the children’s society in cheshire...based in offices in northwich the children's society...

The Children’s Society in Cheshire

Annual Report 2012 - 13

of 18

.

Contents 3 Programme

7 Outcomes

12 Partners

13 Case studies

16 Project details

The Children’s Society The Children’s Society is a leading national children’s charity committed to making childhood better for all children in the UK. We provide vital help for tens of thousands of children every year:

• We provide specialist support at a local level for those forgotten children who face the greatest danger and disadvantages in their daily lives; children who are unable to find the support they need anywhere else.

• Our work in children’s centres, schools and churches gives children the chance to develop the skills and confidence they need to make the most of their childhood and play a full part in their local communities.

• Our thought-provoking research influences everyone – from people like you and me to politicians and decision makers – about how to create real change.

• Our hard-hitting campaigns attract large public support and make institutions, government bodies and authorities take action to make childhood better for all children.

Our mission We make childhood better for all children in the UK.

Our vision We see a world where every child enjoys a good childhood.

Our values Love, Justice and Forgiveness.

of 18

The Programme Based in offices in Northwich, The Children's Society started to work in Cheshire in August 2006, following discussion with Cheshire County Council Youth Offending Team (YOT) regarding work with young people at risk of offending or anti-social behaviour using Youth Justice Board prevention funding. This funding ended March 2009 and the Cheshire YIP ceased to exist however thanks to grant funding from the Football Foundation and the Department of Health we were able to build on the work of the initial Youth Inclusion Project through a 3 year programme which ran from April 2009 to June 2012 using sport and leisure activities to promote social inclusion, increase young people’s confidence and self-esteem and thereby reduce the likelihood that young people will become involved in crime or anti-social behaviour. On-going funding for continued work with targeted young people was gained from the Big Lottery Reaching Communities and, building on our local contacts with partners and our increasing knowledge and experience of what works when building relationships with and influencing challenging young people, we re-launched the Youth Inclusion project and started working again with targeted young people in January 2013. In 2011 the scope of our work in Cheshire spread and The Children’s Society was commissioned by Cheshire West and Chester Children’s Services to provide an Advocacy and Independent Visiting Service to children and young people who are disabled or who are in the care of or are care leavers in Cheshire West and Chester. The Advocacy service enables children and young people to have their voice heard in meetings and assists them to resolve any concerns regarding their care, while an Independent Visitor provides an important voluntary befriending adult to link with a child or young person.

of 18

The services we provide

Children and Young People’s Advocacy and Independent Visiting Service.

Within Cheshire West and Chester we are commissioned to provide an Advocacy and Independent Visiting service to children and young people in care, to young people leaving care and to disabled children and young people. The children and young people may be in residential care, foster care or may be placed with members of their own family. The aim of the advocacy service, which is independent and acts on behalf of the child, is to empower children and young people, to enable them to have a say in decisions made about their lives, to ensure that their wishes and feelings are taken into account and to ensure that they are assisted in addressing any concerns or queries which they have about the service provided to them by the local authority. After meeting a child or young person an advocate will agree with them what action should be taken and then act on their behalf by, for example, attending a meeting and explaining their point of view or in writing a letter to their social worker. If a young person is involved in making a complaint about a service the advocate will, for example, advise them how the process works and help them to understand the different stages and options to resolve the situation at each stage. The aim of the Independent Visiting Service is to provide children in care with a trusted adult to visit, advise and befriend them. The Independent Visitor (IV) is a volunteer who, after recruitment checks and training, is matched to a child who they will then remain in contact with for some time. The IV will take time to get to know a child and they will spend time together in activities which they both enjoy. Research indicates that such a long-term safe and trusted independent adult can make a significant difference to the well-being of a child in care.

of 18

Young People’s Football and Youth Inclusion Project.

June 2012 saw the end of the three year “Move” football project which had worked with a targeted group of young people aged between 13 and 17 years who are referred to the service by schools, police, youth offending service, community safety wardens and children’s services. We celebrated the project, which had offered young people weekly football sessions in Northwich and Winsford, a range of exciting school holiday activities, issue based group sessions and one to one support advice and information, with a tournament and award ceremony which was attended by 35 young people. As one source of funding for our targeted youth support ended we received news of a successful Reaching Communities Big Lottery funding bid for work with young people, aged 10-15 years, in Northwich and Winsford. This service, which started with staff recruitment in the autumn of 2012, plans to build on the experience and local networks of the previous YIP and Football project. We are again offering weekly after school football sessions based at Rudheath in Northwich and at Woodford Lodge in Winsford, a range of positive leisure activities during school holidays and in addition we have started working with a group of girls, engaging them in activities one evening a week. These activities occupy young people at peak offending times in positive activities which promote emotional and physical wellbeing, raise self-esteem and develop trusting relationships with adult role models.

of 18

Who are the children and young people we work with?

