Analysis of Young People Friendly Neighbourhoods

Analysis of areas piloting the Young People Friendly Neighbourhoods (YPFN) programme has concluded that youth work services are most effective when they are designed and commissioned by young people themselves.

A report produced by environmental charity Groundwork, the programme's organisers, outlines six suggestions for what commissioners could do to ensure young people take ownership of services in the future, including:

• Creation of community-led partnerships coordinated by housing associations;
• Development of strong community relationships between youth workers and young people;
• A longer-term view for funding support and project development;
• A portion of rent money diverted to fund locally-driven services;
• Local people to drive the commissioning process for youth services; and
• Neighbourhoods to decide what proportion of resources are spent on universal and targeted interventions.

YPFN provided open access to activities for young people aged 11 to 19 combined with intensive individual support for those who needed it. Funded with a £2.7million grant from the Department for Education, the programme gave young people alongside residents in 20 neighbourhoods across England the chance to run and shape services in their communities.

The 18-month programme, which ended in March, involved 2,400 young people and 47,000 youth work sessions and activities.

Areas that ran the programme included Kettering, Leicester and Nottingham in the East Midlands.

Groundwork managed YPFN in partnership with social housing landlord Sanctuary Housing, Youth Access and public sector consultants FPM. A formal evaluation of the programme is to be published by the University of Salford.

For further information on the report visit www.groundwork.org.uk/News/helping-young-people-to-be-part-of-the-answer.