Brighton & Hove Youth Review

Local authorities have a statutory duty to secure access to positive activities.

(section 507B inserted into the Education Act 1996 by virtue of section 6 of the Education and Inspections Act 2006). The duty requires Local Authorities to ensure, so far as reasonably practicable, young people have access to sufficient educational leisure-time activities which are for the improvement of their well-being and personal and social development. This includes sufficient facilities for such activities, they are publicised and that young people are placed at the heart of decision making regarding the positive activity provision. The duty applies to the 13 – 19 age range, and up to 24 for young people with learning difficulties.

The Brighton & Hove City Council 2020 to 2023 Corporate Plan outlines its commitment to deliver high quality youth services by:

• identifying council owned premises suitable for partners to offer youth services
• maintaining services for refugees and LGBTU young people and ensure that sexual health services and mental health support are delivered at youth centres across the city
• protecting funding and review youth services across the city to improve coordination, establish a central youth hub and deliver services directly where possible
• giving young people a stronger voice in future services

It was agreed at the Children and Young People’s Committee on 13 January that a review of current youth services in the city would be undertaken and that the findings of this review is to be presented back to Committee to be discussed and a proposal agreed.

The scope of the review included:

• capturing views of current youth services from a wide range of young people and stakeholders
• services provided by the organisations in receipt of Council Youth Grants
• the extent of partnership working and coordination between youth providers and other organisations
• the future viability of youth buildings owned by the council and community organisations
• access to services by young people who are Council house tenants, living in disadvantaged areas and from protected groups
• giving consideration to developing a central Youth Hub in the city, including working in partnership with Onside and Brighton Youth Centre to develop the site as a Youth Zone
• how involved young people feel making decisions regarding services that impact on them

Governance

The Children and Young People’s Committee agreed that a Youth Review Cross Party Steering Group would be set up and the membership would include:

• councillors
• families
• Children & Learning (FCL) Director
• FCL Assistant Director (Education and Skills)
• Project Manager
• youth Review Lead Officer

This group’s responsibilities included agreeing a framework / methodology for undertaking the review, agreeing a project plan with clear timescales and agreeing a response to any future funding opportunities, such as the Youth Investment Fund. The terms of reference for this group were agreed, along with a proposed timetable.

An officer group was also set up and includes:

• council officers
• Finance
• Estates
• Legal
• Housing

This group was tasked with overseeing the operational aspect of the review and would be accountable to the Youth Review Cross Party Steering Group. In addition, it was agreed that stakeholders would be invited to offer advice and guidance on the consultation process and, once launched were offer information and views on current and future youth services.

Youth Wise – Brighton and Hove’s Decision Makers consists of:

• young people representing a range of youth organisations
• councillors
• senior council officers

It was set up to keep open communication with young people from across the city and ensure they played a key role in making decisions around funding for services that impact on them. It was agreed that Youth Wise would also act as a key consultation group for young people and they will reach out to a wide range of other youth groups in the city.

It was agreed that a final Youth Review report would be presented to the Children and Young People’s Committee in September 2020; decisions will be made by Children, Young People and Skills and Housing Committees and Policy and Resource Committee for any proposed financial commitments.

Covid-19

Prior to Covid-19 and the resulting ‘lockdown’ a plan was in place to hold a series of face-to-face focus groups with both young people and other stakeholders. In addition, an online survey for young people would be launched and organisations, including schools and colleges would be encouraged to promote it.

The impact of Covid-19 resulted in exploring other methods to undertake the Youth Review; particularly the focus group component. Face-to-face consultation events and focus groups with young people and other stakeholders would no longer be able to go ahead as planned. At the time there was no information available regarding timescales of the lock down period and to wait and start the process, as initially agreed by Youth Review Cross Party Steering Group, when the lock down period has come to an end, would result in a significant delay in the process and the subsequent recommissioning process.

It has been noted by youth providers that during the pandemic and subsequent lockdown the young people they work with were engaging well with the various social media and videoing platforms to keep in contact with their youth group(s) and youth workers; therefore it was proposed that much of the work could be completed online. However, there was a risk that, despite considerable effort, the consultation would not elicit the amount of feedback initially anticipated, particularly from the most disadvantaged groups. The challenge and associated risks of completing the Youth Review remotely was discussed and the decisions made were as follows:

• to move forward with an online Youth Review consultation and with support from youth providers, set up and engage young people in online focus groups using different online platforms and if Covid-19 restrictions are lifted with the Youth Review consultation period, face-to-face focus groups to take place
• a series of online focus groups using different online platforms also to be set up for other stakeholders and if Covid-19 restrictions are lifted with the Youth Review consultation period, face-to-face focus groups to take place
• the online survey to be launched and widely publicised, with youth providers supporting and encouraging young people to complete it

The consultation was launched on the 15 May and closed on 28 June. During this period 15 young people’s focus groups were held and 3 stakeholders focus groups. As the Covid-19 restrictions had not been lifted during this period no face-to-face groups took place.

The online survey could be widely published and youth providers were committed to encouraging the young people they are in touch with to complete it, supporting them where necessary. Council officers were tasked with circulating the online survey widely to ensure feedback is received from a wide range of young people including those not currently engaged with youth services and from protected/disadvantaged groups.

Extratime, PaCC and Amaze noted that young people with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) would find the online survey inaccessible due to the length and content of the questions and its language. It was agreed that an adapted version of the survey would be developed, reducing the length of questions and making some of the language more accessible. Extratime, PaCC and Amaze also supported young people to attend focus groups adapted for SEND young people.

The findings from the online survey and focus groups are detailed within this report. There is a separate section detailing the findings from both the survey set up specifically for SEND young people and the focus groups. Parents and carers of SEND young people also had an opportunity to feedback their views via a survey organised by PaCC and Amaze which is included in these findings.

An online survey for young people to complete was opened on 15 May and closed on 28 July.   

This was a self-completion questionnaire which was hosted on Brighton & Hove City Council’s Consultation Portal. Stakeholders and young people were consulted on the questions in the survey and the feedback used in its development. The survey was widely publicised (see appendix A for full circulation list).

283 children and young people aged 11 to 24 completed the survey.

Respondent’s profile

Between 90 and 98% of respondents answered the council’s various standard equalities questions. Among respondents who answered the equalities questions.

Gender

147 (55%) girl/female, 115 (43%) boy/male and 7 (3%) non binary.

Age

102 (36%) were aged 11 to 13, 112 (41%) aged 14 to 16, 35 (13%) aged 17 to 19 and 23 (9%) aged 20 to 24.

Ethnicity

191 (71%) White British, 40 (15%) mixed heritage, 18 (7%) White from outside Britain, 8 Black, 3 Asian and 2 Arab.

Sexual orientation

164 (62%) heterosexual, 38 (14%) bisexual, 34 (13%) were unsure, 10 lesbian, 10 gay and 7 responded something else

Religion or belief

158 (61%) had no particular religion, 46 (18%) atheist or agnostic, 9 Muslim, 1 Hindu and 1 Jewish.  7 believed in something else

Disability

21 (8%) had a disability

Carers

34 (13%) regularly spend time caring for a family member

Where respondents live

235 children and young people (83%) provided a Postal Sector to indicate where they lived.  Among these respondent’s;

• 49 respondents (17%) lived in the Preston Park and Withdean (BN1 5 and BN1 6) area of the city.
• 25 (9%) lived around Hanover and parts of Queens Park (BN2 9)
• 21 (7%) in Portslade (BN41)
• 19 (7%) in Moulsecoomb and Bevendean (BN2 4)
• 15 (5%) in South Hangleton and West Blatchington (BN3 7)

Only 5 respondents lived in Woodingdean, Ovingdean and Rottingdean (BN2 6, BN2 7 and BN2 8) and 9 respondents lived outside of the city.

