Opening Statement ................................................................................................................. 3-4

Headline statistics for 2014/15 ....................................................................................................5

Key Principles of Activity Agreements .......................................................................................6

Partners in Profile .................................................................................................................... 7-8

Summary of all activities .............................................................................................................9

Case Studies ......................................................................................................................... 10-14

Promoting Achievement ..................................................................................................... 15-16

Improving Wellbeing of Participants ................................................................................. 17-18

Feedback from Providers .................................................................................................... 19-20

Feedback from young people ............................................................................................ 21-23

Priorities for 2015/16 .................................................................................................................24

Bibliography ..............................................................................................................................25

Contacts Page ...................................................................................................................... 26-27

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It is vital that all young people are supported in their journey towards employment. To further support this journey, The Scottish Government have made an increased investment in services that develop young people’s skills for life, learning and work. During 2014/15, this commitment has become ever greater via the newly formed ’Invest in Young people’ groups and we are fortunate that in the North East we are one of the first regions in Scotland to take forward crucial recommendations from the Developing the Young Workforce publication (The Scottish Government, 2014).

In the past year, local organisations have been leading from the front to better promote and develop our local offer to young people and 2014 was the year in which Aberdeen Guarantees came to the fore with a launch event in September involving over 200 delegates from the Public, Private and Voluntary sectors. Momentum has continued to build and, as a product of the efforts taken over the last 9 months, Aberdeen Guarantees is now established as the network representing the totality of Aberdeen City’s offer of learning, training and work for all 14 to 25 year olds. Aberdeen Guarantees has increased inter-service awareness across the spectrum of services that support young people and enabled a more integrated approach to engagement. The new website, www.aberdeenguarantees.com and weekly newsletter have been an important way of profiling services and the range of opportunities which exist for young people.

The need to enhance young people’s experiences and interactions with businesses to better understand industries requirements is crucial to continuing the city’s journey towards improving positive destinations. In the latest published Skills Development Scotland SLDR, 91.9% of school leavers progressed into a positive destination (Scottish Government, 2015). This is a further improvement on last year and reflects a continual drive from services to support young people in their participation in opportunities over this period.

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2014/15 could be considered a year for developing infrastructures and governance groups for Youth Employment initiatives within Aberdeen City which should secure and create long term opportunities and leave a legacy for young people over the next 5-10 years and beyond.

These changes have been crucial, yet within a year of change, Activity Agreements have remained a robust and much needed option for young people who are considered furthest away from learning, training or work. The majority of these young people fall into one or more vulnerable categories which put them at a greatly increased risk of a negative destination. This year has been record breaking for the programme and it is great to be able to celebrate that a 79% progression rate into further opportunities has been achieved in this cohort. This achievement is a product of the hard work and continual enhancements made by the Activity Agreements team, the high quality opportunities accessed via activity providers several of which are highlighted within this report, and through the continued support of referral agents and Trusted Professionals who are key in identifying vulnerable individuals and maintaining support networks around the young person to facilitate their journey towards employment.

As in previous years these improvements will be built upon in the coming year with the aim for 2015/16 being to maintain existing delivery whilst continuing to enhance various elements of the programme such as engagement in Wider Achievement awards, Vocational experiences and through our own internal moderation for Quality Improvement.

Thank you for your support!

John Cairns – Opportunities for All Manager

Nicholas Asante-Ampaduh – Activity Agreement worker

Sharon Desbois – Activity Agreement worker

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Overall progression rate = 79%

Total number of participants in 2014/15 = 99

Characteristics %

ASN 21.2%

Educated Outwith Mainstream

9.1%

Care Leaver 6.1%

Looked After 20.2%

Non Attenders 23.2%

Social Work Support 33.3%

Social, Emotional and Behavioural Issues

17.2%

Young Offender 5.1%

Other 38.4%

Referral route %

SDS 38.4%

Social Work 20.2%

Voluntary Organisation 18.2%

Self 11.1%

School, CLD & Other 12.1%

Destinations [Of Leavers who Left]

%

Training 28.8%

Employment 30.3%

Further education 19.7%

Positive 78.8%

Negative 21.2%

Age at Start %

15/16 61.6%

17 27.3%

18+ 11.1%

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Each young person will receive a robust assessment of their strengths, needs and interests. This will identify their current skills and experiences and what is needed to help them engage in and sustain learning, moving towards more formal engagement and ultimately employment. This forms the basis of the programme of activity and support they will receive.

