Agenda item

To consider a report from the Director of Children and Families and the Director of City Development that provides a summary and introduction to work experience accessibility in Leeds.

The Board considered a report from the Director of Children and Families and the Director of City Development that provided a summary and introduction to work experience accessibility in Leeds.

In attendance for this item were:

·  Councillor Helen Hayden, Executive Member for Children and Families

·  Julie Longworth, Director of Children & Families

·  Dan Barton, Deputy Director – Learning

·  Cllr Jonathan Pryor Executive Member for Economy, Transport and Sustainable Development

·  Gillian Wallace, Head of Service Employment & Skills

·  Tracey Greig, Employment & Skills Senior Manager

·  Hannah Lamplugh, Children’s Strategy and Influence Lead

·  Rob Clayton, Principal Scrutiny Adviser

The Chair of the Board and Executive Member for Children and Families introduced the report and highlighted the differences in experience that children gain when trying to access work experience and for many finding a placement can be a significant challenge.

It was noted that work experience can play a crucial role in shaping careers and in preparing young people for the future. Those from disadvantaged backgrounds, including those who are care experienced, often find accessing placements more challenging and more generally it can be a case of who you know not what you know when it comes to finding work experience placements.

The Children and Young People’s Plan (CYPP) was noted by the Director of Children and Families with Wish 11 being focused on accessing work experience, employment and volunteering opportunities and that listening to and responding to the voice of the child is a key focus in the CYPP and is exemplified in this workstream.

In response to comments and question from Board members the following was discussed:

·  The Board asked about the pilot programme which is being developed to support care experienced children and young people to access work experience placements in terms of numbers and securing employers and businesses to offer placements. In response the Board heard that resourcing is an issue in terms of meeting all demand for placements in Years 10 and 12, which would be into thousands of placements, so the focus is on care experienced children/Looked After Children for who the Council is the Corporate Parent. This would involve brokering support and working in partnership with anchor organisations and Child Friendly Leeds partners to offer placements. It was highlighted that this is a proposal at this stage with work to do to develop and launch the planned approach as opposed to a guarantee of a placement to all children and young people with care experience or who are looked after children.

·  This work is being led as part of the wider commitment on care as a protected characteristic which has a number of priorities and is being led by Cllr Venner (Executive Member for Equality, Health and Well-Being) following a deputation to full Council earlier in the year. Key priorities are housing and employment and skills with the latter containing themes around apprenticeships, internships and work experience.

·  The Board suggested that more could be done to sell the benefits of work experience placements, so examples of positive contributions made by previous placements to try to increase take up. The Board also noted the paternalistic approach to work experience, and it should be considered to be genuinely valuable to employers as well as them fulfilling their own social responsibility aims.

·  Members noted that some of the placements offered through the Council develop organically and are offered through contacts as opposed to a more coherent system where placements are advertised to potential candidates. It was also suggested that council services could ‘adopt a school’ and focus on making placement offers to students at those schools.

·  Universities were highlighted as a possible opportunity building on the students into schools approach, could students and graduates go into schools and talk about their career experiences, for example.

·  The Board discussed development of ‘speed dating’ or taster sessions for employers to visit schools and it was noted that this does already take place as part of work related curriculum in schools, albeit there is potential for this to be audited to understand if there are any gaps in the city where this does not take place as frequently.

·  The Board focussed on support available to students when accessing placements. If families are well networked, it is often possible for parents to support young people into a work experience placement. However, it was noted that this tends to favour well networked or wealthier families and could leave those from more disadvantaged backgrounds missing out on placements. It was suggested that a ‘bank’ approach could be adopted through which placement availability and knowledge of networks to get placements is stored in each school to support placements and prevent young people missing out.

·  It was noted that some of the issues highlighted are in lieu of no longer having the Education Business Partnership model in place which did much of the organisational work associated with matching young people to placements and managing work experience processes. Resourcing therefore is a key limiting factor in what can be done moving forward, albeit it was accepted that more can be done to use available resources in different and more innovative ways.

·  Board members highlighted the feedback received from the Leeds Youth Council and the benefits that allowing time off from school to attend careers fairs might bring to young people in the city. Members also noted that the traditional two week window to carry out work experience placements may need to be adjusted to reflect modern, more flexible working patterns. Volunteering with local groups was also noted as a possible area through which work experience can be gained and that it might be appropriate to recognise volunteering activity as valuable work experience. In response the Board heard that flexibility is something to be focussed on but also needs to be balanced against other timetabling responsibilities that schools face and the need for appropriate supervision of young people in their placements. However, it was noted that a menu of experiences could be developed in council services where it is appropriate for children to do work experience and that this can then be consistently offered through a carousel type approach with candidates receiving a range of work experience in different services and settings.

·  The Board acknowledged that ongoing budgetary challenges would mean that there is a limit to how many placements can be taken as supervising a placement could mean that a staff member is diverted away from other tasks.

·  A Board member highlighted the need to better advertise work experience on the Council’s website as currently when searched for on the website there are no results. In addition, a suggestion was made of using templates to ease some of the processes associated with work experience placements, so for example a risk assessment template was suggested. The Board were informed that each work placement does have to have a formal risk assessment which comes at a cost of approximately £45 per assessment, these are currently conducted by another local authority on the Council’s behalf.

·  The Board noted the potential for procurement to lever in work experience opportunities through social value in procurement approaches. Where organisations contract with the Council it might be that work placements form part of that contract. The Board heard that this does take place already, but it might be possible to do more through that to drive up the number of placements delivered through the Council and the wider supply network.

·  The Board were informed that the Voice, Influence and Change Team are also involved in delivering experiences of the workplace which are shorter day long sessions as opposed to a two week placement. It was also noted that HR manage the work experience email address in the Council and that resources are stretched with it being a small part of a team’s wider role. Perhaps clearer reporting of placement to this team would assist in getting a true understanding of the volume of placements delivered through the Council.

·  Members discussed the importance of the Year 10 work experience offer due to timing in a young person’s life as they begin to make decisions about future careers and what future education they would like to pursue.

·  The meeting was informed about the Compass House project which sees work done in partnership with Kirkgate Market to facilitate work experience opportunities for children and young people at SILCs. This sees them develop and make things to sell through a unit at the Market each December.

·  The Executive Board Member for Economy, Transport and Sustainable Development emphasised the difference in terms of resources between now and 20 years ago and that now, due to resourcing, there is a need to prioritise resource which the Council is going to do through its planned focus on care experience and children looked after. It was also noted that pulling together the work already done by the Council is important. Things like improving information on the website and seeking to deliver more placements through anchor institutions and other employers to focus on care experience and children looked after initially but also to look to broaden that and build up the systems to offer it more widely to more children and young people over time.

·  Members noted the Careers for All approach taken by the Museums and Galleries Service and how that might be expanded to other services. A key focus in this is making the placements suit both the organisation and the candidates. In response the Board heard that this would be shared, along with other points raised on SEND, with the SEND Employment Forum.

·  The Chair noted that positive discussion around a carousel offer where a two week period is shared across services could be developed further. In addition, it was also noted that some of the admin and required forms and assessments associated with placements can be a perceived barrier by employers and where possible the Council could look to provide support and to also co-ordinate its offer more effectively.

·  The Board agreed that this should feature as a further update item at a future meeting to report back on progress.

Resolved - The Children and Families Scrutiny Board noted the contents of the report and requested that this is brought back as a future update item to report on progress made at a future board meeting.

(Proposed by Cllr Jones, seconded by Cllr Goodall and supported unanimously)