The table details the postcodes of the 235/283 respondents:

Where respondent's live

Postal sector	Frequency	Percent
BN1 1	4	1.4
BN1 2	1	.4
BN1 3	4	1.4
BN1 4	4	1.4
BN1 5	20	7.1
BN1 6	29	10.2
BN1 7	8	2.8
BN1 8	6	2.1
BN1 9	3	1.1
BN2 0	7	2.5
BN2 1	8	2.8
BN2 3	8	2.8
BN2 4	19	6.7
BN2 5	9	3.2
BN2 6	3	1.1
BN2 7	1	.4
BN2 8	1	.4
BN2 9	25	8.8
BN3 1	2	.7
BN3 2	4	1.4
BN3 3	4	1.4
BN3 4	2	.7
BN3 5	8	2.8
BN3 6	4	1.4
BN3 7	15	5.3
BN3 8	6	2.1
BN41	21	7.4
Outside B&H	9	3.6
Unknown	48	16.6
Total	283	100.0

What youth services did respondents attend? 

Just under three out of five respondents (58%) attended or intend to attend a local youth service, with 21% attending or intending to attend two or more services. More than two out of five (42%) have not attended or do not intend to attend any local youth services.

The most frequent used service was the Brighton Youth Centre (28%, 45 people) followed by Audio Active (14%, 22 people), Allsorts (13%, 21 people) and Hangleton & Knoll Project (11%, 17 people).

Among the 45 respondents who attended Brighton Youth Centre most either lived in Moulsecoomb/ Bevendean (18%, 8 people) or Hanover/Queens Park (16%, 7 people) areas of the city.

How many services, groups or clubs have you attended in the last year or intend to in the future?

	Frequency	Percent
None	115	42.0
One	101	36.9
Two	40	14.6
Three or more	18	6.6
Total	274	100.0
No response	9
	283
Base: All respondents who answered the question: n=274 (97%)

Base: All respondents who attend a youth service and who answered the question: n=159

Why do children and young people use local youth services?

Base: All respondents who have attend a youth service in the last year or intend to in the future and answered the question: n=147 (88%)

More than half of those who use local youth services (54%, 77 people) did so to build confidence while nearly two out of five (38%, 54 people) did so for their mental health.

Why don’t children & young people use local youth services?

Among respondents who don’t currently use local youth services, over a half (54%, 50 people) just don’t want to go to any youth service.  However, 30% (33 people) don’t know enough about youth services and 25% (27 people) want to go but don’t feel confident enough.

Among respondents who use local youth services, over a quarter (28%, 33 people) don’t feel confident in using youth services and 27% (32 people) don’t know enough about youth services.

Base: All respondents who answered the question: n=227 (80%)

What would encourage children and young people to attend a new local youth service?

For both current users and non-users of local youth services what would most encourage them to go to a new youth service is; to have fun, somewhere to meet their friends, to learn a new skill and or somewhere to make new friend and to build confidence.

Among respondents who don’t currently use local youth services, over a third (37%, 43 people) would be encouraged to do so to have fun or to meet their friends.  A third (33%, 38 people) would go to learn a new skill.

Among respondents who use local youth services, three out of five (61%, 93 people) would be encouraged do go somewhere new to have fun.  More than a half (51%, 78 people) would go to learn a new skill and more than two out of five (44%, 67 people) would go to meet their friends and or to make new friends and build confidence.

Base: All respondents who answered the question: n=276 (98%)

Travelling to youth services that provides what children and young people want

More than twice as many respondents agree (50%) that they would be happy to travel outside their local area to a youth service that provided what they want than disagree (23%). Slightly more people who currently use a local youth service agree (54%) than those who do not (48%).  However, only 21% of those who don’t use a local youth service disagreed, with 14% unsure.

Three out of five respondents would be happy to travel to a youth service that provided what they want by walking (63%), by car (62%) or bus (59%).    Twice as many respondents would be unhappy (41%) going by taxi as would be happy (20%).  While views on travelling by train are mixed with a 36% happy and 36% unhappy.

 

Base: All respondents who answered the individual questions, excluding those responding ‘neither happy nor unhappy’ or ‘don’t know not sure’.

How do children and young people find out about youth services in Brighton & Hove?

Base: All respondents who answered the question: n=281 (99%)

Most children and young people find out about local youth services from friends (47%), school (47%) and/or the Internet (46%).  However, there are big differences in how user and non users of local youth services find out about youth services;

• While three out of five (62%) who use local youth services find out about services from friends only 28% of non-users do.
• Users of local youth service are more likely to find out about services from parents (31%) and family (25%) compared to non-users 17% and 10% respectively.
• A quarter (26%) of service users find out about services from other youth organisations while a quarter (27%) of non users don’t find out about local youth services at all.

Best way for children and young people to find out about local youth services?

Three out of five respondents (65%, 175 people) made suggestions for the best way to let them know about local youth services.  Most respondents (45%, 78 people) thought via schools and colleges was the best way. Suggestions included formally in classes and using the school email or through advertising and promotions.

A third (33%) also suggested using social media, internet and online resources, while a fifth (21%) suggested using flyers and poster as the best way for children and young people to find out about local youth services. 

Base: All respondents who answered the question (n=175, 65%)

Websites with information about youth services

Awareness of Wheretogofor website

	All respondents (n=275)	Don't use local youth services  (n=111)	Use local youth services  (n=155)
Yes – and have USED the site	1%	0%	3%
Yes – but have NOT USED the site	10%	9%	12%
Not aware of the site	88%	91%	86%

 

	All respondents (n=275)	Don't use local youth services  (n=111)	Use local youth services  (n=155)
Yes – and have USED the site	1%	0%	3%
Yes – but have NOT USED the site	11%	7%	15%
Not aware of the site	87%	93%	82%

There was little awareness of two website (Wheretogofor and Youth Collective) that provide information on local youth services. Only around one in ten respondents were aware of either website and only four respondents (1%) had used one of the sites. 

Use of council run leisure facilities by children and young people

Nearly a half of respondents (47%, 134 people) had used at least one of the city’s council run leisure centres in the last month. Three quarters (74%, 210 people) had used at least one in the last year.

The most popular leisure centre was Prince Regent swimming complex where a fifth of respondents (20%, 55 people) had used the centre in the last months.

Base: All respondents who answered the individual questions

Reasons for not going to a leisure centre or gym

A 163 respondents gave reasons for not going to a leisure centre or gym with a third mentioning the entrance cost (36%, 59 people) and or not feeling comfortable in a sport setting (33%, 54 people).

Twenty five people gave reasons why they thought leisure centres and gyms do not feel inclusive. Reasons given included:

• social anxiety, including body image, fear of being stared at or judged and insecurities
• age restriction or no age appropriate activities

Forty five people gave ‘other’ reasons for not going to a leisure centre or gym.  Reasons given include:

• can’t be bothered, don’t have the time, lazy
• age restrictions
• exercise in some other way, outside or team sports
• anxieties and insecurities
• no disability appropriate activities

Base: All respondents who answered the question (n=163, 58%)

The Impact of Covid-19 and Covid-19 related support

Two hundred and nine respondents (74%) mentioned ways Covid-19 had impacted on them.

Base: All respondents who answered the question (n=209, 74%)

Most respondents, two in five (39%), mention not being able to meet or missing friends and family. 

            “Can’t see friends, can’t see family, can’t do everyday life things”

“It means I can't see my dad who lives in (blank) so it's difficult because it's now been 10 weeks since I last saw him.”

A quarter of respondents also mentioned a reduction in social activities and opportunities (26%) and an impact on their school/education (25%).

“I cannot go to school I cannot see my friends I cannot do anything; I am a single child.”

