Setting

Publication Type Published Reference no. Enfield Youth Service Report Enfield Children’s Services Authority Area

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All [Date] [00000] Website: www.ofsted.gov.uk This document may be reproduced in whole or in part for non-commercial purposes, provided that the information quoted is reproduced without adaptation and the source and date of publication are stated.

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Further copies of this report are obtainable from the local authority or at www.ofsted.gov.uk Enfield Youth Service 1

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Part C: Commentary on the key aspects

Key aspect 1: Standards of young people’s achievements and the quality of youth work practice 4

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Part C: Commentary on the key aspects

Key aspect 2: Quality of curriculum and resources 5

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Part C: Commentary on the key aspects

Key aspect 3: Leadership and management 6 Enfield Youth Service 2

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Introduction

1. Enfield Youth Service delivers youth work through five youth centres, one information, advice and support project and through detached youth work. The service is managed by a Youth Service Manager and three youth officers. One post is currently vacant. Fifteen youth workers and forty part-time staff equate to a full-time equivalent of 26 staff. The budget of the service is £1,518,136. Approximately 3,600 (15%) 13-19 year olds are reached annually by the service.

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Introduction

2. The Joint Area Review was enhanced to enable coverage of the youth service Inspectors considered the youth service’s self-assessment and met with officers and a cross-section of staff. They reviewed key service documentation and carried out direct observation of a sample of youth work sessions.

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Effectiveness and value for money

3. This is a good service that provides good value for money. Young people’s achievement is consistently good and, in some cases, excellent, in particular in project based youth work. Staff are skilled and build trusting and productive relationships with young people. Whilst engaging only 15% of young people in the borough, the service does so effectively. Minority groups are particularly well- served. The service is under-funded but makes good use of the resources at its disposal. The local authority lacks a clear vision for the service and sufficient information on the performance of the service. Some key initiatives are not implemented effectively by managers. Overall the strengths of the service outweigh its weaknesses.

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Strengths

• Young people consistently achieve well.

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Strengths

• There are some outstanding programmes that provide excellent support for young people.

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Strengths

• Young people are successfully involved in the life of the service and of the community.

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Strengths

• Management support for youth work staff is good.

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Strengths

• There is a strong focus on inclusion. Enfield Youth Service 3

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Areas for development

• Planning and evaluation of youth work are inconsistent.

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Areas for development

• Accreditation of young people’s learning is insufficiently embedded.

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Areas for development

• Access to youth service provision is uneven across the borough.

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Areas for development

• Quality assurance measures and reporting mechanisms are underdeveloped.

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Areas for development

• There is a need for a clearer strategic vision for the service.

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Key aspect Grade

Standards of young people’s achievement 3 1

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Key aspect Grade

3 Strategic and operational leadership and management

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Key aspect Grade

The table above shows overall grades about provision. Inspectors make judgements based on the following scale: Grade 4: A service that delivers well above minimum requirements for users: Grade 3 : A service that consistently delivers above minimum requirements for users: Grade 2: A service that delivers only minimum requirements for users: Grade 1: A service that does not deliver minimum requirements for users.

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outcomes

4. The service makes a good contribution to outcomes in a number of areas. Programmes promoting young people’s health and well-being are integrated well into youth work programmes. The service is effective in ensuring the safety of the young people in its charge. Young people are supported in making a positive contribution through Youth Action Volunteering Enfield (YAVE), which provides a rich diversity of volunteering opportunities for over 600 young people each year. Detached youth work is successful in reaching out to young people and supporting them in their local community. Young people make good gains in their personal and social development through their contact with the youth service. They develop Enfield Youth Service 4

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outcomes

their self-confidence and esteem, teamwork and communication skills and learn more about themselves and others. The Enfield Youth Assembly ensures that young people learn about themselves, their community, the council and local democracy. ‘Two-e’ provides a vital and successful service, supporting, advising and guiding young people who are often experiencing problems and barriers inhibiting their progression.

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of youth work practice

5. The standards of young people’s achievement are good. Achievement was good or better in the majority of sessions seen and in a few cases it was excellent. Young people make good gains in developing their self-confidence and very good progress where they are able to take on responsibility, through, for example, volunteering opportunities and members’ committees.

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of youth work practice

6. The service helps young people learn about social issues. For example, those from Lychett Way learnt about sex, relationships and drugs and successfully led peer group discussions. Many also develop very good awareness of diversity issues through programmes that bring together individuals from different parts of the borough. Participants in the Enfield Youth Assembly gain good knowledge of local political processes. They develop an understanding of different cultures and become more tolerant of others. Young people from various communities come together at the music project where they learn music making, playing, performance and recording skills.

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of youth work practice

7. Programmes develop teamwork and communication skills and young people are also able to learn practical skills, such as welding and motor mechanics. Excellent support for individuals is offered through ‘Two-e’. The Duke of Edinburgh’s Award programme successfully promotes young people’s personal and social development with a range of well-tailored experiences. Many service users are positive about, and can identify, changes in their attitudes and behaviour as a result of attending youth work projects.

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of youth work practice

8. There is some variability in how well young people progress in youth club settings although achievement in all settings was at least satisfactory. However, in a few instances, too few young people made enough progress because there was too much focus on purely recreational activities and not enough emphasis on learning.

