Young Parents’ EET Strategy – Leicestershire County
August 2009 – December 2010
One of the key targets of the Teenage Pregnancy Strategy is to increase the number of young mothers aged 16-19 in education, training or employment, to 60% by December 2010.
‘Providing better support for teenage parents presents many challenges. We need to find new and innovative ways of engaging the most vulnerable young parents. Agencies need to work
together, recognising that teenage parents are vulnerable to a wide range of poor outcomes that no single agency can tackle on its own. And we need professionals to understand that
services designed for older parents will not always be appropriate when it comes to teenage parents, remembering that teenage parents are young people too.’ (Teenage Parents Next Steps
2007).
Progress so far:
In August 2009 38% (131) of young mothers aged 16-19 in Leicestershire were in EET. By December 2010 this figure needs to be 60% (on current figures this equates to a further 206 young
mothers returning to EET).
The Young Parents’ EET strategy provides a clear outline of activity required to support the achievement of the EET Target. This Strategy will run alongside the current Teenage Pregnancy
Action Plan and supports it by providing more detail to certain actions as well as introducing additional ones which have come to light since the Action Plan was signed off in March 2009. The
success of this strategy relies wholly on effective and accountable partnership working and capacity building, to support positive engagement with young parents, as well as a range of high
quality, accredited provision which offers choice and realistic, sustainable progression routes. Delivery of this strategy is the responsibility of the Teenage Pregnancy Partnership Board.
1.
Marketing
The effective marketing of opportunities for young parents to all stakeholders will have a significant impact on referrals from other stakeholders and engagement rates of young parents.
Action
Resources
Deadline
Responsibility
1.1.
Marketing Plan
Development of a marketing plan to support Young Parent’s EET Strategy . This is to be linked into and supported
£2K marketing
Marketing plan
VS/BE to
by the TP Communications Group and their work plan.
budget required to
developed by
develop plan
support wider
21/09/09
KP/BE to
marketing activities
provide link to
Communications
Group
Brochure of opportunities for young parents 09/10 published
£5K
Nov 09
VS / BE
The Specialist support available (e.g. from Family Information Service, YPOW and Connexions PAs), to assist young
parents in overcoming barriers to EET is promoted via the brochure and through any training events for
practitioners e.g. Learn and Lunch
City/County Stakeholder Conference to launch EET strategy, brochure of opportunities and referral pathway
Development of a bank of images and case studies to demonstrate positive activities – 1 detailed case study to be
developed by each learning provider quarterly
Marketing Plan agreed and disseminated to stakeholders via TP Board
Nov 09/Ongoing
VS/KP
£1500
16 Nov 09
KP / VS
Case study Proforma
Quarterly
06/10/09
VS / Learning
Providers
KR / VS
Nov 09
Quarterly
Nov 09
SV/James
Hunter
BE / PA / VS
March 10
TM
Jan 10
KP
Online version of Brochure of opportunities to be included on The Jitty website with case studies & images of
positive activities to be added quarterly
Use of facebook – Social networking recruitment policy developed
1.2.
Involvement of Young Parents
1 work placement / employment opportunity for a young parent within the marketing department of
Leicestershire County Council
Media training for 5 young parents
£350
2.
Referral / Recruitment
Engagement with young parents is often demanding in terms of time and resources. An individual professional who develops good rapport with a young parent regardless of context (e.g.
health visitor, midwife) is often the best person to support engagement in wider activities. A multi-agency approach to referrals & recruitment will ensure increased ‘reach’ and a greater
conversion rate from individual referral to placement on a programme.
Action
Resources
Deadline
Responsibility
2.1.
Referrals
Development of a referral pathway and a shared referral form to enable appropriate referral of young parents to
services/opportunities.
a. Referral of pregnant young women to Connexions/Youth Service/Midwifery Services (this should be as early as
possible in the antenatal period to ensure needs are met and improve likelihood of engagement post-natally)
b. Referral of young parents who want to do something but are not sure what. Connexions to offer a single point
of contact for all referrals and disseminate them to partners / providers.
c. Referral of young parents onto specific learning provision via support services/learning providers. Connexions
to offer a single point of contact for all referrals and disseminate them to partners / providers.