A significant proportion of respondents, one in five (19%), mentioned Covid-19 having an adverse effect on their mental health.

“It has significantly affected my anxiety, now that every event is digital I struggle to be social in a space where I can’t talk to people face to face. It also meant that I am in little to no contact with my friends how I used to meet up with.”

“I haven't been able to attend my weekly swimming and yoga lessons as I normally would and it amplifies negative emotions.”

“Just like a lot my friends, its seriously affected my mental health and my self-esteem and confidence. I’m also aware of many people who had had traumatic experiences whilst in lockdown.”

Base: All respondents who answered the question (n=93, 33%)

Only 93 respondents (33%) made comments on what support youth services could provide to support with the impact on them from Covid-19. A quarter of respondents mentioned providing online services (20%) and or providing advice, guidance and support (19%).

“They could teach you about what’s going on so people can understand the situation more.”

“Offer me fun things to do online.  Don't just send me emails to make sure my home situation is 'okay'.  It feels as though the focus is to just make sure my family are 'coping' with me at home all the time, rather than focusing on me as a bored teenager who has little social interaction at the best of time due to my disability.”

One in ten making comments (11%) mentioned help and support specifically with mental health.

“Virtual wellbeing activities would be great.”

“Carry on providing a space in which my opinions are valued and I do not feel ashamed for being ‘out of the norm’. Also by providing resources around keeping good mental health around sometimes unsupportive family as well as providing information on concerns members of the LGBT community may have more generally.”

Young Peoples focus groups’ feedback

A total of 15 young people’s focus groups were held in June with a total of 73 attendees. A wide range of organisations were invited to set up a focus group (see appendix B).  All of the organisations were sent a list of questions and asked to return it before the end of the consultation period. The groups had representation from the following organisations:

• Allsorts – 6 young people
• Amazing Futures (Amaze) – 10 young people
• Brighton Youth Centre – 6 young people
• Youth Employability Service – 1 young person
• Youth Council – 3 young people
• 2 x Trust Developing Communities – 8 young people
• Children in Care Council – 3 young people
• 2 x Hangleton and Knoll Project – 11 young people
• Young Peoples Centre (Impact Initiatives) – 2 young people.
• BMEYPP – 9 young people
• 3 x PaCC, Amaze and Extratime – 14 young people with SEND (with more complex needs)

The findings from the three focus groups adapted for young people with SEND that have more complex needs, are reported separately in the SEND consultation section.  A summary of the findings to the other groups can be found below.

Summary of young people’s responses

Question 1. What are your thoughts on current groups, clubs or services available for young people in the city? (thinking about what they offer, where they are situated, age, group).

All the young people appreciate the clubs/projects they attend. They enjoy the varied activities on offer and having somewhere safe to meet friends and socialise. Having access to professional support is considered valuable.  Many felt that attending the clubs improved their confidence, self-esteem and opportunities to build new skills. Young people, generally feel safe, comfortable, not judged and well supported.

How could those groups, clubs or services improve?

• Information in all clubs and projects about what is happening and available at other clubs in the city
• Most BMEYPP members want to be in a dedicated space because they are, at other times, always in the minority and have things in common with other members
• More one to one time available from youth workers during normal clubs sessions
• For youth work staff to deal quickly with behavioural issues and be aware of different groups attending and encourage the groups to mix and get on
• Services to be open more often, including during the holidays and at weekends
• Better maintained dedicated youth buildings
• Safer and cheaper travel options, so young people can travel to different clubs in confidence
• Better mental health awareness

Question 2. What groups, clubs or services do you think are needed for young people that are not currently available?

• More clubs and services for BAME and LGBTQ young people
• Low cost sporting activities that are very inclusive
• Better use of outdoor space to provide activities for young people, like the beach and parks
• More mental health services, which are easy to attend and well published across the city
• More creative activities, like arts and crafts
• Life skills sessions, for example in budgeting 

Question 3. Are the groups, clubs or services good at including young people from a range of backgrounds, such as BAME, LGBTQ, disabilities?

• Young people were appreciative of current services like Allsorts and BMEYPP.  They also felt that youth workers did try to make young people from a range of different backgrounds feel included but did feel that there were still barriers
• BMEYPP young members would like a dedicated space where they can feel safe and know that there will be an understanding/ knowledge of cultural differences, for example, a young woman wearing a hijab would not necessarily trust another club to respect her differences or where non halal meat is offered to them
• Some young people still feel uncomfortable to attend clubs or projects
• It was felt that sporting activities and clubs could do more work to improve inclusivity

How could they do better at including young people?

• Raising awareness amongst young people of other young people’s backgrounds
• Educating young people and staff about inclusion and diversity
• Improve awareness and understanding of BAME, SEND and LGBTQ young people
• To introduce more activities from different cultures to encourage underrepresented young people to attend and improve awareness of other cultures with young people

Question 4. Do you get involved with making decisions about what services are provided for young people? 

• Generally young people fed back if they wanted to, they could get involved with decision making and felt listened to
• More publicity about opportunities to get involved with these opportunities would be good.  Felt a lot of young people were not aware of how to get involved

How could this be improved?

• Advertising how and what people can get involved in – being specific about what that means in terms of decision making, benefits and potential positive outcomes.
• Better use of social media, so young people can be involved without being physically present
• Encouragement to attend meetings, for example about food

The council are considering providing a centralised youth centre/hub that offers a wide range of activities and services for young people. They are considering 3 different options and we would like your opinion on these.

Option 1

A central youth centre(hub) offering a wide range of activities/services based in one   building in the centre of the town coordinating groups and clubs for young people living in all parts of the city

Option 2

A main youth centre in the centre of the city that does not offer as many services or activities as option 1 and works alongside other funded youth activities/services provided across the city

Option 3

To leave the funding arrangements as they are now, with local youth providers being funded across the city.

• There was no overriding support for one of the above options over the others
• Generally young people wanted more detail on the options before they could make an informed choice. The idea of a central youth hub was warmly received, if it did not impact on local provision.  There was real concern that supporting a central hub would impact on the availability of local provision
• A central hub could offer more and better facilities. Transport cost and safety were an issue, but young people would like to see an improved club/hub in the centre of town. It could offer new and exciting things to do, that some local provision may not be able to offer. Some young people also liked the idea of mixing different groups from across the city in one location, as long as they were well supported by workers
• Some disadvantaged young people may not feel comfortable to travel to a club they do not know, so local provision is very important to ensure support for targeted groups

 

 

A total of 15 young people’s focus groups were held in June with a total of 73 attendees. A wide range of organisations were invited to set up a focus group (see appendix B).  All of the organisations were sent a list of questions and asked to return it before the end of the consultation period. The groups had representation from the following organisations:

• Allsorts – 6 young people
• Amazing Futures (Amaze) – 10 young people
• Brighton Youth Centre – 6 young people
• Youth Employability Service – 1 young person
• Youth Council – 3 young people
• 2 x Trust Developing Communities – 8 young people
• Children in Care Council – 3 young people
• 2 x Hangleton and Knoll Project – 11 young people
• Young Peoples Centre (Impact Initiatives) – 2 young people.
• BMEYPP – 9 young people
• 3 x PaCC, Amaze and Extratime – 14 young people with SEND (with more complex needs)

The findings from the three focus groups adapted for young people with SEND that have more complex needs, are reported separately in the SEND consultation section.  A summary of the findings to the other groups can be found below.

Summary of young people’s responses

Question 1. What are your thoughts on current groups, clubs or services available for young people in the city? (thinking about what they offer, where they are situated, age, group).

All the young people appreciate the clubs/projects they attend. They enjoy the varied activities on offer and having somewhere safe to meet friends and socialise. Having access to professional support is considered valuable.  Many felt that attending the clubs improved their confidence, self-esteem and opportunities to build new skills. Young people, generally feel safe, comfortable, not judged and well supported.

