Executive Summary

Overview

Is YOUTHREACH still relevant? If so, how should it evolve to meet the challenges of the next decade? In March 1999, the National Co-ordinators launched 'YOUTHREACH 2000 - A Consultative Process'. They circulated a paper which presented a framework of ideas rather than a set of proposals, and invited responses from 'those who operate the programme, those who manage it, those who participate in it and those who observe it'. This document is reprinted in Appendix 1.

The consultation process elicited a broad range of responses. Overall, there was a general endorsement for the ideas outlined in the seminal consultation document, that is for a flexible, multi-modal programme, anchored firmly in a continuum of education and training provision and supported by an interlocking range of professional and technical supports. The process also afforded practitioners an opportunity for reflection and review. Throughout, the feedback was positive, thoughtful and useful.

Outcomes of the consultation process

Section 2 sets out the outcomes of the consultation process. The main themes addressed by the submissions were:

• the need to establish a philosophical basis and a set of principles for the programme, and for the wider continuum of which it is a part;
• YOUTHREACH’s management and structures, and the need for an integrated service approach at local level;
• the structure and approach of the overall programme;
• supports/services, including guidance and counselling (including advocacy and mentoring) and psychological services;
• the need for longitudinal supports for young people moving in and out of the programme;
• particular emphasis was laid on the importance of responding to the lifelong learning needs of unqualified young workers;
• the need for radical new forms of resourcing towards the objective of equality of outcome;
• the importance of research, especially within the programme, and of regular and systematic reporting;
• the submissions also included critiques of programme - these referred to all levels and emphasised the importance of consistency, clarity, quality, responsiveness, monitoring and publicity
• other themes included, for example, reflections on an effective district approach.

Other issues emerged in the open meetings. They include the following:

• the challenge of constant change;
• perceived increases in levels of disadvantage as the labour market attracts the more motivated young people;
• the possibility that, as a result, workshops and centres may not be able to cater for all young people.
• the need for programme providers to be clear about the limits of their abilities and responsibilities.
• differences in resources for literacy tuition between YOUTHREACH centres and Community Training Workshops; as regards the latter, the inconsistency of this resourcing (between workshops) was also noted.
• The future for YOUTHREACH in the context of the changes in ESF funding
• The ramifications for the overall programme of the Education Welfare Bill
• a range of technical issues were also raised.

The most critical points

Section 3 takes up the arguments presented in Section 2.

It is argued that YOUTHREACH will be discharging its responsibilities in an increasingly dynamic environment. Consequently there is a need to express

• a new conceptual and operational framework which reflects the changing circumstances of modern Ireland, espousing a set of principles and objectives and embodying a shift from institution-based outcomes to solution-based outcomes;
• a national policy framework
• a national management framework
• a local management framework, based on the district approach

The probable outlines and priorities for YOUTHREACH 2000 are then discussed. There is broad consensus on the general outline, structure and approach of the programme, on its management and the range of supports which should underpin it. A number of particular priorities emerged:

• the need to develop even more flexible and learner-oriented models of delivery and participation;
• the needs of YOUTHREACH participants as unqualified young workers;
• the importance of supporting young people on a longitudinal basis, in and out of the programme, progression and placement;
• Guidance, counselling and psychological services (and the need for continuity of concern in this regard);
• The resourcing and delivery of literacy tuition and supports to participants - action is envisaged on a number of levels;
• Quality and effectiveness;
• The compelling need for cohesion and collaboration at local level by the plethora of services targeting early school leavers;
• the importance of the staff’s contribution and the need for staff induction, ongoing support and development.

It is argued that the most fundamental principle should be that the young person is the primary focus of all activities. The general view of respondents is that services and programmes should be understood as a continuum of interlocked and overlapping sets, promoting the most effective interaction of different elements in the interests of the clients first, society in general second and the economy third. Thus, YOUTHREACH should not be seen as a programme of last resort, but as one of a suite of services and programmes aimed at combating social exclusion and youth unemployment through the promotion of personal development and lifelong learning.

Recommendations

Section 4 outlines 20 recommendations arising from the consultation process. The following is a summary:

1. National Policy Frameworks and Management

There should be a single overarching national strategy for all out-of-school actions targeting early school leavers. YOUTHREACH should be set in this overarching framework. There should be appropriate national management structures to implement the strategy. Therefore, the inter-Departmental committee should be reactivated and expanded and actions targeting early school leavers in the 15+ age range should be placed under this committee’s general direction. The committee itself should be expanded accordingly. The participants should always be placed at the centre of planning, delivery and evaluation.

2. YOUTHREACH 2000

Within the above framework, YOUTHREACH should continue its mission in providing alternative pathways to education, training and employment for young people who have not benefited from schooling. It should be a single overarching programme, with multiple modes of participation and delivery, including full-time, part-time and outreach. It should continue to have two principal delivery systems, through FAS and VECs, and four strands - CTWs, VEC YOUTHREACH Centres, STTCs and FAS/Justice Workshops.

Programmes and projects in the voluntary and community sector which target early school leavers effectively constitute a fifth strand of YOUTHREACH and their activities should be brought under the general umbrella of policy for out-of-school initiatives aimed at those who have left school early. Providers in this sector should have access to inservice training and other supports associated with the programme. There should be co-ordination of administrative, quality assurance and reporting mechanisms across the various strands of the programme.