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of youth work practice

9. Overall, the quality of youth work practice is good. Youth workers have high expectations of young people and what they can achieve. They skilfully challenge attitudes whilst building and maintaining relationships based on mutual respect and trust. Young people consistently respond very well to youth workers who have a very good understanding of the local community. Workers devise programmes Enfield Youth Service 5

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of youth work practice

that build on and develop young people’s interests. Collaboration between youth workers is good and they make effective use of the range of programmes within the service, often enabling young people to benefit through attending more than one project. 10. Planning and evaluation of youth work across the borough, however, is inconsistent. In weaker cases, there is insufficient focus on young people’s learning. This issue is compounded by the wide variety of planning and evaluation tools in use. In the best practice, young people are fully involved in reviewing and evaluating their own progress.

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of youth work practice

11. Opportunities for accreditation are exploited well through some, but by no means all, programmes. Accreditation is not yet sufficiently embedded in youth work practice.

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Key aspect 2: Quality of curriculum and resources

12. The quality of the curriculum and resources is satisfactory. With the resources available to the service, there is an adequate variety of programmes, including provision for young people with learning difficulties and disabilities, detached youth work, open access youth clubs, a large volunteering programme, summer holiday programmes and residentials, opportunities for young people to develop their musical interests, a motor project, advice and information provision and opportunities to engage in decision-making and in their community. However there is uneven access to youth service programmes across Enfield and there are parts of the borough with no youth service provision.

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Key aspect 2: Quality of curriculum and resources

13. The variety of activities on offer at projects is mostly good and provides stimulating and challenging programmes that effectively engage young people. Through YAVE thirty young people took part in a twelve-month project researching Enfield’s industrial heritage. The curriculum included drama, video recording, and the development of interview and research skills and culminated with an exhibition and production of a DVD. Young people’s participation was accredited through Millennium Volunteers.

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Key aspect 2: Quality of curriculum and resources

14. Programmes are over-reliant on the individual skills and abilities of youth workers and lack an effective managerial steer. The curriculum framework is not yet embedded in youth work practice and managers have not put in place mechanisms to assess needs systematically, plan and review the overall curriculum offer to young people. The curriculum is less effective where staff lack the capacity to assess young people’s needs and plan accordingly.

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Key aspect 2: Quality of curriculum and resources

15. The quality of premises and resources used for youth work is variable. Whilst some very good premises and resources are available, including for music, ICT and the motor project, some premises are shabby. Nevertheless, youth workers make good use of what is available with prominent displays of young people’s work which celebrates their achievements. Projects provide safe and welcoming environments for young people. Some programmes offer transport so that young people can safely access provision. Not all premises are accessible to young Enfield Youth Service 6

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Key aspect 2: Quality of curriculum and resources

people with restricted mobility; however adequate progress has been made in relation to complying with the Special Educational Needs and Disability Act, 2001 (SENDA). The service meets its statutory duties under the Race Relations (Amendment) Act 2000. 16. A good range of training opportunities are available to staff and many staff have been supported by the service in gaining professional qualifications. Staff are well-deployed and work effectively with each other. Unqualified part-time staff are well-supported working alongside qualified and more experienced colleagues.

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Key aspect 3: Leadership and management

17. Leadership and management are satisfactory overall, although weaknesses do exist. The local authority lacks a clear strategic vision and staff are not well- informed of the current priorities of the service or of what the future holds. At the strategic level, there is a mismatch between senior officers’ and elected members’ views of the service and its actual performance. Although officers are informed of the service’s performance against national indicators these only tell a part of the story. On the surface, and using only these indicators, performance appears unfavourable. However the lack of qualitative information available inhibits the ability of the service to provide a comprehensive overview of the good work it is actually doing. Youth service managers have a good knowledge of the strengths and weaknesses of the service but these are not effectively communicated to senior officers and elected members.

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Key aspect 3: Leadership and management

18. Despite increases in funding, the youth service remains a low funded service, receiving just 0.7% of the education budget. Only small amounts of external funding are generated to supplement local authority funded provision.

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Key aspect 3: Leadership and management

19. The service has a strong strategic focus on inclusion and this is evident at every level of the service; in the targeting of resources, the type of provision and in direct work with young people. Youth work programmes attract young people from a wide range of social and ethnic backgrounds. Young people are effectively supported in taking part in the life and development of the service, often volunteering to work with other young people within the community.

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Key aspect 3: Leadership and management

20. Day-to-day management effectively supports youth work staff who receive regular supervision and appraisal. Managers are accessible to staff and visible in youth work programmes and as a result of these actions youth workers have high morale. They demonstrate a strong commitment to Enfield’s young people. Staff are conversant with arrangements to safeguard young people and a satisfactory range of policies and procedures are in place that ensures a healthy and safe working environment for young people and staff.

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Key aspect 3: Leadership and management

21. In implementing key strategies, the service lacks consistency in a number of areas, including needs analysis, curriculum management and development and accreditation. Partnership work lacks coherence; some positive work is undertaken with Connexions, however work with voluntary sector organisations is limited and Enfield Youth Service 7

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Key aspect 3: Leadership and management

whilst some good local partnerships add much to young people’s experiences the service lacks the capacity to further develop partnership work.

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