Introduction to the Young Suffolk Quality Standard

Welcome. Thank you for your interest in the Young Suffolk Quality Standards.

Young Suffolk has been successfully delivering the Quality Standard since 2005. The Standards have proved to be very popular with in excess of 50 groups having engaged in the process to date. These pages will give you an overview of the standards, the process, the support available to you throughout the process and the benefits to doing the Standards. Many sections have additional links you can follow to access further information.

What is the Quality Standard?

The standard focuses on the systems and structures you have in place to ensure you are a safe, well run provider of services, rather than look at the quality of service delivery.

The award of the Quality Standard is recognition that an organisation has provided evidence that it is a well run and safe provider of services for children and young people. They are designed to be, “Rigorous but not onerous”.

The Award is valid for three years, after which it has to be renewed.

To see an extract from our latest Quality Standards Framework please click here.

“The time involved was time well spent. It caused me to review the evidence available to prove it and to test it against some externally accepted good practice benchmarks.

Achieving the award has added further credibility to our project's reputation and will make it easier for us to reassure potential funders of our competence as a provider of good quality youth work services."
Mike Peck, Level2 Youth work project Felixstowe

 

For more details of the standards development and history click here.

 

Who is it for?

It is appropriate for all voluntary children and youth sector organisations, from the largest national or affiliated groups to smaller groups. Smaller groups with no paid staff may find Young Suffolk’s “Lite” Quality Standards more appropriate. For more information on "Lite Standards" click here.

What does it cover?

It covers the quality of the systems and structures of the organisation itself that is the main focus of these standards, rather than the quality of the programme itself. We appreciate that the standard of the programme is extremely important but recognise this requires a more complex, qualitative approach and is consequently better suited to existing quality assurance systems. Examples of these existing schemes include PQASSO (the Practical Quality Assurance System for Small Organisations), Investors in People.

All four of the categories are designed to provide a comprehensive safeguarding environment in which to work and that children and young people can access with confidence.

Child Protection
Health and safety
Staff support and development
Organisational management

More information on Safeguarding can be found on the Safeguarding page of our website click here, or you can find further details from the Suffolk Safeguarding Children Board website.

 

What are the benefits to doing the Quality Standard?

These benefits have all been identified by groups who have experienced our Quality Standards process.

For details of groups who are engaged with Quality Standards, click here.

“ It’s a useful management tool and an excellent
method for maintaining and improving upon the
health and robustness of the organisation.

The help and support provided by Young Suffolk
was incredibly beneficial to us.”
Liz Newman, Rochford Trust, Woodbridge


Click on the circles below to go to each of the Young Suffolk Quality Mark areas


     

         

Click here for Young Suffolk Quality Standards Useful Resources

Organisational Health Check

The process is a great opportunity to take stock of what you have, what you don’t yet have and is a great time to review and update your systems for keeping your organisation and young people safe. You can start by doing a “tick list” designed to help you assess what you have in place. This is a good indicator of how long the process may take for your organisation.

 

It's a real opportunity to take stock of how well your organisation's doing amidst the day to day busy-ness of running a busy service for children and young people!
Steve Allman, Chief Executive Out & About

 

Training

Based on feedback from groups engaged in the process it has been possible to identify training needs. Ways in which we have been able to support the training needs of organisations are varied as the following examples show:

1. In some instances we have been able to signpost organisations toward training that may meet your needs.

2. We have been able to design and commission specific training courses where the need and funding allow. For instance, we commissioned two level 2 AQA accredited courses in Risk idenitification and Risk Management - specifically linked to risks associated in providing services/activities for children and young people.

3. We have been able to introduce organisations to a Workforce Development Mentor, able to provide a bursary and detailed identification of training needs.

4. Where appropriate priority places are given to groups committed to the Quality Standards process on training courses we are involved in.

You can find more information on training on the Training and development section of our website.

