Staff within the Youth Service are to be consulted on proposals that could see a major change in the way the service is offered across the Island.
Papers released ahead of next week’s Cabinet meeting (10th December) reveal that officers and members have been consulted in the drafting of proposals and the next stage of the review will see staff and stakeholders consulted on ‘costed proposals and job roles’.
Initial proposals
The review considered a number of options and will be suggesting the following as its proposal:
a) Open access youth services would be offered to local communities (led by parish and town councils) to run, so that they could be developed to meet local need.
b) The Council would cease to offer universal services direct but would provide a commissioning ‘pot’ for each area drawn from staff savings created through not employing youth workers directly.
c) It is anticipated this would be commissioned as an intrinsic part of the council’s Early Help offer, with a potential budget of up to £300,000 to cover work in all three of the Children’s Services localities. It is proposed that the funding be spread equally, because the size of the localities was devised based on an analysis of accessible services and deprivation. In addition, however, there could be funding made available to provide a further contribution to the joint commissioning of improved, local community-led youth services, depending on the level of contribution made by parish and town councils and the quality and take up of their local youth services.
d) This commissioned work would be supported by a small team (potentially 3 full time roles, one for each locality) of Youth Community Development Workers (YCDW), who would work with local councils and voluntary sector organisations to develop their youth work skills and improve upon the existing range of positive activities for young people in the local area.
e) Transfer of Undertakings in Permanent Employment (TUPE) might apply, with some youth workers eligible for transfer to local councils or community groups to continue providing universal services.
f) Young people need a simple pathway through to targeted services which help them to address their needs. This would be met by the provision of a small team, probably of two youth workers per locality (six full time roles). There are currently at least 14 full-time posts whose holders could be eligible to apply for these roles. This would offer a referral option for the current CAF (Common Assessment Framework) Co-ordinators, bolstering capacity and ensuring a robust Early Help offer to prevent young people ending up excluded, workless, in care or in custody
g) This team would provide 1:1 youth work, “detached” or partner-based work
h) There is also the potential to develop a ‘traded services’ approach for schools in
particular to buy in additional youth work support
The paperwork goes on to state that given the likely staff requirements following any change, ‘redundancies are likely to occur’.
For full details, see the paper embedded below for your convenience.