How could those groups, clubs or services improve?

• Information in all clubs and projects about what is happening and available at other clubs in the city
• Most BMEYPP members want to be in a dedicated space because they are, at other times, always in the minority and have things in common with other members
• More one to one time available from youth workers during normal clubs sessions
• For youth work staff to deal quickly with behavioural issues and be aware of different groups attending and encourage the groups to mix and get on
• Services to be open more often, including during the holidays and at weekends
• Better maintained dedicated youth buildings
• Safer and cheaper travel options, so young people can travel to different clubs in confidence
• Better mental health awareness

Question 2. What groups, clubs or services do you think are needed for young people that are not currently available?

• More clubs and services for BAME and LGBTQ young people
• Low cost sporting activities that are very inclusive
• Better use of outdoor space to provide activities for young people, like the beach and parks
• More mental health services, which are easy to attend and well published across the city
• More creative activities, like arts and crafts
• Life skills sessions, for example in budgeting 

Question 3. Are the groups, clubs or services good at including young people from a range of backgrounds, such as BAME, LGBTQ, disabilities?

• Young people were appreciative of current services like Allsorts and BMEYPP.  They also felt that youth workers did try to make young people from a range of different backgrounds feel included but did feel that there were still barriers
• BMEYPP young members would like a dedicated space where they can feel safe and know that there will be an understanding/ knowledge of cultural differences, for example, a young woman wearing a hijab would not necessarily trust another club to respect her differences or where non halal meat is offered to them
• Some young people still feel uncomfortable to attend clubs or projects
• It was felt that sporting activities and clubs could do more work to improve inclusivity

How could they do better at including young people?

• Raising awareness amongst young people of other young people’s backgrounds
• Educating young people and staff about inclusion and diversity
• Improve awareness and understanding of BAME, SEND and LGBTQ young people
• To introduce more activities from different cultures to encourage underrepresented young people to attend and improve awareness of other cultures with young people

Question 4. Do you get involved with making decisions about what services are provided for young people? 

• Generally young people fed back if they wanted to, they could get involved with decision making and felt listened to
• More publicity about opportunities to get involved with these opportunities would be good.  Felt a lot of young people were not aware of how to get involved

How could this be improved?

• Advertising how and what people can get involved in – being specific about what that means in terms of decision making, benefits and potential positive outcomes.
• Better use of social media, so young people can be involved without being physically present
• Encouragement to attend meetings, for example about food

The council are considering providing a centralised youth centre/hub that offers a wide range of activities and services for young people. They are considering 3 different options and we would like your opinion on these.

Option 1

A central youth centre(hub) offering a wide range of activities/services based in one   building in the centre of the town coordinating groups and clubs for young people living in all parts of the city

Option 2

A main youth centre in the centre of the city that does not offer as many services or activities as option 1 and works alongside other funded youth activities/services provided across the city

Option 3

To leave the funding arrangements as they are now, with local youth providers being funded across the city.

• There was no overriding support for one of the above options over the others
• Generally young people wanted more detail on the options before they could make an informed choice. The idea of a central youth hub was warmly received, if it did not impact on local provision.  There was real concern that supporting a central hub would impact on the availability of local provision
• A central hub could offer more and better facilities. Transport cost and safety were an issue, but young people would like to see an improved club/hub in the centre of town. It could offer new and exciting things to do, that some local provision may not be able to offer. Some young people also liked the idea of mixing different groups from across the city in one location, as long as they were well supported by workers
• Some disadvantaged young people may not feel comfortable to travel to a club they do not know, so local provision is very important to ensure support for targeted groups

 

Three stakeholder meetings were held in June with a total of 32 attendees.  We also received six individually completed forms. Invitations to these events were circulated to a wide range of organisations (see appendix C), along with a list of questions which they could complete and return if they were unable to attend any of the three focus groups. The groups had representation from the following organisations:

Councillors	Trust for Developing Communitites	Youth Employability Service
Schools Wellbeing Service	Youth Participation Team	Young Carers
Integrated Team for Families	Amaze	Impact Initiatives
Health Promotion	Hangleton & Knoll Project	Brighton Youth Centre
Audio Active	Brighton Table Tennis Club	Public Health
PaCC

Summary of feedback

Question 1. What are your thoughts on current services available for young people in the city? For example, thinking about what they offer, where they are situated, age group.

• Generally, it was felt that there is a wide variety of positive youth work happening across the city, reaching a diverse range of young people. It was noted that youth provision had reduced a few years ago due to funding cuts
• Different types of youth work are delivered in different areas of the city. The young people were unaware of any youth buildings in the west of the city.  The current youth buildings are not very accessible, environmentally or young people friendly.  Current buildings need investment to bring them up to date
• Feedback indicated that both universal and targeted youth provision was needed in the city. Local provision is often more targeted reaching vulnerable young people. Brighton Youth Centre provides more universal provision, and as such does attract large numbers of young people that travel to attend.
• The city needs more resources to prioritise work with BAME, LGBTQ and SEND young people. To also raise awareness of these issues with the young people currently attending youth provision
• A good link with schools is essential to identify more vulnerable young people in order to promote the current youth offer

Question 2. What services do you think are needed for young people that are not currently available?

• Increased provision during school holidays and at weekends
• Activities or safe space for young people at the seafront. It attracts a lot of young people, but there is little youth work that covers the area
• More work around diversity and inclusivity to encourage young people from minority groups to attend
• More preventative support for mental health to try and avoid a referral being required to specialist mental health services. It was acknowledged that youth workers have a role to play in supporting young people with their mental health

Question 3. Are the services good at including young people from a range of backgrounds, for example BAME, LGBTQ, disabilities?

• Inclusion is at the heart of youth work but needs improvement. Little evidence of providers being aware of what inclusion work each is doing
• Needs a joined-up approach, with support from the youth providers that represent minority groups. Need a strategic and coordinated plan, which needs to be well publicised
• Opportunities to share good practice in engaging with young people form minority groups
• Invest in building to make them accessible and welcoming. (Possibly Youth Zone)

Question 4. Do young people get involved, in a meaningful way, with making decisions about what services are provided for them?

• There is a lot of good practice, as current providers work hard to ensure participation and voice of young people
• Stakeholders would like to see an increase in young people’s participation, often seen as a bolt on, to very busy activity sessions
• Youth Wise and Youth Led Grants are good example but need to be promoted more to encourage young people to get involved. These should continue
• A centralised participation worker/team could investigate creative ways to engage with young people to ensure future consultations are young person led, rather than worker
• Youth leadership training programmes to build opportunities for young people and provide youth service volunteers
• Clear mechanisms in place to ensure feedback to young people about what is happening and what has changed  after they are consulted

Question 5. What is your view on how services collaborate to support a well-coordinated service offer for young people across the city?    

• A coordinator post to assist current youth providers with a city-wide view of youth work need
• Current youth providers concentrate mainly on their geographical area
• There is a lot of collaboration now, but there is room for improvement, as occasionally there is slight friction between different youth providers
• There is a challenge to meet needs of the young people, based on a neighbourhood model from individual providers, when aiming for a collaborative city-wide service
• Opportunities for providers to come together to discuss challenges and how they can work as individual organisations and meet the city youth offer

Question 6. The council are considering providing a centralised youth centre/hub that offers a wide range of activities and services for young people. They are considering three different options and we would like your opinion on these.

Option 1   

A central youth centre(hub) offering a wide range of activities/services based in one building in the centre of the town coordinating groups and clubs for young people living in all parts of the city

Option 2

 A main youth centre in the centre of the city that does not offer as many services or activities as option 1 and works alongside other funded youth activities / services provided across the city

Option 3     

To leave the funding arrangements as they are now, with local youth providers being funded across the city.

