ICG President, Dr Rachel Mulvey was one of eight stakeholders to attend the launch of the Government's response to the Green Paper Consultation, Youth Matters: Next Steps this lunchtime.
The Green Paper, which was presented by Beverley Hughes (Minister for Children, Young People and Families), Maria Eagle (Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State) and Gordon Brown (Chancellor of the Exchequer), outlined the Government's vision for youth policy in England.
Youth Matters: Next Steps develops the themes of Every Child Matters, aligns with 14-19 Education and Skills White Paper and recognises the recommendations made in the Women and Work Commission report Shaping a Fairer Future in setting out four challenges for Childrens Trusts, namely:
- Ensure Young people have things to do and places to go;
- Encourage and support volunteering by young people;
- Ensure those in particularly difficult get what they are entitled to and
- Ensure young people can access high quality information, advice and guidance.
The proposals for improving information, advice and guidance for young people and their parents include:
- Clear minimum expectations for the IAG young people should receive;
- A new set of quality standards
- New arrangements for delivery, with funding going to Childrens' Trusts, schools and colleges, and
- Easy access to an innovative service using information and communications technology ICT
The policy is expected to reduce NEET numbers, and to improve transition from pre- to post-16 education. It talks about reform of advice and guidance, including further integration with other services.
The new quality standards to be used by Ofsted for inspection and will cover the full range of issues young people seek advice on, not just careers and learning.
Funding arrangements expect collaboration between learning providers, which is likely to mean exploring new partnerships, including through Local Area Agreements. The new collaborative arrangements will be overseen by the Government Offices in each Local Authority Area.
As the Connexions brand is widely recognised, and as young people have high levels of satisfaction with Connexions, there is a strong basis for retaining the brand, although redefining it will be still be considered.
Finally, the paper refers to guidance professionals - and recognises the need for them to access support and development, particularly in relation to advising on the new post-14 curriculum offer.
Paper may be downloaded from http://www.dfes.gov.uk/publications/youth/ | 
