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The Vince Hines Foundation A Summary of work with children and young people during 2004/5
This report contains the following:
Introduction Working with children and young people How the service progressed during the past twelve months The number of people benefited and how Current funding: Barriers to capacity building Staff support Thanks
Introduction
The Vince Hines Foundation was established in 1975 in the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham, and registered as a national education charity. Registration No.269681.A voluntary committee manages the Foundation. Volunteers are used extensively.
At least a third of all the children and young people, users of the Foundation's after- school-activities, are children who had been excluded from school. Another third are those at risk of being excluded and are underachieving academically. They are between the ages of 11-16 years. Many of the children targeted will have had long standing or multiple problems to address before any issues to do with learning and settling in jobs, can be tackled realistically.
Profile of Target Groups:
Black – African: 15% Black British: 30% Black – Caribbean: 10% Black Other (Mixed): 20% White: 20% White Irish: 5%
Working with children and young people during 2004/5.
Progress and Achievement of young people:
Staff – paid and un-paid, work intensively with young people, some of whom have long standing multiple barriers to face before making a successful transition to adult and working life. The services are offered to children and young people, many of whom are termed ‘hardest to reach’, between the ages of 11-19 years, the majority are between the ages of 11-16 years. The Personal Adviser provides sustained one to one support to these young people and works at the young person’s pace to provide solutions. Young people receiving Intensive support are referred to specialist support agencies where required. The Connexions elements of the Foundation work support young people in the following ways: Help young people to assess their needs provide voluntary work placements, training opportunities and job search facilities to unemployed young people Assist young people to plan their directions Assist Young people to gain access to learning and training institutions, like Richmond College, Skills Centre, etc. Assist young people to gain jobs, like assistance with CV, completion of job applications, provide references, telephone calls and photo copy facilities, IT, e-mails and practice interview techniques Assist young people to evaluate their successes and failures, via one-to-one and group discussions. Support young people by making referrals to specialist agencies, as the needs required Encourage young people to return to the Foundation, for any additional support they might need in their pathway to learning and employment, backed up by innovative outreach work, including ‘partnership on the street’. Provide leisure and recreational activities where it was thought that the target group would benefit.
Involving of Young People A cross section of young people is consulted about services on offer. Their views are canvassed and taken into consideration on the introduction of new ideas relating to service delivery. Beneficiaries have their representative on project management and main management committee. Group discussions are held with a cross-section of the Target Group. Beneficiaries are asked about levels of satisfaction, relating to the services being delivered, and what other areas of interest they might have and wish to see implemented. They are given Beneficiaries Assessments Forms for their comments/suggestions/compliments/complaints if any. There is also a Comment Box displayed prominently at the Reception to be used by beneficiaries, if they so wish. The Foundation’s services are needs focused. This is partly because of the involvement of young people before, during and after service delivery. This accounts for the significant number of beneficiaries currently registered with the Foundation. Based on available and verifiable records, the Foundation delivered over 2532 case activities during April 2004-January 2005.
Social Inclusion, diversity and equal opportunities:
The Foundation’s inclusion, diversity and equal opportunity policies are implemented by ensuring that equal opportunities and social inclusions are practiced and observed to being done, giving each beneficiary good quality service delivery, based on the Foundation’s Charter of Service Users’ Rights, Equal Opportunity, Health and Safety and Risk management, Policies.
The extensive levels of the Foundation’s diverse beneficiaries are clearly demonstrated by the Charity’s published and regularly up-dated photographic records, some of which can be found on the Foundations’ website ‘Picture Gallery’
3. How the service progressed during the past twelve months.
The Foundation’s services progressed markedly, in that better professional methods were adopted to deliver better quality services to beneficiaries.
Examples of these are:
Process: New beneficiaries on coming in contact with the Foundation, complete a standard registration form and a consent form if under sixteen years old. The Personal Advisers, working with the young person, assessed needs, via one-to-one, in private. Having agreed current needs, both PA and young person develop a plan of action, to assist the young person to achieve objectives. This may involve consideration of available options: college, training, job or other. Plans are based on a realistic path to achieve agreed objectives. What is the young person talent, potential skills, qualifications, work and other records, likes and dislikes, and how to enable the young person to achieve his/her ambitions? The Plan of action agreed is sign posted for the fist three months, initially, then reviewed where required. A strong element of ‘self-help’ is built in.
