Embedding targeted youth work within schools
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Information about the local authority
Merthyr Tydfil County Borough Council has a total population of around 60,000. The local authority maintains 28 schools, comprising 22 primary schools, four secondary schools, one special school and one pupil referral unit.
The Youth Service is comprised of two local authority managed centre based open access provisions and one team of street based youth workers. Through commissioning arrangements, the local authority also supports six local third sector community based youth provisions, including a joint funded Welsh language youth provision with Urdd Gobaith Cymru.
There are four grant funded local authority managed targeted youth teams and they offer young people support to overcome a range of barriers including NEET prevention, mental health and well-being and youth homelessness.
The local authority provides young people with the opportunity to have their voice heard through the Merthyr Tydfil Borough Wide Youth Forum (MTBWYF).
Context and background to the effective or innovative practice
The local authority uses core and grant funding to maintain a balance between open access, universal provision and targeted programmes that address specific needs. Youth work is utilised to support the Education Department agenda through the Raising Aspirations Raising Standards (RARS) strategy, with other aspects of the targeted work also supporting the national Youth Engagement and Progression Framework.
The authority has been successful in embedding targeted youth work within schools that provides effective educational and pastoral support to young people.
Schools value the positive contribution that youth work makes to pupils’ education and well-being and consider it an integral aspect of their provision for learning and pastoral support.
Description of nature of strategy or activity
The targeted youth work approach in local secondary schools and the PRU is designed to support young people’s emotional well-being needs, using a range of non-accredited, tailored group activities and one-to-one interventions. In addition there is a clear focus on the delivery of BTEC and Agored Cymru personal and social development and work related education qualifications in line with the RARS Strategy.
The provision complements school curriculum provision and the implementation of the Welsh Government’s Framework on embedding a whole-school approach to emotional and mental well-being. The qualifications support young people to progress to a post-16 destination and steps are taken early in the planning process to ensure that accredited programmes complement a young person’s qualification profile in order to avoid duplication.
Young people expressed their desire to have greater access to youth workers in school to support their well-being and personal development, along with the opportunity to participate in accreditation programmes offered by the youth service. The youth service has responded by adapting their approaches and reviewing themregularly to ensure that they meet the needs of young people. Examples include delivery of the BTEC to whole year groups in one school, and the current format of delivery across multiple school and PRU settings to young people in smaller nurture-type groups.
The key to embedding youth work in Merthyr Tydfil schools has been good communication and quality of provision, including offering qualifications that are valued by the schools and young people. This has ensured that interventions are targeted appropriately and used effectively to benefit learners. Schools recognise the professionalism of youth workers whose skills have been enhanced to ensure consistent messages are delivered, for example through PGCE training, Emotional Literacy Support Assistant (ELSA) training and trauma informed practices.
Planning begins at the end of the summer term and the beginning of the autumn term when team leaders work with school pastoral staff to identify young people who would benefit from additional support and discuss their individual needs. This, along with a referral form, is used to tailor the interventions, with an action plan drawn up in conjunction with young people. Vulnerability profiling and engagement in the monthly school NEET panel meetings are used effectively for referrals to the Inspire 2 Achieve project. Panel meetings are facilitated by the youth service NEET co-ordinator and attended by school representatives and relevant partner organisations.
Lead workers from the Inspire 2 Achieve project are allocated to each secondary school and the PRU and work exclusively in that setting, enabling relationships with young people to thrive. Other targeted teams work across schools and the PRU and are given regular time slots in which to deliver their provision, be that qualifications, group work or one-to-one support. Having a regular presence in school ensures that staff and young people know when and where youth workers are available.
Schools are kept up to date with the progress of their young people and any issues that may arise and require additional support. As the academic year progresses, teams adopt a flexible approach and address needs as they arise through bespoke group work. For example, in 2019-2020, and in response to an increase in the number of young people on EOTAS programmes becoming NEET, the Inspire 2 Achieve project was reshaped to include topics such as goal-setting, decision-making, communication skills and improving self-esteem. All of the young people involved achieved either an Agored Cymru Level 1 in Personal Social Education or Work Related Education.
What impact has this work had on provision and learners’ standards?
Accreditation outcomes for learners accessing qualifications delivered by the youth service school support team and Inspire 2 Achieve project are good with almost all (around 97%) young people gaining an accredited outcome in 2019-2020 and 2020-2021. Retention rates are excellent, with 97% of starters completing their course each year.
Take-up of support is high. For example, from 533 referrals to the Inspire 2 Achieve project since it started in April 2016, 513 young people successfully engaged. Outcomes are good and every year around 90% of Year 11 young people receiving support make a successful transition to a post- 16 opportunity. The well-being of participants is captured using a ‘Star Assessment’, with 86% of participants reflecting on their personal progress and reporting, on exit, an improvement in one or more of the well-being areas within the assessment.
Upon exit, most young people receiving one-to-one support from the Youth Support and Mental Health and Youth Homelessness Teams report that their needs have been met and there are very few re-referrals for support.
How have you shared your good practice?
The work of the youth service has been shared internally at education department learning away days and through case studies that support reporting for grant funding and the Quality Mark for Youth Work. Good practice is also shared with schools in order to improve provision for the benefit of learners.