Proposal
We need your views!
Please read the information below and in particular, the commissioning proposals for your area. Once you've read all the information click on the 'How to get involved' tab above and follow the link to complete our survey. Your views will help inform how we commission activities for young people.
This survey only includes areas where Shropshire Council currently provide youth clubs - Bishops Castle, Bridgnorth, Broseley, Craven Arms, Ludlow, Market Drayton, Oswestry, Shrewsbury and Whitchurch. Outside these areas there is no existing Shropshire Council managed activity and proposals are being developed locally
Background
The role of public services is changing. We are moving rapidly to becoming a council that commissions activity, with less direct delivery of services. We are changing the way that we deliver group activities for young people aged 10 to 19 years old (25 for people with learning difficulties) moving away from direct delivery to commissioning services from a range of independent providers
Aim
Our aim is to ensure that young people can access a wide range of group activities after school, at weekends and in the school holidays. The purpose of these activities is to support young people's wellbeing, the development of their personal and social education, and their preparation for adulthood. We want to continue to support voluntary sector youth providers to do more of what they already do very well. Alongside this we want to focus limited public resources on areas and young people with the greatest need.
What we are proposing is a very different business model to the way that Shropshire Council currently delivers youth clubs. Our new way of working is based on a commissioning approach and is shaped by Local Joint Committees (LJCs), working with local councillors, town and parish councils, communities, partners and young people to identify the local priorities. Shropshire Council officers are then responsible for acting upon the recommendations made by the LJCs.
Going forward we know that we must build in long term sustainability for local youth provision, reduce reliance on public funding, encourage local innovative youth partnerships and creative funding opportunities. We want to decrease the reliance on the public sector over time, for example by supporting the development of local volunteer youth workers within the community.
How are we going to do this?
Funding to support on-going youth activity provision has been provided to some LJCs based on a formula that considers a number of factors including how many young people live in the area, rurality, health issues such as obesity, incidents of antisocial behaviour, number of young people who have offended, etc. Individual LJC areas have then been allocated different amounts of funding according to their need with some areas receiving no funding.
The new way of working passes the responsibility to LJCs to make recommendations for future youth activities provision based on local need. In making these recommendations LJCs have reviewed a range of evidence, existing youth activities and the outcomes of conversations with local young people and stakeholders.
In the Shrewsbury area the LJC has proposed that the responsibility for the commissioning of youth activities and the related budget is delegated by a formal transfer of responsibilities from Shropshire Council to Shrewsbury Town Council - follow the ‘How to get involved' tab for more details.
What happens next?
The public consultation will close on the 22 June 2015. The results of the consultation will help us to confirm the commissioning proposals for each area that has been allocated funding. These will then be advertised with appropriate organisations who provide activities for young people. We expect new youth activities to start in September 2015 with funding committed to March 2017. The needs funding allocations shown within the individual LJC allocations are for a full year; funding for 2015/16 will be proportionately reduced to reflect the late start.
Commissioning intentions
Bishop's Castle
| Community enablement team officer |
Mathew Mead
mathew.mead@shropshire.gov.uk
07990 085095 |
| Total Shropshire Council funding allocated for youth commissioning |
£3,000 - rurality |
| Existing activity |
2.5 hour session for 12-19 year olds on Monday evenings in term time |
Brief details of commissioning intentions recommended by the LJC:
| Proposed activity | Location | Days/times | Beneficiary age |
|---|
| Provision of grants to support youth activities in the south and west Shropshire LCJ area |
LJC wide |
|
10-15 |
| Undertake survey with young people to identify priorities to see delivered through the grant scheme |
LJC wide |
|
10-15 |
| Explore sources of additional funding to support youth activities in the LJC area |
LJC wide |
|
10-15 |
How does this meet strategic youth commissioning outcomes?
