Prior to the Sub-Committee receiving a report on Youth Service Provision for Girls, presentations were made by the girls group of Haileybury Youth Centre and the Spotlight Youth Centre.

Haileybury Youth Centre

Kanizah Khan, Zahra Halim and Hannah Hussein informed Members why they got involved with the Haileybury Youth Centre, the types of activities they had undertaken and the benefits of socialising and mixing with other young people.

Points to note from the presentation:

·         Girls encouraged by friends and family to join the Youth Club

·         Has helped improve their confidence  and allows them to be smart with their time

·         Have taken part in experiences, they would never have done. For example, the ADSAN Leadership course and a residential trip to Wales.

·         One day a week is allocated to girls, with approximately 10 attendees.

·         They recommend the Youth Club should be promoted in schools and to parents and there should be a balance of activities for both boys and girls to get involved in.

In response to questions from Members the following was noted:

·         Some of the girls had joined the Youth Club after hearing about it at a summer fayre. They believed the promotion of the Youth Club in schools and to parents would encourage more girls to attend.

·         The girls expressed their gratitude for the Youth Club and said it provided a great opportunity to experience new activities and have something to do with their time in the holidays.

·         In response to if social media would be an appropriate tool to advertise the activities of the youth club, the girls who were of a younger age bracket 11 -14 years, said their preference would be face to face engagement. Youth workers should attend schools and convince parents of the benefits of the Youth Club.

·         The girls said they had developed good relationships with their youth workers. They felt confident in discussing problems they had with their youth worker, who provided them with support and advice.

The Chair, thanked the girls from Haileybury Youth Centre for their presentation.

Spotlight Youth Centre

Cadidjatu Jalo, Ayesha Rafiqul, Leia Wasike-Ginn and Charlie Davis from Spotlight Youth Club gave a presentation on their experiences of being part of a Youth Club and how it had opened doors to activities they would otherwise never have considered.

Points to note from the Presentation:

·         Spotlight Youth Centre had provided them with opportunities to pursue their interests such as music, politics and debating, the environment as well as arts and crafts.

·         They had learnt new skills and had taken part in sports which they may not have tried before, such as boxing. They had been involved in community projects to feed the homeless.

·         The girls said breaking down gender stereotypes was crucial in order to make the Youth Club welcoming for girls. They said it was important to change the mind-sets and behaviours of young people and also parents. Youth Clubs were safe places for young people to engage and grow as citizens of their community.

In response to questions from Members the following was noted:

·         The girls from the Spotlight Youth Club said there were advantages to both bigger and fewer clubs as well as those which are smaller. If youth clubs were provided on a larger scale, they had the potential of being popular, better staffed and known to young people who would spread the word on how good they are. However consideration ought to be given to smaller youth clubs where staff can provide pastoral care and support young people who are experiencing difficulties. The girls concurred it would be better to have a mix of both.

·         In response to what could be done to encourage participation by young girls at Youth Centres, the girls from Spotlight who were of an older age range (15-18 years) said they would prefer communication through social media. All made extensive use of Instagram, Snapchat and Twitter and felt that this would be more appropriate way to make contact rather than face to face or via schools. They said young people were more likely to join a club or get involved in activities if communication was through these channels as they are more likely to follow the opinion of their peers rather than teachers or parents.

·         They recommended the advertising of youth clubs and the activities it provided needed to tackle gender stereotypes. For example, advertising boxing ought to show both boys and girls, so the gender stereotype can be broken down.

The Chair, thanked the girls from the Spotlight Youth Club for their presentation.

Youth Council and Young Mayors Team

Ms Vivian Akinremi, Youth Cabinet Member for Health and Wellbeing gave a presentation on how she became involved with the Youth Council and the Young Mayors Team. Initially she had doubts about the role and did not know what to expect. However as she progressed through the selection process and competed with other candidates she became more aware of how politics and decision making worked. Ms Akinremi said she ran her campaign on things that mattered to her such as Mental Health, Career pathways for young people and safe places for young people to hang out, like Youth Centres. She was very proud of her accomplishment as the first black woman representing the borough and attending City Hall and Houses of Parliament. Ms Akinremi said her role was enjoyable and rewarding and she would encourage other young people to consider politics are a career choice.

In answer to questions from Members the following was noted:

·         Mental Health had always been an issue close to her heart and she was determined to breakdown the stigma associated with mental health. As a member of the Health and Wellbeing Board she voices her opinions on health issues that affect young people. She said being an advocate for mental health, she attended various events and schools to talk to young people about mental health.

The Chair thanked Ms Vivien Akenremi for her presentation and said the Sub-Committee was impressed by the contributions made by all the young girls who had attended the meeting

Ms Ronke Martins-Taylor, Divisional Director Youth and Commissioning presented her report which outlined the current offer from the Tower Hamlets Youth Service and services commissioned from other youth service providers.

Ms Martins-Taylor said it was encouraging to hear from the young people in attendance at the meeting, the positive effect youth workers can have on young people. She said although youth clubs were male dominated, the suggestions on how the Youth Service can reach out and advertise youth clubs to parents was something the Service was working towards with the Council’s communications team. Ms Martins-Taylor said the ratio of male to female Youth Workers also needed to improve and volunteering was one way of achieving this.

In response to questions from Members the following was noted:

·         The male to female ratio of Youth Workers could possibly be improved with bigger and fewer youth clubs. The Youth Service is looking to put in place a volunteering scheme which would allow people to get a taster for youth work and what it involves.

·         There is a review of Youth Services taking place at present, and data is being analysed to see what the needs are in each area.  The review will look at how best to combine resources and work in partnership with other departments such as the Anti-Social Behaviour Teams in Community Safety. The review is expected to conclude in February 2020 with a report going to Cabinet.

·         It was suggested by Members the volunteering scheme should be incentivised, so young people choosing a career path into youth work ought to be paid a salary at the higher end of the age bracket. Outreach work in communities seeking Adult volunteers was also suggested as an alternative. Ms Martins-Taylor said the Review would look at all possibilities and was not wedded to one model or another.

·         In response to how the Youth Service was engaging with young people with SEND needs, Ms Martins-Taylor said the Tower project was an example of how it was providing services to SEND children. She acknowledged more needed to be done to ensure mainstream clubs were inclusive of SEND Children. She said there was a strategy to make sure youth clubs are accessible to everyone.

The Sub-Committee RESOLVED to:

NOTE the content of the report and consider the offer in relation to girls and young women.