|
Kent & Medway ISSP is one of over 50 schemes funded by
the Youth Justice Board. It aims to work with those persistent and
serious young offenders who commit a high percentage of crime in
Kent & Medway. The aim is to:
- Reduce the frequency and seriousness of their offending
- Tackle the underlying needs that cause them to offend,
particularly concentrating on education and training
- Providing reassurance to communities that close surveillance is
being carried out.
The Kent and Medway ISSP scheme delivers various elements of the
programme by running groups, where young people on the programme
may attend. The groups have discussions about and make the young
people work on:
- Offending Behaviour - eg Awareness of victims, anger
management
- Education - literacy and numeracy skills
- Thinking Skills
When young people attend the groupwork run by ISSP, they are
also encouraged to take part in sport and to think about healthy
eating. One part of the day is dedicated to sport, and there are a
variety of activities including football, basketball, weight
lifting, squash and netball which can be included.
In addition to the groups, there is the possibility of the young
people receiving 1:1 work from ISSP staff. The scheme workers also
seek to link young people into local services and mainstream
education wherever possible.
The scheme also requires of the young people that they
attend:
- Reparation - compensation work for the victim or the
community
- A meeting with the Police once per week
- A meeting in the family home once per week
The above parts of the scheme are mandatory. In addition to
these, the Kent and Medway scheme offers additional activities
which can assist the young people with their education, their
understanding of offending behaviour or their inter-personal
skills. These include:
MotoX - a scheme where young people learn to
repair, maintain and ultimately ride motorbikes and go scrambling.
The young people are only allowed to ride the motorbikes if they
have participated in the educational part of the day and also work
on site to help repair and maintain the track and buildings.
Motorcross Challenge Project
Click the image above to view a larger
picture
Medway Motors - a project run by Rainer, a
Charity which works with young people. Young people learn to work
on cars in a warehouse setting. Examples of the work include
preparing the vehicle for painting, panel beating and replacing car
parts. Plumbing - young people attend a group which teaches them
the basics of plumbing (eg soldering, fitting cisterns, cutting
materials).
Bricklaying - young people attend a group which
teaches them the basics of bricklaying (eg cutting materials,
mixing bonding material, building walls, laying slabs).
Art - this group is run by an ISSP member of
staff who is also an artist who exhibits in their own right. The
group has a theme such as African Art, Christmas card design,
pottery and mosaics, and the young people will then produce art
pieces which they can take home with them. Young people have also
produced murals as a part of their work with this group. These
murals have been projects to help improve the appearance of local
community centres and have helped the young people put something
back into the community.
Artwise Project
click the images above to view larger
pictures
It is worth noting that Oxford University carried out a national
survey of ISSP schemes and the young people on them. They found
that 27% of young people on ISSP had had no educational provision
in the last 6 months, the mean reading age of the young people was
10.8 years whilst the mean age of the young people was 16.2 years.
The education that Kent and Medway ISSP provides is to begin the
process of re-engagement with some young people with an aim to
refer them on to mainstream courses whenever
possible. |