Monitoring Progress

Holistic Process

When a young person first begins with Young People First (YPF), the young person will receive an induction from a member of the management team, where they introduce the young person to the service, support team, and support available to them. Depending on the type of placement (i.e. group-living placements) the young person will also be introduced to any other young people in that service.

In a planned placement, we offer to meet with a young person, their professionals and family before-hand – we typically like to allocate a support team and create draft placement paperwork during the transition before the placement commences. This allows YPF to provide support delivery, environment and a team that fits the needs and goals of the young person.

A member of the Senior Service Team (SST) and the young person’s allocated Key Worker (KW) will complete a first Internal Pathway Plan (IPP) and Life Skills Programme (LSP) with the young person, which will highlight what level they are currently at in key areas of their independent living skills, such as budgeting, education/employment/training (EET), housing, etc. Both the IPP & LSP encompass the views of the young person in all sections and aspects (from views on current EET situation to views on how well they are budgeting). A skills questionnaire is also completed alongside the young person which further helps determine what level support should begin at. This also creates an opportunity for the young person to take lead on their placement and plans, we aim to empower young people with this opportunity and to show that at YPF you truly can shape the service, your placement and your experience with us to best fit you as an individual.

The allocated KW and young person will set targets for each area in which they feel the young person needs support, and will review this every fortnight through the Bi-Weekly Progress Report, and discuss with the young person what they believe is working well and what is not. This allows the team to change how they approach support delivery, including as much of the young person’s input and opinions as possible.

The team complete weekly planners in advance along with the young person, and allow them to plan their week as they would like and how they feel would maximise their engagement, ensuring to include enjoyable activities, as well as working on life skills. Furthermore, this ensures the allocated KW and the young person can create structure for support for the coming week. Creating weekly planners this way not only means support delivery is proactive, but also means that support delivery is centralised and uniform.

In addition to this, each member of the young person’s team contributes to the Bi-Weekly Progress Report which is submitted to the social worker/personal advisor every two weeks. This report highlights progress made in key areas such as EET, finances, housing, health, relationships, etc.

Weekly Planners include goals and actions from the IPP, LSP and previous Bi-Weekly Progress Reports, ensuring there is a consistent and continuous effort to work towards placement goals. Goals set from any meetings, such as LAC Reviews, are also included. The outcomes of goals and actions are provided in each Bi-Weekly Progress Report, either confirming the progress made and next steps, or confirming that the goal or action has been met.

Support is also evidenced by Key Working Sessions, which are completed whenever the team and young person partake in a formal or informal session focusing on Independent Living Skills or key actions/goals from their IPP & LSP.

Lastly, we create and utilise dynamic Risk Assessments and Safety Plans.

Below are two slideshows with a brief outline of the different types of paperwork utilised in a young person's placement.

Regular Paperwork

Weekly Planners

Weekly Planners are created for the week going forward, and detail activities that the young person and their team are aiming to complete that week.

Activities will include progressing with their independent living skills, but can also include informal leisure activities such as going go-karting with their team, which builds rapport.

Placement Paperwork

General Risk Assessment (GRA)

The General Risk Assessment covers all risks that a young person may be exposed or vulnerable to.

The aim of the GRA is to highlight the level of risk the young person may be exposed/vulnerable to for each category, which then allows us to create a risk management plan that supports us in keeping them safe. The GRA is reviewed every 3 months (or sooner if a significant change occurs).