Agenda and minutes

www.swansea.gov.uk/disclosuresofinterests

In accordance with the Code of Conduct adopted by the City and County of Swansea, no interests were declared.

To approve & sign the Minutes of the previous meeting(s) as a correct record.

RESOLVED that the minutes of the meeting held on 14 September 2016 be agreed as a correct record

Gavin Evans, Helen Gaht and Michelle Baker outlined to the CAC the background to the services provided by the Tier 1 Outreach Team.

They indicated the team’s main function is to establish the whereabouts of unknown young people and those that have been lost to the system. The team works in close partnership with Careers Wales to contact and engage young people and encourage them to get back into education/training/employment where appropriate.

They detailed and outlined the following areas of the teams work:

·       Which young people are in Tier 1

·       Why it is important to find and support young people

·       Methods of how young people are found and engaged by staff

·       Wide ranging,complex and varied type of issues encountered when young people are located

·       What we do to assist and encourage them when we’ve found them

·       Numbers of Tier 1 young people in Swansea compared to All Wales average

·       The fact that some young people don’t want help and don’t currently want to be in the system

·       Information sharing with Careers Wales and other Local Authorities if required

·       Movement between tiers once the young people have been found and their needs identified

·       Impact on NEET figures from Tier 1 movement

·       Ability to pick up and engage young people from their “destination” stated when they leave school

Members asked questions regarding the subject areas above to which Officers responded accordingly.

Richard Henderson and Caroline Dyer gave an overview and snapshot of their service’s involvement with young people including the following areas:

·       Number of young people currently on statutory orders

·       Numbers of pupils currently of school age involved with the YOT

·       Number of young people currently in custody

·       Historical reduction in young people involved with YOT over the last ten years

·       Type and seriousness of offences of young people involved with YOT

·       Ongoing liaison with Outreach Team

·       Work of children in custody working group

·       Sentence/education/release planning initiatives in place

·       Weekend support services and availability of support staff

·       Secure accommodation availability

·       Good relationship and links with Parc prison and the “nurturing” and “learning pathway” schemes in place there

·       Building skills project

·       Very complex family/personal circumstances and challenges around the young people associated with the YOT team

·       Restorative practice and targeting of help to schools with high exclusion levels

·       Good work of the resettlement & integration panels

·       Links with other agencies/organisations like Barnardo’s

·       Mentoring & support schemes

·       Need to increase preventative work

·       Improving use of reduced timetables to reengage and reintegrate pupils

·       Need to improve the use of VAP data in more early identification of potential NEETs and target specific support measures

·       Need for alternative curriculum

·       ACES approach linked to behavioural characteristics

·       Need to further improve links with other agencies, Police etc

Members of the CAC and Officers discussed at the length the issues above, with Members asking questions of the Officers who responded and provided answers/information accordingly.

Members discussed the updates to the draft work programme for the Committee.

RESOLVED that the amended work programme be noted