Targeted youth support: charity supports challenging and troubled young people

National charity Fairbridge has over 20 years' experience of working with challenging and troubled young people. Based in 12 centres across England and Wales, it provides young people at risk of exclusion or withdrawal from school with the motivation and skills needed to effectively engage with education.

It achieves this by providing a long-term personal development programme focused around the needs of the individual, for example: 

• Every young person starts with a 10-day access course. Spread out over several weeks it includes activities like kayaking, climbing, IT, music, gorge walking and residential work. It aims to take young people outside of their comfort zone and challenge their behaviour and attitudes, as well as introducing the concept of personal development.
  
  
• Each young person is entitled to long-term support and can pick and mix from a range of further courses that fit their individual needs. These courses all facilitate the development of personal, social and life skills, eg community participation, constructive recreation, basic skills, nutrition and diet, sexual health and parenting, money management, general health and hygiene and personal safety.
  
  
• Each young person is assigned a dedicated key worker to provide one-to-one support as they work towards personal goals identified in individual action plans and transfer learning into their school environment.
  
  
• The overarching aim of this provision is full-time re-engagement with education for every young person (under 16 years) referred to Fairbridge.

Fairbridge Solent

Fairbridge Solent has been operating from its Southampton centre since 1999 and works with approximately 150 new referrals aged 13-25 each year. During 2005/6 it delivered a pilot project within an extended school environment during the final year of the Partners in Innovation grant programme operated by the National Youth Agency.

The project, which took place at Chamberlayne Park school in partnership with Southampton Youth Service, targeted 35 young people identified as either at risk of exclusion or low in confidence, motivation or self-esteem. The scheme was a success. All of the 35 young people achieved an ASDAN accreditation and the majority have remained fully engaged with education.

Based on this success, Fairbridge Solent has developed and rolled out provision for under 16s to other schools and referrers within Southampton and the surrounding area. 

Lessons learnt include:

• Deliver the programme at a time when young people can get the most from it. This may mean releasing them from school for a period with the target of long-term and full-time reintegration with education.
  
  
• Promote and explain the programme to a wide cross section of school staff, parents and young people, not just those that deal with inclusion or extended activities.
  
  
• Clarify responsibilities when working in partnership, eg. what policies and practices you are working to? Who is accountable for staffing? How can Fairbridge be accessed by those excluded from the school?

Click to read more good practice case studies related to the targeted youth support change process.