Appendix 2 – The Originating Document
YOUTHREACH 2000 - A Consultative Process
Dear Colleague
Attached please find a document YOUTHREACH 2000 - A Consultative Process. It is not a proposal, nor is it a decision. It is a prompt, intended to initiate discussion regarding the future shape of the programme in which we are all involved. The issues raised and should be discussed at centre/workshop level, by local management, within particular management frameworks, such as FAS and VECs, and by professional networks such as IACTO and the National YOUTHREACH Co-ordinators Association. We think it particularly important that the subject of YOUTHREACH 2000 be discussed in local and regional contexts and that a district approach be adopted. It should be noted that 'YOUTHREACH' refers to the joint Department of Education and Science and Department of Enterprise and Employment initiative, regardless of context, ie CTW, YOUTHREACH Centre or Senior Traveller Training Centre.
We encourage feedback and will endeavour to consult with as many as possible.
It is intended that this process will lead to a more substantial proposal document to be published in April.
We look forward to hearing your views.
Dermot Stokes |
Guss O'Connell |
National Co-ordinator |
National Co-ordinator |
YOUTHREACH |
YOUTHREACH |
Dept Education and Science |
FÁS |
C/o CDU |
Upper Baggot Street |
Sundrive Road |
|
Dublin 12 |
Dublin 4 |
Tel: 01-4535487 |
01-6070500 |
Fax: 01-4537659 |
01-6070628 |
e-mail: dermot.stokes@cdu.cdvec.ie |
fasnrc@iol.ie |
March 11th 1999
YOUTHREACH 2000 - A Consultative Process
YOUTHREACH was launched in October 1988 by Bertie Ahern and Mary O'Rourke. At the time they were respectively Minister for Labour and Minister for Education. The programme drew together a number of strands from the education and training spheres. The network of Community Training Workshops was already in place, and the first YOUTHREACH Centres as such were opened in February and March 1989.
Now, a decade later, there are over 70 YOUTHREACH Centre programmes, 45 Community Training Workshops and 27 Senior Traveller Training Centres, as well as six Justice Workshops. A broad range of courses is provided, and a range of key supports has been developed. By way of illustration, the NCVA did not exist when YOUTHREACH was first launched and incareer development, guidance services and information technologies are now features of YOUTHREACH.
Ten years on, it is possible to discern three broad phases to the programme's development. During the first years, the programme was established, developed and consolidated. In the second, from 1993-7, Workshops and Centres reported waiting lists, certification mechanisms were developed and a range of new delivery and support needs were identified, both by staff and by evaluation reports. Moreover, questions were raised concerning the simplicity of the early definition of early school leaving.
The third phase has been characterised by increased labour market activity - early school leaving has increased nationally while youth unemployment has fallen. Young people are taking jobs earlier and with lower levels of qualification. Waiting lists are shorter in workshops and centres, where they exist at all, and providers are developing more innovative ways of working with young people to take account of the dynamism and volatility of the labour market.
In parallel, other positive developments may be seen. These include the increasing range of progression options opening up for YOUTHREACH participants, and the focused supports available, such as national certification frameworks, guidance and counselling resources, advocates, and so on. They also include the range of innovations and models emerging from Youthstart, Leonardo da Vinci, the Combat Poverty Demonstration Programme and the Department of Education and Science's 8-15 Initiative. Policy frameworks are developed in the White Paper Human Resource Development and the recent Green Paper on Adult Education. Above all, it is now accepted that educational disadvantage is a central issue, and hence the recognition of the importance of the work done in the programme.
This is the point that YOUTHREACH has arrived at. Ten years old, and looking forward to the next decade. Early school leaving may have changed but, as recent research demonstrates, it hasn't gone away. So, how will the programme evolve to meet the challenges of the next ten years? These will include changes accruing from policy decisions, such as the National Education Psychological Service, the forthcoming Education Welfare Service, changes in the school-leaving age, developments in the Employment Services, changes in the law regarding conditions of employment of young people, etc.