3. The District Approach

Local management should be within a 'district approach' and characterised by inter-agency collaboration. A model template or matrix of service needs should be developed, whereby providers can identify service overlaps and lacunae

4. Structure, process and supports

The programme should have two general phases (Foundation and Progression) and four stages - Engagement, Foundation, Progression, Integration.

The development of personal pathways, which the young person can pursue in education, training, employment and home duties, should be emphasised. There should be a particular emphasis on managed entries and exits, from school to YOUTHREACH and from YOUTHREACH to other progression or placement. Accordingly, engagement or ‘gateway’-type initiatives targeting early school leavers should be evaluated with a view to harmonisation, mainstreaming and structural, resourcing and operational cohesion and towards the development of quality assurance processes

With regard to funding, there is a need for the general provision of longitudinal supports to take account of the increasingly dynamic interaction of work and learning. Resourcing should take account of the increasing levels of disadvantage. Consequently, the concept of differential funding according to perceived level of need should be developed.

5. Programme and curriculum development

A number of recommendations are made, regarding the programme's curricular priorities, the curricular implications of policy changes on literacy and the implications of an intercultural dimension for the programme. As regards the arts in YOUTHREACH, the report recommends that the National Co-ordinators should establish a working group of practitioners to review the experience of arts-based activities in the programme.

6. Participants as unqualified young workers

A multi-agency task force should be convened to develop a strategy to identify, prioritise and address the lifelong learning needs of unqualified young workers. There will be a need for curriculum and programme development. Appropriate supports should be put in place to support these young people in sustaining the transition into working life.

7. Guidance, counselling and psychological services

The importance of guidance, both in workshops and centres and in placement and progression was stressed. It is recommended that existing levels of support for guidance, counselling and psychological services should be maintained, and increased as resources allow. Additional resources to recruit expertise in drugs counselling should be allocated to centres in Drugs Task Force areas.

8. Literacy

The development of literacy skills should be a YOUTHREACH priority.

The Department of Education and Science should review and evaluate existing literacy provision in YOUTHREACH with a view to equalising this dedicated resource upwards to an accepted minimum required to achieve real and lasting change in the lives of the participants. In parallel, national management should establish a framework of agreed objectives, delivery standards and operational guidelines regarding literacy tuition, not only in YOUTHREACH, but also in all initiatives directed at young people with inadequate qualifications.

Each centre/workshop should develop a literacy strategy and should review and report on their implementation of this strategy on an annual basis. These should be accompanied by the development of national strategies and staff training initiatives.

9. Funding

Resourcing arrangements should be reviewed across the programme, with a view to eliminating anomalies. Funding should be consistent and predictable across the programme. The National Co-ordinators should conduct a feasibility study on the concept of differential funding based on need and on the concept of longitudinal support as described in the report.

10. Staff training and support

The multi-disciplinary nature of the programme should be maintained. Staff should be supported and good work acknowledged. Staff training should be encouraged at all levels and across all strands. A general framework for a staff induction programme should be agreed by the National Co-ordinators, in consultation with programme management and staff. Particular attention should be paid to staff information and training processes to develop appropriate skill and coping mechanisms required by those dealing with extreme disadvantage.

11. Active involvement of young people:

Each workshop/centre should establish a system whereby participants are directly engaged in an ongoing and meaningful way in the operation of the programme.

12. Centre-based planning - quality assurance

• The National Co-ordinators should agree a framework of appropriate quality indicators for the programme.
• Each centre should develop and adopt a team approach, including a mission statement, or other expression of fundamental objectives and philosophy, quality indicators, a workshop/centre plan, appropriate review processes, including active involvement of the participants and an annual report.

13. Technical issues

Mechanisms should be put in place to ensure cohesion across a range of technical issues across the programme (for example trainee holidays and accommodation standards), and adequacy of information regarding entitlements.

14. Research

The National Co-ordinators and the sponsoring Departments should continue to conduct research on an ongoing basis into both the programme's operation and national and regional contexts and phenomena relevant to its operation. The outcomes should be published as appropriate.

15. ICTs

Information and communications technology should be a central feature of all YOUTHREACH provision. All centres and workshops should be on-line and should encourage internet use by programme participants. They should all have workshop or centre web-sites, and be equipped to the highest possible standards.

16. Lone parents

The National Co-ordinators should establish an expert focus group towards meeting the particular needs of lone parents in YOUTHREACH.

17. Young people with drug problems

The National Co-ordinators should convene an expert focus group to examine the question of working with young people with moderate or severe drug problems. Two key issues should be examined - YOUTHREACH's contribution to the National Drugs Strategy, and the implications at centre/workshop level.

18. Mainstreaming pilot projects

A range of relevant pilot projects has been developed in Ireland since 1995. National management, through the National Co-ordinators, should carry out an audit of the major project strands to identify models of good practice which have not yet been mainstreamed, with a view to their adoption.

19. Local and community involvement

VECs should establish community-based management committees for YOUTHREACH Centres. Where possible, these should dovetail with other appropriate local committees. Members should have a track record of commitment to social inclusion.

20. Framework of Objectives and Operators' Guidelines

A new Framework of Objectives and Operators' Guidelines should be drawn up for the programme and completed by December 31st.