Youth Service and the proposed floating youth café.

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WRITTEN QUESTIONS TO THE MINISTER FOR EDUCATION, SPORT AND CULTURE BY DEPUTY S. PITMAN OF ST. HELIER

ANSWER TO BE TABLED ON TUESDAY 14th MARCH 2006

Question 1

Over the last three years, the Youth Service has received extra funding of approximately £¼ million. Would the Minister indicate –

( a ) how much of this funding has been allocated specifically to employ frontline workers and whether any of

it has been spent on new management posts? If so, how much has been spent on these and how many posts are involved?

( b ) w h e ther any concerns have been raised with the Minister and his Department in any recent reports

about serious health (including stress related illnesses) and safety concerns over professional youth workers having to open understaffed youth facilities on a regular basis?

Answer

1. Youth Service funding has increased by £80,000 per year for the last 2 yearsandin 2006 therehas been another increase, thus totalling £240,000. This has enabled the Youth Service to develop both the quality and quantityofyouthwork provision for young people aged 11 – 25 yearsin Jersey. There has been a significant increase in thenumberof both professionally qualified youth workers and of part time sessional youth workers since the additional funding was made available. This has been supported by the developmentofpartnerships with Parishes and otherkey organisations.

A  ppendix A provides detail of the increased spend on staffing since 2003 with a forecast of the proposed

spend on staffing for 2006.

A  ppendix B provides detail of the increased number of staff at all levels. Members will note that the

number of full-time Youth Workers will have risen from 10 in 2003 to a planned 15 in 2006. In 2005 the Youth Service also established a baseline of part-time paid youth worker support for its full-time project workers of 12 hours per week and it is envisaged that this resource will increase to 18 hours per project per week during this year.

A  ppendix C provides an overview of the current structure and staffing of the Youth Service and the

proposed developments in 2006.

T h e Youth Service is rapidly developing into a high quality service which is able to meet the complex

needs of young people in Jersey. This has included the strategic development of a range of policies, procedures, structures and systems to ensure the efficient and effective use of resources. The increase in staffing has led to an increase in the support and supervision of staff at all levels. There is now a comprehensive training programme being developed to ensure youth workers have the skills needed to deliver varied programmes to provide a full range of opportunities for young people. The Youth Service is also developing a rigorous approach to monitoring and evaluating youth work provision, including the Youth Base Management Information System and Quality Assurance Framework.

T o do this the Youth Service needs effective leadership and management. It now has this in the form of the Senior Management Team comprising the Principal Youth Officer, the Resources Officer and the 3 Area Youth Workers, who have a responsibility for the East, West and Town areas of Jersey. With the exception of the Principal Youth Officer, all professional staff are front line' workers, working directly with young people as well as recruiting, encouraging, managing and training volunteers who are an integral part of the service. It is estimated that the value of volunteers to the States of Jersey, calculated

at Youth Service part-time rates is in excess of £1,000,000 per year.

I t is difficult to accurately apportion staff time between management, support and supervision of paid

and unpaid staff, training, and face-to face youth work activities. In a written response to a similar question posed by Deputy R.G. Le Hérissier of St. Saviour in July 2005, however, it was suggested that even if the entire time of the Principal Youth Officer and 50% of the Area Workers and Resources Officer's time was devoted to management and supervision, the proportion of Youth Service resource allocated to management' amounts to no more than 9.23%.

2. The Minister is aware that the recruitmentof staff, beitfull-timeprofessional staff, part-time sessional staff  or volunteers has been a persistent issue for the Youth Service  and it is addressing this  by developing new methodstoattractpeople into youth work.

C  urrently the Youth Service is holding a recruitment drive particularly targeting students on the Social

Science Degree course at Highlands, newly qualified teachers and other States employees.

T h e service has also recently developed a Volunteer Workers Policy and a Sessional Workers Policy to

ensure that all members of staff receive the support they need and are clear about expectations.

 W  e have high expectations of our professional youth workers, for example they need to use their professional judgement as to when to open or to close provision. There is always a need for at least 2 members of staff to be present, but other than this there is no clear ratio of staff to young people. It can often depend on the building, the group of young people and the experience of the staff who are available. If the full-time worker decides there are insufficient staff present then a project does not open.

T h e Minister is aware that Youth Work can be a stressful occupation and that there have been a number

of developments designed to support staff. In 2004 a report was commissioned to examine the factors leading to stress and the Youth Service has responded to the recommendations in that report. As mentioned earlier, it has increased the level of part-time staffing within its projects to 12 hours per week and intends to make further increases in this aspect of its provision this year. The development of the management structure and the appointment of area youth workers has also contributed to the increase in support for full-time project workers. Additionally, the Youth Service is participating in the States' pilot scheme to provide counselling and support to staff who are experiencing difficulties.

Question 2

Would the Minister inform members whether a health and safety risk assessment is to be undertaken on the planned floating youth café and, if so, who will be undertaking this assessment and when will it be completed?

Answer

The youth café project is currently in the very early planning stages. The Principal Youth Officer has formed a Steering Group to develop the idea of a youth café based on an historic vessel. That group comprises people with specific expertise including health and safety. The health and safety of young people is the prime concern of the Youth Service and, as with any development such as this, a full risk assessment will be carried out as part of the planning process.

Youth Service Budget Comparison

Comparison of staffing levels of the Youth Service in 2003 and 2006

Area Youth Work Leaders: The Youth Service has 3 Area workers for the East, West and Town areas. They are part of the Senior Management Team for the Youth Service, supporting the Principal Youth Officer in the strategic development and operational management of the service, and providing support, supervision and advice to the full time youth workers. Area Leaders undertake some face to face work with young people, work with communities, management groups and partnership agencies including parishes. They are also involved in staff development and delivering training, recruitment of staff and volunteers.

Admin Staff: The Youth Service has increased the number of admin staff to provide admin support to youth projects and full time staff, thus leaving them more time for face to face work. Each project has 6 hours of admin support, part of which will be to use the Youth Base management Information System to collect statistics which will be collated centrally.

Youth Service Staff Senior Management Team

Principal Resources

Youth     and A w  a rd Officer Officer

 Worker Area Worker Area Worker

Town East

Project Managers

ter Youth Project Youth Café P r o ject er Leader

elade Youth Project Sounds Workshop Project er Leader

Grands Vaux Youth Project Leader

Le Squez Youth  Project Leader

Street Based    Y  outh Project Leader

New Projects / Posts developed during the last 2 years

uen Youth Project

er

wrence Youth Project er

Inclusion Youth  Project Leader

Participation Youth Project Leader

Maufant Youth Project Leader

Trinity Youth  P roject Leader

New Projects / Posts to be developed later in 2006

y Youth P r oject St John Youth P r oject Prince's Trust  Project er Leader Leader