Youthlink Scotland have recently produced guidance on the national Activity Agreements model which highlights the key principles of an Activity Agreement. (Youthlink Scotland, 2015)

The National Activity Agreement model guidance booklet can be downloaded from;www.youthlinkscotland.org/webs/245/documents/AAM.pdf

The Activity Agreement Model

Key Principles

Early identification

of need

Strengthsbased

assessment

Defined outcomes &progression

Tailored/flexible

programme of learning and

activity

Consistent one-to-one

support

Access to financial support

Strong partnerships

Local planning enables early identification of those young people likely to need Activity Agreement support.

The activities and learning which make up a young person’s Activity Agreement must for a

clear pathway towards more formal engagment with learning, further training or employment.

Each young person will be supported to create an individual

Activity Agreement learning plan. This will start from their expressed interests and be tailored to their needs including flexibility of duration and frequency of participation.

Each young person will receive regular support, on a one-to-one basis, from a consistent professional, throughout their period of engagment.

Young people who are participating in Activity Agreements should have access to financial support in the same way as young people learning in more formal settings. This is an important part of meeting those young people’s entitlement to support, set out in Building the Curriculum 3.

Activity Agreements are planned and delivered through strong partnerships, with a shared vision about how to best support young people. Staff work in partnership with the individual young person to plan, review and evaluate their Activity Agreement.

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The full range of activities can be found on the following pages of this report. During the past year, the following providers have supported the highest uptake.

Adventure AberdeenParticipants have accessed a range of outdoor education sessions through Adventure Aberdeen and have been supported to take part in mountain bike sessions, climbing, gorge walking, surfing, canoeing & hill climbing. Mike, Neil, Anna & Paul have worked with the group to develop teamwork & leadership skills. Participants have also been supported in extended work placements within the outdoor education centre to further enhance their experience and provide additional outdoor education qualifications.

Aberdeen FoyerAberdeen Foyer offer support to young people through Activity Agreements on a 1 to 1 basis accessing up to 60 hours of bespoke engagement. Examples of support provided has included: cookery, dance, football, music, working with tradesman, work taster sessions as well as introducing young people to Stage 2 group opportunities. The support and encouragement young people have received from staff including David Birnie has been vital in the progression of participants who have engaged in learning at the foyer.

BeatbackBeatback deliver one to one sessions in anything music related (Drum tuition/guitar lessons/songwriting classes/music production) as well as linking young people into wider music workshops which are running. Alan and Beatback tutors have been extremely supportive of a wide range of one to one and group sessions at the studio in Marischal Cottage.

Creative LearningThis year the Aberdeen City Council Creative Learning team have developed a number of excellent opportunities for Activity Agreement participants including: One to one sessions on painting, portraiture and drawing; Evening Arts classes; furniture restoration and graffiti art. Sessions have been delivered within a young person’s local

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community or within the new home for creative learning in Rosemount Community Centre. The Creative Learning team including Andrea Howard have been excellent at arranging sessions around the needs of participants.

Hayfield Riding CentreParticipants can be immediately engaged in a weekly equestrian care and riding group which can progress onto individual work taster sessions at the pace of the individual. Many young people over the last year have added a weekly work taster session at Hayfield and gained additional responsibilities within the yard and care of the horses and progressed through saltire award attainment as their voluntary hours are added up. This activity is particularly of interest to those focused on pursuing a career in animal care or working within the equestrian industry, Jared and the Hayfield team have been great ambassadors for horse-riding and have provided high quality learning experiences for many young people with an interest in animals.

Ice Hair & BeautyAn activity agreement exclusive wherein participants gain access to a leading hair and beauty business in the heart of Aberdeen. Participants have become experienced in make up application, lash and brow work, nail styling and hairdressing. Paul and Kerrie have worked hard to establish groups during 2014/15 and aim to continue to build on sessions in the upcoming year.

