U n i q u e o p p o r t u n i t i e s f o r u n i q u e yo u n g p e o p l e

Yo u t h P ro j e c t

S t r a t e g i c P l a n2 0 0 8 - 2 0 1 1

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Contents

Introduction 3

Foreword 4

Principles and Values 6

Strategic Aim 1 7

Strategic Aim 2 8

Strategic Aim 3 9

3 Year Objectives 10

Business Quality Assurance 11

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I n t r o du c t i o n

P R I S M Y o u t h P r o j e c t i s a n i n n o v a t i v e , d y n a m i c a n dc r e a t i v e o r g a n i s a t i o n w h i c h p r o v i d e s a l t e r n a t i v e

e d u c a t i o n a n d a c c r e d i t e d y o u t h w o r k i n i t i a t i v e s t ot h o s e y o u n g p e o p l e w h o s t r u g g l e t o a c h i e v e i n m o r e

c o n v e n t i o n a l s e t t i n g s . W e o f f e r g u i d a n c e a n d s u p p o r tw h i c h e m p o w e r s y o u n g p e o p l e t o m o v e i n t o

m a i n s t r e a m e d u c a t i o n a l , e m p l o y m e n t a n d t r a i n i n go p p o r t u n i t i e s .

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Foreword

PRISM Youth Project i s now moving into i ts four th year fo l lowing i ts change ofname from Bradford Pol ice Club for Young People . In addit ion to help ing someof the most d isengaged young people to improve the qua l i ty of the ir l ives , we arenow working to suppor t them in achiev ing B Tec and NVQ qual i f icat ions .

PRISM Youth Project cont inues to be more than a tra in ing provider, more than aguidance agency and more than a drop- in centre for young people with personal ,soc ia l or emotional problems. I t of fers a hol ist ic exper ience which cons idersevery young person as a unique indiv idua l with unique needs and uniquepotent ia l . Over the past three years we have increased the numbers of youngpeople with whom we work and the number of programmes that we are ab le toof fer. However, as the organisat ion has grown we have ensured that thepr inc ip les and va lues we brought from our two or ig ina l organisat ions cont inueto underpin a l l our working pract ice .

We judge our success not only on the impact which we have on the l ives ofindiv idua l young people , but a lso on our ab i l i ty to suppor t the key indicatorssuch as the number of people not in educat ion, employment and tra in ing , thenumber of school exc lus ions , the teenage pregnancy rate and the re-of fendingrate amongst young people . We work hard to promote good c i t izenship in theyoung people we suppor t .

Although we remain a char i ty which specia l i ses in working with par t icu largroups of young people we have , and intend to cont inue , to of fer more andbetter ser v ices to young people . One of our great successes in the past year hasbeen the Via Media project where 15 h igh- f ly ing Musl im young people were takento Auschwitz as par t of an 'A ' leve l type programme to look at atrocit ies acrossa l l re l ig ions and cultures and break down barr iers of myths and the need forv io lence to in f luence change .

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We recognise that we must mainta in a profess iona l approach to the managementand organisat ion of our bus iness and in order to do so, have developed a robustin frastructure to suppor t the organisat ion. In addit ion we encourage sta f f toident i fy the ir own development needs which we endeavour to meet .

This , our second Strateg ic P lan , recognises our pr ior i t ies of improved ser v iceprovis ion to the young people who access our organisat ion and of the cont inueddevelopment of PRISM Youth Project as a profess iona l and forward th ink ingorganisat ion.

Paul CravenDirector, PRISM Youth Project

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We are committed and passionate about:

RESPECTRespect for all young people and their families, for the many communities whichmake up our society and for all those adults and agencies who work with and onbehalf of young people in difficult and demanding circumstances.

POTENTIALAchieving the potential of young people no matter at what point they are startingfrom.

UNIQUENESSTreating all young people as unique - working with young people individually or insmall groups, being non-judgemental, inclusive and empowering.

VALUESRaising confidence and self-esteem, passing on the values of respect and tolerancein the multi-cultural society in which we work.

INNOVATIONUsing innovative techniques to achieve the results that we want.

PARTNERSHIPSWorking collaboratively with partner agencies - we believe that we can achievemore in partnership with others than we can by working alone.

COMMITMENTRecognising the expertise and commitment of our staff, rewarding themappropriately and offering relevant training and development opportunities toenable them to progress in their careers.

Principles and Values

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PRISM Youth Project aims to offer unique opportunities and holistic provision whichempowers some of the most disengaged young people locally to make demonstrableimprovements to the quality of their lives.

What have we achieved so far?

In the past 3 years we have achieved the following:

Engaged more young people who are NEET or at risk of NEET

Engaged more of the hardest to reach including young people in the youth justice and social care system

Provided a wide range of accredited youth work initiatives

Achieved additional, and a wider variety of, accreditations of young people's work

Offered diplomas to 14 - 17 year old age group (as per the Skills White Paper)

Supported the reduction in re-offending rates of PRISM participants

Supported the reduction in unwanted pregnancy rates in young women

Strategic Aim 1

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We aim to develop our partnership working in order to offer young people a widerrange of services

What have we achieved so far?

In the past three years we have achieved the following:

Developed close and mutually supportive links with additional schools

Developed partnership agreements with appropriate external agencies

Submitted successful joint funding bids with partners

Worked in partnership to deliver specific targeted services

Offered safe and appropriate space to partner agencies to deliver programmes

Have been identified locally as the market leader in our specialised field

Strategic Aim 2

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We will consolidate and strengthen our position as a major provider of alternativeeducation in the area for young people.

What have we achieved so far?

In the past three years we have:

Developed our role as key stakeholders in issues concerning disengaged young people locally

Aligned our position to fit the focussed aims and objectives of the Directorate for Services to Children and Young People

Piloted relevant aspects of 14-19 provision in conjunction with local confederations

Developed our vocational learning and support role post-16

Participated fully in relevant consultations and strategic planning groups

Strategic Aim 3

Continue to ensure that our staff have the necessary skills and abilities to deliver high quality services to young people

Strengthen the staff team through continued diversification, communication and support and by encouraging the development of an organisational culturewhich exists across all our sites

Constantly seek ways to extend the boundaries of the educational opportunities we offer by offering new experiences and evaluating these

Recognise and celebrate the successes and achievements of both the organisation and the young people we work with

Clarify and promote our unique role in the local area where we work

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Our objectives over the next three years

In addition we will further improve the corporate services around finance, healthand safety and management information that we have developed in the last threeyears.

We will continue to maintain our accountability to the Board and increase theprofessionalism with which we operate to deliver our services.

We will continue to improve the physical environment where we provide ourservices, including the renovation of the premises in Girlington, the furtherexpansion of the farm site and seek to expand into other sites.

We will develop and implement an Action Plan which supports this Strategic Planand incorporates the ideas, commitment and enthusiasm of the staff deliveringservices.

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Business Quality Assurance

www.pr ismyouthproject .org

U n i q u e o p p o r t u n i t i e s f o r u n i q u e yo u n g p e o p l e

Wa l ke r D r i veG i r l i n g t o nB r a d f o rdB D 8 9 E S

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F a x : 0 1 2 7 4 3 6 0 5 4 6

E - m a i l : i n f o @ p r i s myo u t h p ro j e c t . o r g

R e g i s t e re d C h a r i t y N o . 5 2 3 5 0 3