- Young people are safe and well looked after in a supportive environment at youth clubs
- Sessions and outreach work targets young people who need support in narrowing the achievement gap in education and in work
- Supports the emotional wellbeing of children and young people by focussing on prevention and early intervention through sessions and outreach work
Bridgnorth, Worfield, Claverley, Alveley and Brown Clee
| Community enablement team officer |
Tracy Johnson
tracy.johnson@shropshire.gov.uk
07990 085122 |
| Total Shropshire Council funding allocated for youth commissioning for a full year |
£10,120 - needs
£1,500 - rurality for Brown Clee communities |
| Existing activity |
2 x 2 hour sessions in term time for both juniors and seniors
|
Brief details of commissioning intentions recommended by the LJC:
| Proposed activity | Location | Days/times | Beneficiary age |
|---|
| Youth based sessions with 1 senior youth leader and 2 part time youth workers plus volunteers |
Innage Lane youth centre |
Term time only - 2.5hrs per session |
10-12 |
| Youth based sessions with 1 senior youth leader and 1 part time youth worker plus volunteers |
Innage Lan youth centre |
Term time only - 2.5hrs per session |
13-15 |
| Rurality contribution to be added to the sessions above to enable opportunities for young people within surrounding rural communities |
Innage Lane youth centre |
TBC |
10-15 |
| Targeted diversionary outreach work at events and on other specific days, depending on need in conjunction with bronze level tasking, Bridgnorth community alcohol partnership, Bridgnorth area youth partnership and other local stakeholders |
Various |
TBC |
10-15 |
How does this meet strategic youth commissioning outcomes?
- Young people are safe and well looked after in a supportive environment at youth clubs
- Sessions and outreach work targets young people who need support in narrowing the achievement gap in education and in work
- Supports the emotional wellbeing of children and young people by focussing on prevention and early intervention through sessions and outreach work
Broseley
Currently one youth session per week is provided at the Victoria Hall. Within the detailed needs analysis no funding has been allocated to Broseley.
As a consequence it is proposed that existing Shropshire Council supported activity will cease from 17 July.
Craven Arms
| Community enablement team officer |
Lisa Bedford
lisa.bedford@shropshire.gov.uk
07990 085656 |
| Total Shropshire Council funding allocated for youth commissioning |
£3,000 - rurality |
| Existing activity |
2 hour weekly session on Tuesday for girls
|
Brief details of commissioning intentions recommended by the LJC:
| Proposed activity | Location | Days/times | Beneficiary age |
|---|
| Support youth club provision |
Craven Arms community centre |
|
10-15 |
| Support adhoc diversionary activity |
Various |
|
10-15 |
| Offer a small grant pot to deliver better outcomes for young people including those potentially disadvantaged by living in rural locations in the years 2015-17 |
Various |
|
10-15 |
How does this meet strategic youth commissioning outcomes?
- Young people are safe and well looked after in a supportive environment at youth clubs
- Sessions and outreach work targets young people who need support in narrowing the achievement gap in education and in work
- Supports the emotional wellbeing of children and young people by focussing on prevention and early intervention through sessions and outreach work
Ludlow and Clee
| Community enablement team officer |
Linda Monteith
linda.montieth@shropshire.gov.uk
07990 085443 |
| Total Shropshire Council funding allocated for youth commissioning for a full year |
£10,850 - needs
|
| Existing activity |
- 2 hour per week junior session in term time on a Friday plus holiday activities
- 2 hour per week girls only session on mondays in term time plus holiday activities
- 2 hour per week senior session in term time on a friday plus holiday activities
|
Brief details of commissioning intentions recommended by the LJC:
| Proposed activity | Location | Days/times | Beneficiary age |
|---|
| Girls group and juniors join as one group with 1 leader in charge and qualified youth worker and volunteers |
Ludlow youth centre |
|
10-13 |
| Senior group session with a higher proportion of qualified staff due to a higher level of need |
Ludlow youth centre |
|
14-18 |
How does this meet strategic youth commissioning outcomes?
