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A Briefing Document

 

WHAT IS CONNEXIONS?

  • The best start in life for every young person

  • A support service for all young people

  • A service connecting policies and services from across government, national and local

  • Connecting young people’s lives in the broadest sense, so that young people in turn feel connected with society and the community

  • Four key themes:

  • A flexible curriculum that engages different young people and leads to the relevant and nationally recognised qualifications

  • Ensuring high quality provision in school sixth forms, further education colleges and work based learning

  • Targeting financial support for those in learning

  • Outreach, information, advice, support and guidance

The new service intends to guide and support young people through their teenage years in their transition to adulthood and working life. It will be delivered primarily through a network of personal advisors who will refer young people to a range of specialist support services.

 

The service will be outcome driven, allowing local discretion over delivery, but with clear targets.  These will relate to participation and attainment in education, training and work.

 

The Youth Support Service

 

'The youth support service will be our frontline policy for young people' - Tony Blair, 16 December 1999

  • Will be in place by April 2001

  • Dedicated to providing information, advice and support to all young people aged 13 – 19 to ensure they remain in education and employment

  • Involves access by all young people to ‘Youth Advisors’ who will work on a mentoring, advice basis

  • Led by the new Learning and Skills Councils working through the local Learning Partnerships or local Strategic Partnerships

  • Actual delivery of the service to young people is likely to be delivered by specific agencies either by contract or service level agreements

  • Pilot projects currently recruiting personal advisors

  • Summer 2000 - many questions remain unresolved e.g. the role the community might play in securing a wide range of developmental activities for marginalized young people

What is happening in our locality?

 

Pilot projects are currently testing:

  • Tracking systems

  • Involved young people in design and delivery

  • Multi-agency networking of personal advisors

  • Strategic planning at area level

  • Integrated delivery at local level

  • Integration of multi-agency teams

  • Tackling rural issues

  • Working with specific sub groups (special needs, young offenders etc.)

  • Quantifying need

  • Use of evidence based practise

Connexions Direct is being tested - it will provide call centre/online assessment

 

Each pilot is operating in a slightly different way according to the services it currently provides. For instance Lewisham has no co-ordinated service. The DFEE leaflet for voluntary and community organisations puts the onus on us to 'find out what is happening in your area now'

 

How should we be involved? How will Connexions impact on our work?

 

Some churches may already be partners in a local network - if so will there be a need to reconsider their role?

 

If we consider ourselves partners in the youth service should we:

  • Seek to be a member of the local partnership?

  • Work with partners who are members of the board?

  • Keep the Connexions partnership up to date about services we are able to offer?

At local management committee and delivery level should we:

  • Contribute to the planning process?

  • Influence the range of services?

  • Design and develop services for young people with special needs?

  • Exchange skills and knowledge?

  • Support young people's involvement?

  • Provide mentors?

Connexions will impact on our work whether or not we are directly involved simply because the young people we are working with may access the service. It is therefore incumbent upon us, as youth workers, to continue to be informed in order to continue to provide the informal education support that is our primary purpose in terms of personal and social development. However we need to examine our position within the government agenda as a church involved in the youth service, especially if we already work with other partners in delivering a service (e.g. schools, LA's)

 

There are additional implications for us as youth workers. There has been talk of a new profession (i.e. for personal advisors). It is currently envisaged that many personal advisors will come from the career's service and suggestions have been made that ICG should be the required qualification. This is being resisted by many in the youth service, but it is possible that the government will want to redesign the competencies by which qualification (for personal advisors) is measured. This will, of course, have implications for some of us in our personal career development.

 

References:

 

http://www.connexions.gov.uk/

 

www.NYA.org.uk

 

Learning to Succeed White Paper

Bridging the Gap Report

YMCA and NCVYS briefing papers

NYA Updates

 

What to do?

  1. Do we have sufficient information present?

  2. What do we need to Know?

  3. How do we find out more?

  4. What guidance should we offer local churches?

  5. How do we decide if we want to be involved? Can we choose not to?

  6. Should we become involved in the local management committees/learning skills councils/partnerships if we have the opportunity?

  7.  Should we encourage 'our' young people to become involved in the design and development of the service and if so how can we do this?

  8. Are there any implications for me personally?

  9. What effect will it have on the present youth service and our particular role?

  10. Will it work?

 

 

 

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