Targeted youth support: change team and use of facilitators
Contact
deb.thomas@knowsley.gov.uk
| Provider | Training and Development Agency |
|---|---|
| Topics | Targeted youth support |
| Type | Emerging practice |
| Date | February 2007 |
| Region | North West |
One approach to managing the targeted youth support (TYS) change teams in the Knowsley pathfinder was to use the problem solving, team building (PSTB) process, for each meeting and to support each meeting with a facilitator. To ensure that this process built capacity, children's service staff were given training to help them facilitate the change teams at each meeting.
The PSTB meetings included:
- Agreeing background
- Generating ideas
- Selecting ideas
- Agreeing benefits and concerns
- Developing potential solutions to the critical concerns
- Action planning.
The facilitators gained an excellent understanding of both content and effective processes for change. They are now planning more workshops for the TYS pathfinder.
Issue
At the beginning of the Develop stage of the change process many people were invited to be part of TYS change teams who had not previously taken part. A decision was made to facilitate the work of the change teams using problem solving, team building. The aim was to ensure they understood the research that had already been carried out and that they were and motivated to come up with radical solutions.
The TYS team also wanted to build Knowsley's capacity to facilitate change in the longer term by supporting the development of a pool of expert facilitators in the authority and its partners.
Action taken
Three people were identified from the change for children programme team as being capable of facilitating the three change teams. All had experience of facilitation and a good understanding of the issues, having worked on various change for children projects before. They committed to working with the change teams over six weeks. Spreading PSTB over six weeks allows a change team to move dynamically, while having time to test ideas with colleagues in between sessions.
The facilitators were trained in PSTB techniques by a trainer attached to the TYS pathfinder, who also provided a written guide to the tools and techniques that could be used to facilitate each meeting.
This provided an opportunity for capacity building, as the trainer was also delivering within the extended schools agenda in Knowsley. This enabled joint training across the two projects, building a bigger pool of facilitators who can work across projects.
The facilitators began their work at the TYS Fast Start workshop, supporting the change teams develop their terms of reference using a mind map. They then planned their six week facilitation programmes, based on the PSTB.
Results
The facilitation team are working with the TYS project manager to design the next workshop as the pathfinder moves onto its Deliver stage, confident in both their use of tools and techniques and that they understand the content of the work.
Click to go back to the process case studies for the Develop stage.
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