Contents                                                                                          Page

 

 

 

Overview                                                                                 3

 

Key Policy and Strategic Documents                                       4

 

Service Requirement                                                               8

                       

Area and Equality Lots                                                           12

 

Quality Standards                                                                   14

 

Overview

 

Introduction

 

Welcome to the Youth Service Grants Programme 2021-2025 published by the Families, Children & Learning Directorate of Brighton & Hove City Council.

 

The Budget Council meeting of 25^th February 2021 agreed funding for youth work for 2021-22.  The Council’s Youth Service Grants Programme 2021-2025 focusses on the findings of the Youth Work Review 2020 and outcomes outlined in the National Youth Agency’s Youth Work Enquiry (2019); ‘Theory ofChange for Youth Work’.The Programme has been developed based on the learning from the Council’s discretionary grants programme, the Third Sector Investment Programme including the Communities and Third Sector Commission 2020-2023 and other relevant commissions.

 

The approach and funding investment demonstrates the Council’s commitment to working in partnership with communities and the Third Sector to support young people via the provision of good quality youth services; providing non-formal education that focuses on the personal and social development of participants and increases youth participation; enabling young people to develop their voice and influence decision making in a meaningful way.

 

The Youth Service Grants Programme 2021-2025 aims to assist organisations financially so that they can deliver the desired outcomes, building on the assets of the Third Sector, promoting enterprise and social value. We expect applications to the fund to show very clearly how their proposals will help achieve the outcomes.

 

The key principles were developed from the findings of the Youth Work Review 2020 and we are therefore confident that this Youth Service Grants Programme 2021-2025 is targeted on the most important issues facing Brighton & Hove young people during the next few years, including supporting the recovery of the impact of Covid-19 on young people.

 

This will be a forty-two-month programme, starting 1st October 2021, with an option to extend for a further two years. It is important that organisations can deliver an effective programme over a period of years confident that resources will continue to be there to support them.

 

Before applying to the Youth Service Grants Programme, applicants should refer to:

• Brighton & Hove Children, Young People & Skills Committee Priorities
• Brighton & Hove Youth Work Review 2020

·         National Youth Work Curriculum 2020

• Brighton & Hove City Council Communities and Third Sector Development Policy
• The Equality Act 2010
• The Public Services (Social Value) Act 2012 and the Social Value Guide

 

Informing the Programme:  Key Policy and Strategic Documents

Youth Service Grants Programme Outcomes

In Brighton and Hove we see commissioning as the process by which commissioners ensure that appropriate services are available at the right quality and cost to meet needs and deliver strategic outcomes now and into the future. 

The Youth Service Grants Programme outcomes have been developed and informed through a range of processes: 

Ø  Youth Work Review 2020 Brighton & Hove

Ø  Housing requirements for neighbourhoods with Council tenants

Ø  National Youth Agency’s ‘Theory ofChange for Youth Work’ 2018

Ø  Using good practice and innovation to add value and maximise resources   

Focussing on outcomes promotes the results and positive changes which are important to young people either individually or as a community. Many organisations funded by the Council during the past few years will have experienced a greater focus on demonstrating the impact of their activities in their reporting back.

It is recommended that applicants familiarise themselves with the following:

 

Brighton & Hove City Council’s Children, Young People & Skills Committee

Priorities

 

The Brighton and Hove City Council 2020 to 2023 Corporate Plan outlines its commitment to deliver high quality youth services by:

 

• Identifying Council owned premises suitable for partners to offer youth services.

 

• Maintaining services for refugees and LGBTU young people and ensure that sexual health services and mental health support are delivered at youth centres across the city.

 

• Protecting funding and review youth services across the city to improve coordination, establish a central youth hub and deliver services directly where possible.

 

• Giving young people a stronger voice in future services.

 

The Families, Children & Learning Directorate Plan is available here.

 

Brighton & Hove Youth Work Review 2020

 

It was agreed at the Children and Young People and Skills Committee on 13^th January 2020 that a review of current youth services in the city would be undertaken and that the findings of this review be presented back to Committee to be discussed and a proposal agreed.

 

The review took place between May and July 2020, during the Covid-19 pandemic and included hearing the views of a wide range of young people and other stakeholders across Brighton and Hove. The report contains the findings and recommendations from this review.