Station House Media UnitYoung people can participate in a series of taster sessions, providing young people with an introduction to the work which SHMU delivers such as Radio, TV, DJ’ing & Employability sessions. SHMU have offered an individual or small group Activity Agreement programme encompassing sessions using digital media and life skills sessions. Brian and Michelle have coordinated 1-1 sessions for participants and links have been established to enable young people to progress into the SHMU 12-week employability course Positive Transitions.

Transition ExtremeTransition Extreme currently facilitate a rolling programme which provides young people with the opportunity to participate in NICAS indoor climbing awards, BMXing, skateboarding and inlining. Alongside the obvious physical resilience benefits these sessions have enabled individuals to build their confidence in group working situations to the benefit of their social development. This is helping participants achieve levels of ability which enable them to progress onto the Extreme & Alternative Academy programmes. Internships and indoor climbing instructor awards are direct employability avenues. Thanks to Andy, Linzi, Sean and team for your support.

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A range of activities have been organised for young people who are signed up to Activity Agreements in Aberdeen. The following table outlines those activities which have been accessed most frequently:

Activities Providers involved in delivery locally

Computing Excel/word sessions at ECPC

Cooking Sessions at Aberdeen Foyer & Nick Nairn Cookery school

Creative Learning

Photography, Textiles, Animation, Illustration, Portraiture, Oil Painting, Furniture restoration, Life drawing, Kilnformed glass techniques, Print making

Dance Sessions in partnership with Scottish Ballet & Citymoves

Digital Media One to One sessions at Station House Media Unit (SHMU)

Driving theory One to one sessions to prepare young people to sit their driving theory test

Extreme Sports BMX’ing, Skateboarding, In line skating, Wall climbing at Transition Extreme

Football Voluntary placements at Streetsports and sessions at Aberdeen Foyer

Hair & Beauty session

Sessions delivered in partnership with Ice Hair & Beauty providing tasters to the industry & sessions at Nail/Beauty Academy

Horse-riding Weekly sessions at Hayfield riding centre

Ice-skating Weekly sessions at Lynx arena

Jewellery making Sessions at Beadpop and Oil & Glass

Literacy One to One sessions delivered by WEA

Music One to one sessions at Beatback, CLD Youth Work services & Aberdeen Foyer Musicbox in partnership with Aberdeen Football Club

Outdoor Education

Mountain biking, surfing, gorgewalking, rock climbing, mountain bike maintenance

Parent & Child sessions

Sessions for young parents in partnership with Citymoves

Sport & Fitness Free passes to access Gym and swimming sessions at Sport Aberdeen Facilities. One to one sessions at Aberdeen Combat Centre.

Trades Sessions at Aberdeen Foyer with local tradesman

Work taster sessions

A range of work taster sessions have been arranged through the Aberdeen City work experience department including placements within ACC and with local businesses

Voluntary placements

Nursery/after school club - early years placements

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Kenny was referred by the Pupil support service after behavioural issues in School had resulted in exclusions.

Kenny started on his activity agreement which consisted of Driving Theory Sessions and NICAS indoor climbing award scheme group. Kenny became aware through his climbing sessions that being a climbing instructor could be a potential job for the future. Kenny was informed of a pathway he could follow to realise this goal which consisted of completing his NICAS award up to level 4 at which point he will have demonstrated many of the competencies for a climbing instructor course pass. Kenny enrolled on the Duke of Edinburgh award scheme and began to pursue volunteering opportunities with mountain rescue and the coastguard service. Kenny also attended some weeks of other adventurous activities including kayaking, coasteering and mountain biking but decided later to focus on climbing instead. Before long Kenny completed level one and half way through level 2 of his NICAS award. Kenny applied for the Alternative Academy personal development programme as it would enable him to accelerate through the remainder of his NICAS competencies and be eligible to go for the instructor course.

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Kenny has had 100% attendance since starting the academy and has achieved the maximum NICAS level 4 award (previously unreached by an Alternative Academy participant). Kenny now has enough climbing experience to meet the criteria for an indoor climbing instructor course. Now an Activity Agreement returner - which enables Kenny to access more support to reach his goal of becoming a qualified climbing instructor - Kenny has now enrolled on the Mountaineering Council of Scotland and will be supported (getting the experience such as climbing in 3 different centres / course pre reading ) to continue onto the July Climbing Wall Award course.

