Overhaul of Calderdale youth services to help vulnerable young people

The Council has said the recommended changes would bring the Council’s youth services up-to-date and ensure they continue to meet young people’s needs

A recent review by the Council’s Children and Young People’s Scrutiny Board recommended a new direction for youth services, focused on supporting Calderdale’s most vulnerable and deprived young people.

This would help improve their health, wellbeing and resilience; raise their skills and aspirations; and give them better access to education, training and job opportunities.

The Council is also looking at makin the best use of innovation and digital technology and is in the process of ordering 600 laptops for vulnerable children and young people.

Councillor Adam Wilkinson, Calderdale Council’s Cabinet Member for Children and Young People’s Services, said: “Our priority is to ensure that young people across the borough are safe, healthy and successful. To help achieve this and our aim to be the best borough in the North, we need our youth services to remain relevant to young people now and in the future. That’s why we’re looking at more targeted and innovative approaches, including working in partnership with our amazing local community groups.

“Open access to youth activities would be commissioned in our areas of highest deprivation. As we cannot do this whilst social distancing measures are in place, we are utilising creative and virtual approaches to services.”

The proposed new approach would also support and train small, local voluntary groups to expand or start youth activities, targeting the areas of highest deprivation and in line with social distancing rules.

This would enable the Council to focus on supporting the most vulnerable young people, such as those at risk of school exclusion, involved in criminal activity, with a mental illness or those who have been exploited.

Although the Orange Box Young People’s Centre in Halifax is temporarily closed due to COVID-19, its long-term vision is to remain as a youth work hub, using innovative approaches to meet the needs of a changing population.

The Cabinet meeting on Monday 1 June will take place virtually for social distancing reasons. It will be live streamed through Calderdale Council’s YouTube channel from 6pm.