Connexions delivered by CXL - Services provided for Children In Our Care and
Care Leavers
About CXL
CXL are funded through a commissioning arrangement to deliver the statutory
Connexions Service to young people aged 13-19 in Blackburn with Darwen. We work
closely with partners including schools, colleges and learning providers, as well as
Leaving Care, Youth Offending Service, Young Peoples Service and the Voluntary
Community and Faith Sector (VCFS) , to ensure the service we deliver is coherent and
places the well being of young people at the heart of our service. We also deliver a
number of projects that add value to Connexions including ‘NEET’ (Not in Education,
Employment and Training) projects designed by young people and the Local Public
Sector Board’s public sector apprenticeship project. This year we have begun to
contract manage elements of the Positive Activities programme which, as a result of our
policies, now include contracts to the 3rd sector, provision that importantly is now
increasingly influenced by young people’s views .
The Connexions Service
We provide a Universal Service to all young people aged 13-19 living or in education in
Blackburn with Darwen which means we work in every school, college, sixth form and
learning provider within the local authority area. We are responsible for

Supporting the delivery of the (NEET) target. We, with the support of our partners
have reduced NEET by over 31% over the last 3 years, bucking the national trend.

Increasing the overall ‘In learning’ rate.We now have the highest ‘In Learning’ rate of
our statistical neighbours, higher the sub regional and North West average

Reducing the numbers of young people ‘not known’ to the service by 22% over the
last three years now the lowest percentage amongst our 12 statistical neighbours as
defined by the Goverment.
In essence this means every young person in years 9-11 in school will get access to a
well qualified Personal Adviser, whether as part of a group or individually to receive
Information, Advice and Guidance to support the targets outlined above.
1
We have two centres accessible to young people and parents, which are sited in
Blackburn Town Centre and in Darwen Access Point. At these centres all young people
can have supported access to a variety of information around qualifications and careers,
receive high quality Information Advice and Guidance (IAG) from a qualified Personal
Adviser including employability support C.V support and help to access work or learning.
In addition to this, some young people will have greater support needs. They will be
provided with a named Personal Adviser whose job is to help them to make sense of
where they want to go and how to get there, ultimately working with the young person to
remove the barriers preventing them moving onwards and upwards. This is a more
‘Targeted Service which provides support which often includes the use of a Common
Assessment Framework, access to a Mental Health Worker and access to a variety of
health related services including BSURE as well as targeted provision.
Our Service to Children in Our Care and Care Leavers
All young people who fall into this category will be offered the above as a minimum. We
also

Receive information on children in our care from regulatory services and the
CIOC lead in schools for young people in years 9, 10 and 11 in schools in
Blackburn with Darwen.

Ensure we are kept up to date on changes to young people’s individual
circumstances and placements.

Automatically target these young people to ensure they receive a more intensive
package of support, tailored to their individual circumstances and needs. We
also attend team around the child meetings.

Personal Advisers (PA’s) attend CIOC reviews from years 9 to 11, with a
particular focus on year 11 to focus on transition to post 16 opportunities.

A PA attends the Lytham road Adolescent Support Unit staff meeting on a
regular basis and disseminates information as appropriate to ensure that young
people identified receive targeted support.
Once young people have left school
All young people in these groups are given a named Personal Adviser with a specific
focus of increasing Education, Employment or Training. Personal Advisers

Work intensively with this group of 16 – 19 year olds to enable them to access
and engage in appropriate learning opportunities.
2

Continue to support them in further education or training and provide a specific
mentoring service in college and Training 2000 to improve their retention. This
includes regular meetings with the college, focussed on this group.

The public sector apprenticeship project, conceived and initiated by CXL is a
great opportunity for young people, offering opportunities to try out work and
training by offering placements through the public sector, this project has made
huge positive differences to the young people, particularly for those involved with
the Leaving Care Team

Deliver tailored NEET courses to support the Leaving Care team, providing some
of the in house learning to support employability and independent living. This
was well received by the young people as well as the Leaving Care Team.

Work closely with the Leaving Care team, providing funding towards a Personal
Adviser who works solely with those leaving care, detailed management
arrangements and partnership agreements are in place for this.
The Near Future
We are looking forward to working more closely with the Social Work Practice Pilot and
are hoping to extend our support to include Positive Activities in the very near future.
We are proposing that a Positive Activities Key Worker be transferred into the pilot
team,to support young people in or leaving care, to enjoy the activities that so many
more fortunate youngsters get from their families. Why shouldn’t they have more fun
too!
CXL operates a nationally acclaimed Social Work Placement Service and are talking to
the pilot about utilising this additional resource to enhance the service offered.
.
Janine Blythe
Head of Service
Connexions delivered by CXL
12th February 2010
3