- Young people are safe and well looked after in a supportive environment at youth clubs
- Sessions and outreach work targets young people who need support in narrowing the achievement gap in education and in work
- Supports the emotional wellbeing of children and young people by focussing on prevention and early intervention through sessions and outreach work
Market Drayton
| Community enablement team officer |
Nicola Fisher
nicola.fisher@shropshire.gov.uk
01939 237569 |
| Total Shropshire Council funding allocated for youth commissioning for a full year |
£24,060 - needs |
| Existing activity |
- 2 hour per week for juniors on Tuesday evening term time
- 2 hour long drop in for all ages on Fridays in Term Time
|
Brief details of commissioning intentions recommended by the LJC:
| Proposed activity | Location | Days/times | Beneficiary age |
|---|
| Minimum of 2 evening youth club sessions per week (term time only) targeted at those young people of highest need |
Market Drayton youth centre |
Term time only |
10-19 |
How does this meet strategic youth commissioning outcomes?
- Young people are safe and well looked after in a supportive environment at youth clubs
- Sessions and outreach work targets young people who need support in narrowing the achievement gap in education and in work
- Supports the emotional wellbeing of children and young people by focussing on prevention and early intervention through sessions and outreach work
Oswestry
| Community enablement team officer |
Steve White
steve.white@shropshire.gov.uk
01693 677287 |
| Total Shropshire Council funding allocated for youth commissioning for a full year |
£24,640 - needs |
| Existing activity |
- Early doors 3.30-5.00
- All ages inc Rural pick up from 6-8.30:
- Wednesday skate night- 2.5 hours
- Funky Fridays- 2.5 hours
|
Brief details of commissioning intentions recommended by the LJC:
| Proposed activity | Location | Days/times | Beneficiary age |
|---|
| Youth activity sports session provided on a voluntary basis |
The Centre |
Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday |
10-19 or up to 24 with a learning disability |
| Open access to young people. Volunteer supervised youth cafe. Open in line with capacity of volunteers |
The Centre |
|
10-19 or up to 24 with a learning disability |
| Procurement of an organisation with the knowledge and experience of supporting volunteers who work with young people to support the recruitment, training and supervision of volunteers |
|
|
|
| Need based sessions on a voluntary or charged basis |
The Centre |
|
10-19 or up to 24 with a learning disability |
| Creation of a youth information hub for the area |
The Centre |
|
10-19 or up to 24 with a learning disability |
| Diversionary holiday activities based on a "Dragons Den" event with Marches school |
Multiple |
|
10-19 or up to 24 with a learning disability |
| Detached work with young people |
Multiple |
Holidays and summer evenings |
10-19 or up to 24 with a learning disability |
| Grant scheme for providers to increase their capacity and provide start up help. All must demonstrate how they meet needs, engage with young people and can carry on without future Shropshire Council funding |
N/A |
|
10-19 or up to 24 with a learning disability |
| Girls only swim session by Oswestry Otters swimming club |
Oswestry school pool |
|
10-19 or up to 24 with a learning disability |
How does this meet strategic youth commissioning outcomes?
- Supports the emotional wellbeing of children and young people by focussing on prevention and early intervention through sessions and outreach work
- Supports young people to engage in sports provision keeping them healthy and increasing physical activity
- Maintains a vibrant, active and open centre for young people to access
- Supports the provision of better availability of information to young people
Shrewsbury
| Community enablement team officer |
Steve Cunningham
steve.cunningham@shropshire.gov.uk
01743 252361
Tom Brettell
tom.brettell@shropshire.gov.uk
01743 252482 |
| Total Shropshire Council funding allocated for youth commissioning for a full year |
£81,500 - needs |
| Existing activity |
- 2 hour per week sessions for seniors and juniors in term time at Monkmoor, Grange and Sundorne
- 2 hour per week session at Flaxivity youth club in term time Meole Munchins (girls only)
- 2 hours per week in term time
|
Brief details of commissioning intentions recommended by the LJC:
| Proposed activity | Location | Days/times | Beneficiary age |
|---|
| Core youth sessions - Harlescott, Sundorne, Monkmoor, Ditherington and Meole Brace |
Mainly in existing youth centres |
|
10-19 |
| Specialist time limited sessions - use centres as 'hubs' for an extended programme of youth activities across a number of venues which could be targeted at specific groups of young people and/or include arts, sports, education and life skills |
Harlescott, Sundorne, Monkmoor and Ditherington |
|
10-19 |
| Youth providers network - to encourage greater partnership and collaborative working - a minimum of 2 meetings per year |
Shrewsbury wide |
|
10-19 |
| Responsibility for the commissioning of youth activities and the related budget is delegated by a formal transfer of responsibilities from Shropshire Council to Shrewsbury Town Council. For more information, visit the town council website. |
|
|
|
How does this meet strategic youth commissioning outcomes?
