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Evaluation of the Dialogue Youth Programme

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Evaluation of the Dialogue Youth Programme View metadata, citation and similar papers at core.ac.uk brought to you by CORE provided by Digital Education Resource Archive Evaluation of the Dialogue Youth Programme ISSN 0950 2254 ISBN 0-7559-2980-2 ISBN 0 7559 2980 2 www.scotland.gov.uk/socialresearch 9780755 929801 Local Government Astron B45714 02-04 EVALUATION OF THE DIALOGUE YOUTH PROGRAMME York Consulting Limited Scottish Executive Social Research 2005 This report is available on the Scottish Executive Social Research website only www.scotland.gov.uk/socialresearch. The views expressed in this report are those of the researchers and do not necessarily represent those of the Department or Scottish Ministers. © Crown Copyright 2006 Limited extracts from the text may be produced provided the source is acknowledged. For more extensive reproduction, please write to the Chief Researcher at Office of Chief Researcher, 4th Floor West Rear, St Andrew’s House, Edinburgh EH1 3DG TABLE OF CONTENTS Page ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS EXECUTIVE SUMMARY CHAPTER ONE INTRODUCTION 1 Background 1 Aims and Objectives 1 Context 2 Methodology 5 CHAPTER TWO THE EXTENT TO WHICH DIALOGUE YOUTH IS ADDRESSING NATIONAL PRIORITIES AND COMMUNITY PLANNING 9 Introduction 9 National Priorities 9 Community Planning 15 CHAPTER THREE THE EXTENT OF YOUTH ENGAGEMENT IN PUBLIC ACTIVITY ACROSS SCOTLAND VIA DIALOGUE YOUTH 17 Introduction 17 Desk research 17 Survey of Secondary School Pupils 19 Young Volunteer Views 25 Conclusion 27 CHAPTER FOUR HOW DIALOGUE YOUTH ADDS VALUE 28 Introduction 28 Partnership Working 28 Young Person Participation 31 Smartened Card Roll-Out 31 Staff Dedication 32 Communications and Support 32 Issues Arising 32 CHAPTER FIVE HOW DIALOGUE YOUTH IS DIFFERENT TO WHAT IS AVAILABLE ELSEWHERE 35 Introduction 35 Scotland 35 England 37 Wales 38 Northern Ireland 39 Summary 39 ANNEX A SECONDARY SCHOOL PUPIL QUESTIONNAIRE ANNEX B CO-ORDINATOR QUESTIONNAIRE ANNEX C LOCAL PARTNER AGENCIES AND ORGANISATIONS ANNEX D SCHOOL PUPIL SURVEY: SAMPLE PROFILE ANNEX E SCHOOL PUPIL SURVEY FINDINGS ANNEX F YOUTH PARTICIPATION/ENGAGEMENT PROGRAMMES IN SCOTLAND 3 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS 1. We would like to express our thanks and appreciation to all those who have taken part or assisted in this Evaluation. Their willingness to be involved has been of great benefit to both the project itself and to the York Consulting Limited (YCL) Evaluation Team. In particular our thanks go to: • Irene Coll, Finance and Central Services Department, Scottish Executive • David Jones, Dialogue Youth National Programme Manager • Julie Kane, MGF Policy and Programme Manager, Scottish Executive • Marc Liddle, Young Scot Chief Executive • Avril Nicol, Dialogue Youth Co-ordinator, Shetland • Rebecca Lynch, Dialogue Co-ordinator, West Lothian • Angela Morrell, Dialogue Youth Co-ordinator, North Ayrshire • staff and pupils at the following schools: - Sandwick Junior High (Shetland) - Lerwick School (Shetland) - Whalsay School (Shetland) - Linlithgow Academy (West Lothian) - St Margaret’s Academy (West Lothian) - Armadale Academy (West Lothian) - Ardrossan Academy (North Ayrshire) - Auchenharvie Academy (North Ayrshire) - Greenwood Academy (North Ayrshire) • all Dialogue Youth Co-ordinators who kindly completed and returned the Evaluation questionnaire • representatives from local and national Dialogue Youth partner agencies who took part in telephone interviews with members of the Evaluation Team • representatives from the following Local Authorities in England who provided details of their youth participation strategies: - East Sussex - Hertfordshire - Kensington and Chelsea - Nottinghamshire - Windsor and Maidenhead - Surrey 4 • members of the following young person volunteer groups: - Youth Voice Shetland - West Lothian Youth Congress - North Ayrshire Young Scot Volunteers 2. In addition, we would like to emphasise the ease with which the Evaluation Team has been able to access the necessary materials, evidence and stakeholders throughout this project. A commendable level of transparency has been evident at all times and demonstrates the extent to which the Dialogue Youth Programme is supporting openness and accountability. 5 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 1. In December 2004, the Scottish Executive commissioned York Consulting Limited (YCL) to evaluate the Dialogue Youth Programme. The Evaluation took place between January and April 2005, combining localised, in-depth case studies with consultations and research at a wider, national level. 