Establish baseline referral numbers
Information about available provision and referral process disseminated to stakeholders via Marketing event and
then via the Achieve Economic Well-being working group who meet bi-monthly
2.2
Nov 09
Cx / All partners
to implement
Oct 09
KP / VS
Brochure (1.1);
guidelines for
referrals (above)
EET Event – 16
Nov 09
AEWB Bi-monthly
meetings
KP/VS
Marketing Plan (1.1)
Referral procedure
(see 2.1)
Referral procedure
(2.1)
Commissioning
specification
Ongoing
All identified
agencies
Ongoing
Individual
referrers
ES / VS / Learning
Providers
Recruitment
Increase awareness of opportunities through the delivery of the marketing plan
Improve practitioners awareness and understanding of opportunities and facilitate appropriate referrals through
the implementation of the referral pathway
Learning Providers are tasked with promoting their programmes to increase recruitment numbers for which
targets will be set (see section 4 Provision and Progression)
Develop peer recruitment approaches – work with providers to utilise this successful recruitment model. 6 young
parents to be supported in this role
Active promotion of provision through all Youth Service Young Parent Groups and any 1:1 contact
Reviewed at ¼ly
quality control
meetings
March 10
Ongoing
Providers with
support from
Cx/YS
SV
Locality Young Parent Outreach worker roles to support targeted recruitment (locality targets will be put in place)
2.3.
Monitoring & Tracking
Tracking, monitoring and evaluation of referrals, including:
Data from providers /
Profile / Partners
Ongoing
Cx/YS/Childrens
Centres
Quarterly
Cx / TP Data
Analyst/Providers
a. Source & frequency – to identify agencies not making referrals
b. Effectiveness of recruitment methods
c. The effectiveness of the process matching individuals to provision (link to retention rate monitoring)
d. Equality and diversity – to ensure representation of vulnerable groups
e. Conversion rate of referrals to placement on learning provision
3.
Retention
To avoid ‘NEET churn’, it is essential that young parents are supported effectively prior to, during and after a programme of learning to ensure barriers to participation are removed and
positive progression routes are planned for.
Action
Resources
Deadline
Responsibility
3.1.
Support for young parents
All providers are issued with ‘Guidelines for supporting young parents’
Nov 09
KP
All providers delivering dedicated provision are monitored against the Guidelines.
Monitoring forms
Quarterly
VS / Learning
monitoring visits
Providers
Other providers eg FE are asked to self evaluate against the guidance and draw up plans of action to improve their
recruitment and retention of young parents
Better promotion of specialist support available for young parent’s increases Care to Learn take up by xx%
3.2
Self Evaluation
March 2010
C2L uptake
monitoring data
Ongoing
VS / KP/
Providers
Cx / KP
All providers are given information to enable them to confidently refer young parents to local sexual health services
Ongoing
CSSP
Monitoring & Tracking
Quarterly monitoring forms for providers will request the identification of barriers which young parents have
experienced to accessing EET. This information will be used to inform future recruitment and planning
Tracking, monitoring and evaluation of retention rates; cross-referrals and progression
Quarterly
monitoring visits
VS / Learning
Providers
Quarterly
Cx / TP Data
Analyst
4.
Provision and progression routes
A range of flexible learning options offered by a variety of providers across the county will ensure choice for young parents in the type and level of learning they access. Ensuring an offer of
positive progression opportunities is key to ensuring that young parent’s can remain in EET and access mainstream provision All providers will be given targets around accreditation, as well
evidence of learner retention and progression. See Appendix 1 for programme details of provision, the opportunities available take account of a range of needs ie under and post 16 young
parents, short and long term programmes delivered in formal and informal settings.
