Supporting children and young people to
Achieve Economic Wellbeing

 Notes of Meeting

Time: 9.00
Date: 16 July 2008
Venue: Greenside Children’s Centre. Greenside Lane, Droylsden, M43 7RA
Chair: Lucy Davies

Note taker: Lindsay Patchett

Present:

Lucy Davies - Access and Equality
Bob Shaw - Area Coordinator and AEW lead
Lorraine Kitching - Policy Unit
Tony Kay - LSC
Vicky Pearson – Rathbones
Paul Dean - Rathbones
Vincent Ward -  School Improvement Service (14-19 strategy lead)
John Symington - 14-19 Strategy Manager
Sheila Piazza - Connexions Manager
Jackie Owen - (substituting for Phil Spence), Community Economic Development
Andrew Leah - Housing Services Manager

1. Welcome and introductions Chair

2. Apologies

Alan Franco, Welfare Rights Unit
Brian Parker, Longdendale High School
David Burdis, New Charter
Lorna Grennan, Locality Services Manager, PCT
Phil Spence, Community Economic Development Manager
Caroline Gregory, Priorities Neighbourhood Renewal Officer
Steve Openshaw, Inclusive Services Chair

3. Minutes of last meeting

Agreed as an accurate account of the meeting Chair

4. Matters arising

Judgements from Report Cards at previous meeting agreed
Item 6: David Burdis, Alan and Geraldine meeting took place and agreed on an “amicable way forward”. Chair

5. Index of Multiple Deprivation presentation

Lorraine gave her presentation and provided handouts for the group.
Lorraine informed the group of the background to this report and where the information was gathered from.
Information on the latest indices can be obtained at:
http://www.communities.gov.uk/communities/neighbourhoodrenewal/deprivation/deprivation07/ 

Table 1. Summary of results

• Tameside had improved in 4 areas: Index of Multiple Deprivation, Education, Skills and Training Deprivation, Crime, and Income Deprivation affecting children.
• Tameside had gone down in 4 areas: Employment Deprivation, Health Deprivation and Disability, Living Environment and Income Deprivation affecting Older People.
• Tameside has two areas that remain unchanged: Income Deprivation and Barriers to Housing and Services.

Tameside’s overall position and ranking, relative to other Local Authorities, has improved since the 2004 index was published. However there are significant variations as noted below.

Indices report finds that in Tameside

• Income deprivation has remained the same - 7 LSOAs (Local Super Output Areas) in worst 5% nationally
• Employment deprivation has gone up from 10 to 16 areas LSOAs in worst 5% nationally
• Health Deprivation has gone up from 15 to 18 LSOAs in worst 5% nationally
• Education, Skills and Training has gone down from 7 to 5 LSOAs in worst 5% nationally
• Crime Deprivation had gone down from 7 to 3 LSOAs in worst 5% nationally
• The Living Environment Deprivation Domain has gone up from 4 to 6 LSOAs in worst 5% nationally
• Income Deprivation Affecting Children Index has gone down from 4 - 2 LSOAs in worst 5% nationally
• Income Deprivation Affecting Older People Index has gone up from 5 to 7 LSOAs in worst 5% nationally

Discussion took place surrounding these findings:

•  What kind of reports do we have already and how could these be accessed to better effect?
• How do we match SOA data to schools based data?
• Need to know where funding was going
• Need for postcode level attainment at key stages - postcode of pupils not of schools
• It was suggested that statistical reports can become less robust the lower the level of analysis.
• Sheila informed the group that NEETs can be obtained at postcode level
• A need to look at particular super output areas to see how best to target funding.