Type of Service

What we do Main Clients

Number of children and young people

Targeted youth support Individual issue based Advocacy Service

Independent visiting service

We use sport and leisure to engage hard to reach young people, providing positive role models, opportunities to build relationships with trusted adults, and to explore issues such as a healthy lifestyle drug and alcohol use. We listen to children and young people and act on their behalf to ensure that they have a say in decisions which affect them, are involved in the planning of services and have an opportunity to raise any concerns they have about their lives. We recruit and train a team of volunteer Independent Visitors to befriend children and young people in order that the visitor can offer a stable long term relationship to a child or young person.

Referred young people age 10-15 from Northwich and Winsford

Children and young people who are in the care of, or have left the care of, Cheshire West and Chester Children’s Services. Children and young people who are in the care of, or have left the care of, Cheshire West and Chester Children’s Services.

Since January 2013 59 young people

have been referred to the service.

Attendance at the weekly sessions is between 8-12 young people per session.

From April 2012 to March 2013 we provided an advocacy service to 70 children and young people.

We recruited and trained15 independent visitors.

of 18

Outcomes

Key achievements

The last year has been another busy and exciting one for the programme here in Cheshire

• The end of the football project tournament was attended by 35 enthusiastic young people and the support and the impact of the project was a major factor in the successful funding bid for future similar work in the form of the Youth Inclusion Project.

• Funding was achieved for the renewed Youth Inclusion Project with a 3 year grant from The Big Lottery which enabled us to start a new project in November 2012. Local interest in and referrals to the project has been exceptionally good.

• New possibilities for local neighbourhood working are being developed with schools and housing trusts, with agreement in place for additional work in the form of a community based junior youth club and the possibility of additional work within schools being explored.

• Referrals to our Advocacy and Independent Visiting service have increased and we have had excellent examples of advocacy work with children and young people making a real difference. We now have a number of volunteers linked to young people in a befriending role, with stories of the very positive impact this is having on the young people concerned.

of 18

How does the work benefit young people?

The Youth Inclusion Project.

As result of our previous work with young people we know that, when part of our project, young people learn to be part of a team which increases their confidence and self-esteem, they have greater satisfaction within school and families report improved family relationships.

In our Big Lottery funding bid we stated that our project will have 3 specific outcomes:

• Firstly that young people with challenging behaviour will have access to support and will

have better behaviour, improved attendance and raised aspirations leading to better school outcomes.

• Secondly that young people will develop better life skills and will be less involved in anti-

social behaviour resulting in improved community cohesion and will-being. • Thirdly young people on the project improve their behaviour within the home and

community resulting in improved quality of life.

As the project progresses we will be using The Children’s Society Outcomes Wheel, a tool developed to enable project staff and young people to assess different areas of their life, to track the progress made by individual young people. We will then report to the Big Lottery on the difference our project is making to the lives of the young people with whom we are working.

of 18

Our Advocacy service

Children and Young People who have evaluated our service when their case is closed have said that

• their advocate listened to them

• they could trust their advocate

• their advocate made a difference

• their advocate helped them get their views across

Carers and professional colleagues are also asked for feedback and comments have been as follows…

“Stuart has worked with our service on a few cases and each time has proved a vital role in ensuring the child’s voice is heard and worked alongside ourselves to ensure the correct support plan is in place for the child.” Children’s Social Care team manager Cheshire West and Chester Council “Denise was extremely supportive to the young person and it was quite noticeable how quickly the young man built a rapport with Denise and felt comfortable with her. Not only was Denise an excellent advocate for the young person, but she was also very supportive of the placement.” Manager of a residential unit. “I have used advocates before and I am impressed by the responsiveness and effectiveness of the service. I have no hesitation in suggesting the use of an advocate if I feel that a young person is not being listened to or needs help clarifying thoughts and feelings or expressing them.” Reviewing Officer Cheshire West and Chester Council.

of 18

How we report our progress internally within The Children’s Society Information regarding individual young people and their involvement in the project is gathered through the CHYMS system which can monitor young people’s progress during their involvement with us. An important aspect of the internal and external reporting is the use of the Outcomes Wheel which is now used, with the service users, to look at the areas of the young person’s life where changes need to be made and then can be used to track progress made during the period of involvement with the service. In addition annual management visits to the programme ensure that the practice within the project is safe and conducted in line with The Children's Society safeguarding policy.