Updates and information

Alongside the usual information received by members of Young Suffolk groups involved in Quality Standards will receive a quarterly update on emerging practice, news and changes in legislation etc that directly impact on them.

We appreciate that your time is precious and it can sometimes me difficult or frustrating trying to find specific information. If you have particular need of specific information you can always approach your Support Worker who will do their very best to get the answers for you.

Click here for Quality Standards Useful Resources

Access to funding

To be eligible to apply for funding from the Suffolk Youth & Connexions Service Grants programme a group must have achieved, or be actively working towards the Young Quality Standards Awards.

Improved efficiency

The Young Suffolk Quality Standards have helped bring rigour to the delivery of our services, which means we are able to provide an improved quality of experience for young people.

Bruce MacGregor
CSV Media Clubhouse Ipswich

 

Increased confidence

This is a supportive and supported process. Your support worker is there to work alongside you, they are not there to criticise or judge you but to be an objective, experienced “friend”. The best way to demonstrate this is to let you see the quotes from the people who told us this.

It provides help and valuable advice and leads towards a more confident
approach to what you are doing”
Mike Simpson, Just42

 

Access to support

You will have a dedicated Support Worker to guide and support you not just through the process but they will be there for ongoing support when you achieve the Young Suffolk Standard. To see the full support package click here.

 

Updated policies and procedures

When a group engages with the Quality Standard your support worker will be able to provide you with quality guidelines/draft policies and procedures. We do not put them on the website as we believe it is really important that these documents are real, realistic and relevant to the efficiency and safety of your organisation. By supporting you with only the guidance you need/ request means that:

1. you do not get overwhelmed with unnecessary amounts of paperwork

2. you have the opportunity to discuss with your support worker what you need from a policy or procedure, if you are unsure. It’s a chance to check out what you need to do in real terms.

3. by not just adopting a policy or procedure you may have found on the internet you can be sure it is tailored to your needs and will meet good practice guidance. There are lots and lots of them out there and they will not all fit your organisation.

You could also be committing your organisation to doing something that would be inapropriate for you.

4. you do not need to start from scratch

The Standards can also be an indicator to parents, carers, funders etc that you are a provider of well run and safe services for children and young people.

They are also a good first step towards achieving other Quality Assurance programmes, including Investors in People and PQASSO.For Quality Assurance schemes, including national quality assurance programmes, click here.

What is the process for doing Quality Standards?

Firstly you need to contact us about your interest, this will enable us discuss Quality Standards with you, answer any immediate questions and then to assign a Quality Standards Support Worker to you.

Your Support worker will be there to facilitate and guide you through the process and help you access our full support package. Your Support Worker will contact you and arrange an introductory meeting, present you with your Quality Standards portfolio for you to compile your evidences and Partnership Agreement.

To see an extract from our latest Quality Standards Framework please click here. You will see from the framework that much of the evidence required to achieve the Award is paper based, but there are some evidences that will be done as a visual inspection by your Support Worker.

Stage one
Compile your portfolio of evidence, following each section of the framework and guidance notes. Not all of the elements in the framework will be relevant to all groups, you will only need to provide evidence for those relevant to your group.

Stage two
A peer review panel will assess your completed portfolio against the standards. The panel consists of voluntary sector children/youth organisations who have achieved the Award and other stakeholders. Click here to see the members of the peer review panel.

Successful groups will receive the quality standard. The award of the standard is for three years and is subsequently reviewed to ensure that the group is still meeting the standards.

Ongoing Support
As part of the ongoing process of support once you have achieved the Quality Standard Award your Support worker will continue to meet with you at least once each year. You will also need to complete an Annual Self-review.

This acknowledges that the guidance for working with children and young people is ever changing, with good practice, governance and legislation evolving and emerging continuously. This ongoing support and Self review enables you and your organisation to stay at the forefront of safe and healthy practice.

Are you interested in achieving the Young Suffolk Quality Standard? Or do you just want to know more about it? Either way please contact us