Appx 1 - Youth Strategy 2024
Perth and Kinross Council · 23 October 2024
Back to Learning and Families Committee — 23 October 2024 and its agenda
Text extracted from the council's PDF. Layout and reading order may differ from the original.
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Perth and Kinross Youth Strategy 2024 A Perth and Kinross where everyone can live life well, free from poverty and inequality Appendix 1
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Perth and Kinross Youth Strategy 2024 A Perth and Kinross where everyone can live life well, free from poverty and inequality 2 We want to thank all those who have contributed to this strategy and especially to all our young people who gave of their time and shared their stories with us. This strategy is designed to support young people aged 12 to 25 years. We want young people in Perth and Kinross to feel valued, achieve their potential and be listened to, understood and respected. This strategy sets out how this can be achieved, the steps which have already been taken and those yet to be developed. Young people are at the centre and as such we have had numerous individual consultations with young people, two gatherings with young people from across the council area and consultations with those involved directly in working with young people. Young people have told us how life is for them now and that they are concerned for their future. They also told us the hopes and aspirations they have for their future as they move into adulthood. We have divided this strategy up into four main themes which they agreed were their priorities. The themes are: The emotional wellbeing of our young people is a priority and runs through all the themes above. Young People spoke at length at about experiencing discrimination, worries about their future and a lack of understanding of them from the adults in their lives. We want this strategy to provide a framework for improvement, but we also want to celebrate our young people and all that they achieve. Foreword Introduction Safe Voice Citizenship Community
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A Perth and Kinross where everyone can live life well, free from poverty and inequality 3 12 to 14 population • Population decrease The number of young people aged 12 to 24 years living in Perth and Kinross is decreasing. In 2021, there were 20,447 young people aged 12 to 24 years. This is a decrease of just over 1,100 young people or 5% since 2011. • Population proportion Like Scotland, the population of Perth and Kinross is aging. In 1981, young people aged 12 to 24 years accounted for 20% of the total population, in 2021 this had reduced to 13%. Care-experienced • Looked-After As at 31 December 2023, just under half (47%) of children and young people currently in the care system and Looked-After by Perth and Kinross Council were aged 12 to 18 years. • Seeking asylum Of the 125 young people aged 12 to 24 years who were Looked-After on 31 December 2023, 13 arrived in the UK alone and seeking asylum. • Eligible for aftercare As at 31 December 2023, there were 244 young people who left care on or after their 16th birthday making them eligible for aftercare. Of those eligible, 70% were in receipt of aftercare. Education • Secondary education Across Perth and Kinross, there are 11 mainstream secondary schools educating approximately 8,000 pupils. • Bullying A survey in 2022 showed that just under a third, 31% of pupils in S1, S2 and S3 stated they had been bullied in the last year. Young people in Perth and Kinross
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Perth and Kinross Youth Strategy 2024 A Perth and Kinross where everyone can live life well, free from poverty and inequality 4 • Leaver destinations Almost all school leavers, 94% move on to a positive destination. Most young people continue learning at university or college. • Deprivation Fewer young people from more deprived areas move on to a positive destination. • Disengagement from education We know that some young people have struggled to return to school following COVID-19. This often leads to further isolation from their peer group. Mental wellbeing • Mental wellbeing Positive mental wellbeing of young people is declining. Boys report better levels of wellbeing compared to girls. Local figures are slightly below national figures. • Social media Between 2018 and 2022, there was an increase in problematic social media use among girls in all age groups, but not among boys. • Sleep Young people from less affluent families report fewer hours of sleep on school days, poorer quality sleep and more sleep difficulties.
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Perth and Kinross Youth Strategy 2024 A Perth and Kinross where everyone can live life well, free from poverty and inequality 5 Tiered Level of Support The above shows how we deliver a range of supports for young people with more detail below.
