6.5.2 Youthreach centres

6.5.2 Youthreach centres

The Inspectorate conducts a range of evaluations in Youthreach centres

Youthreach centres are designated as ‘centres for education’ under the Education Act 1998. Almost 3,700 Youthreach places are provided by Education and Training Boards (ETBs) for unemployed early school leavers, who are between fifteen and twenty years of age and who do not have either qualifications or vocational training. There are just over 100 Youthreach centres nationwide. The programme usually provides two years of integrated education, training and work experience.

The Inspectorate carries out a range of evaluations of Youthreach centres, including whole-centre evaluations, incidental inspections and follow-through inspections. During the period covered by this report, eighty-nine evaluations were conducted in Youthreach centres.

Atmosphere and levels of care and pastoral support were reported to be generally very good in Youthreach centres

Findings from the evaluations conducted by the Inspectorate indicate that Youthreach centres were successful in creating and fostering a climate conducive to fostering learning, and the levels of care and pastoral support in the centres were generally very good. Surveys, administered as part of the inspection process, showed that relationships between teachers and students in Youthreach centres were very positive overall; 95% of students reported that their teachers listen to them and pay attention to what they say and 75% of students reported that they had a say in how to make their centre better.

The very high level of commitment shown by centre management and staff to students was a key strength of Youthreach centres. Supporting young people to develop their life skills is a fundamental aspect of the work of the centres; inspectors reported that this support was particularly effective in centres where a whole-centre approach was evident. Inspection reports noted the widespread good or very good practice in the operation of the key-worker system that links social and personal supports to the teaching and training aspects of the experience of the young people.

While measures to promote attendance were good, students’ attendance remained as an area of challenge in most centres. Inspections showed that, overall, ETBs provided valuable support in relation to curriculum development, resourcing, policy development and continuing professional development. Where centre self-evaluation and development planning processes were effective, the young people attending the centre were consulted in those processes and their views were taken into account in the subsequent plans.

Teaching and learning were good or very good in most Youthreach centres

Findings relating to centre evaluations and incidental inspections show that teaching and learning in Youthreach centres were generally good. The attainment of learning objectives was good or very good in 83% of lessons, and teaching approaches were also good or very good in 78% of lessons observed. Recommendations about teaching and learning generally referred to the need to give more careful attention to collaborative learning approaches, the tailoring of lesson content to meet students’ individual needs and approaches to teachers’ planning. The use of digital technology was also noted as an area for development in some centres.

Practice in Youthreach centres in relation to provision for learners’ individual needs and assessment requires development

In general, inspectors found Youthreach centre staff to be competent in carrying out initial assessments. In some Youthreach centres, individual learning plans were used effectively to document, monitor and guide provision and to ensure that students benefitted from a holistic approach to learning, training and development. However, in a number of centres, inspectors noted the need for teachers to ensure that provision was better aligned to students’ identified needs. In particular, a more whole-centre approach to literacy and numeracy provision was recommended in a number of centres.

In centre evaluations, the overall quality of assessment was found to be good or very good in 65% of cases. The use of assessment to support learning was found to be good or very good in 76% of lessons observed. These figures indicate scope for improvement in the area of assessment. While survey responses indicated that 95% of students felt that teachers/tutors provided feedback on how to improve their learning, inspectors noted that overall, centre staff needed to ensure that higher quality assessment practices were in place.

Sourcing suitably qualified teachers is a challenge for Youthreach centres

The difficulty of sourcing suitably qualified teachers was reported by Youthreach centres as an area of concern. In some centres, the curriculum was limited by the availability of subject specialists. It may be necessary for ETBs to work together to find a solution, which may involve further sharing of teachers between mainstream ETB schools and Youthreach centres, to ensure that all students have access to appropriate teaching and learning in as broad a range of curricular areas as possible and that the curriculum can be more fully determined by student needs.