Job Club (Bristol)
Partners involved - Run directly with the Youth Service (and indirectly through the support of the BS7 partnership).
Brief overview - The club was set up as a response to community concerns about Not in Education, Employment or Training (NEET) young people in the area and also to try and move on those young people over the age remit supported by the Youth Service.
Through a combination of contact details (from the BS7 partnership and the Not in Education, Employment or Training (NEET) list of young people in the Lockleaze area) and informed knowledge of the area, young people are targeted with a view to moving them on in to positive outcomes.
This has been an evolving project, constantly changing to meet the needs and access requirements of the young people in the area. Initially, using the North Bristol Advice Centre, an open access approach was trialled. This then changed to targeted invites which then moved on to a combination of targeted invites, outreach and door knocking. After reviewing these methods, the project now uses the Blake Centre as a base and focuses mainly on targeted door knocking, backed up by Youth Worker outreach. We envision that this will evolve further as the Blake Centre usage is increased and more opportunities are created for it to be used as a young person centred base.
Evaluation - As the project is ongoing there is no paper evaluation process employed. Instead, it is monitored continually through the BS7 partnership meetings, supervision and success rates in locating and moving on young people. Also, informally through ongoing conversations with the Senior Youth Worker as we work.
Transition Conference (North Somerset)
Connexions supported the organisation of the Transition Conference held on 18 June 2008. The conference was aimed at all children above Year 8 in North Somerset, with learning disabilities and difficulties (those with a Statement of Special Educational Needs). It focused on providing lots of information to young people and parents about all the different choices they have when leaving school, around housing, employment and social activities.
North Somerset Council's executive member for Children and Young People's Services, Cllr Jeremy Blatchford, said: "One of the interesting facts about this conference is that it has brought together all the different departments in relation to children services, schools, the council's children and adult services and Connexions and has been fully supported by local parents groups. The conference has been arranged in response to feedback from parents in North Somerset asking for more centralised information, support and guidance for parents and young people around the transition process from school. Some of our guest speakers are national leads in their areas of expertise and it is very exciting to have so many high profile speakers at one conference."
The conference had some local sponsorship from North Somerset Business Link and organisations who attended on the day including: SREC, Jobcentre Plus, North Somerset People First, Your Say Advocacy, Knightstone Housing Association, NS Housing, Key Ring, national representation from Mencap and the National Autistic Society, North Somerset Supportive Parents and Weston College.
A number of local councillors attended along with the chairman of the council, Cllr Ian Porter. Young people from local special schools showcased some of the work they have been involved in including art displays.
Gender Equality Project (Bristol)
This project has two main aims:
- Increase take up of Young Apprenticeships in gender biased options by the opposite sex.
- Inform planning for IAG 2009/10 for Year 9 prior to Diploma delivery.
The partner agencies involved are - EBP@Connexions West of England (Project leader- Carolyn Griffiths), CYPS (Bristol City Council) and the City of Bristol College.
Some of the activities:
- All Year 9 students across Bristol will attend a ‘Careers Aspirations and Gender Equality’ theatre production.
- Taster Days workshops for young people on Young Apprenticeships and challenging traditional gender models. These will ensure all the young people who attend will get a feel for a variety of courses, especially ‘non traditional’ in terms of gender.
- Evening sessions for parents/carers (following the Taster Days) to support and provide IAG on Young Apprenticeships and gender stereotypes.
- Quantitative and qualitative data collection.
- Pre and post evaluations on Taster Days with the young people involved.
- Perception survey with parents/carers before and after the evening sessions.
Transition Team at Fairfield School (Bristol)
Connexions Personal Advisers work with staff at Fairfield School, Bristol Drugs Project, Brook Outreach, School Nurses, the Youth Service, the Community Police Service (based in school) and the NSPCC. The school really values this work as part of their extended school partnership.
Parents with Prospects (North Somerset)
Connexions helped facilitate the set up of an accredited course for young parents. This was done in conjunction with the Meriton Centre in Bristol, Milton Baptist Church and was delivered by Michelle Nicholas from the Youth Service.
Valuing Parents (North Somerset)
Connexions helped set up an accredited course for young parents. It is delivered in the Oldmixon Family Centre by the Meriton Centre. Connexions and the Youth Service provide the support for the young people and encourage suitable people onto the course.
IAG Housing Project (North Somerset)
Connexions worked closely with the North Somerset Council Housing advice team to set up a series of workshops for Year 10/11 students in schools to highlight the realities of leaving home and homelessness. They were delivered by the Housing Advice Officer and supported by Connexions (both during the workshop and as a point of contact within school for housing issues).
Nightstop Project (North Somerset)
Connexions worked with Knightstone Housing to support the set up of the Nightstop project within North Somerset.
North Somerset Employability Partnership (North Somerset)
This project is being lead by Mencap and has input from Connexions, CTPLD, Weston College, Brandon Trust, LSC and the National Autistic Society.
Partnerships for Inclusion Conference – February 2009 (North Somerset)
Connexions will be delivering a joint workshop with the Disabled Children’s Team and the Transitional Social worker at Weston College’s conference.