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A Perth and Kinross where everyone can live life well, free from poverty and inequality 6 Universal supports are defined as being open to all young people and have no referral criteria. There are numerous uniformed youth groups, faith-based groups and volunteer ran activity groups throughout Perth and Kinross. Since 2018, The Gannochy Trust and Perth and Kinross Council have commissioned 5 locality youth work providers to deliver a universal youth work service across Perth and Kinross. The purpose of this partnership is to provide support to young people where they live, for as long as they need it. The partners come together in a development forum which allows for the sharing of ideas, training, and resources. The partnership was initially funded for 5 years and following a recommissioning exercise is funded for a further 3 years 2024 to 2027. The partnership has also been an information and support hub to universal providers in their area. Perth and Kinross youth partners Support for everyone YMCA Eastern Alliance Logos Kythe Breathe
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Perth and Kinross Youth Strategy 2024 A Perth and Kinross where everyone can live life well, free from poverty and inequality 7 Specific support There are a number of youth groups which are for young people who have a specific need or who need specific support. Some of these groups require a referral process and some are self-referred. • RASAC Rape and Sexual Abuse Centre Perth and Kinross support young people over the age of 12 years, who have experienced sexual violence at any time in their lives. They offer one-to-one support and offer information via their website www.rasacpk.org.uk. • PKAVS Young Carers support young people between the ages of 5 to 17 years who provide care or assistance to a family member of any age, who has a disability, physical or mental long term health condition or is affected by drug or alcohol misuse. The Young Carers team provides opportunities for young carers to be children and young people first and to support them to manage their caring responsibilities. We have a team of young carer support workers that help young carers identify their social, practical, emotional, and educational needs. www.pkavs.org.uk • SHIP Support, Help And Integration in Perthshire is a charity that focusses on supporting children with additional support needs. They run weekly activity clubs, sports groups, and holiday clubs. www.ship-perthshire.co.uk • ENABLE Supports children, young people with learning disabilities. www.enable.org.uk • IAPK Independent Advocacy Perth and Kinross support children and young people up to 18 years of age who have either a learning disability, autism or experience mental health issues and who feel they would like advocacy support. Welcome - Independent Advocacy (iapk.org.uk) • The Lighthouse Perth The Lighthouse for Perth is a local non-profit service offering crisis support for anyone aged 12+ years who is at risk of self-harm or suicide. The Lighthouse For Perth - Suicide, Self-Harm & Crisis Support
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Perth and Kinross Youth Strategy 2024 A Perth and Kinross where everyone can live life well, free from poverty and inequality 8 • @Scott street Operated by Perth and Kinross Council’s services for young people and open to young people aged between 12 to 25 years and their families to resolve concerns at home, school, and community. Young people are referred to the service by themselves or referred by our youth work partners, schools, police, social work, or housing. Youth workers operate on a locality level and will be seen around schools and link into other partners in their area. Youth workers have a wealth of knowledge about resources and supports for young people and will support either individually or as part of a group. The service also holds licenses for awards such as DofE. They can be found on twitter, Instagram, or Facebook • Cool to Talk Provides a confidential service where young people can ask questions about anything and will receive a response within 24hrs. The service is a safe space for young people aged 12 to 25 years living in Tayside Cool2Talk – A safe space for young people age 12 years and over • Perth Autism Support This organisation aims to support Children and Young People with Autism and their family access quality services at a time that is right for them Perth Autism Support • GLOW This is a service for young people run by LGBT Youth Scotland and meet at AK Bell library https://lgbtyouth.org.uk/ • Barnardo’s Hopscotch – 1:1 support for young people who have impacted by parental substance misuse Hopscotch Perth & Kinross | Barnardo's (barnardos.org.uk) • Perth and Kinross Domestic Abuse Service – Barnardo’s and Woman’s Aid support for young people 16+ • Rock trust - aim is to end youth homelessness in Scotland by ensuring that every young person has access to expert youth specific services to assist them to avoid, survive and move on from homelessness. In Perth and Kinross Rock Trust have several supported tenancies
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Perth and Kinross Youth Strategy 2024 A Perth and Kinross where everyone can live life well, free from poverty and inequality 9 Targeted support These resources work with young people who have a high level of need and who have been referred from Children, Families and Justice Services. However, it is also helpful to know what that support is and is detailed below. TCAC – Throughcare and Aftercare Team work with young people 15½ to 25 years who are care experienced to support their transition from care into adulthood. The team support young people with all aspects of their life including Housing, Employment, practical and emotional support. The team also support the locality groups in Schools and the Fun Young Individuals which represent the voice of care experienced young people. Bail Supervision – Bail Supervision is a team that supports young people who are in conflict with the law and who have appeared in court as part of an early intervention service. The team supports young people to resolve some of the issues which may have led to them being in conflict and support them to achieve their potential. The team attends court where they offer the service to young people who are appearing and if they are in agreement to work with the team this can be presented to the Sheriff. CASA (Children Alone and Seeking Asylum) works with unaccompanied asylum seekers to ensure that they have a safe place to live and support their integration into their community. Barnardo’s ‘space 4 u’ offers 1:1 support for young people around mental health and parenting. Intensive Support REACH - Resilient, Engaged, Achieving, Confident and Healthy. The team supports young people aged 12 to 18 years who are having difficulties within their home, school, or community and where accommodation away from their family is being considered. The team comprises of staff from different background i.e. speech and language therapy and teaching and provides support to young people and their family over 24hrs 7 days a week.