 

The full report is available here

 

National Youth Work Curriculum 2020

 

This document sets out a youth work curriculum framework for England. Its purpose is to enable a greater understanding of youth work practice, provide an educational framework and act as a reference tool to be used by decision makers, policy makers, commissioners, youth workers and young people.

 

It is illustrated by examples of youth work practice from young people and youth workers that highlight how the curriculum is fluid and flexible and how it underpins high-quality youth work. Examples from young people show the difference that having trusted relationships and opportunities has made to them.

 

The youth work curriculum is underpinned by the description of youth work articulated in the National Occupational Standards for Youth Work 2019:

 

Ø  Engaging with young people to facilitate their personal, social and educational development and enable them to gain a voice, influence and a place in society. Youth Workers help young people to engage with their local communities, taking account of cultural diversity. They support the young person to realise their potential and to address life’s challenges critically and creatively.

 

Ø  Youth work may take place in a variety of settings including community venues, uniformed groups, schools, youth cafés and on the street, whilst using numerous approaches such as outdoor pursuits, drama workshops, health initiatives, peer education and single issue and single focused gender work to engage with young people. Youth work may be carried out by volunteers or via paid employment in the sector.

 

The full report is available here

 

Joint Health and Wellbeing Strategy

 

The Brighton & Hove Joint Health & Wellbeing Strategy (2019-2030) sets out our vision for improving the health and wellbeing of local people, including young people  and communities and reducing health inequalities, together with the core principles which will guide local action to deliver the vision. It presents a shared view of where we are and of the challenges and opportunities that we face.

 

The strategy focuses on improving health and wellbeing outcomes for the city and across the key life stages of local residents including starting and living well.

 

Eight principles will guide the delivery of our Health & Wellbeing Strategy:

 

·         Partnership and collaboration

·         Health is everyone’s business

·         Health and work

·         Prevention and empowerment

·         Reducing health inequalities

·         The right care, in the right place, at the right time

·         Engagement and involvement

·         Keeping people safe

 

We want to make health and wellbeing everyone’s business. Therefore, local organisations and communities should use the strategy to develop actions that will contribute to improving health and wellbeing.

 

The full report is available here

 

Brighton & Hove City Council Communities and Third Sector Development Policy

 

The policy sets out how the Council wants to work to ensure that the city has an increasingly efficient and more effective Third Sector that enables citizens and communities to have a strong voice in decision making about public services and supports community resilience and wellbeing through independent citizen and community activity. Furthermore, the policy describes the approach that the Council takes in ensuring that its culture and systems enable a collaborative and productive relationship with the Third Sector so as to make the best use of its flexibility, creativity and added value.

 

The full policy is available here.

Equalities

 

The Equality Act 2010 simplifies and strengthens the law around tackling discrimination and inequality. The public sector equality duty ensures that all public bodies play their part in making society fairer by tackling discrimination and providing equality of opportunity for all. It ensures that public bodies consider the needs of all individuals in their work, and the impact of all their functions, when shaping policy, delivering services and in relation to employees. The Equality Duty covers the following protected characteristics and, by association, those who care for them: Age, Disability, Sex, Gender Reassignment, Race, Religion and Belief, Sexual Orientation, Pregnancy and Maternity, and Marriage and Civil Partnership (in respect of having due regard to eliminate discrimination).

 

Some groups and communities in the city find it more difficult to have their voices and experiences heard, and therefore may require additional support and resource in order to feedback, participate and help shape and improve local services.

 

Commissioners are committed to engaging with the widest possible range of people and groups in order to inform the development, commissioning and review of services. 

 

Guidance on the public sector Equality Duty can be found here.

 

Social Value

 

The Public Services (Social Value) Act 2012 encourages all public bodies to consider how their commissioning might improve the environmental, social and economic well-being in the area. It expects commissioners to think about how scarce resources can be allocated and used to best effect and reminds them to look not only at the price of a service but also at the collective benefit to a community as a result of a service being commissioned.

 

In July 2016 Brighton and Hove City Council’s Neighbourhood, Communities and Equalities Committee and the Clinical Commissioning Group Governing Body endorsed a new ‘Social Value Framework’ for the city and a new Social Value Guide for Commissioners, Contract & Procurement Teams and Providers. Please see the attached documents entitled ‘Brighton and Hove Social Value Framework’ and the ‘Brighton & Hove City Council Social Value Guide for Commissioners/Contract & Procurement Officers & Suppliers.’ You are advised to read the Social Value Framework and identify the most appropriate social value outcomes.