“Kenny has gained lots of skills in the climbing

wall. He can belay, tie in and use the centre

responsibly. He has a high level of skill on both

the roped wall and the bouldering wall…“

Tutor Provider

“Activity Agreements has helped me progresss though life much better and has helped me reach skills and potential I couldn’t reach on my own.”

Kenny

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Curtis presented with very low self-confidence on sign up and was chaperoned by mum. His aims under Activity agreements were to increase self-confidence and physical ability as a preparation for considering applying for the police force/armed forces in the future. Curtis had initially participated in challenges as part of a Duke of Edinburgh award at school but had to withdraw as he felt he wasn’t up to it physically, feeling that he had been let down by his knees.

Curtis needed to become more physically resilient and broaden his life experiences so we gave him a broad range of activities that were both group and physical activity based. Group activities ranged from extreme sports, adventure sports such as climbing, ice-skating through to Horse-Riding/Care.

It was evident after some weeks that Curtis favoured working with horses and requested adaptations in his agreement to commit to an ever increasing weekly attendance at Hayfield. Curtis commenced with riding tuition and horse care to which was added a series of voluntary work tasters. Curtis agreed to participate in the Saltire Awards Scheme and worked through his Saltire Approach targets of 10 and 25hr awards before beginning on his Saltire Ascent 50hr award.

Curtis agreed to take part in The British Horse Society Horse ownership Course as this appeared the most appropriate to aid his volunteering endeavours. Curtis progressed through the course well, sat the exam, and 3 months later was notified that he had passed.

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As part of his confidence building Curtis was given the opportunity to attend a focus group at the town house to feedback on learning opportunities to the Care Inspectorate. Curtis reviewed his activity agreement experience and was a very vocal member of the panel showing increases in self-confidence with fluent public speaking.

Curtis agreed to revisit the Duke of Edinburgh Award Scheme. He was able to satisfy criteria for entering at Silver level utilising the British Horse Society Course as the learning element and weekly riding lessons as the physical exercise components. Saltire Ascents of 50, 100 and 200hrs were achieved then with over 500 hours of volunteering. Demonstrating outstanding quality Curtis was nominated for the Saltire Summit Award and was one of only 4 individuals across the City to gain this prestigious award. The Summit is the pinnacle of the Saltire Awards and reserved for the best exemplars of outstanding contributions in the voluntary sector (12-25yrs). Curtis was nominated as he exceeded requirements in a very demanding role and dedicated himself to delivering first class care of Hayfield Horses/Yard. Curtis continued to work throughout 2013/2014 winter and also helped lessen the burden to staff in the day to day running of the yard so that they could more effectively manage a strangles outbreak amongst some key horses.

Curtis is now enrolled onto level 2 British Horse Society Horse Ownership Course and has become a very confident young person, taking control of horses and customers at Hayfield and working well within the Hayfield team to become a highly valued member. Curtis is very passionate about horses and wishes to pursue this as a lifelong career and talks of end goals in terms of being able to stud horses. Curtis now also has links to other horse yards in the city. Curtis has begun planning the equestrian expedition element of his Duke of Edinburgh Award, via meetings and workshops over the past few months. Since gaining his Summit Award, Curtis has already been invited back to share his experiences at a future Saltire Event for the Shire and has also been offered the opportunity to become a Saltire Ambassador. Curtis is currently entrusted with the care of Hayfield Director’s horses as well as other duties at present and we are looking into ways of developing a paid employment opportunity for him there utilising employer incentives. Curtis has got a lot from his activity agreement as the following quotes demonstrate.

“Curtis has been consistent in attendance and work output. He has been exceptional with clients, both helpful and willing to go that extra step.“

[Provider] Hayfield

From a 6 week review:

Curtis

“This course is great, it has opened up more jobs in the equine world. Currently finishing a BHS horse ownership level one course (exam tomorrow) in which has built better bonds and understanding of both the animals and rider.”

