buckingham Place to celebrate this fantastic achievement. The seven Gold award holders were presented with their Award by members of the Royal family.

Cathryn Bartrum also attended as the representative for B&NES and was presented with a plaque by Julia Bradbury. The volunteers helped with the hospitality, which made the event a great success.

Thanks to Nigel Whitfield, Amanda Denning, Lynn Whitfield and Paul Carroll for the continuing support they give to the Doe.

Locality team news Countywide The Countywide team operate two Mobile youth buses in villages and areas of B&NES that have little or no youth provision. The team has a focus on the Chew Valley, young people who live in the A37 corridor, Paulton and Keynsham.

The team work in partnership with local parish councils to provide services to rurally isolated young people.

Personal Advisers are linked to Chew Valley, Broadlands and Wellsway schools and Targeted Youth Workers provide support to individual young people often travelling to meet them in their villages or school.

Bath The refurbished Southside Youth Hub has been open for five years and goes from strength to strength. This year the partnership with Bath Rugby Doorstep club, Project 28 and Connecting Families saw the gym used more. Bath Festival Building Bridges programme offers individual music sessions to young people. The Café has been ran

by B&NES catering services for the past 2 years, a big thank you for their help and support. There will be a new team running the café from September 2016. The soft play area continues to popular with children under 11 as a great place to go and have fun. Joining Forces who run the National Citizenship program have moved in to Southside and have become a welcome addition to the services run from the hub.

Riverside is having a refurbishment in 2016 with improvements to the outdoor court, a new summer house, redevelopment of the kayaking area, internal redecoration, new furnishing and a new kitchen. Mentoring Plus will be moving into Riverside once the refurbishment is complete. We are very excited about the potential future partnership with this excellent local young peoples charity.

Somer Valley Another great year for the Somer Valley team. Staff have worked hard to produce a good and varied programme for young people, this includes “Crush” group work for young people who have experienced domestic violence, Building Bridges project with Bath Festivals, Bath Rugby Door steps clubs, Breakfast clubs for NEET young people.

Steph Reynolds works at Writhlington School offering targeted support for young people.

Inner Flame who run the Princes trust team program, recently completed a successful program at the Hub, plans to continue this new partnership are developing.

Peasedown Primary School now regularly use the Hub for morning and afterschool clubs, PE and assemblies.

Peasedown Youth hub has also had an IT upgrade which means the two locality teams can be located together, hot desks available!

Sam Plummer has led on the 10 in 100 project UZONE due to be launched Sept 2016, a safe interactive platform aimed at NEET young people.

A new detached youth work team will be starting soon in the Radstock and Westfield areas.

From September there will also be a small detached team operating in Bath three afternoons/ evenings each week.

Poetry Book to be published soon featuring poems by young people and a forward by Ken Loach

Somer Valley Peasedown Youth Team

Referrals, Facts and Figures All About Referrals Youth Connect accepts referrals for young people between the ages of 11– 19 (25 with SEND) who are Not in Education. Employment and training (NEET), at risk of NEET in year 11 and/or young people who need some extra support.

To make a referral please complete a referral form and email to Youth_ConnectReferrals@bathnes.gov.uk (B&NES and Sirona staff only). The form contains detailed information on our acceptance criteria and the wide range of issues that we may be able to assist with.

We also receive referral forms by post and via Globalscape. Contact the support team manager to set up a Globalscape account if you need one.

On receipt we carry out initial checks to ensure that the young person lives in B&NES or is educated in B&NES if in year 11, if they have any involvement or support from other services.

The referral is then considered against our referral criteria, by Jenny Hopton Targeted Youth Support Leader. If the referral is accepted you will be contacted within 10 working days. Once allocated we aim to meet with the young person as soon as possible, subject to the needs of the young person and capacity of staff.

If a referral is not accepted we will explain why and signpost to other services. The main reason for refusal is that the young person doesn't live in B&NES.

Youth Connect Facts and Figures •

Over 600 young people attended a Youth Hub

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136 young people received an accredited award

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612 young people were accepted for individual support from a personal adviser or youth worker

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135 young people with an education health and care plan received support

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93.1% Year 11 and 70.5% Year 12 received a firm offer of education, training or employment as part of the September Guarantee.

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As at March 2016 the number of young people between 16 and 19 years who were Not in education employment and training (NEET) was 4.1% and our not known figure (we are unable to find out or locate these young people) was 7.4.%

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1183 young people took part in the Duke of Edinburgh Award and 434 young people achieved an award.

Joining Forces The National Citizenship Program The first group of young people to achieve the NCS Award celebrating at Riverside Youth Hub. The group completed their community challenge at the Hub. Joining Forces are based at Southside Youth Hub.

Making a difference to the Young People who need it most

EF ,aged 15, was referred to Youth Connect for support with managing his emotions controlling his behaviour and to identify activities to do outside of school. Using engagement tools enabled EF to open up, he felt safe, and explored issues he felt comfortable talking about. A Youth Connect assessment and action plan was completed. This provided a platform to explore the impact of previous domestic violence in the family and the impact on him. Over a period of several months EF continued to open up with his Youth Connect caseworker and with his mother. He became engaged with his local Youth Hub. Home has become a happier place to be, less arguments and less aggression. The family are becoming more able to discuss situations and stop them escalating.

EF commented “I felt nervous about having support as I thought it was for kids with special needs – but it is really chilled and I can see how it is helping. I think I will let school into it – but still don’t want everyone to know I need support as I’m quite a private person.” His mother stated “Our arguments have reduced and the aggression has completely gone. He walks out less and is more open to conversations with me.”

