The Torbay Youth Service works to provide all young people, aged from 11 to 25 years in Torbay, with a range of enjoyable opportunities, challenging experiences and effective support that will enhance their personal and social development during the transition to adulthood.
The strength of Torbay Youth Service lies in the relationship between its staff and the young people they work with developed over time and which progress in accordance with their needs.
The values and principles that lie at the heart of effective youth work shape these relationships. These principles are:
- Educative - learning opportunities providing information and skills development.
- Participative - playing an active role in their own / and their community's development.
- Empowering - Understanding and acting upon issues that affect their lives
- Equality of opportunity - enables and encourages all young people to access services, to celebrate diversity and to understand and challenge all forms of oppression.
Click on the links below to find out more about Youth Services:
Resourcing Excellent Youth Services’ (DfES, 2002) outlined a number of standards for Youth Services nationally. The Service has four Key Performance Indicators as follows:
- Reach: The Service is expected to reach 25% of the 13-19 population
- Participation: The Service is expected to be in regular contact with 15% of the 13-19 population
- Recorded Outcomes: 60% of 13-19 year olds participating in youth work should receive a recorded outcome
- Accredited Outcomes: 30% of 13-19 year olds participating in youth work should receive and accredited outcome.
In addition the Service is expected to work with at least 5% of the most vulnerable young people’
The aims of the Torbay Youth Service have been developed through a planning process that combines consultation with young people and local communities. The principal aim of the Torbay Youth Service is:
To provide all young people with a range of enjoyable opportunities, challenging experiences and effective support that will enhance their personal, social and educative development and sense of identity during the transition to adulthood. In order to successfully make this transition the focus of the Service will be to develop their skills, abilities and self-esteem.
The involvement of young people in deciding on how the Service is delivered is fundamental to youth work. The Service has consulted on and published a Youth Pledge and this can be found under the Related Documents panel below.
To develop young people as individuals and as active and responsive members of their town and community.
- To increase the capacity of the Youth Service to respond and provide consistent support to young people in effectively addressing ‘their’ identified needs.
- To build young people’s self esteem by creating opportunities for achievement and then to recognise their success.
- To develop young people’s confidence, communication skills and political awareness that will enable them to have the choice to become active citizens through engaging in participation processes and consultation events.
- To challenge young people’s behaviour and values so that they understand the consequences of their actions and learn appropriate responses to situations.
- To provide alternative informal education programmes to develop lifelong learning opportunities.
To ensure a broad curriculum, containing a range of opportunities, experiences and responses to young people’s needs and aspirations:
- To develop specific projects and programmes targeted at addressing six key issues drug and alcohol education, teenage pregnancy and sexual health, relationships, mental health, homelessness and educational achievement.
- To continue to devise curriculum initiatives and deliver work in ways that reduce social exclusion, promote community safety, reduce crime and anti-social activity and develop healthier lifestyles.
- To create positive work that enables young people to understand, respect and value both their own heritage, and that of others from diverse cultural and social backgrounds, leading to an increase in community cohesion.
To continually improve the quality of the service, in line with internal and external Inspection and evaluation frameworks and mechanisms.
- To modernise, develop and improve the quality of Youth Service resources with particular emphasis on staff, buildings, ICT and access.
- To be able to demonstrate and develop the quality, quantity, efficiency and effectiveness of the service in line with Ofsted and other quality assurance requirements.
To build new and existing partnerships with other providers, particularly Connexions and the voluntary sector.
- To maintain, support and work in partnership with voluntary organisations, Connexions, Government bodies and schools in providing a ‘joined up’ and holistic educative service for young people that will attract further funding.
- To develop further partnership work with the Connexions Service in line with the Connexions strategy so that the service will provide high quality support, advice and information to young people to enable them to make informed choices.
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Contact Torbay Youth Service
- Tel: 01803 206481
- Email: youthservice@torbay.gov.uk
- Fax: N/A
