A report said that young people's access to advice was 'disturbingly poor'. Young people needed more community-based advice services that were independent and centred on their needs.
Source: James Kenrick, Young People's Access to Advice: The evidence – Key research evidence on young people's access to advice on social welfare issues, Youth Access (020 8772 9900)
Links: Report | Youth Access press release
Date: 2009-Oct
Three linked reports examined barriers and motivators to participation by young people in structured group activities, or 'positive activities' – including what young people valued in youth services, and parents' views on participation.
Source: EdComms, Attitudinal Barriers to Engaging Young People in Positive Activities: Literature and communications review, Research Report RR140, Department for Children, Schools and Families (0845 602 2260) | Solutions Research, Positive Activities: Qualitative Research with Young People, Research Report RR141, Department for Children, Schools and Families | Solutions Research, Positive Activities: Qualitative Research with Parents, Research Report RR142, Department for Children, Schools and Families
Links: Report (140) | Report (141) | Report (142)
Date: 2009-Aug
A report highlighted the value of youth clubs, including the prevention of crime and anti-social behaviour among young people. It made several recommendations designed to improve support for youth clubs, including what needed to be done to help smaller clubs.
Source: Julia Hargreaves, Somewhere to Belong: A blueprint for 21st-century youth clubs, Clubs for Young People (020 7793 0787)
Links: Report | Summary | Catch 22 press release | Guardian report
Date: 2009-Jul
A report put forward a blueprint for effective legal advice services for young people. Young people primarily wanted and needed advice face-to-face, rather than by mobile or online. A strong one-to-one relationship between adviser and young person was vital to improving the young person's chances in the long term. Advice should be provided in a place where young people already went for help, such as youth drop-in centres, rather than legal centres.
Source: Pamela Verma and Mandy Wilkins, Rights Within Reach: Developing effective legal advice outreach services for young people, Youth Access (020 8772 9900)
Date: 2009-Jun
A report set out the next steps in targeted youth support reforms, aimed at improving the way vulnerable young people were supported, including: identifying vulnerable young people early; enabling vulnerable young people to receive early support in universal settings; and making services more accessible, attractive, and relevant.
Source: Targeted Youth Support: Next Steps, Department for Children, Schools and Families (0845 602 2260)
Links: Report
Date: 2009-Jun
The Scottish Government published a set of principles underlying its approach (and that of other public agencies) to supporting support young people to achieve their potential.
Source: Valuing Young People: Principles and connections to support young people achieve their potential, Scottish Government (0131 556 8400)
Links: Principles | Reference paper | SG press release
Date: 2009-Apr
The inspectorate for education and children's services said that of the local authority youth services inspected in 2007-08, overall effectiveness was judged good in a higher proportion than in the two previous years.
Source: Engaging Young People: Local authority youth work 2005-08, HMI 080141, Office for Standards in Education, Children's Services and Skills (07002 637833)
Links: Report
Date: 2009-Mar
A report summarized the findings from an evaluation of the targeted youth support pathfinders (designed to ensure that young people in need of support receive a genuinely personalized package of support, at the earliest possible opportunity). Where an effective, locality-based model was introduced to drive changes in the approach to delivery, this resulted in improvements in the provision of support to young people, including: better information sharing; more holistic assessments of need; quicker access to appropriate services; better co-ordination of support; and more effective processes for monitoring and review. In many cases examined, this in turn led to the achievement of positive outcomes for vulnerable young people.
Source: Helen Palmer and Sally Kendall, Targeted Youth Support Pathfinders Evaluation: Final Report, Research Report RR078, Department for Children, Schools and Families (0845 602 2260)
Links: Report
Date: 2009-Feb