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“Thank you the course is amazing if I pass it opens up more doors into the equine world which is the goal to own a yard in the future so by doing the courses it means it will make my knowledge and understanding of the animals greater which means a better bond between human and horse”

CC’d Email Accepting offering Curtis Saltire Awards Ambassador Role from ACVO Volunteering Development Worker [Excerpt]

“Hi Curtis - Nick said that you might be interested in becoming a Saltire Ambassador – brilliant, I am so pleased!” …

Curtis’ Email Reply to Cate:

“I would like to be an ambassador for the awards as I feel this helps not just business but it helps people who do work ever so hard and gaining skills they might have never of had the chance to which will potentially have helped them in the future either job wise or guiding the younger generation and opening their options for later on. So I’m all for it thanks”

“I feel the Activity agreements programme is a highly effective unit that has helped me gain new skills through out the year I have been with this. I greatly recommend this for the people that would like further education but in a more practical sense as it truly can change your life.”

”...I’ve loved every minute of it...”

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During 2014/15, there has been a focus on enhancing young people’s activities through aligning with accreditation which can then be used to engage with:

Duke of Edinburgh Awards Young People can engage with the Duke of Edinburgh award programme at three levels, which when completed, lead to a Bronze, Silver or Gold Duke of Edinburgh’s Award. Young people can achieve an Award by completing a personal programme of activities in four sections (five if they are going for Gold) Volunteering, Physical, Skills, Expedition and for Gold and a Residential. To gain awards participants help people or the community, get fitter, develop skills, go on an expedition and take part in a residential activity (Gold only). Young people will complete modules during their Activity Agreement and have until they are 24 to complete any outstanding modules once they complete their agreement and progress onto further learning, training or work. In Aberdeen, a DoFe 16+ support group has been formed where young people can receive assistance from DoFe team to complete their online activity logs.

Further information is available from: www.dofe.org/en/content/cms/doing-your-dofe/whats-the-dofe (Duke of Edinburgh, 2015)

Mountain Bike Maintenance Participants have participated in sessions at Adventure Aberdeen and have worked towards an internally accredited certificate. Participants are also now working towards a Go Mountain Bike Award through Cycling Scotland which is a progressive mountain bike achievement award that enables people to advance their technical riding skills as well as learning how to look after themselves, their bike, the environment, and other people.

www.gomtb.org.uk (Go Mountain Bike Scotland, 2015)

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Nicas Award The National Indoor Climbing Award Scheme (NICAS) is a UK wide scheme designed to promote climbing development and accredit individual achievement on artificial climbing structures. It can be used as a starting point for people wishing to take up climbing and mountaineering. It is open to all candidates aged 7 and upwards. Young people on Activity Agreements can work towards a Nicas award during climbing sessions at transition Extreme and supported to work through the 5 tier award scheme from Foundation through to advanced level.

Further details are available from: www.nicas.co.uk/nicas/scheme.aspx (Nicas Award, 2015)

Saltire AwardsSaltire awards recognise the volunteering efforts of young people aged between 12 and 25. Young people receive certificates and Young Scot Award points for their volunteering with organisations around Aberdeen.

Young people register themselves at: www.saltireawards.org.uk (ACVO, 2015)

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In 2015/16 there is going to be an additional monitoring of the improvement of young people’s wellbeing though participating in activity agreements. The Activity Agreements referral form has recently been refreshed to include a section to capture how young people feel in terms of the Getting it Right for Every Child Wellbeing indicators.

I feel safe

I feel active

I am healthy

I am achieving

I fee

l inclu

ded

I am

res

pons

ible

I feel respected I fee

l nurtu

red

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All new Activity Agreements participants will be asked to capture how they feel about their wellbeing at the start and end of the agreements and this information will be used as an additional performance measure indicator for the programme during 2015/16.

Encouraging AspirationsThe newly launched 2015 referral form also features an aspiration section where individuals are asked to assess both their current situation and where they would like to be in the future. The activity agreement worker/ trusted professional writing the referral is then able to highlight and fill at least 3 steps which have been identified as necessary to achieve this goal. This can then be used as a further tool to shape the agreement.

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“Good service, tailored

to the needs of young

people.”