Action
Resources / Funding
Deadline
Responsibility
Source
4.1
Family Learning
£25.5K Funding
Programme Start
VS / Provider
3 further family learning programmes to be delivered in the county. Each programme must target at least 6 learners allocated (LSC Flexible dates Oct 09, Jan
Funds 08/09)
10, March 10
1 will run at Wigston Children’s Centre, 1 in North West Leicestershire, 1 in Blaby District
4.2
Optymum
£20K Funding
Oct 10
Referral
45, 16 – 18 year old young parents to enrol on the Optymum Programme between Sept 09 and Oct 2010
allocated (LSC Reform
agents and
30 19 year olds to enrol on Optymum Programme
budget 09/10)
Leicester
College
4.3
Young Mums & Dads to Be / Parents with Prospects
Providers to commence delivery – this will be delivered from: Stephenson College, North Warwickshire & Hinckley
Colleges/Children’s
Jan 2010
College, Loughborough College and South Leicestershire College as well as from Children’s Centres in Melton and
Centres to deliver and
Market Harborough
fund learner places
50 learners to enrol on the Young Mums and Dads to Be and/or Parents with Prospects programme
March 11
FE Colleges
4.4
4.5
4.6
4.7
4.8
4.9
4.10
Talent 4 Life
15 learners to enrol on childcare & catering programmes at Talent for Life
Parents Under 20
8 learners to enrol on Parents Under 20 programme
High Achieving Young Parents
2 young parents to take part in the HAYP Project
ESF Provision
67 learners to enrol on ESF courses
Youth Service Provision
12 young parents groups operate within the county, target of 6 16 – 19 year old mothers attending each group and
working towards an accredited outcome
72 young parents engaged
Turning Point Women’s Centre
5 young mothers to take part in Turning Point Women’s Centres programmes – including Takes2, ‘Big Sister’ peer
mentoring and ‘Keeping it real’
ESTA Programme
4 workers trained to deliver the ESTA Programme
4 young parents trained to deliver the ESTA Programme
Delivery of the ESTA Programme a minimum of 4 times in county hotspot wards
ESF
Nov 10
Talent 4 Life
Connexions VCS
Grants Programme
Funding allocated
(LSC Flexible Funds
08/09)
ESF
Nov 10
Nov 10
Emerald
Centre
Cx
Dec 10
Cx
Supported by Youth
Service
Nov 10
SV
Dec 10
TPWC
Jan 2010
Jan 2010
Nov 10
Cx
Cx
Cx
£3k (allocated by Cx)
4.11
4.12
Monitoring and Evaluation
Quarterly monitoring and quality control meetings with learning providers
Bi-annual provider meetings to share best practice, identify common issues and potential progression opportunities
50% of TP learning providers will achieve the silver quality award
Progression routes
Employment Opportunities
A range of extended work placements, apprenticeships and employment opportunities are sourced for young
Parents
Agencies commit to providing development opportunities for young parents by training them as sessional staff:
3 young parents are recruited, supported and trained as sessional staff by Connexions and the Youth Service
Quarterly
Six-monthly
Nov 10
Nov 10
VS
VS
Cx
Cx/YS
5.
Data
The clear and effective use of data to monitor progress towards targets and effectiveness of practice is essential to allow us to know how well we are progressing towards the overall target.
Action
Resources
Deadline
Responsibility
5.1
Recording
Data to be collected around location and destination of all young parents and pregnant teenagers (including school
Quarterly
All Providers /
age) in Leicestershire
Cx / TP Data
Analyst
Data projections around number required to achieve 60% target compiled
Quarterly
Cx
Data from referral forms (see 2.1) to be collated and recorded
5.2
Quarterly
Cx / TP Data
Analyst
Monthly
VS / TP Data
Analyst
Quarterly
VS / TP Data
Analyst /
Learning
Providers
VS / TP Data
Analyst
Monitoring
Regular monitoring of data to measure:
a. Progress towards 60% EET Target
This data is to be shared quarterly with stakeholders and key partnership forums eg TP Board, County NEET strategy
Group and PSA 14 Group
b. Recruitment, retention, qualification attainment & progression
(To ensure that learning providers are adequately meeting young parent’s needs and are supporting them into
progressive opportunities)
c. Identification of ‘hotspot’ wards to inform targeting
Monitoring Forms
Quarterly
d. Consideration of the EET and NEET cohort in terms of:
Age
Ethnicity
LDD status
YOS involvement
Substance misuse
Domestic Violence
Carers
Lone Parents
e. Issues / barriers faced by young parents
5.3
5.4.
Quarterly
Learning
Providers / Cx
Qualitative & quantitative evaluation of learning provision; engagement & recruitment methods, with input from all
stakeholders
Monitoring Forms
Quarterly
25 detailed case studies compiled from a selection of young parents taking part in different learning provision
Case Study Proforma
Ongoing – 1 each
quarter from each
learning provider
Learning
Providers / VS
/ KP / TP Data
Analyst / TP
Board
Learning
Providers / VS
Data recording
guidelines
Oct 09
Evaluation
Quality Control
Quarterly
monitoring mtgs /
bi-annual provider
meetings
Cx / TP Data
Analyst
Learning
Providers / VS
Involvement of Young People
All young parents recruited to learning programmes are asked to feedback on their experience of recruitment and
participation
5.6.