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A Perth and Kinross where everyone can live life well, free from poverty and inequality 10 The action plan below is divided into the 4 themes and is based on the information from the young people and what is important to them. This is by no means all that young people told us but are the main issues young people felt that needed to be addressed. Safe Feeling Safe is a fundamental right for everyone and the need to be Safe whether at home, school, work or in the community is a priority for all. The impact of social media on young people’s lives is evident every day and along with some advantages to staying connected also can mean for those who are feeling vulnerable to not being able to switch off or shut off negativity. Young people gave us numerous examples where they were continually victimised online by people they know and where conversations and photographs they thought were private were then shared. Young People told us that whilst they can choose their peer group within their social life that this could not be done in school and at times led to them feeling unsafe. Some recognise that this could not be avoided but did recognise that adults around them should be more aware and support them to become more resilient. Young people told us that they feel relationships with their peers is often the source of difficulty and managing relationships was a struggle. Young people are very aware of drug and alcohol misuse and how this can impact on their health and wellbeing. Some told us that peer pressure often leads young people to take alcohol and drugs and think more information and support around this would be helpful. Other issues like mental and emotional health education would be useful on how to look after their emotional health. Most young people told us they felt safe in their community as they know how to avoid people they felt unsafe around. Some told us that some people drove too fast and frightened them when misusing drugs and alcohol. Some also told us that they felt discrimination when out and about and wanted opportunities to change public perception of young people. Some also told us they felt safe at home and that they know what to do if they didn’t however, having trusted adults around them ensures that should this not be the case they would know where to go. Action Plan
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Perth and Kinross Youth Strategy 2024 A Perth and Kinross where everyone can live life well, free from poverty and inequality 11 Specific issue Actions By who When Young people need support to ensure they are safe online and that they know the consequences and impact around their messaging Supported discussions in all settings around use of social media and how this can impact on others as well as keeping themselves safe Programme to be developed to inform young people of legal and moral implications of on-line messaging All CPC GIRFEC group SFYP and Youth Forum Sept 2025 Sep 2025 Ensure there are safe places for young people in schools and communities Identify where the safe places in schools are for young people to go to when they need it. Identify and publicise safe spaces for young people in communities Education and SFYP SFYP and partners Sep 2025 Sep 2025 Support for guidance teachers and community link workers inc. training on mental health to support young people Identify suitable training and rollout programme Education Sep 2025 Young people need trusted adults around them to raise any concerns and believe that they will action their concerns. Develop the role of trusted adult and scope out how the role could be used to support young people. Young People need to choose who their trusted adult is Refresh the role of the named person All GIRFEC group Sep 2025
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Perth and Kinross Youth Strategy 2024 A Perth and Kinross where everyone can live life well, free from poverty and inequality 12 Voice Perth and Kinross Council is developing a Youth Forum which will have representatives from some of the above organisations and be chaired by a MSYP (Member of Scottish Youth Parliament). The forum is currently being established but will act as a way in which the voice of young people will be heard. There are locality and school voice groups which will feed into the forum to ensure there is as wide a representation as possible. The forum will be supported by Children’s Rights Officer and will meet on a regular basis. The forum will raise issues to the Children Young People and Families partnerships which is chaired by Chief Executive and has Lead Officers and Elected members in attendance. The challenge for the Youth Forum will be to ensure that members represent the voice of all young people especially those who find it difficult to make their voice heard. Specific issue Actions By who When The Youth Forum is being established but requires work with the young people re role, membership etc Develop constitution- ways of working, membership and roles SYP and CRO Sep 2025 Ensure links with CYPF partnership are established Identify and progress links to agenda when appropriate SYP and CRO Sep 2025 Develop links with school and community groups Undertake visits to and establish links with groups SYP and CRO Sep 2025 Individual young people can be supported by a range of different people to have their voice heard and make sure that the decisions around them are understood and are in their best interests. Individual advocacy through Independent Advocacy Perth and Kinross (IAPK) provides that service for young people involved with Social Work or through Children’s Hearing and named persons and trusted adults are also often the advocate for young people.