CB aged 16, was referred due to persistent absenteeism from school, he then became NEET at the end of school year 11. CB initially avoided all attempts at contact by Youth Connect. However, persistence paid off and contact was eventually made via his mum and a home visit. It became apparent that there were significant mental health concerns – social isolation; anxiety; low self-confidence and refusal to engage in any activity at which more than a couple of people would be present; The YP suffered with insomnia and refused any eye-contact; Efforts were made to get to know CB and his mother and to engage him in projects such as work tasters. CB’s social anxiety made it very difficult to identify projects and activities that he might consider. CB was able to open up to his Youth Connect worker about his mental health and was willing to seek help. Initially his mother was reluctant but with support she agreed to support CB in seeking assistance from CAMHS. CB is now engaging with CAMHS to receive the support he needs and has also gained some work experience. CB and his mother now see a way forward and have hope for the future.

Focus on … Personal Advisers – working hard for young people PA’s help young people to identify their interests and then support them into the training or work that is right for them. They will help young people to overcome barriers and provide extra support for those that need it.

The work is very varied depending on the time of year – post exam results time is incredibly busy. PA’s have strong links with local schools, colleges and employers. They have details of opportunities and courses for young people to help them become work ready.

24 hours in the life of a PA In a ‘typical day’ a PA will work with a wide variety of young people, below are some examples of work that has taken place.

TB is a new client who is on the Step Out course in college (for young people who have been excluded from school). He has been in college for 4 weeks but had previously been unable to attend school due to anxiety.

Completed referral form and discussed his ideas for the future and routes into these. Arranged to meet next week to carry on discussion.

AB is a year 11 student who has completely changed his aspirations after leaving home and going back into care. Brilliant discussion about his interest in computers, did some interview preparation and reviewed his action plan.

CD is a year 11 student who is very disengaged from school and doesn’t really know what to do next.

Prepared her for beauty therapy interview at college and discussed her interest in travel and tourism.

With some young people work is carried out for a short focused period to support them with the transition to their next step. However, for other young people they will require support from a PA for a much longer period and will stay on their caseload for several years.

Youth Connect Update Youth Connect Conference 2016 In March 2016 more than 40 of the Youth Connect Team came together at Somervale Conference Centre for their annual conference.

After a review of the year led by the Senior Leadership Team attendees were able to opt for a wide variety of workshops to enable and inspire them to develop their skills in areas ranging from communication, creativity using journaling, netball and face painting. During the workshops participants had the opportunity to collaborate with colleagues from different teams within the service.

After lunch staff came back together to receive staff awards, feedback on the young people annual survey and an productive afternoon working on the annual plans.

Feedback from people attending the conference was excellent.

Here are just a couple of quotes: “Great sense of team identity” “Wider understanding of what we need to do as a team and put into the plan, what different staff do in YC”

Good News Stories Congratulations to: •

PA Louise Stone and Targeted Youth Worker Sian Louise Tarn who have both had babies this year.

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Rob Rumming-Pain who found time to run the Bath Half, raising £322 for the charity Time is Precious.

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Staff in Somer Valley who have been collecting clothes and essential items for the refugee camp in Calais.

Hello and Goodbye Staff that have joined us: • Damien Erangey • Kelly Sharda • Judy Illingworth • Ffion Jones • Amanda Hulbert • Kendal West • Gemma Parsons • Phoebe Oakenfold • Tina Thomas • John Bliss • Gary Tilling • Helen Bridges • David Gower Spence

Staff that have left us this year: • Rebecca Hodgson • Elvis Moleka • Catrina Holmes • Sam Rowlands • Duncan Watters • Marek Petela • Mary Clappen • Chin Thompson

Youth Support Services The team have done a great job supporting Youth Connect which is a diverse and often eclectic service.

New databases and new reporting processes can bring a variety of challenges! The team continue to be cheerful and positive, always willing to help staff whenever they can, despite some odd requests which can’t be mentioned here! They’re always willing to learn new things and eat plenty of cake!!

Contributions welcomed. Thanks for all their support - we couldn't do the work without them.

Young People getting involved in Debates and developing new youth provision in Keynsham Who says young people don’t care about politics?

Work carried out in our youth hubs has shown how engaged young people can be discussing the issues they regard as of real importance to their lives.

Young people’s views on the EU Referendum Voting took place at Riverside and Southside Youth Hubs in Bath. The combined numbers of young people at both sessions was 75 young people. Of these 30 chose to engage with a young people’s vote on the European Referendum. The results were: 15 said to remain in the EU.

9 voted to leave

6 don’t know or don’t care

The young people identified a wide range of issues and factors, with migration at the forefront. The young people also debated the merits of lowering the voting age. A clear majority were in favour of voting from age 16 with some young people wanting it to go down as low as 11.

The Countywide team in Foxhill delivered a piece of work on Democracy and Human Rights.

Young people engaged in debate, they then voted and agreed there top 5 issues. This then led to these issues being taken up by the member for the UK Youth Parliament. The group felt empowered by this work and its success has led to it being incorporated into the new youth work curriculum.

Timeout - The new Keynsham Youth Hub is up and running Keynsham Town Council (KTC) has been operating Timeout in Keynsham for a number of years.

Bath and North East Somerset Council has worked with KTC to create a new Timeout, Youth hub which is on Bath Hill in Keynsham.

The new building, which opened at the beginning of April, features an open space for activities, kitchen, IT suite, arts area and a music suite .

Young people have been receiving training over the last two months in Riverside Youth Hub Studio, Bath in all aspects of operating the music suite. Other projects include Nutritious and Delicious, Creation Station, Making and Baking and Allotment Project.

For more information about Youth Connect and any of the articles contained in this report please contact Tracey Pike, Operational Manager 01225 396988 tracey_pike@bathnes.gov.uk