Letter to Editor:- 'Get Britain Working Again!'

"RECENTLY the Government released its Get Britain Working Again white paper, including measures such as:- stopping the benefits of young people who don't take up work or training opportunities, alongside support to address barriers such as:- mental health issues. Today's young people have grown up during austerity, the Pandemic and now the cost of living crisis. Their lives and the lives of people around them have been getting harder and harder, and many of them are struggling. Nacro works with these disadvantaged young people in our education and housing services, and recently interviewed to them for our Truth About Youth report. We found a generation of young people who wanted to find a job and understood that hard work and education were the route to get there. Contrary to many stereotypes the careers they wanted weren't YouTube star or footballer. These are the country's childminders, bricklayers, and hairdressers. However, they also reported facing many challenges; a lack of self esteem, feelings of hopelessness and a dearth of local opportunities were just some examples. We welcome Government's commitment to improve access to mental health services for young people and expand on opportunities for work experience and careers advice. If we are to get more young people working we need to break down the barriers they face, especially for those who face the most disadvantage, and this means ensuring that we have properly funded support systems and services in place that specifically help young people who are struggling. The Government need to listen to what young people, especially disadvantaged young people, are telling them and work with them on the solution. It is our responsibility to ensure all young people have the support they need to find the bright future they deserve." Campbell Robb.

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Youth services:- 'under threat' without Government funding

66% of Councils have not increased spending on youth services in the past 5 years, according to a new survey by the Local Government Association, highlighting the need for fresh investment in local grass-roots provision for young people.

Nearly 9 in 10 Councils said:- they needed Government funding to support investment into youth services.

On the closing day of the National Children and Adult Services Conference in Liverpool, the LGA is calling for the tens of millions of pounds that were previously spent on the National Citizen Service to be devolved to Councils and invested in local youth services.

The LGA's survey found that over the past 5 years, revenue expenditure for overall youth services has stayed the same or decreased in 61 per cent of Councils.

Despite these pressures, Councils are trying to secure investment into youth services.

The research found that over the next 3 years, 42% of Councils said:- "they planned to increase the number of hours youth service support offered."

The LGA, which represents Councils, is calling for greater investment from Central Government in youth services and the creation of open access youth hubs across the country.

It follows the Government announcing a National Youth Strategy and the ending of the National Citizen Service (NCS). The NCS had a budget of £54.2 million for the current financial year.

This should now be channelled into Councils to enable them to work with local partners to develop youth provision and invest into properly resourced by qualified professionals who have the skills, experience and training to support children and young people.

Councils see working effectively with young people as a key way to support the Government's ambition to break down barriers to opportunity, and are best placed to deliver the services their communities need, based on their local knowledge and partnerships.

Funding for youth services provided by Councils in England and Wales saw real terms decline of 73 per cent between 2010/11 and 2022/23.

The LGA is calling for funding to be invested into open access hubs, responding to local need and developed alongside young people to provide safe spaces for them.

Cllr Arooj Shah, Chair of the LGA's Children and Young People Board, said:- "Youth services provide essential support to young people, providing them with a safe place, trusted relationships, positive life experiences and stopping them from being drawn into negative situations and reducing demand for acute services further down the line. Councils are striving to provide youth services amid severe financial constraints, but lack sufficient resources to invest in these, and so are reliant on the wider sector to support them. Without adequate funding, many local youth services are under threat, and remain at risk of being reduced or in danger of being cut altogether. To protect these essential services, increased funding is urgently needed, such as reallocating resources from the National Citizen Service. Alongside this, expanding open-access youth hubs nationwide is crucial to offering young people safe, supportive spaces that also support their mental health needs."

Mayor's Regional masterplan to tackle staff shortage in Early Years education and childcare

MAYOR Steve Rotheram has launched a detailed masterplan to help tackle a national shortage of Early Years education and childcare workers.  The Liverpool City Region Combined Authority has unveiled a series of initiatives designed to ramp up training, recruitment and retention of staff in the Early Years sector, helping more families to access affordable, high-quality childcare and making it easier for parents to work.

Among the actions, the Combined Authority has allocated £470,000 to create 150 places in the Liverpool City Region on new Skills Bootcamps for childcare, co-developed by the sector and run by the Education Development Trust and Aspire Academy. A further 40 existing staff will be retrained.

The detailed measures, developed in partnership with local authorities, Colleges, training providers and the sector, are designed to help alleviate a national shortfall of 45,000 practitioners. The lack of affordable and accessible, unaffordable childcare is estimated to be costing the UK economy £27bn each year.

Steve Rotheram, Mayor of the Liverpool City Region, said:- "We know that access to affordable, high quality childcare is essential for any thriving community, and a game changer for parents looking to return to work. However, far too often that access simply isn't there. The national shortage of early years educators is not only a drain on our economy, but also a daily challenge for families. By investing in skills bootcamps, and creating 150 new training places, we are tackling this issue and laying the foundations for long-term growth in this vital sector. We're helping people start new careers, upskilling existing staff and ensuring families get the support they need to thrive."

The Centre for Progressive Policy (CPP) calculates that inaccessible and unaffordable childcare costs the UK economy £27bn a year. Research shows that an estimated 1.5 million mothers would take on more working hours if better childcare was available.

The Combined Authority (CA) has been working with the CPP, through the Inclusive Growth Network, to develop a new, data driven approach to improving childcare provision through collaboration and reallocation of skills funding.

As part of efforts to drive growth and equity across the Region, the CA has harnessed devolved powers and expertise in skills and employability to support recruitment, retention and professional development in the Early Years workforce, bringing together local authorities, childcare providers and national Government bodies to drive improvements.

A series of measures has been developed to help train and recruit hundreds more practitioners each year.

In collaboration with the Department of Work and Pensions, 5 new Early Years Education and Childcare Employment Officers have been recruited to help job seekers into new careers in the sector.

The LCR Be More careers hub has also launched a dedicated Early Years page and is promoting vacancies and training opportunities.

Following the success of a pioneering Test and Learn initiative, led by Realise Training, a new:- "bridging solution" is being developed to help people gain the skills needed to take a level 3 course in Early Years.

A sector based work pilot scheme has been developed in the Liverpool City Region to help identify new Early Years workers and former practitioners keen to return to the sector. The scheme has now been rolled out nationally.

Unused training funds from the Apprenticeship Levy totalling £398,000 have also been repurposed to create 65 new apprenticeships in Early Years childcare provision.

A project under development with national training provider Realise and Kids Planet is trying to attract more young people via T-levels and apprenticeships.

Other initiatives include:- using local champions to increase male participation in Early Years education and childcare; including:- profiling local male leaders within the new Be More Early Years website – and partnering with the Department for Work and Pensions to equip job coaches with the tools to guide job seekers into the childcare sector.