6. Briefing on Ending Child Poverty - Deferred to later date Alan Franco

7. Theme for the Meeting

7.1.1 Presentation

1. Key elements of this theme

• 14 - 19 provision should be planned
• Evaluation of response to needs
• Provision to modify choices
• Education and training monitored
• FE for 16-19 - should be encouraged and supported

2. Update on previous Improvement Actions

With reference to Equalities Impact Assessment and Inclusion, Vincent noted that schools and colleges have some sort of provision around 16-19 provision promoting race equality and good race relations

Vincent and the group discussion that followed noted the following points:

• Tameside college/Ashton VI form data collected - what do they do with that data?
• To what extent is curriculum provision doing anything to debar/discourage vulnerable groups.
• Audits - how are they used - do they have any bearing on the curriculum provision?
• Are the right kind of courses being offered?
• Are courses not attractive due to the guidance/information being given
• What is the relationship between AEW group and 14-19 partnership? Young people not going onto FE potentially raises the issue of the young people not Achieving Economic Wellbeing.
• No feedback loop to partnerships
• In September there is to be a joint presentation with this group and the 14 - 19 Partnership. Bob and John will work on this together.
• Connexions data of destinations of Pakistani and BME groups to be added to the debate.
• Need to focus on high quality information and guidance to Young People through advisors and schools.
• Concern for early leavers - need to be chased up
• The need for a smooth transition between courses
• Perhaps have 2 or 3 starting points to capture vulnerable groups

Discussions around level 3 report cards are part of today’s meeting (see report cards 1, 2, 3 and 4) - see below

7.1.2 Report Cards
Tony/Vincent presented their report cards

7.1.3 Discussion & Judgement

NI 79, 80, 81, 82

• Should we be looking over a longer period to see a truer picture
• Some local targets have not yet been met
• Level 4 increased locally but not nationally 
• NEET rate too high 
• Need to capture the early leavers
• More feedback needed from providers regarding the young people who applied to them, e.g. failed to attend, left etc.

With respect to these report cards the meeting noted
That the data in the report cards (NI 79 and NI 82) with respect to level 2 be considered: Troubling but the postive trend is noted

That the data in the report cards (NI 80 and NI 81) with respect to level 3 be considered:  Troubling

NI 90 

• Cannot be measured as it is the first year of young people taking up new diplomas
• Increase in level 2 places as high number of high calibre applications
• Online application system has helped
• Post 16 can access level 1, 2 or 3
• Cambridge has endorsed the maths component of engineering diploma

Vincent also provided the group with a timeline showing when different diplomas become operational

With respect to this report card the meeting noted
That the data in the report card (NI 90) with respect to level 2 be considered: Heartening

7.1.4 Future Action

1. That the issues raised in this meeting by the Report Cards be referred to the 14-19 Partnership.  Specifically, the meeting requests that the Partnership:

1. receives the Report Cards relating to level 2 and level 3 achievements and the inequality gap in achievement (NI 79, 80, 81 and 82)
2. in its forthcoming 14-19 Education Plan, considers:

securing an Equalities Impact Assessment that will satisfy itself that providers and partners are acting sensitively with respect to

• gender
• ethnicity
• vulnerable or potentially disadvantaged groups and specifically - young people with LDD and/or mental health needs, young offenders, looked after children leaving care

• how it can discover and use additional data that will enable a better understanding of the performance issues around equality of access and curriculum provision
• identifying additional local performance indicators from this assessment that will enable it not only to monitor progress against the national indicators but focus on better outcomes for vulnerable and disadvantaged young people

2. That the new Working Neighbourhoods Fund be raised at the next meeting to assess the potential contribution of this fund to the issues raised at the meeting. (Phil Spence)

3. That partners note the new Index of Multiple Deprivation and, where desirable, use it to further develop ways of presenting/ mapping their performance data and to inform future resource allocation. 

8. AOB

Andrew sought the group’s views on whether this partnership was the right body to deal with issues arising out of the recent workshop on young people vulnerable to homelessness and issues that will arise from the Peer Education programme:
“Homelessness issues - Does this sit within this group?”

• Support/advice
• Young people most at risk
• Raising awareness of homelessness
• Improving information for staff within schools

Action: It was felt that these issues did sit within this group and that issues could be referred to the Children and Young People’s Partnership as needs be.

Andrew and Bob also provided some feedback on workshop

• Good representation of agencies
• Lots of work distilled into draft report
• Positive resource
• Case studies - very powerful
• Value in adopting common processes for these very vulnerable young people.
• Landlords need to accept that some young people will fail on the way
• Link between homelessness and unemployment as young people experience difficulty in getting houses unless employed. All
  

9. Date of next meeting

24th September 2008 9.00am.
Greenside Children’s Centre