EXTENDING ENTITLEMENT: Support for 11 to 25 Year Olds in Wales Direction and Guidance July 2002
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EXTENDING ENTITLEMENT: support for 11 to 25 year olds in Wales Direction and Guidance July 2002 www.dysgu.cymru.gov.uk Department for Training and Education www.learning.wales.gov.uk Adran Hyfforddiant ac Addysg EXTENDING ENTITLEMENT: support for 11 to 25 year olds in Wales Direction and Guidance July 2002 The aim of this document is to provide an underpinning structure within which the principles of ‘Extending Entitlement: Supporting Young People in Wales’ and the Green Paper ‘Learning is for Everyone’ can be put into practice at local level. For further information or copies of this document contact: Youth Policy Team (Department for Training and Education) Welsh Assembly Government Cathays Park Telephone: Gareth Kedward on (029) 2080 1125 CARDIFF E-mail: [email protected] CF10 3NQ Website: www.wales.gov.uk Related documents: Extending Entitlement: Supporting Young People in Wales • Report by the Policy Unit, The National Assembly for Wales - September 2000 • Consultation on the Draft Direction and Guidance - November 2001 Learning Is For Everyone Plan For Wales 2001 Children and Young People’s Framework Planning Guidance Early Entitlement: Supporting Children and Families in Wales Cymorth: Children & Youth Support Fund Guidance The Learning Country, A Paving Document for a Comprehensive Education and Lifelong Learning Programme to 2010 in Wales The cover design is made up of 10 panels produced by young people for Canllaw Online. Each Panel depicts a subject area about which young people need information. The 10 areas are: Education; Employment and Training; Environment; World, Europe, UK & Wales; Family & Relationships; Health; Housing; Law & Rights; Money; Sport & Leisure. ISBN:0 7504 2975 5 July 2002 © Crown copyright 2002 Designed by CartoGraphics, Typesetting by Text Processing Services National Assembly for Wales G/101/02-03 SECTION 123 OF THE LEARNING AND SKILLS ACT 2000 GUIDANCE EXTENDING ENTITLEMENT : SUPPORT FOR 11 TO 25 YEAR OLDS IN WALES CONTENTS PAGE NO Foreword 1 Introduction 1 Aims of the Underpinning Structure 5 The role of the National Assembly 6 GUIDANCE 8 Preamble 8 THE UNDERPINNING STRUCTURE 10 The Universal Entitlement 10 Youth Support Services and Young People’s Partnerships 11 Strategy 11 Strategic Plan 11 Period of Strategic Plan and submission to National Assembly 12 Annual Delivery Plan 12 Monitoring 13 THE DETAIL 14 Establishing a Young People’s Partnership (YPP) 14 Links with other local partnerships 14 Membership of the Young People’s Partnership 14 Getting the Partnership started 15 Selection of the Chair 16 Partners’ roles and responsibilities 16 What a Young People’s Partnership should do 16 Undertaking an audit of need, provision and resources 17 Consulting Young People 18 Developing a strategy and strategic plan 19 Prioritising 21 National priority areas 21 Annual delivery plan 23 Resourcing the strategy and the delivery plan 24 Measuring progress 24 Annual progress reports 25 Further guidance 25 Youth Service and definitions 25 Training Issues 25 Sharing good practice 26 ANNEXES Annex A 27 Copy of the Direction given to the local authorities in Wales under section 123 of the Learning and Skills Act 2000 Annex 1: 28 Relationship between planning requirements for children and young people Annex 2: 29 Membership of the Young People’s Partnership Annex 3: 32 Timetable Annex 4: 33 Examples of provision which might be included in audit Annex 5: 35 Extract from Children and Young People’s Framework Planning Guidance Annex 6 37 Possible baseline information for development of future national priorities Annex 7: 39 Templates Annex 8: 43 Youth Work Annex 9: 49 Training issues for all those who work with young people Annex 10: 51 Good practice examples Annex 11: 72 Information sharing Annex 12: 134 Keeping in touch Annex 13: 155 Role of the Children’s Commissioner Annex 14: 157 Good practice in partnership working Annex 15 : 159 Good practice in the provision of information to young people FOREWORD In developing this Guidance, the National Assembly for Wales has drawn heavily on the many, detailed responses received to our consultation on the "Extending Entitlement" report, and on the comments made by the individuals, agencies and young people who attended our consultative events across Wales during the summer of 2001. We have also taken into account comments made in response to the formal consultation during November 2001 to January 2002. Introduction Under section 123 of the Learning and Skills Act 2000, the National Assembly may direct local authorities to provide, secure the provision of or participate in the provision of youth support services. "Youth support services" means "services which in the