Kidz Konnekt Evaluation 2009 - 2014 | April 2014
Kidz Konnekt is a charity which provides services, support and opportunities for young people aged 8-25 in Redcar & Cleveland. This evaluation focuses on the impact of their 5 year lottery funded project to support 10-19 year olds in Greater Eston. This is the borough’s most deprived area, where levels of multiple deprivation, poor health, low education attainment and high levels of anti-social and risk taking behaviour can impact significantly on young people’s lives. The project received £406,397 from November 2009-November 2014. This evaluation reports outcomes to February 2014. In this time, Kidz Konnekt has had a dramatic impact.
Key achievements and outcomes Young people are involved in the design, development and delivery of services and activities. This helps them improve their own health, wellbeing and confidence, diverts them away from antisocial and risk taking behaviour and develops their skills and abilities. They are encouraged to take on leadership roles and responsibilities to make a difference to their own and other people’s lives. Kidz Konnekt has surpassed all of the outcomes that it was expected to achieve, by delivering targeted youth support and a mix of regular youth clubs, summer programmes, creative, arts and sports activities, drop in sessions, small group work, one to one support and detached street work.
569 “Kidz Konnekt is successful as young people are at the heart of everything it does and as a result are delivering quality services based on the needs and aspirations of young people themselves.” Hazel Morris, Cleveland Youth Association
Target : 150
young people have healthier lifestyles by engaging in sports and arts activities
111
young people have developed employment related skills
Target : 50
728
young people have been able to make positive decisions about not engaging in anti-social behaviour
151
young people have the ability and knowledge to influence strategic decisions
112 / 707
112 young people helped 707 peers to develop awareness of negative impacts of anti-social behaviour
Target : 150
Target : 75
Target : 15/ 250
How works How ititworks
Building the capacity of young people to develop, design and deliver activities and services
Supporting young people to influence policy and decision making
Kidz Konnekt puts young people at the heart of the service and takes an approach which involves providing expert youth work support to enable and empower young people to
Giving information and advice so they can make informed choices and improve their physical health and emotional well being
Supporting young people to develop a range of skills to support their academic or vocational choices and employability
Enabling young people to become Young Leaders and take on leadership roles and responsibilities
Helping young people develop personally, by building confidence through life enhancing experiences
get involved, influence decisions and take on roles and responsibilities.
“It’s difficult to make positive choices if you haven’t had positive experiences. Kidz Konnekt gives young people positive experiences to raise their confidence and
Issues Redcar & Cleveland has been affected by high levels of multiple deprivation for decades, but the area where Kidz Konnekt has focussed its activities is the most deprived in the borough. Living in this area significantly impacts on young people, who are classed by the local authority as being most at risk of poor outcomes. High levels of:
Low levels of:
ºº anti-social behaviour
ºº educational attainment
ºº children living in poverty (58-65%)
ºº confidence and self esteem
ºº under 18 conceptions (47 per 1000)
ºº training and employment opportunities
aspirations and enable
ºº under 18 hospital admissions for self-harm
them to make positive
ºº under 18 hospital admissions due to alcohol
choices.”
ºº young people not in education, employment or training (24%)
Alan Lonsdale, Kidz Konnekt
ºº aspirations
ºº services for young people
ºº key benefit claimants (17%)
92%
of partners think Kidz Konnekt delivers good quality services which have a positive impact on the lives of young people (online survey, March 2014)
Being involved with Kidz Konnekt dramatically impacts on young people’s lives and their prospects for a more positive future.
“It’s so good, I like it better than getting into trouble.” James, aged 12
Activities
Achievements
Kidz Konnekt provides a wide range of leisure, cultural, health and well being activities. These are directed by the needs and aspirations of young people, who are involved in design and delivery. Activities are focussed on helping young people achieve positive outcomes:
Kidz Konnekt has achieved so much over the 5 years of the Lottery funded project and has genuinely changed young people’s lives and the communities it serves for the better. Some examples are:
ºº Weekly youth clubs ºº Sports, arts, performance based sessions and activities ºº Special projects – music, dance, art, film, fashion, horticulture ºº School holiday programmes ºº Small group work (issue based) ºº One to one support
ºº Informal drop-in sessions ºº Youth leadership programme ºº Young people’s annual talent show ºº Community improvement projects ºº Detached street work ºº Community consultation events ºº Supporting public sector consultations
There is a strong emphasis on developing skills and abilities and helping young people to develop leadership skills and vocational skills and qualifications to help them progress. Often, the young people apply these skills directly to developing and delivering activities, taking on a wide range of roles and responsibilities. ºº Young Leaders ºº Accredited training courses ºº Peer mentoring ºº Volunteering opportunities ºº Employability support
ºº Young Leaders acting as positive role models for
others and engaging in policy and decision making, e.g. getting involved in the debate on Child Poverty regionally and nationally, as well as influencing the local authority’s redesign of youth services.
ºº Young people providing peer mentoring to encourage others to get involved in positive activities and understand the repercussions of anti-social behaviour and risk taking ºº Young people working with community safety partners to develop and deliver successful annual Got Talent events, which divert young people from anti-social behaviour at a key time of year, generate excitement and promote positive images of young people ºº Young people getting involved in community projects, to enhance the local environment, such as working with artists to produce community art works and developing an allotment for community use
89%
of young people said it was very important to be engaged in positive activities (online survey, March 2014)
High Quality Services
Good Value for Money
Targeted youth support
Looking to the future Young people and partners responding to an online survey in March 2014 overwhelmingly agreed that the current range of Kidz Konnekt services were needed in future and that the youth-centred approach and principles upon which it is based should continue. They agreed that outdoor education and alternative education should be developed, as well as further work in schools.
Strengths Kidz Konnekt is a highly valuable service and addresses gaps in provision for young people. Being involved with Kidz Konnekt dramatically impacts on young people’s lives and their prospects for a more positive future. ºº High quality services, well delivered ºº Very good value for money ºº Youth-centred and led approach ºº Tackling difficult issues through positive activity ºº Expanding experiences and raising aspirations ºº Enabling youth leadership, influence and skills ºº Embedded in the local community ºº Working with and valued by local partners ºº Universal services and targeted youth support ºº Strong board and youth work expertise ºº Informed by young people, partners, communities
In addition, Board members and young people interviewed for the evaluation felt that counselling services would complement the activities and provide greater support for young people to achieve positive outcomes. Providing a route for Young Leaders to progress to become Senior Young Leaders and help others coming through, is a priority, as is brokering or providing more accredited training, vocational and employability support and links to training, education and employment. There is a need for services to be provided for young people aged 8-25 and Kidz Konnekt has potential to deliver services to a much wider area. Organisational capacity, funding and sustainability are the key challenges for Kidz Konnekt to be able to continue and expand delivery and help more young people achieve positive outcomes.
Recommendations Continue to deliver existing
Strengthen existing and
Build on the range of
services and support for
develop new partnerships
activities and support
young people in Greater
to create more opportunities
provided and increase the
Eston, with the same youth
for young people around
geographic delivery area at
centred approach
priority issues
a manageable pace
Raise funding to maintain
Build organisational capacity to support sustainability
the service, but diversify
and increase impact of services, including management
income and plan for
and administration, youth workers, business development,
sustainability by exploring
communications and marketing, information
new business models
management and volunteer management
The evaluation was completed by Declan Baharini Consultancy on behalf of Kidz Konnekt (April 2014)
declanbaharini@talktalk.net
For more information about the project please contact Kidz Konnekt kkalan.lonsdale@live.co.uk
www.kidzkonnekt.co.uk