• There were mixed responses to the options available. No one main option stood out.  However, there were strong feelings both for and against a partnership with Onside
• Most recognised that Brighton Youth Centre attracts a lot of young people who are prepared to travel into town.  The building needs investment to make it safe, accessible and attractive to more young people
• There is a major concern that if the Council was to consider a partnership with Onside, it would have a detrimental effect on funding for local provision
• As a universal youth provider, Brighton Youth Centre could provide more sessions and more varied programme of activities and could be a flagship centre for the city, if the centre was invested in
• Local provision also needs support to ensure vulnerable young people are engaged with
• Overriding concern that Covid-19 will have a negative impact on future funding for youth services

SEND young people’s consultation survey

Extratime, Amaze and Brighton & Hove Parent Care Council (PaCC) worked with young people with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) to assist them to complete an adapted version of the Youth Review survey and collated the findings and recommendations. This was circulated to young people with SEND via Amaze’s Compass database and the PaCC network (which includes Extratime and other groups). Using these channels to circulate a more bespoke survey would maximize the response rate for this cohort of young people and ensure the community were confident that the voice of young people with SEND was included and valued as part of the Youth Review, reflecting the commitment of the council and the Youth Grants Programme group. 38 young people completed the survey and the summary of the findings are below.

• 38% of YP with SEND are not accessing youth provision. They say they don’t feel able to participate in youth activities because:
  • they don’t have transport to get to a club
  • they feel there isn’t anything suitable to their needs / the clubs on offer aren’t the right club for them
  • they feel shy / are worried about not feeling welcome or being bullied

Of those YP who do attend a club, 68% attend Extratime and 25% Amaze. Less than 4% attend ‘mainstream’ youth clubs.

• YP with SEND chose to attend youth clubs:
  • where they can have fun and enjoy the activities offered
  • to have the opportunity to spend time with other young people / make friends
  • to see a youth worker or adult they like
  • to learn something new
  • to be themselves

The most important features of a youth club to young people with SEND are:

• that a club is close to their home and / or they are supported to travel to the club
• there are quiet spaces in the club
• YP are able to choose the activities they participate in, that a wide range of activities are on offer and that they are accessible
• YP are supported by a buddy in the club and / or have the opportunity to meet the workers running the club ahead of the session

Other clubs / activities YP with SEND would like to participate in include:

• an improved acting club / drama
• a book club
• art
• Lego building or Minecraft/Roblox
• sensory interactive opportunities, something music themed such as singing or drumming
• story telling
• soing quizzes or using technology
• sport

SEND young people’s focus group feedback

Amaze and PaCC supported 14 young people in three different focus group discussions.  Some of the young people needed extra support, as they were unable to give verbal responses due to their complex learning difficulties. A summary of the feedback can be found below:

• The young people really enjoy attending clubs and gain a great deal from making new friends, having fun and taking part in activities.  They attend a wide variety of clubs in the city.
• The young people can be quite anxious attending and need quiet spaces available
• They feel that the clubs they attend are welcoming and inclusive. Having a group agreement helps with this
• Young people, with parental/carer support are encouraged to give feedback about the sessions they attend
• It is difficult for the young people to make informed decisions about the options available for future youth provision, as they need clubs that provide specialist support to meet their needs

SEND Parents/Carers survey feedback

Amaze & PaCC organised an online survey for parent and carers of children and young people with Special Education Needs and Disabilities (aged 11-25) in, requesting their feedback on their experiences of Brighton & Hove’s youth services. The survey ran for 2 weeks in June 2020 and 70 parent carers responded.

Survey findings

1. 50% of parent/carers said their YP with SEND aren’t currently accessing youth provision. They said their YP don’t feel able to participate in youth activities because:

• they feel shy (31%) / have social anxiety (11%) /worry about not being included (5%)
• they need transport (29%) / it’s too far from home (18%)
• there isn’t a club or activity which suits their needs or interests (18%)
• they worry about bullying (16%)
• they struggle to fit it in around school/college/work (16%)
• it’s the wrong time of day (16%)

“They suffer from high levels of anxiety and are unable to access services without 1:1 support from a trusted adult”

“He finds these sort of things overwhelming and has difficulty cooperating”

“Young people with disabilities are not a homogenous group. My child has a learning disability and can find some behaviours (eg unexpected loud noises from others) very difficult. This limits my child's access to some opportunities because there is insufficient support to manage these difficulties to promote accessibility for everyone. Opportunities for young people with disabilities to access mainstream activities are virtually non- existent. Mainstream groups for more vulnerable young people brings a whole host of challenges as inclusion can be very difficult to achieve given the level of need (eg higher risk of bullying, exposed to negative behaviour).”

2. From those who said their YP are accessing provision, they attend the following clubs:

• 34% Extratime
• 15% Brighton Youth Centre
• 9% access Amazing Futures

All the following services were all accessed by 1or 2 young people:

• Allsorts
• Audio Active
• Hangleton and Knoll Project
• Scouts
• Woodingdean Youth Centre
• Youth Advice Centre
• Albion in the community
• DSDT Sports club
• DSDT Teen Rockers
• Pebbles
• Queens Park additional needs tennis club
• Ashdown Group – Worthing
• Brighton Table Tennis club
• Kidz club
• Mascot youth club
• Next Generation
• Orchestra 360
• Brighton Museum
• unified rhythm
• Our space
• Phoenix
• Purple Club House
• SK Stars
• Spiral
• St Peter's church youth club
• my space

3. Parent/carers said their YP with SEND like youth clubs where they:

• have the opportunity to spend time with other young people / make friends (93%)
• feel comfortable (75%)
• can be themselves (72%)
• can have fun (7%)
• enjoy the activities offered and/or learn something new (66% / 53%)
• can see a youth worker or adult they like (53%)

“My daughter attends a monthly group at BYC for adopted young people. This is incredibly important to her - to be with other adopted young people”

“They can burn off their surplus energy”

“They can play sport in an inclusive environment”

“Having responsibility”

4. Parent/carers said their YP with SEND would find it easier to attend a youth club if:

• they have someone to go with (50%) / they have a buddy when they’re there (47%)/ they have the opportunity to meet the workers running the club ahead of the session (38%)
• YP are able to choose the activities they participate in (38%) and that a wide range of activities are on offer (22%)
• there are quiet spaces in the club (35%)
• it is close to their home (36%) / they have help to get there back (31%) / someone to walk them to the bus stop afterwards (7%) / someone to wait with them before they're picked up (10%)
• different type of club (21%)
• being able to visit the space digitally (19%)
• being able to arrive early (17%)
• Easy read instructions for activities (17%)
• different time of day (12%)

“Knowing they won't be judged or misunderstood”

“More space to not participate in the activity once he's there if he doesn't want to”

“They don't want to be associated with specialist services, just to be able to participate in what most people do”

“More space at Extratime club”

From different clubs parent/carers said their YP with SEND would be interested in included:

• cooking
• helping with friendships
• swimming
• climbing
• yoga
• trampoline
• art but not focused on their disability
• drama
• gaming but not coding
• music/dance
• dress up/improv theatre
• cinema/film-making
• Karate /martial arts
• tech
• dogs

5. Parent/carers said they would like information, support and advice to be available to their YP from a youth club service/club on:

• building their confidence (67%)
• mental health (50%)
• keeping safe online (41%)
• school/college issues (37%)
• relationships with family and friends (37%)
• physical health (28%)
• bullying (24%)
• sexual health (15%)
• drugs and alcohol (13%)
• housing (9%)
• others: independent travel and life skills

“My child would benefit from opportunities to develop meaningful relationships with others to increase their social network in the community - both disabled and mainstream peers. Likewise, mainstream peers should be exposed to more opportunities to interact with peers with disabilities and their role in helping others achieve greater social inclusion.”

