In Derby there are 59,500 children and young people ( aged 18 and under); 25% live in low income families. 47% of the population have at least one Adverse Childhood Experience (ACE), with 10% being subject to 4+ ACEs which leads to poor health and social outcomes.

Prior to 2020, whilst there were many organisations, ( mainly from the Voluntary, Community and Social Enterprise (VCSE) sector) providing support for young people these were disparate and uncoordinated. Groups were competing with each other for scarce funds. There was no robust mechanism which ensured that a young person’s support and development needs were addressed holistically and conclusively.

On the 12th September 2018, the Council Cabinet authorised the formation of the Stronger Communities Board led from the VCSE sector. This was borne from the a broader strategy:

“Derby City Council is renewing and refreshing its partnership arrangements surrounding two key priorities; the Safer and stronger Agendas. This refresh is part of a wider initiative to strengthen and improve the Councils partnership arrangements and build stronger relationships with partners across the city”

Cabinet report 12/9/2018

In late 2019 there were initial discussions from within the Board about developing something to co-ordinate the various groups offering Youth provision in the City. The notion of a Derby Youth Alliance began to coalesce in early 2020 just prior to the onset of COVID-19. The strategic partners at the outset were

• Community Action Derby ( lead/ Vanguard organisation)
• Children First Derby
• Derby County Community Trust
• Derby Theatre / Derby Cultural Education Partnership
• Safe and Sound
• Sporting Communities CIC

The Government announced in July 2019 that it would be legislating for a new Serious Violence Duty for local authorities

“The Duty requires, specified authorities, namely police, fire and rescue services, health, local authorities, youth offending teams and probation services to work collaboratively, share data and information and put in place a strategy to prevent and reduce serious violence”

Lord Sharpe of Epsom The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for the Home Department

Part of Derby City Council’s response to this was to develop a Serious Youth Violence Strategy. A pilot project was launched in 2020 delivered by the Derby Youth Alliance which provided a range of interventions. The development of the wider associated network of providers was crucial to build capacity and connectivity between organisations working with young people within Derby. The pilot was funded by Derby City Council, Derby Homes and Metropolitan Thames Valley Housing.

The report summary for the Pilot Project stated:

“The collaboration and true partnership working in such a new and innovative way has streamlined the process of support that young people have received, ultimately speeding up the journey between a referral and resolution. Whereas young people may have otherwise experienced a lengthy waiting list, allowing the time for issues to escalate, they have instead become embroiled in a holistic network of support that has provided them with a number of positive outcomes and exit routes.

This pilot has changed the way that statutory early intervention teams and local organisations such as housing associations make referrals. Rather than seeking a prescribed output for a young person, family, or hotspot area, referrals have come into a single location and then the Youth Alliance strategic partnership team have been able to identify bespoke support in accordance to each referral. Having a collective of partners working with the same ethical values and philosophy has ensured the commitment and high quality provision of this project”

A further 3 organisations joined the Youth Alliance in 2021 as strategic partners:

• Baby People
• Community One
• YMCA Derbyshire

The Youth Alliance membership, which is voluntary, includes many other organisations within the City which share a common ethical position and have a demonstrated quality of Youth provision. The general vision expressed by Tracy Harrison, CEO of Safe and Sound:

“A City where Young People are safe, feel supported and celebrated. A City with diverse opportunities for Young People; to do things in a safe environment that puts the needs of the most challenging people first and where Young People are listened to- and where they are empowered”

The benefits of the Derby Youth Alliance

• The Youth Alliance is designed to optimise the advantages of collaborating and partnering across organisations within the City whilst at the same time maintaining independence in developing opportunities. It’s about sharing experience, best practice, knowledge and upskilling
• Working together will provide the comprehensive approach towards supporting Young People which encompasses addressing all aspects of Place based risk – namely, the person, the family and the environment. It will facilitate more bespoke and flexible solutions.
• Funding bids will be more compelling through the Alliance and funds can be received and distributed back to the delivering organisations. Funders are beginning to appreciate that outcomes will have to be considered in a more progressive way rather than with stark statistics, derived and published, out of context.
• Working as an Alliance is a powerful voice and it is now influencing policy within the Council and other statutory bodies.
• Developing the profile of the VCSE sector
• There is no need for competition between Alliance members – organisations have the confidence to work and grow together.
• Building capacity in the City; developing services for new communities.
• Promoting services to benefit all members.
• Raising the bar of quality

The Future

The Youth Alliance has evolved considerably in the last 3 years and some of the next steps are about consolidation:

• Funding has been secured for a Co-ordinator to develop a website, calendar of events, newsletters and a “map” of organisations
• Publicity to encourage better awareness of opportunities for referrals and to encourage more delivery organisations to join.
• Secure a base in the City Centre

Comment

Whilst the Youth Alliance was conceived before COVID-19 the need to be creative and innovative during the pandemic was facilitated by this framework.

The pre-Alliance days saw groups competing with each other; there were questionable allocations of public funds, gaps in provision, and areas of duplication. An inefficient collection of well meaning people resulted in the city’s Young People losing out.

The Youth Alliance is innovative, and ground breaking, with no equivalents in the Midlands, and possibly, in the rest of the country. It does set Derby apart in the extent of collaboration, partnership and joint vision in this sector.

It is a great testament to those few people, mainly in the VCSE sector, who saw that there was something lacking in the City’s Youth provision, and took the bold step to trust their vision. There is much more to do, to fully consolidate the initial work, but there is no doubt that they will succeed.

It is a very impressive achievement by all involved!