Agenda item

To receive a report and presentation from Julia Cramp, Service Director for Commissioning and Performance, Department for Children and Education on the draft commissioning strategy for young people aged 13 to 19.

Julia Cramp, Service Director for Commissioning and Performance, Department for Children and Education presented the Commissioning Strategy for Young People Aged 13–19 consultation that is taking place between May and August. 

The key aim is to improve outcomes for young people aged 13-19 in Wiltshire.  This will be done by looking at the needs and what the services are and identifying the strengths and weaknesses ensuring that there are a good range of quality services available. Providing an early response to the needs of young people when they are at risk or problems arise an improving the way we work together.

The strategy has a broad scope and includes health, education, housing, leisure, teenage pregnancy, youth crime and safeguarding.

So far there have been a number of meetings and events where consultation with staff, young people and partners have taken place that have informed the strategy. 

Key issues highlighted so far by young people are; transport, lack of facilities in villages, lack of jobs and support for finding jobs and the high cost of housing.  Young people were prepared to compromise on location and facilities to ensure that they had good staff.  Youth workers were the  most requested staff and kitchens and IT suites the most popular facilities.  It was felt that to have a fully accessible young people’s building which has a friendly, safe atmosphere and good youth workers for support was most important.

Members from the local CAYPIG present to the Area Board the responses of the most common findings to date from the consultation with 412 young people in the Westbury Area.

Vision – young people should be able to….

• Have more places to go
• Grow up being able to deal with issues in life
• Get a job and a good education
• Understand their rights and be respected

Priorities– top 5 from WC’s 11 identified ones

1)    help young people do better at school

2)    help young people move into employment and training

3)    improve services for young people involved in risky behaviour

4)    improve services for disabled young people

5)    ensure maximum participation and involvement of young peoples

Campus – Youth Space

1)   99% of young people agreed that there should be space on every campus

2)   65% of young people agreed to sharing space with other people

3)  95% stated that young people need to be involved in designing and planning any space that they are going to use

4)    58% of young people said it would be ok to move from the youth centre to a campus as long as the facilities are similar

5)   62% agreed that the space does not matter as long as there are good workers

All the responses will be sent to Wiltshire Council, when the consultation in Westbury is complete, there will be information from a wide range of the population of young people in Westbury.

The draft strategy is available at www.wiltshirepathways.org on the home page under ‘latest news’.

Julia Cramp acknowledged that there was a need to save £600k in line with Wiltshire Council’s business plan.  Cllr Clewer, portfolio holder for Youth and Skills stressed that this was a genuine consultation to re shape the service and the importance of the views of young people.

Cllr Hawker explained that Westbury has a purpose built Youth Centre to meet a specific local need as the centre is located near to a super output area meaning an area of deprivation.  Westbury therefore has a different case to other areas.  The Youth and Community Centre rooms are well used but income generation is an option that should be pursued.