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Perth and Kinross Youth Strategy 2024 A Perth and Kinross where everyone can live life well, free from poverty and inequality 13 Citizenship Young people told us that they wanted to participate in decisions around them and within their communities but found that difficult at times and spoke about not being taken seriously. Young People want to know their rights about all aspects of their lives but especially around employment. Some spoke about feeling taken advantage of in employment. Young people told us that they wanted a purposeful future and that they would like to achieve whatever their potential is. Some told us that they felt too much emphasis was on further education and wanted to be given skills to move into the workforce. Some wanted to know more about the range of employment opportunities available to them and how they would they know what is right for them. Young people felt that they were not prepared for adulthood and that they didn’t know about money, housing, and being independent. Some would welcome more information about independent skills and how to manage a home. Some young people who are living alone told us of the difficulties they were experiencing and the benefit they got from having specific support to sustain their tenancy. Another suggestion was that this could include information about Sexual Health and Parenting. Young people suggested that this was a programme that could be developed as part of the curriculum. Some particularly wanted to know about how they would exercise their right to vote responsibly. Specific issue Actions By who When Young people need to be prepared for employment with writing CV’s undertaking skills development and preparing for interviews Develop package of support specifically targeting those who wish to go into employment Youth Employability partners through the Local Employability Partnership Sep 2025 Young people need to be prepared for adult life and some of the practical things they need Develop life skills programme to include aspects of housing and finances. Parenting programmes could also be included SYP and partners Sep 2025
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Perth and Kinross Youth Strategy 2024 A Perth and Kinross where everyone can live life well, free from poverty and inequality 14 Young People need to know their rights and how to exercise them Provide information and publicity around UNCRC and what this means to them. CRO Sep 2025 Community Young people told us that they enjoyed being part of their community although recognised that on occasion they were the subject of discrimination especially around sexuality. Some also wanted opportunities to show their community of young people’s value and for this to be recognised. Young people told us they would like to volunteer but sometimes don’t know where to go to do this. Young people spoke a lot about the issues of rurality and how these impacts on them. Perth and Kinross is a rural area with many of the young people living out of Perth. Public transport is difficult, infrequent, unreliable, feeling unsafe and although they are using their free bus travel the frequency of buses is still an issue. This can prevent some young people from accessing social activities and supports. Young People spoke about the need for opportunities to be involved in cultural events, music and arts programmes within their local communities whilst recognising physical wellbeing and inclusion can support mental health. Specific issue Actions By who When Young People want to volunteer but are unsure how to do this and what opportunities exist Create a volunteering portal for young people and support to access by organisations looking for volunteers Communities team within Perth and Kinross Council in partnership with PKAVS Sep 2025 Young people experience discrimination because they are young. Inter- generational work can help with that as well as challenging discrimination in a positive way Create opportunities for inter-generational work. Support young people who have faced discrimination and offer advice about challenging in future SYP and HSCP All Sep 2025 Sept 2025
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Perth and Kinross Youth Strategy 2024 A Perth and Kinross where everyone can live life well, free from poverty and inequality 15 Being in a rural community has barriers but by working together we can challenge these barriers. Work with partners to create opportunities for young people who are isolated to become involved with others All Sept 2025 Young People who are involved in anti-social behaviour find themselves a focus in smaller communities and this leads to difficulty in changing the perception of themselves. Help young people to change the perception of themselves and be involved in their community. All Sept 2025 Young people who are unaccompanied and seeking Asylum require support for integration Develop integration package SYP Sept 2025 If you or someone you know would like a copy of this document in another language or format, (on occasion, only a summary of the document will be provided in translation), this can be arranged by contacting the Customer Service Centre on 01738 475000. You can also send us a text message on 07824 498145. All Council Services can offer a telephone translation facility. BSL users can contact us via Contact Scotland BSL, the online British Sign Language video relay interpreting service. Find out more on the Contact Scotland BSL website https://contactscotland-bsl.org