Parent carers said their YP can travel to a youth club by:

• in the car with an adult (78%)
• by bus with support (36%)
• taxi / minibus (26%)
• walking (22%)
• alone by bus (10%)
• by bicycle (3%)
• parent/carers commented that their YP cannot travel independently.
• parent carers said their YP with SEND find out about youth activities from:
• family (45%)
• school (31%)
• friends (24%)
• internet (22%)
• local charity (28%) - Amaze, Reaching Families, Mascot, Young Carers

8. Parent/carers said the best way for their YP with SEND to find out about youth activities is:

• text to parent (48%)
• through my family (24%)
• social media (41%)
• posted info to parent (43%)
• other suggestions include: Amaze / Compass Card, PACC, Brighton Pebbles, School newsletter, Carers News, Local YouTube

9. Parent carers said 31% of their YP with SEND go to the gym

10.  Parent carers said Covid-19 has impacted their YP with SEND:

• 69% miss going to school or college
• 66% miss seeing their friends
• 50% miss seeing family they don’t live with
• 43% miss going to clubs
• 36% other  - see some examples below

“It has been a way of levelling things I think. As no-one has be n able to go out and do their usual things”

“Nothing has changed. Not currently in a provision. No friends.”

“Spends all the time playing online games”

“Terrified of all the new rules and getting it wrong”

“The lack of social interaction has been bewildering for my son. Some of his behaviours have regressed, he is sad and confused. School support should have been far better to help him with the issues”

“They have fallen apart without their usual routine and feel extremely isolated and excluded from their social group who are a peer support network”

“Very happy, their world has shrunk and they are very content at home and not having to engage with the outside world.”

11. 39% of parent carers said they would like help to adjust to changes.

Suggestions included:

• 1:1 care support / more respite
• online interactive YouTube sessions for colouring /singing /dancing /exercise /yoga
• links to online learning topics in one place
• videos for therapy like head/foot calming massage
• drive in cinemas & activities
• support for after this to encourage YP to go out
• groups to start with social distancing x 3
• how to cope without routines
• mental health support, family support
• more understanding of the impact on autistic and neuro diverse people
• open up facilities such as playing fields
• social activities for extremely anxious ASD child who doesn’t leave house
• schools and clubs open again
• supported volunteering

“My YP is now resistant to help as behaviours have entrenched because of isolation”

“My son is shielding and would like to talk to other people in the same situation of his age”

12. 85% of parent carers said their YP with SEND has a Compass Card

The Compass Project includes both the Compass Register which is the children’s disability register used to help identify local health and wellbeing issues to inform the delivery of local services; and the Compass Card (CC) which is a free concession card, that incentivises registrations by providing families with discounts and special offers at leisure venues. The Project has successfully secured the involvement of over 200 leisure providers with offers at over 300 venues. It has over 2,100 disabled children and young people signed up to the Brighton & Hove Register.

From January to March 2020 a mixed methodology research explored the use and impact of the concessionary leisure Compass Card. Commissioned by Amaze Sussex; the findings provide insight into the Compass Project and the way in which it tackles social exclusion.

See the full report for more information

283 young people completed the online survey.  In addition 38 young people living across the city with SEND were supported to complete an adapted version of the survey.

A total of 73 young people participated in a one of the 15 young people’s focus groups

32 people representing a variety of organisations attended one of the three stakeholder focus groups and 7 individual feedback forms were received

70 parents / carers of children and young people with Special Education Needs and Disabilities (SEND) aged 11-25 completed an online survey

The online survey did not yield the expected number of responses (over 1000 received in the last youth survey in 2017). Undertaking a consultation during a pandemic is unprecedented; schools, colleges and all other youth providers were not fully operational and working very hard to adapt services and were, at the time, urgently responding to emerging needs. The online survey was widely advertised (see appendix A) and youth providers worked hard to encourage young people they were in contact with to complete it but fed back that there was apathy due to the serious nature of the pandemic, a number of other surveys being circulated and not physically being in contact with young people to encourage completion had an impact. The pandemic also prevented Council Officers attending schools and colleges to promote the survey.

The consultation reached a cross section of young people, including those with protected characteristics and those that do not currently access youth services.

Young people attend services for a various reasons; for example, to have fun, meet friends/make new friends, learn new skills or talk to a trusted youth worker. Many young people attend to build on their confidence and gain support with their mental health. It was acknowledged that youth provision has a role to play in improving a young person’s mental health, including raising awareness of what is available.

Generally, it was felt that there is a wide variety of positive youth work happening across the city, reaching a diverse range of young people and those young people that attend appreciate and value what is on offer.

Young people with SEND enjoy and gain a lot from attending youth clubs/activities but some are unable to access them due to not having transport, it not being considered suitable for them or being worried about not feeling welcomed, being shy or maybe bullied. Very few with complex needs attend ‘mainstream’ youth services; they do not have the specialist support. They feel welcomed and included when they attend services that focus on young people with SEND. Many ideas for supporting young people with SEND access a wider range of youth services/activities were put forward. The Compass Card was highly valued and promotes accessibility to leisure centres for young people with SEND who experience social exclusion

Some BAME young people can lack confidence in accessing mainstream  services and value meeting together with BAME only young people and would welcome having a dedicated space, run by and for BAME young people

Young people are using leisure centres, however the entrance and travel cost prevent some young people from attending, as well as not feeling comfortable in this setting.

To improve services it was noted that services could be open more during the school holidays and weekends.

Feedback highlighted the need for services to be more inclusive; particularly the mainstream services and more resources should be made available for BAME young people, LGBTQ and young people with SEND. Inclusion is a key principle of youth work and all providers need to clear on how they are responding to this.

Young people are, and do feel they are involved in decision making and their participation is generally good in the city, however, this could be improved by better publicity on opportunities to become involved in decision making processes and more creativity around how young people can participate.

Most young people are not aware of the Wheretogofor and Youth Collective website and those that are rarely use them. Young people want to find out more about what is available and want to do so by hearing about them from friends, the internet or school. There were lots of suggestions to improve how we communicate the youth offer to young people

Safer and cheaper travel (for financially disadvantaged young people) would help young people access services although, generally, young people are willing to travel to get to a service, group or activity that meets their needs.

Current commissioned services do collaborate but there is still work to do to ensure there is a citywide well-coordinated youth offer

Young people have been affected in a number of ways by the pandemic, particularly around their mental health, missing their friends and home learning challenges. Young people have felt supported through the pandemic with 1:1 chats, social media activities and on-line groups; however there is a need to ensure young people who have not accessed this support are aware of what’s on offer. There is also a concern that Covid-19 will impact on future funding for youth services.

When discussing a centralised youth hub, no one option stood out and it was difficult for many to form a clear view because there was not enough information available on the options at the focus group. The concerns were focussed on the financial impact this may have on neighbourhood provision with a strong consensus that these are highly valued and should not be lost. However, there was total agreement that BYC attracts large numbers of young people who travel across the city to attend but was run down and in urgent need of investment and would like funding to be found for this (as long as it wasn’t at the expense of neighbourhood provision).

