Lead Intervention Coordinator Role – Cumbria Specialists Youth Services

Published:

Summary:

Details of the role of the Lead Intervention Coordinator at Cumbria youth offending service.

Description:

Cumbria Youth Offending Service created a Project Development Manager post (which was a seconded post from Jan 2015 to Jan 2016 and is now absorbed into the Service as ‘Lead Intervention Coordinator) to manage the implantation of accredited Unpaid Work and Junior Attendance Centre programmes within the Service. This was a decision taken by management in order to tackle YJB stipulation of accreditation, support young people to gain a qualification to support further education, training and employment as well as respond to a restructure of the Service. The monies, for the seconded post were allocated from the YOT- annual budget.

Thus far, since January 2015 (to September 2017) 47 young people have completed and have received accreditation through National Open College Network Centre.
Role of the Lead Intervention Co-Ordinator:
The role of the Project development Manager post was initially to establish the roles and responsibilities of the Intervention Teams and establish accreditations and create the specific sessions in order to achieve the accreditation (accreditations are made up of various ‘sessions’).
These Teams are now managed by a Lead Intervention Co-Ordinator who is also responsible for the development of further awards, managing the current awards, the management and day to day running of all three teams within the County and the main point of contact for the Awarding Body.
Initially, the Intervention Teams were created by taking the previous ISS Teams (made up of 3 staff) and changing the name and role. However due to a recent restructure the Teams were moved from the YOT and now sit within Cumbria- Specialist Youth Service. The Team members received training around their new role. The work of the Intervention Teams is now divided into several core areas:

  • Volunteers – recruitment, training, retention and general day to day management of panel members and mentors.
  • One Awards – session delivery, quarterly standardisation meetings, internal verification and curriculum development
  • JAC – weekly 1:1 sessions, YJB data returns and coordinating school holiday group sessions
  • Interventions – supervision of reparation, UPW and other activity requirements
  • Planning and Coordination and running ISS – ISS timetabling, monthly intervention planning, resourcing, planning and coordination of projects.
  • The Teams are now also taking referrals from the YOT, as well as Children- Services, Early Help and from the Police Channel/Prevent Programme

Setting up Accreditations:
Initially the role of the Project Development Manager was to establish a working relation and support the Service to become a Centre. This was agreed and this means that young people are able to complete their accreditation and it can be moderated and accredited within a short period of time.

Every member of the Intervention Team holds a Level 3 AET Award in Education and Training (previously known as PTLLS). The Intervention Co-ordinations hold a Level 4 Award in Internal Quality Assurance of Assessment Processes and Practice and the lead Intervention Co-ordinator holds the same qualification and a management one as well. This is a requirement from the Awarding Body. The reason that all Intervention staff are trained is because, although anyone can deliver the sessions that make up the accreditation, it can only be considered accredited if it is delivered by a trained member of staff and it goes through the formal process of verification.

To this end, the Cumbria Specialist Youth Service is a recognised National Open College Network Centre and recognised One Award Centre. The National Open College Network Centre and One Awards are the same organisation, however they offer different Qualifications and cannot be accessed from one centre to another. There is no additional cost to establish the other Centre.
What this means is that the Service is able to run accredited Programmes with young people. They are currently running the following:

  • Entry Level (and Entry Level 1) Award in Skills for Employment, Training and Personal Development, with young people completing their JAC or UPW element of their Order (through One Awards)
  • NOCN Entry Level Certificate in Independent Living – Looking After Yourself and Your Home (through NOCN)

Implementing the Practice:

  • Once the secondment came to an end, the role became known as Lead Intervention Co-Ordinator and it is a permanent manager role in order to meet the business need
  • Intervention Team hold various levels of qualifications (provided by Centre) in order to be able to deliver and award accreditation
  • There is cost attached to running the YOS as a ‘Centre’, however this means that young people are able to access and complete Level 1 award or/and Entry Level Certificate
  • Although no data has yet been collected formally, however, compliance and engagement at both the JAC and UPW has improved considerably since being run by the Intervention Teams

Contact:

YOT:  Cumbria Specialist Youth Service
 Name:  Simon Day
 Email:  Simon.Day@cumbria.gov.uk