Services for young people

A spokesman for the The Prince's Trust said: "The Prince’s Trust recognises many of the issues raised in 4Children’s research. Reaching the Hardest to Reach, a Prince’s Trust report published earlier this year, revealed that 47 per cent of socially excluded young people believe there are not enough activities for young people to do in their community. One young person told us: “Where there ain’t nothing to do, you find something to do and it’s normally something illegal”. 

"The same consultation with disadvantaged young people showed that 92 per cent believe there are gaps in the provision of services they need in their communities. This lack of support leaves more than a fifth failing to turn to anyone for support or advice. 4Children’s new research reiterates the message that young people still do not have adequate support, access to diversionary activities nor opportunities to develop their skills and confidence.

"At The Prince’s Trust we are using innovative methods to reach and support the hardest to help young people, focusing on young people’s own interests. This includes a skills-based approach to enhance young people’s employability. We are also introducing better ongoing support to help young people turn their lives around and stay on track.

"The Prince’s Trust works in partnership with public, private and voluntary sector organisations to address many of the issues raised in by 4Children, and by Reaching the Hardest to Reach. The Prince’s Trust’s “No Ball Games” campaign this summer highlighted how socially excluded young people from disadvantaged communities are often the victims of a “no ball games” culture, denied the necessary activities or resources to keep them entertained, motivated and diverted from anti-social behaviour. To tackle these issues, The Trust has itself created major sports partnerships with football, cricket and rugby to deliver a nationwide network of Prince’s Trust community-based projects, helping young people gain nationally recognised qualifications, improve self-confidence and develop skills whilst they are engaged in diversionary activities.

"The Prince’s Trust will be closely involved with the forthcoming Green Paper on Youth and looks forward to the development of improved opportunities and joined-up support for young people."

Stakeholder Response: Institute of Education

Karen Evans, professor and head of School at the Institute of Education University of London said: "Research carried out at the Institute of Education and as part of the Economic and Sociual Resarch Council's Research Programme on Youth Citizenship and Social Change has shown that provision for young people has progressively become too narrowly targetted on groups assumed to be 'at risk'. The research has shown that groups of young people labelled as 'disadvantaged' are not stable in composition and that many young people move repeatedly into and out of extreme situations. The very narrow targeting of policies for relatively small numbers of young people has contributed to the fragmentation of youth policies. The policies also tend to stereotype young people and underestimate the efforts many young people make to 'take control of their own lives':the research shows that young people are rarely fatalistic but often frustrated at the barriers they face.Support needs to be made available in acceptable and non-patronising ways, for young people in the teenage years as well as through the extended transitions of education and into working life."