As the Minister for Education and Science Micheál Martin, and the Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment, Mary Harney engage with the planning and negotiation of the next Operational Programme, what are the key messages coming from practitioners and regional and local managers concerning YOUTHREACH and how it should develop to respond to the needs of the young people at whom it is aimed?
This document is an opening statement in a consultation process. It is intended as a trigger to discussion. It is not a blueprint. We want practitioners to respond, individually and collectively. We envisage responses and submissions being sent by the end of March, and a more comprehensive document, encompassing the views expressed, being completed shortly afterwards. The National Co-ordinators will endeavour to meet groups where possible during the month of March. Networks such as IACTO and the National Association of YOUTHREACH Co-ordinators should consult and debate through their respective regional and national channels. Staff in centres and Workshops should also be involved, as should participants.
The following is merely the skeleton of a possible model. Is it appropriate? And how might the many and various elements and innovations be incorporated, harmonised and delivered to maximise their effectiveness in achieving the objectives of the programme? We want to hear the views of those who operate the programme, those who manage it, those who participate in it and those who observe it.
2. YOUTHREACH 2000
In describing developmental stages, and in the illustration below, it is accepted that young people move in and out of programmes and may even repeat modules. Insofar as the text and illustration (below) imply an overly simple linear progression, readers should see this as the compiler's weakness in computer graphics, rather than his intent!
2.1 Should the programme be restated to comprise two broad phases - Foundation and Progression - encompassing four general developmental stages - orientation (first-base); foundation; transition and progression, as follows?
------------------ Foundation -------------------------->
------------Progression ------------>
2.2 In each of the foregoing stages of development (which mirror the Youthstart Comprehensive Pathway), should the programme allow a range of different modes of participation, for example:
2.3 The programme should have a range of underpinning and cross-pinning supports. But what might these be? Are the following appropriate? How would they operate in the interests of participants?
2.3.1 Links at local service level with other measures targeting educational disadvantage;
2.3.2 Operational partnership at local level between schools, the proposed Educational Welfare Service, employment services, youth services, health services and area-based partnerships (and local authorities, insofar as the partnerships are not incorporated into new local government structures)
2.3.3 Longitudinal tracking; before, during and after the programme
2.3.4 Psychological services, guidance and counselling; and vocational guidance - a spectrum of provision is envisaged, co-ordinated at national and particularly at local level (including psychologists, counsellors, advocates, etc);
2.3.5 Web-sites and internet access in all centres; a general emphasis on information and communications technology for learning, administration and promotion
2.3.6 Incareer development for staff and other staff supports
2.3.7 Full range of certification/qualifications
2.3.8 Transnational links, through new Community Initiatives under the ESF and through programmes such as Leonardo da Vinci II and Socrates II
2.3.9 Programme development
2.3.10 Quality and effectiveness processes
2.3.11 Other technical supports, including research and dissemination
2.3.12 A lifelong learning approach to Foundation and Progression phases, providing and supporting recurrent opportunities through a range of mechanisms and targeted approaches, such as the Customised Training Option (developed by FÁS) and similar actions funded by Area-Based Partnerships.
3. Explanatory Memorandum
3.1 Restating the Programme
3.1.1 The definition of early school leaving
YOUTHREACH was established to work with young people who left school at or about the minimum school leaving age without qualifications. Is this still appropriate? What about those who leave during Senior Cycle or those who leave with less than 5Ds from their Leaving Certificate, and who are also experiencing difficulties in the labour market? Should the YOUTHREACH brief be extended to include these, or should they be catered for in schools and training centres? Is there a risk of diluting the programme's mission? Might it be 'colonised' to the detriment of its core target group?
And what of those early school leavers who never make it to YOUTHREACH? How should the programme respond to their needs?
Those who have not yet reached the legal school leaving age are another major issue in many areas. Should YOUTHREACH work within the compulsory school leaving age range? If so, how?