 

The focus of the Youth Service Grants Programme was to fund projects that support outcomes identified in the Brighton & Hove Youth Work Review 2015, equality outcomes and outcomes for council tenants. The funding period was from 1st  October 2017 to 31 March 2020; however both Children and Young People’s and Housing Committees agreed to extend the grant agreements for, initially 6 months and then a further 6 months to enable the findings of the Youth Review to inform the new commissioning arrangements. Therefore, the current Youth Service Grants Programme is due to end on the 31st March 2021. The outcome of the 2017-20 commissioning process is outlined in the table below:

Service area	Providers	Provision	Annual budget
Hangleton, Portslade & West Hove	The Hangleton & Knoll Project (lead) YMCA	Family mediation Group work activities/programmes    /project work Detached work Safe spaces Healthy relationships and lifestyle work Peer support Participation Young Leaders programme Pathways to education/ accreditation Volunteering opportunities Targeted individual work Mediation & housing advice Counselling Activity based therapies	£79,000
Whitehawk and the Deans	The Trust for Developing Communities (lead) The Deans Youth Project Impact Initiatives	Open-Access Youth Clubs Detached work New & challenging  activities Sports User led activities Work with young people with  disabilities Targeted work Project work Drop-ins	£61,000
Moulsecoomb & Patcham	The Trust for Developing Communities (lead) Impact Initiatives Albion in the Community Extratime Friends, Families & Travellers Bevendean Activities Group	Detached work Open-Access Youth Clubs New & challenging activities Special Needs Clubs High participation activities Sports BME work Individual targeted work	£88,000
Central Hove and Brighton	Brighton Youth Centre (lead) Young Peoples Centre Tarner Project Youth Advice Centre	Detached work Open-Access Youth Clubs Participation & project-based work Special Needs Support Sports Targeted work Girls group Young Carers sessions Weekday drop-in advice service Activity & Youth work  session (PRU students) Adopted Young people’s Group Specialist Health Work Casework , inc brief interventions  and group work around risk	£99,000
Equalities: LGBTQ	Allsorts Youth Project Ltd	Group work Individual support Staff liaison Joint projects Training	£19,000
Equalities: BME	Black and Minority Ethnic Young People’s Project	Weekly drop-in BME Youth engagement BME Youth Champions Leadership programme Holidays & summer activities Black History Month Sports development project BME Communities Collaboration  Project Schools work	£19,000
Equalities: Disabilities	Extratime	Arts, sports & cultural activities Participation Drop-in	£19,000
		Total	£384,000

Youth Led Grants Programme

YouthWise (previously known as Youth Cross Party Working Group) has been running for over two years and is responsible for setting the priorities and methodologies for the distribution of £130,000 allocated for the annual Youth Led Grants programme. To date there has been three funding allocations, one in October 2018; another in April 2019 and the last funding round has just been finalised, with 33 projects awarded small grants for, primarily, disadvantaged young people. 

The first four priority outcomes for the latest and previous funding rounds were identified by young people from a range of youth groups. Covid-19 was added as a priority this year due to the impact of the pandemic. The current priorities areas are:

• improve young people’s mental health
• will reduce the harm from young people’s alcohol and substance misuse
• increase volunteering and work experience opportunities
• increase opportunities for young people to participate in new and challenging experiences
• support with the recovery of the impact of Covid-19 on young people

In addition to setting the priorities, young people lead on the writing of bids and the evaluation panel consists of solely young people who make decisions about the allocation of the funding.

Youth Bus

An annual grant of £10,000 was awarded to the Hangleton and Knoll Project to cover the running costs of the previously Council owned Youth Bus. The bus is used in the west area to deliver informal education on sexual health, healthy relationships, drugs & alcohol, LGBT awareness, budgeting, life skills and employment support.

The youth bus is also deployed to areas identified as hot spots via local intelligence and used at big events such as Pride to support with a city-wide youth welfare response.  Where a dedicated youth building is unavailable the Youth Bus creates a focal point that lets young people know they are welcome in a safe environment.

The council directly delivers a number of services that support young people; examples of these are listed below. Other council services, such as those that support young people with their mental health or education are not listed.

Youth Participation Team (67 Centre in Moulsecoomb)

• Youth Advocacy Project – for children in care, children and young people on child protection plans and care leavers
• Children in Care Council – including Young Ambassadors (social work recruitment)
• Arts Award Programme targeted for children in care and receiving family coaching  (Duke of Edinburgh Awards are now supported by south east DoE)
• Youth Council – including the Make Your Mark Campaign
• Youth Wise – Youth Cross Party Group (representatives from council and voluntary sector and councillors.  Developed and allocated Youth Led Grants).
• Independent Visitors – volunteers who meet with children in care (68k budget)

Adolescent Service (Regency Road)

Provides a comprehensive response to young people with complex needs with teams brought together into a co-located, multi-disciplinary service:

• The Youth Offending Service
• RUOK?  a substance misuse team for young people
• A health team providing sexual health, mental health and wellbeing support
• An Adolescent Social Work Pod who work with the most vulnerable and risky young people in the city,
• Functional Family Therapy
• Extended Adolescent Service, which offers flexible support to children and young people at risk of becoming looked after or being exploited.          

Youth Employability Service (Regency Road)

• Careers and employability support for young people aged 16-19, who are not in education, employment or training (NEET)
• Support for young people aged up to 25 if they have had a statement, Education, Health and Care Plan (EHCP), or are a care leaver from Brighton & Hove
• Advisers provide careers information and advice, guidance and support with finding the right college course, apprenticeship, training or job
• Joint European project with the Supported Employment Team “Think Futures”  aimed at 18/19s with multiple barriers and complex social, emotional and or mental health needs

Integrated Team for Families

• Family Coaches work with the whole families with multiple, complex needs that fall just below the social work threshold for 6-9 months.
• They work to improve education, parenting capacity, employment, health, domestic abuse, financial inclusion and anti-social behaviour /crime outcomes
• Youth workers were transferred into ITF as part of the restructuring of youth services.  Council funding for this service has also been reduced.  The service is also funded by the national Troubled Families programme.

Voluntary Sector Buildings	Address	Comments	Council funding
Crew Club	26 Coolham Drive, Whitehawk BN2 5QW	No links with the Youth Grants or providers	Funding from  Communities & Third Sector Team
Brighton Youth Centre	64 Edward Street, BN2 0JR	Youth Grants lead provider	Yes - Youth Grants
Young People's Centre	69 Ship Street BN1 1AE	Partner of BYC (Youth Grants)	Yes - Youth Grants
Tarner Community Project	Tarner Park, c/o 6 Tilbury Place BN2 0GY (Phoenix Community Centre)	Partner to BYC (Youth Grants)	Yes - Youth Grants
Youth Advice Centre  (YMCA)	11 St Georges Place	Partner to BYC (Youth Grants)	Yes - housing, Youth Grants, NHS
Woodingdean Youth Project (TDC)	Warren Road, Woodingdean BN2 6BB	Used by TDC (Youth Grants lead provider)	Yes - Youth Grants
Council buildings
67 Centre	Hodshrove Lane, BN2 4SE	Used by the Council Youth Participation Team and TDC (Youth Grants lead provider)	Yes - Youth Grants
Portslade Village Centre	Village Centre, 43 Windlesham Close, B41 2LL	Leased to Extratime (Youth Grants Equalities provider)	Yes - Youth Grants
Coldean Youth Centre	Beatty Avenue, BN1 9ED	Run by TDC (Youth Grants lead provider)	Yes - Youth Grants

Services are also provided by the Adolescent Service and the Youth Employment Service from Regency Road

Brighton Youth Centre (BYC) is the lead provider of the central Hove and Brighton commissioned Youth Service and receives £47,000 from the central £99,000 grant allocation. It is a purpose built youth centre that runs a wide range of activities with a particular focus on young people aged between 13 to 19 years and up to 25 for young people with SEN.

The 3 organisations acting in partnership with BYC also receive grant funding from the council:

• Tarner Community Project – receives £27k from the central £99k grant
• Youth Advice Centre (YMCA) – receives £10k from the central £99k grant
• Young People’s Centre (YPC) - receives £15k from the central £99k grant

The site is owned and managed by BYC. The building is well used by young people but needs significant repairs.  BYC estimation for completing major repairs/ refurbishment of the building would be in the range of £800k - £1.2m and work to improve accessibility and general layout would cost an additional £1 million.