As part of this grants process, we have considered social value and how it can be incorporated into the Grants Programme. Consequently, whilst applications will still be evaluated against value for money and quality criteria, they will also be measured in terms of the contribution they will make to social value in the city.

Current Service

 

The current Youth Service Grants Programme is due to come to an end 30^th September 2021, after it was agreed to extend the current Youth Service Grants Programme for a further 6 months

 

The focus of this programme is to fund projects that support outcomes identified in the Brighton & Hove Youth Work Review 2015, equality outcomes and outcomes for Council tenants. The current grant agreements are monitored; with six monthly data and narrative reports being compiled and analysed. In addition, meetings with the service providers take place on a quarterly basis.

 

The current programmes annual budget is £400,000 (£250,000 from the Housing Revenue Account). £16,000 contributes to the ASPIRE database which enables users to manage their casework and report on outcomes. The current funding is distributed as follows:

 

Lot	Annual contribution
Area 1: Hangleton, Portslade & West Hove Lead Provider – Hangleton & Knoll Project	£79,000
Area 2: Whitehawk and the Deans Lead Provider – Trust for Developing Communities	£61,000
Area 3: Moulsecoomb & Patcham Lead Provider – Trust for Developing Communities	£88,000
Area 4: Central Hove & Brighton Lead Provider – Brighton Youth Centre	£99,000
Equalities: LGBTQ - Allsorts	£19,000
Equalities: BAME - BMEYPP	£19,000
Equalities: Disability - Extratime	£19,000
Total	£384,000

 

 

Service Requirements

 

Commissioning principles

 

Through the findings of the Youth Review 2020, the Council has agreed the following principles.

 

All project proposals need to:

 

Ø  To have equality, diversity and inclusion embedded in their activities, governance and management arrangements with plans on how they will promote inclusion within their service

Ø  Promote a culture of collaboration and joint working with all youth provision and specialist services that support young people, particularly around mental health, including council provided services

Ø  Recognise the impact of Covid-19 on young people and support needs for recovery

Ø  Commitment to increasing the participation and volunteering opportunities for young people, subsequently recognising, and rewarding achievement

Ø  Work alongside the Council to seek opportunities to bring organisations together to collaborate on cross-city strategic and operational projects which will improve outcomes for Brighton & Hove’s young people

Ø  Work with the Council and young people to publicise the Youth Service Offer widely, using methods that young people will use

Ø  Contribute to social, environmental, and economic value in the city

 

Applicants should be aware that these principles will need to be clearly evidenced in the bid.

Provision

This funding is to:

 

·         Provide safe physical, digital and outreach spaces in the community that delivers open access, non-formal education to young people that will support their personal and social development through activities that young people need, want and value.

·         Deliver regular activities and opportunities for young people to participate in decision making forums, social action and volunteering.

·         Provide targeted and specialist youth work to engage young people with specialist needs, disadvantaged young people or marginalised population groups.

·         Work in partnership with the Council, other youth providers and specialist agencies, acting as a bridge and supporting young people to access other services and being part of a multi-agency group where appropriate.

·         Empower young people to co-design and co-produce activities, projects, and services

·         Work closely with organisations who work with young people from protected groups, such as those who identify as LGBTQ, who have a disability or are BAME, utilising their specialist knowledge to improve inclusion.

 

Youth Service Grant Programme Outcomes

 

Youth services supported by the Brighton & Hove City Council should be working to achieve the following outcomes (adapted from the National Youth Agency’s ‘Theory ofChange for Youth Work’ 2018, see appendix 3 page 37) Link here

 

	Intermediate outcomes
Knowledge and Skills	Increased self-awareness and emotional intelligence Improved social and communication skills Greater empathy and understanding of other people Acquired knowledge, planning and problem solving
Attitudes and capabilities	Increased aspiration, confidence and agency Increased independence, resilience and determination Informed attitude to risk More positive about people from different backgrounds
Social behaviours	Engaged in more positive activities, more often Increased willingness to take action to help others Improved decision making, voice and advocacy Democratic engagement
Community	Needs identified early and access to support services Increased social capital and more positive relationships, peers and intergenerational Increased sense of belonging and community cohesion
Collective impact	Stronger families, friendships and civil society Active citizenship, respect and equality of opportunity Improved education, employment, health and mental wellbeing