3.1.2 Developmental stages
As defined, YOUTHREACH comprises two phases, Foundation and Progression. Should these be restated to encompass developmental stages? (Orientation, or first-base; foundation, transition and progression). Induction, at the beginning, and transition at the end, of the Foundation phase are described in the operational guide in some detail. They are recognised as being integral to any programme and are consistent with the comprehensive pathway model developed in Youthstart. However, Progression has never been clearly defined, much less broken down into stages. How might the two phases be better described? How might they more accurately be defined to reflect the experience of the programme and the needs of the participants? How might participants' entitlement to progression best be delivered, managed and supported?
3.2 Flexible options to reflect the needs of the participants
From the beginning, reservations were expressed about the ability of some early school leavers to successfully participate in a full-time programme. A new factor has entered this debate in recent years, as employers and training providers recruit less skilled and motivated young people. Furthermore, as waiting lists disappear and centres and workshops engage in more sustained fieldwork, YOUTHREACH participants themselves present more complex social and personal challenges. So, should YOUTHREACH provide for a range of different modes of participation?
3.3 A continuum of provision
According to the report of the Task Force on Guidance, Counselling and Psychological Services for YOUTHREACH 'a team approach at local level to addressing the needs of early school leavers is regarded as the most effective'.
In the context of changes in structural funding, demands for service integration, newly established authorities, changing technologies and the need to mainstream innovations, how do we embed the good practice that has emerged in supports established in and around YOUTHREACH? How do we mainstream effective models of practice? How do we provide a comprehensive support system for all young people in transition? A wide range of supports exists. Some are available throughout the country, some are not. They include (in no particular order):
Advocates
Linked Work Experience Co-ordinators
Customised Training Support
Counsellors, Psychologists
FAS placement service; FAS Community Services; FAS training Services
VEC Adult Education Organisers
Area-based partnership Education Organisers; Other Partnership services
Adult literacy services
Literacy teachers (CTWs)
Local Employment Services
Mentors
Youth services
School-base outreach supports, (eg Home/School/Community Liaison)
School Attendance service
FAS client data and tracking system
Innovative programmes and initiatives, such as those funded under Youthstart, Integra, NOW, the Combat Poverty Agency, the Special Support programme for Peace and Reconciliation, etc.
Certification - NCVA, Junior Certificate, FAS Integrated Assessment System, CERT, Teagasc, etc.
Jobs facilitators (Department of Social, Community and Family Affairs)
Probation and Welfare officers
Garda Juvenile Liaison Officers; Garda Community Officers
Health Board social workers
Other agents of statutory and voluntary bodies, and of innovative projects of various kinds.
3.4 Possible co-ordination of supports
A number of major new policy making and delivery structures have been announced or are planned. Their introduction will have significant effects on YOUTHREACH. For example, it may be envisaged that the recently established National Psychological Service will be closely involved in policy formation and monitoring of delivery regarding guidance, counselling and psychological services. It may be assumed that in this process, it will interact with the National Co-ordinators. Similarly, a parallel and complementary role regarding employment service supports may be envisaged for the proposed National Employment Service. This may cover both service sites and service roles such as Advocates, Mentors, Mediators (etc.). The recently announced Employment Action Plan (EAP) could have a positive impact on progression and re-entry for over 18s. An operational interface with, for example, the Department of Social, Community and Family Affairs may be envisaged.
In the Information age, internet access and electronic communications will be essential in all centres. There will be a general emphasis on information and communications technology for learning, administration and promotion. On the Department of Education and Science side, the National Centre for Technology in Education will be involved in guidance and policy direction regarding information and communications technology.
Regarding qualifications, it is intended that a comprehensive and linked framework of qualifications will be established under the proposed National Qualifications Authority. Many of the elements are already in place, and major vocational education and training qualifications authorities such as FAS and the NCVA have already established mutual recognition mechanisms
Regarding accommodation, the concept of multiplexes has been floated and well received at local and national level. How might such locally-based centres be established, developed, resourced and managed so as to be of maximum benefit?
Finally, how can the ideals of a district approach be delivered? In the NESF Report on Early School Leaving and Youth Unemployment, it was envisaged that clusters of services would be gathered around YOUTHREACH Centres and CTWs. Given the increasing emphasis in the public service on inter-agency collaboration, how will YOUTHREACH contribute to this process of service integration and quality development?