2. The primary purpose of the Evaluation was to provide the Scottish Executive and Ministers with an assessment of the impact that the Dialogue Youth Programme is having on young people in Scotland. (Para 1.4) 3. This Executive Summary gives brief details of the main findings and recommendations arising from the Evaluation. The paragraph references provide the location(s) in the main report from which each point is taken. Overview of the Dialogue Youth Programme • The Dialogue Youth Programme is a major national youth initiative targeting 12 to 18 year-olds and forms an important part of the Scottish Executive’s agenda to modernise the way government works at local and national levels. Supported by the Executive’s Modernising Government Fund (MGF), COSLA and Scotland’s 32 local authorities, the Programme is built on the recognition that whilst most Local Authorities have successfully developed youth councils or congresses, more work is required to attract both the interest and imagination of young people in terms of active citizenship. Such work is also required to address the perceived disinterest amongst young people in the traditional democratic process. (Para 1.8) • Dialogue Youth has both a national and local focus. Nationally, it aims to: - promote cross-departmental and joint agency approaches to the development and delivery of services for young people - provide a focal point for engaging with young people in developing the full potential of new technology in providing accessible, relevant information - stimulate lifelong learning, youth mobility, community safety, healthy lifestyles and enterprise and citizenship education through the promotion of Young Scot and the use of new technology - promote citizenship by stimulating and supporting greater involvement by young people in the life of their communities - promote social inclusion by involving young people as full partners in the design, management and delivery of services and facilities (Para 1.10) 6 • At a local level, a Dialogue Youth Unit (DYU) in each Local Authority area of Scotland is responsible for delivering the Dialogue Youth Programme. DYUs develop services with young people by working with a range of service providers and by supporting teams of local young people to canvass the views of others and publicise opportunities. (Para 1.11) Aims of the Evaluation • The Evaluation sought to answer the following research questions: - the extent to which key national priorities are addressed by Dialogue Youth - the extent to which local community planning is supported by Dialogue Youth - the extent of youth engagement in public activity across Scotland via Dialogue Youth - how Dialogue Youth is different to what is available elsewhere in Scotland in order to assess how it adds value and avoids duplication of public service provision - lessons learnt from the ongoing roll-out of the Dialogue Youth Programme (Para 1.5) • For the more established DYUs covered by the Evaluation, evidence relating to the following was also sought: - the impact of the DYUs on the young people in their area - the characteristics of the young people who are involved and the characteristics of those who are not - the requirements of different groups of young people in terms of information and services - the extent to which young people perceive Dialogue Youth to be meeting their needs - the extent to which the DYUs have taken on board equality issues - how DYUs have dealt with any problems that have occurred, with a view to learning lessons for the future (Para 1.6) 7 Evaluation Methodology • The Evaluation Team, in consultation with the Executive and the Dialogue Youth National Programme Manager, selected three DYUs for detailed case study examination - Shetland, West Lothian and North Ayrshire1. These units were selected because they were relatively well established and were likely to provide examples of innovative practice for less mature DYUs to consider. (Para 1.26) • In each case study area the Evaluation Team: - surveyed a sample of pupils from three secondary schools using a questionnaire to gather views on current and future Dialogue Youth activity - conducted interviews with the Dialogue Youth Co-ordinators - conducted interviews with representatives from a sample of local partner agencies - interviewed members of Dialogue Youth related young volunteer groups about various aspects of being involved with the Programme (Paras 1.27 to 1.46) • The Evaluation Team also: - undertook desk based activity, including the analysis of information provided by the Dialogue Youth National Programme Manager - conducted an email survey of Co-ordinators across Scotland - consulted a small sample of stakeholders involved in Dialogue Youth at national level - researched other youth participation initiatives (Paras as above) 1 North Ayrshire was chosen as a replacement for Edinburgh in January 2005, when it became apparent that the volume of recent school-based consultations in Edinburgh may have hampered stakeholder buy-in 8 MAIN FINDINGS The extent to which National Priorities are addressed
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