Issue - meetings

The Board received a report presenting the Haringey Integrated Youth Support Strategy (HIYSS) Implementation Plan, which had been formulated by a Working Group consisting of members from across the Partnership.

The Implementation Plan underpinned the delivery of the HIYSS and this would be supported by each Partners organisations annual Service Plans. A consultation exercise had been undertaken by the Council’s Corporate Consultation team, which had included consultation with children and young people and had had three objectives:

• To determine what young people and stakeholders thought of the current provision
• To determine what improvements they would like to see made
• To develop a Strategy, Implementation Plan and targeted support that was supported by children and stakeholders

In terms of monitoring progress in relation to the Implementation Plan the Board was advised that it was proposed that a Working Group should be constituted to fulfil this function.

It was noted that once the review of structures and bodies had been completed the changes arising from this would need to be reflected within the Implementation Plan.

Concern was raised that the document did not set out explicitly enough the commitment and actions being taken to support children and young people from Black and Ethnic Minority (BME) communities. There was agreement that this should be strengthened and that specific reference to the types of support offered should be included.

It was noted that the various Action Plans in place relating to Children and Young People’s Services would need to be drawn together and reviewed to ensure that they were aligned and that there were no areas of duplication. There was agreement that these should also be reference appropriately and listed within the Implementation Plan. The Board was advised that the new Children and Young People’s Plan (C&YPP) would act as the over arching link that would draw all of these together.

It was suggested that reference should be made to the recent expansion of Youth Services, which had enabled activities for young people to be run seven days a week.  There was also agreement that there should be further reference to misuse of Drugs and Alcohol and the affect of parents who abused these upon children.

The Board was advised that the estimate in relation to the number of young people that would be equipped with skills to assist in delivering the Olympic Games had been calculated on the basis that a quarter of the young people within the appropriate age group would be involved.

The Chair requested that reference should be made to the type of skills that young people participating in this would be equipped with in order to illustrate that these would be useful in a wider context.

RESOLVED:

That, subject to the incorporation of the points raised above, the Implementation Plan be approved.