opinion of the Assembly will encourage, enable or assist young persons (directly or indirectly) – (a) to participate effectively in education and training, (b) to take advantage of opportunities for employment, or (c) to participate effectively and responsibly in the life of their communities”. Directions may require local authorities and others involved in the provision of youth support services to have regard to guidance issued by the National Assembly. A Direction entitled the Youth Support Services Directions (Wales) 2002 has been given to all the local authorities in Wales. A copy is at Annex A. This Guidance accompanies the Youth Support Services Directions (Wales) 2002 (the Directions). Under its terms, local authorities and others involved in the provision of youth support services provided in pursuance of the directions must have regard to this Guidance. This Guidance has been drawn up with a view to providing an underpinning structure within which the principles of the Assembly’s report "Extending Entitlement: supporting young people in Wales" and the Green Paper "Learning Is For Everyone" can be put into practice at local level. It should be read in conjunction with both of these documents. The Directions and Guidance encompass the key elements of government policy in relation to young people: learning, inclusion, citizenship, and safety. The Guidance has regard, as well, to the principles contained in a rich variety of broader sources, notably the National Assembly for Wales’s Strategic Plan ("Betterwales.com"), and the Cabinet’s statement of intent issued in October 2000 "Putting Wales First" which were incorporated in the revised "Plan for Wales" published in Autumn 2001; "Children and Young 1 People: a framework for partnership", Article 12 of the UN Convention on Rights of the Child, "The Learning Country, A Paving Document for a Comprehensive Education and Lifelong Learning Programme to 2010 in Wales", the National Basic Skills Strategy for Wales, "Better Health, Better Wales", "Promoting health and wellbeing: implementing the national health promotion strategy" and the Strategic Framework for promoting sexual health in Wales. Key themes highlighted in "A Plan for Wales 2001" are : • the development of a safer and more inclusive society where everyone has the chance to fulfil his or her potential; • the promotion of a culture in which diversity is valued and equality of opportunity is a reality; • a community-led approach to finding local solutions; • an integrated approach that makes the link between health, employment, skills, communities and other policy areas; • building equality of opportunity into everything we do; • championing the rights of children and young people in ways that reflect the Assembly’s responsibilities in full; • promoting locally determined partnerships in every local authority area to ensure support for children and young people; • encouraging constructive play, voluntary sector initiatives and out of school activities through the provision of grant support to local partnerships; • creating comprehensive services for young people offering opportunities, advice and support to help them achieve their aims and aspirations. "Children and Young People: a Framework for Partnership" sets out the National Assembly's vision for the future in the planning and delivery of all services for children and young people. It describes how those providing services can work together in partnership. It suggests new approaches to focusing and reducing the variety of funding streams that support local initiatives. It also describes an approach to ensuring the effective participation of children and young people at local level through which they can be involved in the planning and review of services, across local authorities, health groups and in schools. "The Learning Country" consults on a number of key policy directions, and also on legislative proposals to give effect to them, in preparation for Welsh provision in the forthcoming Education Act. The underpinning principles are: 2 • High standards and expectations and progressively improving outcomes must feature for all learners whatever their situation, and in all sectors, to achieve world- beating excellence. • The interests of learners override all others. Standards, results and outcomes matter more than inputs. All sectors and providers must plan to achieve stretching but realistic targets, sharing international best practice and setting new benchmarks for quality assessment. • Barriers to learning must be recognised and steadily overcome to the benefit of learners’ access and participation; support for diversity and communities; and wider opportunities and option choice. • Every encouragement must be given to ensure that academic, technical and vocational learning pathways have parity of esteem to boost