Introduction to Young Suffolk Quality Standards

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 Quality
Standards?
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

For more information on areas of benefit, click on the link
below;
Organisation Health
Check
Training for Staff
Updates and Information
Access to Funding
Improved Efficiency
Increased Confidence
Access to Support
Updated Policies and Procedures
Useful
Resources
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