“Stepping stone into more structured training”

“Engages difficult to engage”

“Wide range of activities available”

“Good for young people to

know what’s available/going on

in their area”

“Opportunities to do work

tasters/placements to develop

future employability; but also

increase young person’s

confidence”

“Chance for young person to gain source of income which is important, especially those from low income families”

“Opportunities for young people to boost qualifications (awards/certificates) contributing to future employability”

“Quite therapeutic – confidence/self-esteem

building; routine, structure”

“Good relationship

between AA worker

and young person

and parents”

“It’s been great working with

yourselves over the last 12 months.”

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“Length of time young person is on AA before progression can be quite lengthy and is at risk of not challenging a young person to move beyond “

“It would be good to know if

there are any new courses that

we could offer that would be

of interest and benefit to

young people.”

“A challenge

for us is to try and

improve courses to

make them more

engaging to young

people.”

“Aware that

resources are stretched

and staffing is finite”

“Would value a system for updating SDS re yp’s attendance/engagement - esp in light of participation measure recording on CSS.”

“AA tracker is sometimes not current“

“Perhaps an area to focus on would be attendance. There could maybe some sort of rewards system to improve attendance.”

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Participants who completed an Activity Agreement during 2014/15 were invited to submit their own comments on their experience on the programme – here’s what they had to say about their activities!

“I done guitar lessons through activity agreements and it helped me get back into a routine and made my confidence grow so that I could build up the courage to go to college and the whole experience was really good and beneficial.”

“My horse riding today was amazing J Feeling proud”

“This is honestly the best thing to get involved with if you have nothing else to do. I don’t regret doing these things one bit before I started working J”

“The ice hair and beauty activity was really good and got me motivated to learn more and I got accepted to do the beauty course at college so everything’s looking up”

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During the next year, the following are aims and objectives for continuing the success of Activity Agreements within Aberdeen City;

• Target to maintain progression rate above the national average of 70% of Activity Agreement participants into enhanced opportunities

• Target to engage over 60 young people in a new Activity Agreement in 2015/16

• Further expand use of Wider Achievement awards which can be gained by participants

• Further expand case studies to profile vocational pathways which are created through participants agreements

• Further expand work experience and voluntary placement opportunities

• Internally review Quality Improvement via parameters of the new framework

• Maintain wide breadth of activities which can be accessed in a timely manner and maintain relationships with key providers who are supplying activities

• Develop new Access Database for storing participant information which will improve analysis of progression and characteristics of participants and accuracy of data which is shared with partners

• Arrange Trusted Professional training sessions for key referring agencies to refresh knowledge of aims/objectives of Activity Agreements

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The Scottish Government (2014). Developing the Young Workforce publication. www.gov.scot/Topics/Statistics/Browse/School-Education/leavedestla/follleavedestat/attainmentandleavers1314

ACVO (2015). Retrieved from www.saltireawards.org.uk

Duke of Edinburgh (2015). Retrieved from www.dofe.org/en/content/cms/doing-your-dofe/whats-the-dofe

Go Mountain Bike Scotland (2015). Retrieved from www.gomtb.org.uk

Nicas Award (2015). Retrieved from www.nicas.co.uk/nicas/scheme.aspx

Skills Development Scotland (2015). Summary statistics for attainment, leaver destinations and healthy living No. 5: 2015 Edition www.gov.scot/Topics/Statistics/Browse/School-Education/Datasets

Youthlink Scotland (2015). Activity Agreements – National Delivery Model.

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Aberdeen City Council

John CairnsOpportunities for All Managerjocairns@aberdeencity.gov.uk01224 814787 & 07917326668 Nicholas Asante-AmpaduhActivity Agreement workernasante@aberdeencity.gov.uk01224 814568 & 07557191804

Sharon DesboisActivity Agreement worker sdesbois@aberdeencity.gov.uk01224 764574 & 07785773075

Postal Address:

Activity AgreementsEducation & Children’s ServicesEducation and Children’s ServicesAberdeen City CouncilGround FloorFrederick Street CentreFrederick Street Aberdeen AB24 1HY

Shared Email Address for returning referral forms: activityagreements@aberdeencity.gov.uk

Activity Agreement Aberdeen Facebook page:

www.facebook.com/activityagreements

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Aberdeen Guarantees

To learn about further opportunities within Aberdeen City, please visit:

www.aberdeenguarantees.com

www.twitter.com/abguarantees

www.facebook.com/aberdeenguarantees

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