 

The intermediate outcomes will lead to young people in the longer term:

 

Ø  Being safe and secure in the modern world, including digital

Ø  Become skilled and equipped to learn and earn

Ø  Have positive health and wellbeing

Ø  Be happy and confident in their future

Ø  Become active in their communities and civil society

Ø  Have democratic engagement and their views respected

Equality Outcome

In addition to the targeted funding for each of the three protected characteristics that are being funded through this Grants Programme, there is a general equalities outcome for VCS organisations that wish to apply for funding for any of the lots, including the area based projects, and this is that:

 

Ø  Services create an environment where all children and young people with Protected Characteristics (including BAME young people, young people with a disability, young people who identify as LGBTQ) feel that youth provision is inclusive, accessible and they feel safe and supported.

Housing Outcomes

 

The Housing Revenue Account is funding a proportion of this Grants Programme and there must be clear outcomes for Council tenants and their families from this Programme.

 

Three key priorities have been identified and this investment seeks:

 

Ø  The reduction in anti-social behaviour in communities with council house tenancies

Ø  Improving the social inclusion of young people in communities with council house tenancies

Ø  Supporting young people in communities with council house tenancies to improve their readiness for employment

Data Management

Applicants should note that they will be required to use a central ICT system to manage their casework and report on outcomes. The system is currently Aspire which is hosted by East Sussex County Council. The system may change during the life of the agreement. The Council will meet the licence costs for applicants’ use of the system.

 

The Supplier undertakes to process the Council’s Data in compliance with the Data Protection Legislation. The Supplier will notify the Council of any breaches of Council data as soon as possible upon becoming aware of them and no later than 72 hours following becoming aware of the breach.

 

The provider must have in place appropriate organisational structures, policies and

processes in place to understand, assess and systematically manage security risks

to personal data to comply fully with all applicable Data Protection Legislation.

 

Personal data must be processed in a manner that ensures appropriate security of

the personal data, including protection against unauthorised or unlawful processing

and against accidental loss, destruction or damage, using appropriate technical or

organisational measures. The Provider may be required to enter a data sharing

agreement with the Council.

 

The Supplier should be certified to ISO/IEC 27001:2013 or be able to demonstrate that its policies, procedures and information risk management processes are of an equivalent standard.

 

The Council and Supplier will agree on the location of data hosting at the time of contact signing.  The Supplier undertakes not to take any actions to change the location of data storage or other processing without written permission from the Council.

 

The Supplier will not transfer data to any country or territory outside the European Economic Area (EEA).

 

The Supplier will host the data in accordance with National Cyber Security Centre (“NCSC”) Cloud Security Principles.

 

Funding

 

The funding period is from 1^st October 2021 to 31^st March 2025. Funding will be subject to an annual review, achievement of the defined outcomes and annual council budget setting in February of each year.

 

 

Lot	Year 1 (part) 1 Oct 2021 - 31 Mar 2022	Year 2 1 Apr 2022 - 31 Mar 2023 (subject to confirmation)	Year 3 1 Apr 2023 - 31 Mar 2024 (subject to confirmation)	Year 4 1 Apr 2024 – 31 Mar 2025 (subject to confirmation)
Area 1: Hangleton, Portslade & West Hove	£43,450	£86,900	£86,900	£86,900
Area 2: Whitehawk and the Deans	£33,550	£67,100	£67,100	£67,100
Area 3: Moulsecoomb & Patcham	£48,400	£96,800	£96,800	£96,800
Area 4: Central Hove & Brighton	£50,000	£100,000	£100,000	£100,000
Equalities: LGBTQ	£11,000	£22,000	£22,000	£22,000
Equalities: BAME	£11,000	£22,000	£22,000	£22,000
Equalities: Disability	£11,000	£22,000	£22,000	£22,000
Total	£208,400	£416,800	£416,800	£416,800

 

 

 

Investment through this Youth Service Grants Programme will be offered on a forty-two-month basis. There will be an option to extend for a further 2 years, however, as noted above, the levels of funding will be subject to annual council budget setting.