- Young people are safe and well looked after in a supportive environment at youth clubs
- Sessions and outreach work targets young people who need support in narrowing the achievement gap in education and in work
- Supports the emotional wellbeing of children and young people by focussing on prevention and early intervention through sessions and outreach work
Whitchurch
| Community enablement team officer |
Nicki Young
nicki.young@shropshire.gov.uk
07990 085187 |
| Total Shropshire Council funding allocated for youth commissioning for a full year |
£15,580 - needs |
| Existing activity |
- 2 hours per week in term time for Seniors and juniors on Thursdays and Tuesdays (mixed) respectively
- 2 hour Saturday drop in in term time
- ?Detached on friday
|
Brief details of commissioning intentions recommended by the LJC:
| Proposed activity | Location | Days/times | Beneficiary age |
|---|
| Youth worker time within a 'club*' setting and the delivery of local outcomes. This will include 3 sessions per week, including junior and senior sessions |
Centre North East |
|
10-19 |
* by club we mean a space where young people feel safe, secure and welcome. A place to socialise with their friends, have fun and relax and is accessible for all.
How does this meet strategic youth commissioning outcomes?
- Young people are safe and well looked after in a supportive environment at youth clubs
- Sessions and outreach work targets young people who need support in narrowing the achievement gap in education and in work
- Supports the emotional wellbeing of children and young people by focussing on prevention and early intervention through sessions and outreach work
How to get involved
Now that you've read the proposals for your area, click on the green button to share your thoughts about them.
Go to the survey »
Summary of responses
PUBLIC CONSULTATION ON YOUTH ACTIVITY- SUMMARY JULY 2015
Introduction
The formal public consultation on youth activity provision ran for a six week period from the 11 May through to the 22 June. The consultation was primarily web based, using the “Have your say” section of Shropshire Council's website. In addition a range of specific consultation sessions were undertaken with young people.
The web consultation (see appendix 1) provided some contextual information on the rationale for commissioning youth services and then provided specific detailed information on the proposals developed by the Local Joint Committees for the nine areas that have current SC delivered youth services:
- Bishop's Castle
- Bridgnorth
- Broseley
- Craven Arms
- Ludlow
- Market Drayton
- Oswestry
- Shrewsbury
- Whitchurch
People were asked to comment on proposals for the above areas via a survey monkey questionnaire (see appendix 2) that also provided space for alternative ideas to be expressed.
The Youth Club sessions were facilitated by the Shropshire Youth Association (SYA). The sessions were undertaken with groups of around 12 young people, repeating the exercise until everyone had had the opportunity to take part (in some clubs some young people decided not to engage and we respected their choice). Having outlined why we were there the SYA worker handed over to the community Enablement Officer (CEO) to outline the commissioning intentions for the area, before engaging with the young people through 1 of 2 games to get their feedback on the plans, in many places we were joined by councillors who heard first-hand what young people thought.
Outcomes
Web consultation
A total of 145 responses were received to the online questionnaire. 89% of these responses were from people from a white British background, 34% of respondents were between 30-59 years of age and 41% were under 19 years of age.
Nearly 71% of respondents are female and 8% declared that they have a disability.
28% of responses were from residents of the Bridgnorth area, 24% from the Shrewsbury area and 18% from the Broseley area.
