Some 39 community organisations across Birmingham are in talks to save at-risk youth centres across the city, council chiefs said today. If successful, it would mean none of the city’s youth venues would close, despite a dramatic cut to budgets.
The city would also end up with more youth workers, more specialist support for vulnerable young people, and a bigger, more meaningful say for the city’s youth, according to the city’s cabinet member for children, young people and families, Cllr Mick Brown. The plans stand in stark contrast to an original proposal published last October.
That would have seen the workforce slashed and seen centres close with the service ‘shattered’. Those ‘tensions’ had triggered a major rethink, resulting in a ‘transformation’ of the service, said Cllr Brown, who came into his new cabinet role last summer.
READ MORE: Revealed – the future of youth services in Birmingham and the six centres ‘at risk’
The key outcomes of that rethink, as revealed earlier this week by Birmingham Live, include:
- Increase the number of youth service workers from 31 (full time equivalents) to 40
- Four youth centres to remain under direct council control and funding. These are The Factory in Longbridge, The Lighthouse in Aston, Shard End Youth Centre and Concord Youth Centre in Sparkbrook.
- Two youth centres currently operated in partnership will remain. These are Three Estates Youth Project in Kings Norton and ER Mason Centre in the city centre
- Partners to be sought to run six more youth centres – Oakland Young People’s Centre in Handsworth, Naseby Youth Centre in Alum Rock, Clifton Road Youth Centre in Sutton Coldfield, Lozells Recreation Group, The Vibe Youth Centre in Yardley, Soho Youth Project in Winson Green and the Maypole Centre in Druids Heath.
- Much closer working with existing youth provision in the community
- New area teams of youth workers, with a central hub providing specialist support
Critics say that whatever the outcome, the cuts are still abhorrent in a city which is referred to as the youngest in Europe by dint of its high proportion of under 18s. The Save Birmingham Youth Services group had said the cuts proposed come amid deep concern about the futures of young people in the city, especially in areas of high deprivation where opportunities are otherwise limited.
READ MORE: Birmingham ‘abandoning teens’ as huge youth service cuts unveiled
Our recent project ‘Birmingham: A Child Poverty Emergency’ highlighted the need to protect youth workers and the service for the sake especially of the 46% of children growing up in poverty. One of our eight asks is that youth services become a statutory provision, giving it some protection from cuts like these.
The cuts also follow more horrific news about youth violence in and around the city, allied to rising fears about the impact of criminal exploitation on Birmingham’s children.
But Cllr Brown told BirminghamLive: “Like many councils across the country, we face financial challenges. Unlike many other local authorities, we’ve committed to both retaining and developing a permanent, sustainable youth service, which hopefully is going to deliver on young people’s priorities and is built around the way young people live nowadays.” Around two thirds of councils no longer operate youth centres or a meaningful service, he added.
The budget for youth services for the entire city is now just £1.1 million. The council said it recognised that it could not afford to sustain a network of youth centres in every community within its budget so has been actively seeking community partners. The aim is to designate at-risk buildings as community assets, ensuring they are retained for youth provision, but with funding and input from other partners.
An initial 134 expressions of interest have now been whittled down to 39 ‘viable applications’ with at least one for each youth centre at risk. They include educational institutions (academies, colleges), sports organisations and community groups, said Cllr Brown.
The hope is that, following due diligence and further talks over the next four months, responsibility for the upkeep and running of the venues will be taken over by new partnerships, with council support. All venues will remain open until a solution is found, he added.
Additional funding has also been obtained – some from the higher needs spending block for SEND children, some from public health, some from additional grants – which allows specialist posts to be built into the new model. These will provide expert support for young people with special educational needs and disabilities, those accessing alternative schooling, and those in care or with care experience, said Cllr Brown. In addition, the service is looking to bring in young apprentices with SEND as ambassadors to support work with their peers. Expert support on issues like mental health, sexual health and relationships will be part of the service for young people.
Said Cllr Brown: “I want to give genuine thanks to the hundreds of young people who’ve given their views at meetings (about the future of youth services). And I want to thank the amazing youth workers within the city, I genuinely thank them for contributions that have been instrumental in developing what we believe is a more robust and sustainable operational plan.”
Child poverty is soaring in Birmingham and without urgent change, will only get worse. Having worked with charities and community groups, BirminghamLive is campaigning for the following changes to start to turn the tide:
- End the two-child benefit cap
- Provide free school meals to every child in poverty
- Create a city “aid bank” for baby and child essentials
- Protect children’s and youth services
- Create permanent, multi year Household Support Fund and give more Discretionary Housing grants
- Set up child health and wellbeing hubs in our most deprived neighbourhoods
- Appoint a Birmingham child poverty tsar
- Provide free public travel for young people
You can see why in more detail here.
Read our full report Birmingham: A Child Poverty Emergency here.
What you can do to help.
Steve Kay is the council’s director of schools and employability. A former teacher and youth worker, he has worked closely with youth service staff and young people to come up with an alternative way forward for the service within its budget constraints since joining the council last September, his appointment coinciding with Cllr Brown taking on political oversight of the youth service.
“When we arrived the service was not where we needed to be in terms of its structure and delivery. We felt it was important to review the proposals that had been drawn up. There was some tension around the proposals put forward.
“Since then we have better listened to young people and to our youth workers. Young people told us about issues around transport, about where they feel safe and not, and recognising their needs more generally has been crucially important. Equally, we wanted to hear from youth workers, they understand their communities, and we wanted to enable them to genuinely help shape what the final structure would look like.”
The end result envisages a youth service operating in four distinct geographical areas – north, south, east, west – with a central hub of specialists, he said.
Mr Kay added: “We’re one of the largest and youngest cities in Europe yet we don’t currently have a specific youth strategy. That’s something that we are committed to developing this year and this is the start. A future youth strategy will align up the work of schools, colleges, the Department for Work and Pensions, the combined authority, the voluntary, faith and community sector organisations in the city, so Birmingham City Council can be a really important part of a much bigger jigsaw for the city’s young people.”
Sue Harrison, Strategic Director for Children and Families, said: “Directors have been successful in obtaining additional funding to grow the service. This has secured the future of the service to ensure we can provide the right support, at the right time at the right place. I would like to extend a special thank you to everyone for their contributions in shaping a long-term model that our young people deserve – the dedication and commitment during these challenging times is truly valued.”
Soulla Yiasouma, Head of Youth Services, said: “Birmingham’s youth service has been through a very challenging time and throughout this time our youth worker colleagues have continued to deliver an excellent service to our young people across the city. We are now in a position that we can focus on the future and move forward with a new model of delivery that gives us a good foundation where we can continue to develop. The future for the youth service is looking positive and we look forward to continuing to deliver a provision the young people of Birmingham deserve.”
Are you affected by these changes? Are you part of a community team looking to take over a centre? Do get in touch. jane.haynes@reachplc.com