 

The Council may, at its discretion, withhold some of the funding available if there is potential for a lack of suitable or sustainable provision.

 

Please note that the maximum sum available to fund this Programme is indicated in the above table. Applications exceeding this amount for any lot will not be considered.

 

The funding for each of the four area-based lots has been apportioned based on the number of council tenancies and the number of young people aged 11 to 19 per area.

 

 

Area and Equality Lots

 

It is acknowledged through past monitoring data that area based provision can attract young people from other areas, particularly in the central area, however, there is an expectation that any providers will be operating from at least one base within this area, particularly those areas within the city identified as deprived (see below).

 

 

 

The geographical areas that each of the four area-based lots covers is shown on the map below. Proposals for lots 1-4 may take the form of a partnership application. An organisation may be part of more than one partnership and as such apply for funding in more than one lot.

 

 

The local wards comprising each of the four geographical areas are:

 

Hangleton, Portslade & West Hove:

°         Hangleton and Knoll

°         Hove Park

°         North Portslade

°         South Portslade

°         Westbourne

°         Wish

 

Whitehawk and the Deans:

°         East Brighton

°         Rottingdean Coastal

°         Woodingdean

 

Moulsecoomb & Patcham:

°         Hollingdean and Stanmer

°         Moulsecoomb and Bevendean

°         Patcham

 

 

Central Hove and Brighton:

°         Brunswick and Adelaide

°         Central Hove

°         Goldsmid

°         Hanover and Elm Grove

°         Preston Park

°         Queen's Park

°         Regency

°         St. Peter's and North Laine

°         Withdean

 

A ward map is available here.

 

 

Quality Standards

 

The Council will measure and evaluate performance by:

 

Ø  Producing a performance monitoring report every six months based on quantitative data, including number of young people using services, demographics of users, numbers of council house tenancies and outcomes, entered by providers on Aspire.

Ø  Youth providers producing a six-monthly narrative report providing qualitive information using an agreed template

Ø  An annual review with each provider focussing on performance against:

·         the Council’s principles (see page 8 of this document)

·         service provision, including where it is based

·         number of young people accessing services

·         outcomes achieved

·         value for money

·         training opportunities for staff and volunteers

Ø  Unannounced and planned visits to publicised activities

 

An annual performance report will be produced by the Council and presented to the Children, Young People and Skills Committee for feedback and comment.

Performance Framework

A draft monitoring template is shown below. The template will be developed in consultation with organisations that are awarded grants and will be used to monitoring performance.

 

Outcomes Monitoring Form

Name of project:

Reporting period:

 

Performance Indicator	Progress	RAG Rating
Achieving the agreed outcomes	Example of how we measure progress -6 monthly monitoring report measure success from distance travel tool on Aspire -6 monthly narrative report -Feedback from young people and parents
A range of physical, digital and outreach activities and sessions in place regularly for young people	-6 monthly narrative report -Aspire data -Publicity -Unannounced visits -Feedback from young people and parents
Meeting targets on number of young people reached	-6 monthly monitoring report (Aspire data recording young people’s attendance and frequency of use
Activities are accessible and inclusive	-Inclusion plan in place and progressing with actions -Collaborating effectively with equality group leads -Data from 6 monthly monitoring report -6 monthly narrative reports -Feedback from young people and parents
Reaching and targeting young people living in the highest areas of deprivation and council house tenancies	-6 monthly monitoring report (reports via postcodes, numbers living in council house tenancies and living in areas of high deprivation)
Young people engaging in a range of participation opportunities and being rewarded for achievements	-6 monthly narrative report (involvement in delivery of services, local/national campaigns, consultations etc.) -Attendance/engagement with Youth Wise -Engagement in other participation opportunities -Evidence of rewarding achievement by, e.g. digital badges
Collaborating effectively with other agencies	-Evidencing good pathways into and from specialist agencies -Working well with other youth providers to ensure a coordinated response to young people’s emerging need -Regularly attending quarterly Youth Grant Providers meetings.
Skilled, knowledgeable workforce	-Nationally recognised, qualified youth workers in place, with tasks including supporting unqualified youth workers -All staff have access to appropriate training
Improving the environmental, social and economic well-being in the area	-6 monthly narrative reports