The progress of the programme is also monitored within The Children's Society through the operational plan which considers the internal and external work of the programme and its impact not only on young people and their families but also as a result of our wider role in strategic work with other agencies in Cheshire.

How we contribute to national outcomes We make sure that the interests of the young people are at the heart of our work and that we work with partner agencies to increase children and young people’s well-being and decrease the risk factors in young people’s lives including those which are associated with offending and anti-social behaviour. We are committed to making every child matter and believe that the programme contributes as follows:

Be Healthy – young people explore healthy lifestyle issues such as drug or alcohol use, have positive opportunities which increase self-esteem and impact on physical and mental health. Sport and leisure activities encourage the exercise necessary for physical and emotional well-being.

Stay safe –The Children's Society policy regarding safeguarding is strictly adhered to, all activities are risk assessed and all staff and volunteers on the project are recruited in line with safer recruitment policies in that CRB checks are always in place prior to start dates and 5 year references are taken up and written references are checked by telephone. Training and discussion regarding child protection is given priority with all staff undertaking safeguarding training within 6 months of appointment and all volunteers undertaking safeguarding training as part of the pre-start training process. In providing advocates and independent visitors to work with children and young people in care in Cheshire West and Chester we contribute to the safe care of that group of vulnerable young people. Links with the local Safeguarding Board ensure that our practice is linked to that of partner agencies.

Enjoy and achieve – Young people involved in the Football project are encouraged to participate and enjoy sport and leisure opportunities in the belief that this will ensure that they have a positive experience which will increase confidence, a sense of well-being and self-esteem which will decrease their likelihood of involvement in criminal offences or anti-social behaviour. Opportunities to accredit involvement are used as much as possible through the Youth Achievement and Duke of Edinburgh award scheme.

of 18

Make a positive contribution – young people are involved in the project and make it their own, their views are sought on project programmes and on staff recruitment. Young people are encouraged to become volunteers on the project and within the Advocacy service we have developed strong links with Cheshire West and Chester Children in Care Council.

Achieve economic well-being – Duke of Edinburgh and Junior Sports Leaders Awards encourage young people to value their achievements and provide evidence of their abilities to future employers. In addition the programme has offered work experience opportunities to young people with whom we work.

of 18

Partners The Children’s Society has strategic links in Cheshire through our membership of the Voluntary, Community and Faith Sector Children and Young People’s HUB which works to ensure that the Voluntary Sector has opportunities to work in partnership with statutory agencies.

The Children and Young People’s Advocacy and Independent Visiting Service is commissioned by Cheshire West and Chester and we report quarterly to Cheshire West on service delivery. In providing the service we work in partnership with colleagues from Cheshire West such as the Independent Reviewing Officers and the Children’s Rights and Involvement Team. We have already established strong links with young people representing children in care via the Children in Care Council.

The Youth Inclusion Project is funded by a Big Lottery Reaching Communities grant. We report regularly to the funders on the progress of the programme to ensure that we are continuing to meet the agreed objectives.

At an operational level we work in partnership with agencies such as schools, youth offending service, social care, police and housing trusts. In particular we have strong links with local secondary schools and Weaver Vale Housing Trust with whom we are developing a community based junior youth club.

of 18

Case Studies

Jane, with her three sisters, is in the care of Cheshire West and Chester and lives with foster carers. Although Jane is settled in some ways she remains very quiet and under confident. Jane’s social worker was aware that Jane’s early experience of neglect and abuse by her parents was really having an effect on her ability to make friends and have a wide range of interests and activities. Although Jane got on well with her carers they were also looking after several other children, and as Jane has no contact with any of her family members it seemed to be really important that she had someone she could rely on to spend time with. Jane was referred to The Children’s Society Advocacy and Independent Visiting service in Cheshire as it was thought that an Independent Visitor to befriend Jane would really help her to develop as a young person. Following a visit from a project worker to discuss how this could help Jane agreed to meet Alison, a Children’s Society volunteer who was happy to meet Jane regularly and do interesting fun, activities with her. Jane and Alison now regularly meet and have become really good friends and are looking forward to being mates for a long time to come.. *name and details have been changed and the photo is posed by a model.