Practice: Phone calls are made by or/on behalf of the young person to potential employers, taken from local news paper, the Internet, Job Centre Plus website or from college brochures and other resources kept up-to-date at the Centre for quick references. Where necessary, a 'dummy run' in interview techniques, is undertaken with the young person, in respect of positive self presentation. The PA sets appointments for other sessions to review the young person progress in finding jobs, college placements, including apprenticeships or even accommodation.
Case notes are carefully recorded and logged manually and electronically for quick and efficient references. Privacy and confidentiality are assured. CXLW Assessment, Planning Implementation and Review (APIR) procedure is used both for standard and intensive work, supplemented by the Foundation understanding of the young person who is involved.
The Foundation has expanded its partnership base during 2004-5.
The Charity is actively working in partnership with the following:
North Fulham NDC; Hurlingham and Chelsea , Phoenix, Burlington and Danes, Fulham Cross, Henry Compton School, (Accept year ten pupils for work experiences) Gibbs Green School – (accept pupils with teachers to the Foundation community education course. Sent representatives to school open days and special functions). LBHF Youth Service The Voluntary Sector Training for Skills CXLW LMC – multi agency partnership CX Operation Group PAYP U-Project Individual parents/guardians Elite Motor Cycle Training Ltd
Staff Support to Maintain Quality of Service Delivery:
Procedures consist of: Staff meetings; Staff reports; Observations and examination of prepared case notes; One-to-one meetings with senior management.
These procedures are applied consistently.
Staff and volunteers working with children under 16 years and vulnerable adults are police and CRB checked. The Foundation’s staff and volunteers up-grade their skills by attending short courses organised by LBHF Social Services Department and others in Child protection, health awareness – STI, drugs, teenage pregnancy, etc
Resource Centre Information Update: The Foundation’s Project Co-ordinator, Personal Advisers, and voluntary support, are kept updated by such publications available at the Centre like:
CX Complete Information, which include Resource Kit: Information for people with disabilities Work Training Travel & Transport Money/Relations British Qualification Careers – 2005 – “One Stop Guide to over 750 Careers” The Guide to Sexual Health CV and Applications ‘How to Choose your GCSEs EMA –Forms for 16-19 year olds CX Guide – further and higher education, training and work CX Referral Directory for Personal Advisers Trotman Careers 2005 CX Resource Centre Index – 2004 Occupation College prospectus Centre reception notice board
The Labour Market: The Foundation staffs are kept up-to-date with the labour Markets trends through: Learning and Skills Council (LSC) research reports “Skills in England 2003 LSC National Employers Skills Survey 2003: Main Report LSC National Learner Satisfaction Survey (Further Education 2002/03) National Learner Satisfaction Survey (Work-based Learning 2002/03) National Learner Satisfaction Survey (Adult and Community Learning Providers 2002/3. LSC (London West) Strategic Area Review (StAR): The Foundation contributes to StAR by being kept fully informed through circulated Consultation Document and Recommendation and Response Performa. Read and make any relevant comments in respect of contents. The level and follow up response are based on available resources at the Foundation’s disposal.
4. The number of people benefited & How they benefited.
The Foundation recorded 2532 case activities over the period 2004/5
Feedback received from young people:
Many children and young people targeted will have had long standing or multiple problems to address before any issues to do with learning can be tackled realistically.
Based on the analysis of the Foundation’s ‘Beneficiaries’ Service Evaluation Form’, given to each beneficiary and visitor to the Projects’ sites, overall responses to the services on offer were:
q 90% very satisfied q 9% fairly satisfied q 0.5% neither satisfied q 0.5% fairly dissatisfied q 00% very dissatisfied
The Foundation’s core thrust is to use its activities to promote:
q Identity q Self-confidence q Self-respect q Personal development q Purpose q Communications skills q Teamwork q Focus |
