Activity Agreements Trusted Professional Network

Dundee, 8 February 1-4pm

Key discussion points

Practice discussion – the trusted professional role

Discussion 1 – how do you ensure the right balance between support and challengeand avoid developing dependencies?

  • Reiterate that this is working toward independence
  • Keep progressing
  • What are the signs?
  • Build trust
  • Action planning
  • Achievements/recognition
  • Managing expectations (of young person, parents, other professionals) e.g. care leavers & the need to be clear about the trusted professional role, within the overall responsibilities of corporate parent role.
  • Preparing young people for transition – so they can take the next step
  • Aftercare service e.g. Glasgow – monitor clients
  • Managing parent/guardian’s potential to depend on you.

Support with travel was raised as an area where trusted professionals felt they need to ensure dependency isn’t created. This was common across both rural and urban areas. Examples discussed:

  • Location of and access to provision due to territorialism/gangs
  • Support based on individual need e.g. asylum seeker new to country/area
  • Support given to encourage engagement – but with time limits
  • Moving young people from support to independent travel being planned with the young person – gaining skills in independent travel as part of their AA plan
  • Encouraging young person to take responsibility and recognise achievements
  • Links to suitability –is the young person not ready to engage

Discussion 2 – how do you assess suitability for an Activity Agreement? How important is this for decreasing non-progressions?

  • Initial meeting/initial needs assessment
  • Need to be clear about criteria e.g. how ready for employment, likely to be able to progress within 6-9 monthsetc
  • Some trusted professionals are working with processes that don’t allow for an assessment period prior to offer
  • Some areas assess suitability during an assessment period – e.g. show commitment by attending, before an offer is made e.g. Glasgow
  • Involvement in 16+ meetings with school and SDS
  • Early identification e.g. Fife pilot with 2nd/3rd years
  • Assessment tools e.g. Rickter
  • Referral forms that give good information to begin assessing suitability
  • Examples given of working with agencies to ensure appropriate referrals, e.g. Aberdeen.
  • Good working relationships with not only referring bodies but other professionals who know young person allows for a better assessment of suitability (Fife)
  • What happens to young people not ready for AA – signposting/support needs e.g. mental health

Discussion 3 - What approaches, tools and skills do you use to keep young people engaged? What challenges do you face when supporting young people with multiple barriers to sustain engagement?

  • Facebook, door knocking, EMA as incentive for attendance, relationship building, offering support with barrier removal, sign-posting, flexibility, groupwork, motivation/mindset, bus tickets
  • Parental engagement can be key,
  • Often simple things like giving young people a hot meal.
  • The content of an AA keeps young people engaged (Fife).
  • Relevant provision - Dundee example of using LMI to offer provision linked to local job market/young people’s expressed interests
  • The skill of those delivering – e.g. Fife CLD workers.
  • Drop-in groups e.g. re mental health Dundee and nurture groups e.g. Glasgow

Challenges:

  • Working with young people’s expectations – some are unrealistic.
  • Parental anxieties over financial implications of young people progressing. Importance of parental engagement here.

Working across boundaries

To what extent do you communicate or work across local authority boundaries? How can we develop stronger links across LAs and in what ways could this benefit young people?

  • Trusted Professionals working across boundaries where young people move to another local authority – contacting SDS/AA team
  • Sometimes areas are using the same provider – opportunities here?
  • Tied by boundaries/postcodes
  • Look at shadowing
  • Needs more cross boundary working
  • Keen to visit other local authorities.
  • Trusted Professional meetings are good way to share practice across boundaries and hear how others work.

Sharing practice

  1. Positive Thoughts – enhanced trusted professional support (mental wellbeing)

Dundee City Council. What’s working & the impact on young people.

Copy of presentation available from Grigor

  1. Post-AA support – an opportunity to share how your LA is supporting young people

to sustain beyond their Activity Agreement

  • Support leavers for a short period post-progression.
  • Focusing on supporting young people to prepare for transition – meeting the provider, ensuring young person knows who their new point of contact is/handover etc.
  • Challenges with decrease in stage 2 EF provision – young people ready to move on but nothing available when they need it. Keeping young people engaged and motivated during this time is challenging.
  • Initiatives such as Fairy Job Mother in Dundee, similar developments planned in Fife, drop-ins e.g. DD4 pilot in Dundee – multi-agency.
  • Peer group
  • Glasgow after-care service – support and monitoring