Communities in United Kingdom
Encouraging vulnerable young people to play a role in community building
GOOD PRACTICE TITLE: Encouraging vulnerable young people to play a role in community building
KIND OF PRACTICE: Community Building
DOCUMENT AUTHOR (ORGANIZATION AND AUTHOR NAME):
Mary Seacole Housing Association, Lennox Adams
PLACE: Luton
CONTEXT, FIELD OF INTERVENTION:
The report, carried out by MSHA in 2015, concerning the efficacy of a sustainable community programme for clients entering and passing through an MSHA programme, indicated that there was a shortfall in clients’ ability to continue examples of good practices in community building. MSHA management was confident that:
• MSHA staff were providing sessions on community building for clients “on programme
• Some clients “on programme” were practicing community building but not recording their achievements
The report in 2015 indicated there were “good years” and “poor years” in terms of the practices encouraged and the value the clients took with them after leaving MSHA. As a result of this, MSHA installed the Luton Sustainable Community Strategy as a benchmark for encouraging and continuing achievement in sustainable community building
PERIOD:
2013 - present
POPULATION, PARTICIPANTS:
MSHA clients under 19 years of age
MSHA clients who are NEETs and who are over 18 years of age
Clients over 18 years of age who did not receive Personal Development and Social Education in school
COORDINATORS:
MSHA
Luton Borough Council
METHODOLOGY (HOW THE PRACTICE WORKS):
The Luton Sustainable Community Strategy is targeted at young people in community housing who may have missed out on the Personal Development and Social Education syllabus during secondary schooling. The strategy is dependent on providers, such as MSHA, to set out a programme that will encourage young people to play a positive role in society, by showing young people:
• how to develop a stronger and safer community
• how to improve the health and well-being of young people
• how to promote environmental and economic development
While showing young people how to improve their skills in community building, MSHA had to prove that they were:
• Listening to the views of young people
• Supporting the care of young people in Luton
• Supporting young people to achieve skills and experience
• Reducing differences in educational achievements
• Reducing anti-social behaviour
• Meeting the needs of young people with learning difficulties
The items in the bullet points became the Learning Outcomes for both the client and the organisation. The methodology, therefore, requires the collaboration of the provider and the client.
It is role of the organisation to state the Assessment Criteria for each learning outcome. These are stated as targets for each client or key-worker to achieve and record.
PARTICIPATORY PROCESS:
Compulsory for all clients under 19 years of age
Compulsory for all NEET clients over 18 years of age
Optional, but recommended for other clients over 18 years of age
Key-workers assigned to the clients participating in community building
TIME TO BE SUCCESFUL (HOW MANY TIME THE PRACTICE TAKE TO ACHIEVE THEIR OBJECTIVES):
Success was recorded in a three-stage process:
• Comprehension of the learning outcome, whether written or oral
• Completion of at least one activity indicative of the learning outcome
• Recording the achievement in an “Individual Learning Plan”
The learning outcome must be achieved while the client is resident or worker at MSHA
VALIDITY (IF THE PARTICIPANTS THINK THAT THE PRACTICE RESOLVED THE PROBLEMATIC):
At the outset clients feel that there is no problem. May saw themselves as victims and that society was at fault. When they understand that they must adjust their beliefs and actions in order to benefit from the community building or to manage changing circumstances, the idea of “validity” becomes easier to comprehend. For those who have completed all the developmental stages from Stage 1 to Stage 3, many indicate the programme helped to solve personal problems and enabled them to play a positive role in society.
IMPACT:
Most clients recognized that a change in behaviour was required if they were to develop personally or find employment or keep employment. Practically all learnt that selfishness slowed down progress; most were willing to change.
INNOVATION:
The Learning Outcomes were broken down into topics that were easy to see and understand. These became the “aspects” of the strategy. Each aspect of the Luton Sustainable Community Strategy, as listed below required different innovations, linked to initiatives introduced at MSHA. At the time of writing in May 2017, the current innovation is linked to “engagement initiatives”. Under “Engagement” learning via participation is encouraged. Here below is a table of innovations since the adoption of the strategy.
RESOURCES OR CONDITIONS NEEDED FOR THE PRACTICE:
Staff:
• Trainers in the topics of community building
• Engagement Officer
• Safeguarding Officer
Partnerships:
• Luton Borough Council
• Bedfordshire Police
• Local businesses
LIMITATIONS:
The Luton Sustainable Community Strategy is limited to young people but at MSHA has extended the age range to include anyone at MSHA who can benefit from the strategy.
LEARNED LESSONS: :
Young people need continual encouragement to participate. Sometimes enforcement is required, especially if a daily route or a weekly timetable is part of the Learning Outcome.
SUSTAINABILITY:
The current strategy operates under current conditions. We think that when conditions change, as under Brexit, the strategy might require revisiting. MSHA is assisting the sustainability of community building by encouraging a wide range of local businesses to contribute to community building initiatives.
REPLICABILITY:
The strategy is replicable because it depends on a set of learning outcomes for client and worker. It is up to the organization to set the assessment criteria to suit local situations and conditions.
CONCLUSION:
The strategy for community building meets all the criteria for national and local policies regarding the encouragement of young people to build better communities. The strategy is not only used by MSHA but is recommended by Luton Borough Council to youth clubs, community housing organisations, schools and colleges.