One of the requirements of the Youth Review is to give consideration to developing a central youth hub in the city and as one option explore the need and financial viability of working in partnership with Onside and Brighton Youth Centre to build a Youth Zone in the city centre.

Onside is a charity that aims to build a network of 21st century Youth Centres (Youth Zones) giving young people quality, safe, accessible and affordable places to go in their leisure time. They started in the North West, with the first Youth Zone built in 2006 and has been has expanded to projects in the South East with four Youth Zone projects in London opening in 2019/20. Onside secure charitable donations that match local authority capital and revenue investment.

The council have been approached by Onside to support the development of a Brighton and Hove Youth Zone in the centre of the city. Other Onside projects have generally started with Council identifying a vacant site, which it owns, in a central location. The vacant site would then form part of the capital investment offer from the local authority. For Brighton and Hove this model is incompatible, there is not a centrally located vacant site which the authority owns or that would become available in the next 12-18 months. BYC owns the site that it is based on. The location is suitable for this project and just minutes’ walk from central bus routes that open up to the rest of the city. The Brighton Youth Centre manager and board members are supportive of a proposal to develop a partnership with Onside and the council to develop a Youth Zone on this site.

It was agreed that as part of the Youth Review consideration was given to work in partnership with BYC and Onside to develop a Youth Zone on BYC’s site as one option for providing a central youth hub.

The cost attached to building and maintaining a Youth Zone in central Brighton is as follows:

Totals:  Capital - £8.4 million Revenue - £1.3 million per annum

Onside contribution:

• £4.75 million capital
• £1 million revenue for 3 years – from corporate fund raising
• After 3 years – £1m from fund raising from Brighton Onside Charity – with training and support from national Onside. The Council’s contribution would remain at £200,000 per annum.

Council contribution

• £3.65 capital (with funding from YIF, this could reduce to £2.1 million)
• £200k revenue costs for the first three years. (currently central area receive £99k per annum which includes funding for BYC, YPC, YAC and TCP)

Young People

• £100k - £5 membership and 50p per visit

Youth Investment Fund

The government announced a £500 million Youth Investment Fund to help build new or refurbish existing youth centres across the country. OnSide is currently lining up the projects that they will be applying for funding. If this Council is to be included in a YIF funding application, Onside would aim for it to reduce the Council’s capital contribution to £2.1m. It would also lower OnSide’s fundraising target for philanthropic capital donations.  They would also aim to secure revenue funding for the new Youth Zone although currently there is no figure on how much revenue could be secured.

The current use of BYC

The table below shows an overview of contacts and visits recorded on the ASPIRE database by commissioned Youth Service Providers from 1 April 2019 to 31 March 2020.

Some activity is recorded locally by providers for young people without ASPIRE records. Young people may not have a record on ASPIRE if they are less than 13 years old, or have refused consent. The table below shows the totals for providers with this information added.

BYC and partners (TCP, YAC and YPC) attract 1762 unique young people, all of which are based in the central area of Brighton; this is compared to 886 young people attending all other area provision.

The data also indicates that the neighbourhood projects work with young people from a significantly higher percentage of council house tenants and their provision is targeted at more disadvantaged young people. The average number of visits per young person in the central area is 5.5 compared to 10.3 for the neighbourhood areas (HKP, the Deans and TDC),  

The home location (by postcode) for young people accessing activities delivered in the Central area of the city is shown below in the map.

Activities delivered in the Central area have the highest proportion of young people from outside the ‘home area’ attending. 46% of visits to Central area activities were from young people resident in other areas, including East and West Sussex. The chart shows more detail on the proportions from individual areas.

The information provided evidence that BYC is well used and the open access activities /services are highly valued with young people travelling across the city to access this centre. BYC could currently be described as a central youth hub for young people living across the city with more specialist services available nearby. However, as already noted, the building is in urgent need of investment; if the funding is not found for the repairs, the findings from the review clearly show that this would be a significant loss to young people.

The council working in partnership with BYC and Onside is one option for developing the BYC and providing a state of the art, 21st century youth centre with a wide range of activities and services available in one place. This option has significant funding implications for the council, with £3.65 capital (with funding from the Youth Investment Fund, this could reduce to £2.1 million) to be identified and an additional £101k annual revenue and this is if the current central funding is combined. However, this would bring in a capital investment of £4.75 million capital into the city and £3 million revenue over 5 years.

Another option would be for the Council to support a £2 million fundraising campaign to refurbish BYC without forming a partnership with Onside.

The findings of the consultation noted that there was an undisputed desire for neighbourhood youth provision not to be impacted on as a result of any development of a central youth hub.

 

 

• To work with young people and providers on a plan for publicising the Youth Service Offer more widely, using methods that young people will use.
• Co-produce a Youth Service Inclusion Strategy with young people and stakeholders; then youth providers to produce action plans on how they will promote inclusion within their service.
• Improve co-ordination of general youth provision and specialist services that support young people, particularly around mental health, including council provided services.
• Acknowledge that whilst inclusion is a key priority, some groups of young people need and value space with other young people and staff with shared experiences.
• Work alongside young people to develop an action plan that will further the involvement of young people in making decisions on services that impact on them.
• Work alongside youth providers to seek opportunities to bring organisations together to collaborate on cross-city strategic and operational projects which will improve outcomes for Brighton & Hove’s young people
• That neighbourhood provision should remain and not be impacted on by any future investment towards a central youth hub
• Brighton Youth Centre to be recognised as a key youth provider in the city and for the Council to decide how to support with its refurbishment or rebuild

Consultation survey circulation list

Internal

• Adolescence and YOS
• RUOK
• Children In care Council
• Youth Council
• Youth participation
• Youth Employability Service
• Housing
• Inclusion Support Service
• Public Health
• Virtual School for Children in Care
• Youth Offending Service
• All Counsellors

Youth Providers

• Trust for Developing Communities
• Young Carers
• Brighton Youth Centre
• Tarner Community Project
• Hangleton & Knoll Project
• YMCA Downslink Group
• Black and Minority Ethnic Young Peoples Group
• Refugee Charity
• Allsorts
• Audio Active
• Crewclub
• ExtraTime
• Impact Initiatives
• Community Works
• Brighton & Hove Scouts
• Boy’s Brigade and Girls Association
• Kids Club
• Air Cadets
• Boys Brigade
• Mentivity
• Sensing friends
• Blatchington Court Trust
• Esteem
• TouchBase Centre
• Whitehead Ross
• Sew Fabulous
• Sussex prisoner families

120 sports and activities clubs listed on council website

Health

• All schools and colleges in Brighton & Hove
• Police
• Faith groups via Brighton & Hove inter-faith contact group

Organisations invited to run a young person’s focus group

• Trust for Developing Communities
• Hangleton & Knoll Project
• Brighton Youth Centre
• Black and Minority Ethnic Young People Project
• Allsorts
• Hummingbird
• ExtraTime
• Young Carers Project
• YMCA Downslink Group
• Impact Initiatives
• Virtual School for children in care
• Children in Care Council
• Youth Council

Stakeholder focus group invitation list

• All Brighton & Hove Councillors
• Adolescence Service, YOS and RUOK
• Children In care Council
• Youth Council and Youth Participation team
• Youth Employability Service
• Housing
• Inclusion Support Service
• Public Health
• Virtual School for Children in Care
• Youth Offending Service
• Trust for Developing Communities
• Young Carers
• Brighton Youth Centre
• Tarner Community Project
• Hangleton & Knoll Project
• YMCA Downslink Group
• Black and Minority Ethnic Young Peoples Project
• Refugee Charity
• Allsorts
• Audio Active
• Crewclub
• ExtraTime
• Impact Initiatives
• Community Works
• Police