of 18

Chris aged 11 was referred to the Youth Inclusion Project by the pastoral support worker at his school who hoped that the project would improve his confidence, self-esteem and help reduce his increasing involvement in community anti-social behaviour. Chris’ was regularly being excluded from school because of fighting with fellow pupils and threatening and assaulting staff. This was having a bad effect on Chris’ performance at school. Social services were also concerned about Chris due to alcohol related domestic violence in his home and after a recent loss of a family member Chris was not optimistic about his life or his future. Chris now attends the after school football sessions on a regular basis, comes to school holiday activities such as canoeing and is now a popular member of the project. He also has support from a Children’s Society volunteer who acts as a mentor and gives him the chance to talk about any worrying issues he may have at home or in school. Chris has also formed positive relationships with project staff and after one activity session he disclosed that he was being physically abused within the home. With the support of Children’s Society staff, working alongside both school and social care things are now starting to get better for him. As well as the positive experience of involvement in the Youth Inclusion Project Chris is receiving further support from school regarding his medical special educational needs and his parents are awaiting support from alcohol services. Chris continues to attend both the football and mentoring sessions participating with an unrivalled level of enthusiasm and motivation. He is also about to start going to a new community youth centre provision provided by The Children’s Society and feels that positive steps are in place in school, at home and his local area to improve his life chances. *name and details have been changed and the photo is posed by a model.

of 18

David was referred to the advocacy service for assistance is establishing his views and needs for his future care. David is a young boy who is autistic young person with associated challenging behaviours and whose main sources of communication is Makaton and PECS , both ways of communicating with children who are unable to use verbal communication. At the time of referral to our service David was in foster care but it was clear that he needed a degree of care which made it unlikely that he could live in a family home. David’s advocate, Stuart started to spend time with him in various situations, including School, home, respite and during journeys. From this Stuart was able to build a picture of David and was able to recognise signs of distress and patterns of behaviour, and begin to communicate with him due to increasing familiarity. Through an emotions board Stuart worked with David on recognition of feelings/emotions. The information gained was used to work as part of a multi-disciplinary team tasked with identifying suitable residential accommodation and planning David’s move. By being involved in this Stuart could make sure that David’s voice was heard throughout the process. David eventually made a successful move into a specialist residential provision and Stuart kept in touch with him for a while to make sure he had successfully settled in. Throughout the case team-working was vital and the advocacy involvement ensured that David’s needs were uppermost at all times.

*name and details have been changed and the photo is posed by a model.

of 18

What we hope to achieve in the next year

• Continue to deliver the Advocacy and Independent Visiting service within Cheshire West and Chester working in partnership with colleagues in the local authority to deliver the services in line with the agreed service specification.

• To successfully re-tender to extend the Advocacy contract beyond March 2014.

• To develop the Big Lottery Reaching Communities funded Youth Inclusion Project and deliver positive sports and leisure activities, working with young people in the area and encouraging more young people to join activities and enabling young people to increase their contribution and involvement through accreditation, training and volunteer opportunities.

• Seek further opportunities to extend our role in Cheshire through appropriate

tender applications.

Programme Staff

Barbara McDade - Programme Manager (until June 2013)

John Chandler – Programme Manager (from July 2013)

Gina Howard - Administrative Manager

Paul O’Neill – Youth Inclusion Project Coordinator

Graham Dodd – Youth Inclusion Project Worker

Shantey Francis – sessional project worker

Sarah Gee – sessional project worker

Tracey Craze – Children’s Rights Advocacy Coordinator

Denise Coy - Sessional Advocate

Stuart Chaplin – Sessional Advocate

of 18

Contact details The Children’s Society in Cheshire Unit 1 Theatre Court London Road Northwich Cheshire CW9 5HB Tel: 01606 333589 E-mail [email protected]

The Children’s Society Edward Rudolf House Margery Street London WC1X 0JL

Charity Registration No. 221124

t: 020 7841 4400

f: 020 7841 4500

www.childrenssociety.org.uk

Donations If you would like to make a donation to our work you have read about in this report, please call our Supporter Action Line on 0845 300 1128

www.childrenssociety.org.uk

Photo credits: Photograph p13 posed by models | © Shutterstock Photographs p3,9 modelled for The Children's Society | © Larry Bray Photographs p4,14,15 modelled for The Children's Society | © Laurence Dutton Photograph p5 young people on football project. The Children’s Society in Cheshire is a programme of The Children’s Society. Charity Registration No 221124.

http://www.childrenssociety.org.uk/

http://www.childrenssociety.org.uk/

the children’s society in cheshire...based in offices in northwich the children's society...

Documents