Summary of the Youth Development Plan

The Vale of White Horse District Council is preparing a plan which will set out the services that it will provide for children and young people (from birth to age nineteen) in the Vale.

Before it is finalised we would welcome your comments.

You can also print out this summary as a leaflet.

The purpose of the plan

The three year plan will show how the Council will use its services to contribute to the Oxfordshire Children & Young People's Plan, which is being prepared by Oxfordshire County Council, from now until 2009.

The Council does not have the money to provide lots of new services. The plan will concentrate on making sure that the Council's existing services provide the best possible outcome for children and young people in the Vale.

The plan also considers how the Council can improve its services by teaming up with other organisations - from hospitals and schools, to police and voluntary groups - which are involved with providing services to children and young people.

What do we want to achieve?

The aims of the Vale of White Horse
District Council is to provide every child
and young person the opportunity to:

• Live a healthy life;
• Stay safe;
• Fulfil their potential;
• Get the most out of life and develop the skills for adulthood.

What do we need to do?

We have an ambitious vision that will not be achieved in three years but the Council wants to make sure that it is working in the right direction. The
Council will work with other organisations which provide services to children and young people in the Vale, to contribute to the following aims:

• Improving the physical health of children and young people: Helping to provide high quality sporting opportunities, such as the sports holiday programmes and the Locomotion project, so that more children and young people across the Vale can participate and progress in their chosen sport.
  
• Encouraging healthy lifestyles by helping young people to make the
  decision not to take illegal drugs or get involved in substance misuse or underage drinking: Supporting education programmes at secondary schools in the Vale and encouraging debates at the Vale Youth Forum meetings.
  
• Reducing accidental injury and death amongst children and young
  people: Supporting education programmes focusing on road safety.
  services that it will provide for children and young people (from birth to age nineteen) in the Vale.
  
• Encouraging enterprising and ambitious behaviour: Helping young people to gain sports coaching qualifications and also by encouraging involvement in the Young Enterprise initiative.
  
• Helping children and young people achieve personal and social success: Helping to provide sports and arts programmes; the provision of play areas and support for voluntary organisations that provide safe and secure play opportunities.
  
• Allowing young people to be involved in decision making: Organising the Vale Youth Forum so that young people can be actively involved in
  the work of the Council and its partners.
  
• Helping children and young people to deal successfully with significant life changes and challenges: Working in partnership with organisations which provide non-judgemental advice and support.
  
• Helping young people prepare for the world of work: Offering work
  experience placements at the Council and encouraging other employers to do the same.
  
• Helping children and young people to live in decent homes and communities: Helping to improve the standard of housing; reducing the risk of homelessness; helping to provide advice on energy saving and waste reduction and working in partnership with organisations like the Citizens Advice Bureau and the Independent Advice Service which provide advice about claiming state benefits and dealing with debt.

But what do you think?

Let us know using the contact details below.

How to get your views across

Do you have any comments about the proposed plan?

Please send them to:

By email: karen.tolley@whitehorsedc.gov.uk

By letter:

Karen Tolley
Youth Development Coordinator
Vale of White Horse District Council
Abbey House
Abingdon
Oxfordshire
OX14 3JE

By Phone: 01235 520202 Ext 402

All responses will be carefully considered and will help us to prepare the final version of the plan. The final version will need to be approved by the Council and should be available in Autumn 2006.

Please reply by Friday 18th August 2006

Need to know more?

Download the full Vale Youth Development Strategy 2006-9 (Word document, 29 pages, 151K)

 

Background reading and useful links

Youth Matters

Youth Matters is a recent Government consultation about services for children and young people. Over 19,000 young people throughout the country responded to during the consultation period and the Government has produced a report -'Youth Matters: Next Steps

Every Child Matters

Every Child Matters is the name of a Government Green Paper about making services better for children. It sets out five main things every child needs to have a good life, called the five outcomes. They are:

• be healthy
• stay safe
• enjoy and achieve
• make a positive contribution
• have a good standard of living.

These five outcomes are now part of the law (Children Act 2004).

Find out more on the everychildmatters website.

Oxfordshire Children and Young Peoples’ Plan

Starting with the five outcomes set out by Every Child Matters, Oxfordshire asked over 300 children and young people across Oxfordshire to give their views about what is important to them.

You can read about what Oxfordshire's young people had to say and see how they contributed to the plan here.