VS / TP Data
Analyst /
Learning
Providers
Monitoring Forms
Guidelines around data recording developed & disseminated to all stakeholders as part of the implementation of the
referral process and referral form
Identification and dissemination of best practice from providers to providers and other partners, collation of these
examples will be via the quarterly monitoring forms and meetings.
5.5.
Monitoring Forms
Research
Commission research to inform future plans and commissioning around the needs and wants of the cohort
ESF Programme evaluation to contribute to research
Programme
evaluation
questionnaires
£5.5k
Learning
Providers / Cx
/ Young
Parent
Stakeholder
Group
Oct 10
Cx
6.
Accountable Partnership Working
This target must be seen as a shared responsibility. Clear targets and responsibilities need to be outlined, agreed with stakeholders and reviewed regularly to avoid too much move away from
the trajectory.
Action
6.1.
Learning Providers
Targets outlined in relation to recruitment, retention, qualification attainment & progression
Resources
Deadline
Responsibility
Commissioning
specification
Ongoing
Quarterly
Learning
Providers / Cx
VS
Monthly
VS/KP/TM
Per TP Board
meeting schedule
Tony
Mulhearn
Quarterly monitoring & quality control meetings with learning providers
6.2
County Board – Teenage Pregnancy
Monthly reporting against the trajectory to the Partnership Board. This will highlight any significant issues affecting
progress and ensure a speedy resolution of issues identified.
Updates presented to TP Board meetings as a standing agenda item to monitor agency contributions; identify and
plan to overcome risks, and to offer support & recommendations towards target achievement
TP EET Strategy, Risk
Log
7.
Involvement of Young People
Young parents must be involved wherever appropriate to ensure effective consultation and participation is sought and progression opportunities are offered by stakeholders
Action
Resources
Deadline
7.1.
Consultation
Young parents are offered the opportunity to feed back on the Young Parent EET strategy through involvement of
Ongoing
the Young Parents Forum
Young parents are offered the opportunity to inform the supporting Marketing Plan through involvement of
the Young Parents Forum
7.2.
KP/ Young
Parents
Forum
VS / Young
Parents
Forum
Evaluation
All young parents taking part in learning programmes have the opportunity to provide evaluative feedback
7.3
Ongoing
Responsibility
Programme
questionnaires
Ongoing
Learning
Providers
Young Parents Forum to form basis of young parents stakeholder group
8.
Young Fathers
Although the target for the National Strategy is focused around young mothers aged 16 – 18, young fathers are a marginalised group in terms of targeted support and provision. In terms of
improving outcomes for young families and achieving the young mothers EET target it is important that there is a section to address the needs of young fathers as a separate group.
Action
Resources
Deadline
Responsibility
8.1.
Data
Continue to provide locally sourced information around engagement in EET by recording young fathers destination
Ongoing
Cx
data
Increase the number of young fathers known by ?%
Ongoing
Cx
8.2.
Data around barriers / issues facing young fathers to be incorporated in data recording for young mothers
Ongoing
Cx
Engagement
Locality Fathers workers to engage with young fathers, ensure information about them is shared with Connexions
and that they are referred to provision as appropriate
Ongoing
YS
Key
KP
Katie Phillips, Teenage Pregnancy Co-ordinator, Leicestershire County Council
VS
Vicki Smith, Teenage Pregnancy & Parents Co-ordinator, Connexions Leicester
Shire
BE
Bill Edwards, Websites & Marketing Manager, Connexions Leicester Shire
SV
Santosh Verma, Teenage Pregnancy Co-ordinator, Leicestershire County
Council Youth Service
James
Hunter
Manager of the Jitty website
PA
Phil Atkinson, IT Manager
TM
Tony Mulhearn, Assistant Director for Universal Services, CYPS Leicestershire
County Council
ES
Emma Southern, Corporate Business Development Manager
Cx
Connexions Leicester Shire
YS
Leicestershire County Council Youth Service
YPOW
Young Parent Outreach Worker(s)
CSSP
Community Safer Sex Project