County Youth Services Harmed

11.52.00am GMT Wed 13th Jan 2010

Wiltshire Council's Conservative administration is 'harmonising' its services for young people. This means that some parts of the county will get reductions in the amount of staff time available for running youth clubs and other activities.

The council will be using a formula based on factors such as the number of young people in each Community Area and the amount of social deprivation.

Youth development workers in the affected areas have been asked to work out how having smaller budgets would affect the work they do.

In the Bradford Community Area for example there will be 33 man-hours available per week. The minimum required to run the Youth Centre for three nights per week is 36 hours. More resources would go to Chippenham (72 hours) and fewer to Trowbridge (60 hours).

Update December 16th.

Following an outcry from local councillors over the proposed changes Wiltshire Council (WC) has now backtracked to some extent, claiming that the initial figures had 'mistakes' in the calculations. Bradford will now get 39 hours worth of youth workers' time - enough to run the youth club but not to do much else. Trowbridge will get 85 hours and Chippenham 86.

Comment - "Whilst these figures are an improvement there is an important principle at stake. I have no problem with a more equitable arrangement but it should be on the basis of lifting services to a higher level, not reducing everything to the lowest common denominator. Provision of things for young people to do is always a high priority whenever Wiltshire people - of all ages - are asked how their neighbourhood should be improved. We also say as a council that we want to reduce anti-social behaviour. The government is very keen on criminalising young people but we should be looking to make more use of the carrot than the stick. Provision of a range of exciting and useful activity is the best way of keeping young people out of trouble. The county's youth workers do a splendid job and we should give them the resources to continue doing it."

Here's a press release in response to the initial announcement:

"At the Cricklade & Wootton Bassett area board meeting held at Lyneham it was announced that there would be significant cut backs to the youth service provided to the Cricklade and Purton Communities from next year.

Peter Colmer, Wiltshire Lib Dem Councillor, for Cricklade, Latton & Marston Meysey, in reacting to this news stated, "This is a disgrace, the news was broken without consultation to Councillors affected by this decision and more importantly without consultation to the communities affected."

He further stated that it is vitally important that rural communities need to be fully supported by this service, as youngsters have very little activities to participate in. Furthermore the success of the youth service working with the local police, have had significant success with reducing anti social behaviour in the community.

"I have spoken to a number of youngsters in the town, and they have voiced their disappointment in the proposed service reduction," he said.

Peter Colmer further stated that this more evidence of service reductions that are beginning to affect the community, which is contrary to the promises made as part of the transition to a unitary authority, which promised service improvements. He said he would continue to fight to get this decision overturned."

.........................

Wiltshire Council Conservatives claim they're acting in accordance with the government's paper, "Aiming High for Young People, A Ten Year Strategy for Positive Activities 2007." This can be seen at

http://publications.dcsf.gov.uk/eOrderingDownload/PU214.pdf

However careful reading of this paper doesn't reveal any evidence that reducing youth work helps young people. In fact the opposite seems to be the case. Here are a couple of extracts:

"Evidence shows that how young people spend their leisure-time really matters. Participation in constructive leisure-time activities, particularly those that are sustained through the teenage years, can have a significant impact on young people's resilience and outcomes in later life.

International evidence demonstrates that participation in positive activities can: help to improve attitudes to, and engagement with, school; build social and communication skills; help young people avoid taking risks such as experimenting with drugs or being involved in anti-social behaviour or crime; and improve their self-confidence and self-esteem.

Participation can also help increase the resilience of young people who are trying to rebuild their lives - for example young offenders who are trying to change their behaviours and lifestyles.

New evidence confirms that it is the level of 'structure' in the delivery of activities which is most important.

This means that the activity has a goal and a purpose, and some level of organisation and facilitation by a trusted adult or older peer. It can still be spontaneous and enjoyable, but there is an underlying purpose and goal. The evidence shows that where individuals attended more structured youth clubs - with activities involving a degree of organisation by supervising adults - they experienced better outcomes than those who participated in unstructured provision.

Young people who had joined clubs offering highly structured activities did better in later life - they were more likely to be happy, in a stable relationship, have good qualifications and be earning a decent income, even after accounting for their class background. Involvement in purposeful activities as part of a group with shared goals enables young people to develop a strong sense of identity."

"While the characteristics of the activity matter more than the actual activity itself, the evidence shows different kinds can give rise to different emphasis in outcomes.

Sport - offers a way of helping young people to build their confidence and self-esteem, overcome behavioural issues and acquire life skills in a context more likely to appeal to those who are disenchanted with, or disengaged from school. It can also reduce involvement in crime and anti-social behaviour and improve attainment, particularly when combined with learning. Evaluation of the Playing for Success initiative demonstrated an increase in both self confidence and learning of participants.

The Arts - participating in art, music, drama and dance can build confidence, self-esteem and self-discipline and help develop social and team-working skills. It can also help young people to be more open-minded, better able to make friends and to deal with difficult experiences, and be more creative in their thinking. An evaluation of the Actup youth theatre group found that 'this positive experience, combined with the support of workshop leaders in which references, advice and practical support …was available, had encouraged the young people towards learning to the point where access to and participation in FE became a real possibility.

Volunteering - making a difference to the community can alter young people's aspirations and the way they see themselves. Evidence from the Young Volunteer Challenge (YVC) Pilot Programme, demonstrated the impact of volunteering on different groups of young people. After nine months, those with few or no qualifications experienced an increase in confidence and their ability to handle work situations; better qualified young people had higher aspirations about future education and employment."