Broseley features highly in the comments received, mainly expressing concern over the proposed withdrawal of funding from the area.
Some responses came from areas outside of existing provision, specifically Hodnet, Wem, Much Wenlock, Brown Clee and Cleobury Mortimer.
Overall 52% of respondents did not agree with the commissioning intentions outlined within the consultation. Many of these 52% of responses relate specifically to Broseley (17% of the 52%).
The following trends can be seen in the responses given as to why respondents don't agree:
- Concern over the capacity and expertise of the voluntary/ community sector to deliver appropriate youth work
- Concern over the criteria used to calculate which areas are proposed to receive funding- in particular relating to Broseley
- Concern over the level of resources being insufficient to deliver a quality service
- Concern over the impact of reduction in or withdrawal of funding for activities- particularly around the risk of increased anti-social behaviour, petty crime and vandalism
Many respondents (44%) were willing to provide some ideas around alternative provision. The following trends can be seen:
- Use of and investment into existing organisations such as scouts and the Air Training Corps and infrastructure within communities such as village and community halls
- The need to focus on school holidays, evenings and weekends
- The need to join up provision with other partners- e.g. police
- The need to find solutions to the isolation of young people in rural areas
- The need to continue to support professional youth workers
The final question on the questionnaire provides space for any further comments to be made. 42% of respondents took the opportunity to provide comment and again many (15%) relate to Broseley. Trends in these comments are:
- Youth services should continue to be delivered by Shropshire Council
- Particular concern over the cuts in funding to certain areas and their impact on communities
- Concern over the capacity of the voluntary/ community and Parish and Town Council sector to work with young people currently supported by direct youth services
Youth Sessions
Fourteen sessions were delivered at twelve different venues across the County namely:
- Bishop's Castle Youth Club
- Craven Arms Girls Club
- Grange Youth Club, Shrewsbury
- Upton Lane Youth Centre, Monkmoor
- Market Drayton Youth Club
- Innage Lane Youth Centre, Bridgnorth
- Centre North East, Whitchurch
- Sundorne Youth Club, Shrewsbury
- Ludlow Youth Club
- Meole Munchkins, Shrewsbury
- Centre North West, Oswestry
Two different exercises were employed to solicit responses from a total of 391 young people aged between 11 and 19. Young people were asked to comment on what they liked or didn't like about the commissioning proposals. Trends are:
What they did like:
- The plan to keep the club open
- Trips and outdoor activities
- Learning new things and social skills
- Activities in the building
- A safe place for young people
What they didn't like:
- Youth workers leaving
- The club closing
- Different/ new youth workers
- No holiday openings
- Worried about bullying
Other comments made:
- Concern over whether parents would consent to young people going further to other club venues
- Want clubs more often
- Fear of gangs
- Fear of drugs
- Not a lot of people know about the plans
In general young people were quite accepting of the changes proposed, this is perhaps due to the fact that in many areas the proposed change is relatively minor and consists of a change in provider and maybe a change in staff.
The impact is greater in some areas like Broseley, Craven Arms and Bishops Castle who may lose their clubs because no funding or insufficient funding is available to replicate what they currently had. In these cases the young people were aware of the likelihood that their clubs would close and the youth workers and/or CEO's had already started to work through alternatives to mitigate for the loss.
Conclusions
It is clear that there is significant apprehension over the proposed changes to how services for young people are delivered in Shropshire. For young people this seems to be around staff changes and club closure whilst for the broader community these fears are around the capacity of the community to deliver professional services for young people and the wider social impact of this change.
The level of concern is heightened in those communities where no Shropshire Council funding is being proposed, this is particularly the case in Broseley.
Young people and the broader community share concerns around the impact of these changes on both the well-being of young people and the community with concerns such as bullying and increases in anti-social behaviour being cited.
There is however significant interest and an appetite to find alternative ways of delivering provision with communities.
July 2015
Outcome
See the news story and information about the youth activity suppliers selected following this consultation on our Shropshire Newsroom.
