Agenda item

To approve the Telford and Wrekin Youth Strategy.

The Cabinet Member: Early Years, Children, Young People, Education, Employment and Skills, presented a report by the Director: Education and Skills, which set out the proposal of the Youth Strategy in Telford and Wrekin. The proposal was underpinned by the Council’s statutory duty, as outlined in Section 507B of the Education Act 1996, to ensure, so far as was reasonably practicable, that sufficient educational and recreational leisure-time activities were available for young people.

The Strategy was forward thinking, inclusive and had a need led approach that truly reflected the best of this Council's work.

The thoughts of the borough’s young people who had been involved in shaping the Strategy were shared with Cabinet.  Young people had told the Council what mattered most and the Council had listened.

This included being safe, having things to do and having their voices heard.  They said that the importance of having a child's opinion on their community was very important as the child was going to grow up in the community that residents lived in, and it was not all just based around adults but also the opinions and the sacrifices that children would like to make for their community.

The Cabinet Member thanked every young person who shared their ideas and helped develop the strategy and their voices had guided the Council every step of the way and that, as a Council it had set its ambition to be truly child-friendly and one of its key outcomes was ensuring that children and young people felt heard.

That message had come through loud and clear as a priority throughout this process and this strategy was more than words on a page, it was a commitment shaped by the voices of those who mattered most and together everyone could make the borough a better place where every young person felt valued, supported and empowered to thrive.

The strategy was not just a statutory requirement under Section 507b of the Education Act 1996 but went far beyond to create a child-friendly borough where every young person could thrive, was a vital investment in the future of the borough’s young people in its communities.  The purpose of this strategy was to ensure that as far as reasonably practical, the Council was able to provide sufficient education and recreational leisure time activities for young people aged 13 to 19 and for those with learning difficulties or disabilities up to the age of 24.

This, aligned with the national priorities such as the national youth guarantee and strategy guidance for improving young people's well-being.

This strategy was built on three pillars of excellence. Firstly, universal youth activities with a wide range of inclusive opportunities like sports, urban games, uniformed groups such as cadets and scouts, arts and leisure opportunities, many free or low-cost to ensure that every young person had access to enriching opportunity experiences. Secondly, targeted youth clubs, a commissioned model that strengthened youth work with a youth worker-led provision for priority groups, that embedded quality assurance, long-term sustainability and innovation.  And thirdly, specialist youth support delivered through the Council’s family hubs and partners, focusing on supporting children in care and young carers and those with SEND.

Youth services nationally had now come under renewed focus and cuts to youth club funding was the responsibility of the former Conservative government and its austerity measures.  The savage cuts to local government had led to many youth club closures with significant impacts affecting youth clubs and the borough’s young people, and the Council was working to address this. The strategy went beyond just compliance, was designed to be inclusive, need-led, and sustainable, supported safer communities, better health outcomes and improved educational and economic opportunities.

What made this strategy exceptional was its authentic co-production. Young people had shaped this from the start, and their voices were at the heart of every decision, which had been shown by the insightful foreward to the strategy, which had been written by young people.

The Cabinet Member hoped Members had had time to read it as the views of the borough’s young people had shaped the strategy, for example, in Appendix A to the report, they stated that they wanted Telford and Wrekin to be a place where young people felt proud to grow up; a borough that celebrated them and invested in them; to give every young person the chance to succeed; to live in a borough where young people's voices were valued, where support was always there when they needed it and where they could thrive and reach their potential.

This strategy was the Council’s chance to make that happen together.  Young people's voices were not just valued, they were vital and the Council had consulted widely and established the Voices in Unity group and planned an annual youth summit to keep youth voice at the heart of the Council’s delivery. The Council had re-established the Local Youth Partnership Board to oversee delivery, monitor outcomes and ensure responsiveness.  Also, the Council was introducing borough-wide data tracking systems to track participation and impact.

This strategy also reflected national best practise and aligned with the national youth guarantee while introducing local innovation.  It was inclusive, sustainable and empowering, and moved away from short-term grants to multi-year contracts, which would enable continuity and quality.  The Council’s work had been collaborative and community focused and had involved engagement with schools, providers, parents and the volunteer sector partners to build on a shared vision.

The Cabinet Member said that this shared partnership approach strengthened delivery and ensured that every ward benefitted.

In conclusion, the Cabinet Member said that this strategy supported the Council’s corporate vision for 2032.  The borough’s children and young people strategy, the Council’s health and well-being board priorities and its ambition to be a child friendly borough was about prevention, early intervention, tackling inequalities and creating opportunities for every young person to thrive and achieve their potential.

The Administration would always put the borough’s young people front and centre and would continue to protect, care, and invest in the borough’s young people.  Accordingly, the Council’s message was clear in that the young people in the borough were not just the future, they were the present and together, a Telford and Wrekin where every young person could achieve and succeed in a welcoming community that supported them, was being built.

In summary, the Cabinet Member said that this was a bold, positive step forward, a strategy that demonstrated the Council’s commitment to young people and highlighted the Council's ability to lead with innovation, inclusivity, and excellence.

The Cabinet Member thanked Rebecca Carey and the team for their dedicated hard work in co-producing this report with the borough’s young people, the Council’s partners and third sector organisations, and asked that Cabinet endorse this strategic approach to delivering youth services across the borough.

RESOLVED, that:

(a)  The Telford and Wrekin Youth Strategy, (Appendix B to the report), which set out the Council’s strategic approach to delivering a youth offer across the borough, be approved.

(b)  Authority be delegated to the Director of Children’s Services, in consultation with the Cabinet Member for Children, Young People, Education, Employment and Skills, to amend future versions of the Youth Strategy considering changes to national policy.