Agenda item

Officers provided an update on the Youth Offer, noted against the key priorities in the five-year strategy.

Priority 1: Local Youth Offer

1a: Publish and distribute a clear, accessible and informative LYO across the borough

There had been a successful launch event in February held at Harlington Young People’s Centre. There had been a new publicity campaign called #NextGen, created by young people for young people. The campaign included a TikTok channel, which was regularly updated to highlight services for children and young people.

The care and support directory had been updated to be more user-friendly and went live at the beginning of March.

1b: Develop plans for the continuation and evolution of the LYO beyond the current delivery period

There had been an increase in sessions delivered across various localities, including new sessions for different age groups (primary and secondary) and partnerships with local organisations. Efforts were underway to secure two new transporter buses for outreach work, pending approval.

Priority 2: Monitoring and evaluation

2a: Assess and review all existing monitoring and evaluation systems and structures

A quality assurance toolkit had been created and was being rolled out to standardise processes and enhance service delivery.

2b: Develop a plan to establish a standardised approach to data collection throughout the Youth Offer

Data collection efforts had been standardised using new templates and a Power BI dashboard for data analysis.

2c: Create templates designed to capture the necessary insights to demonstrate impact effectively

All teams within the Hillingdon Youth Offer had migrated onto the EHM data management system. A new document suite has been developed to standardise data collection.

Priority 3: Youth Engagement

3a: Co-create a Youth Participation Strategy for the Hillingdon Youth Offer in partnership with stakeholders

A youth participation strategy had been created with the first draft approved. Children and young people were being involved in various activities and decision-making processes, ensuring the voice of the child was captured.

Priority 4: Youth Work Curriculum

4a: Align the Hillingdon Youth Work Curriculum with the National Youth Work Curriculum

The youth work curriculum had been aligned with the National Youth Agency's national curriculum.

4b: Implement the new framework, providing regular feedback opportunities to assess impact and effectiveness

This curriculum was being introduced to all new and existing staff through the Stepping into Hillingdon Youth Offer training sessions, with the third cohort scheduled for early April 2025. The implementation of the new framework had been incorporated into the induction training for all staff.

Priority 5: VCFS engagement

5a: Develop a comprehensive volunteer strategy to encompass the entire borough

A voluntary strategy has been created and changes were being implemented.

5b: Establish a new Partnership Board to propel the implementation of the new Youth Offer. The Board will enlist representatives from charity, voluntary and faith sector organisations

A partnership board had been established with local organisations. The first meeting with groups and charities across Hillingdon took place last month.

Priority 6: Workforce Development

Recruitment efforts were ongoing to fill vacancies within the universal team. Training programs, including youth mental first aid and educational visits, had been rolled out for appropriate staff.

Members acknowledged the excellent work being done within the service area and the dynamic and flexible approach being provided.

Members asked about vacancies in the universal team, and barriers to recruitment, and if these were affecting service delivery. New officers were currently being onboarded into the team. Internal recruitment can take time but these officers were onboard so there was currently no issue. The longest part of the recruitment process was obtaining the DBS.

Members commended the emotional health & wellbeing sessions, Link counselling and yoga for wellbeing, and the adaptation of the team to put on more sessions.

Members inquired about the multicultural intake and engagement of children from different cultural backgrounds. Officers noted that there was a diverse intake of young people which reflected the diversity of the borough. Officers highlighted a residential visit to a scout camp for young people whose first language was French. There was also diversity among officers within the team, which could help the young people to identify with them and feel represented.

A lot of work was being done with asylum seeking children in hotels via the young enterprise programme.

Members asked about an audit of available venues. Officers highlighted the upcoming West Drayton family hub, West Drayton young people’s centre and the Skills Hub.

Members highlighted the recently launched TikTok campaign and asked if there was any feedback on this. Informal feedback had been received via the Youth Council, and a formal survey was planned. On social media platforms it was easy to monitor interactions such as views and likes. The communications team assisted with monitoring feedback.

Officers noted that using Power BI would assist with data collection and analysis.

Members inquired about the volunteer strategy and engagement with scout groups, guide groups, and football clubs. Officers had launched a partnership board to enhance collaboration with partner agencies. This initiative built on the previous launch of family hubs. The board aimed to provide practical support by allowing partner agencies to utilise Hillingdon’s space, staff, and resources. This collaboration included a session where about 140 agencies were brought together for an event which helped to raise awareness of the youth offer.

Additionally, within the Holiday Activities and Food (HAF) programme, the budget had been used to employ local businesses to deliver some of the holiday offers. The involvement of the voluntary sector, including volunteers in our link counselling, mentoring, and specialist services, added extra value.

Members noted a disparity between the number of sessions delivered by the South West locality team compared to others and asked for reasons why. One reason was around staffing, as recruitment can take time whilst waiting for DBS checks and so some sessions had started later.

RESOLVED: That the Committee noted the information presented within the report