ETE & ACCREDITATION Meaningful activities in homelessness services

ETE & ACCREDITATION Meaningful activities in homelessness services

CONTENTS Introduction 3

Barriers to education and employment 4

Meaningful activities: important at any stage 4

Engagement > education > employment 5

� Providing accredited qualifications 7

� Pathways into employment 9

Resources 10

PRODUCED BY The Innovation and Good Practice Team ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS With thanks to Chapter 1, Crewe YMCA, Derbyshire Dales CVS, Derbyshire Dales District Council PUBLISHED December 2012

INTRODUCTION

There is a strong association between homelessness and a lack of engagement with education,

training and employment (ETE). The majority of people experiencing homelessness are unemployed.

For many people, training and employment are the key to moving on from homelessness. However,

there are barriers that homeless people face in taking this step. To counter this, the vast majority of

homelessness services are supporting people to enter work, training or to engage in other activities.

Meaningful occupation and activities can give homeless people something positive to do with the aim

of building their self-esteem, developing their skills and building social networks away from the

streets. Activities are also important in in preventing the boredom that may lead people to turn back

to the streets, to alcohol or drugs. Homelessness services can play a pivotal role in engaging their

clients in ETE and also in providing ETE and meaningful activities.

PURPOSE OF THE GUIDANCE

This guidance aims to provide an introduction and brief overview of the context around education,

training and employment in the homelessness sector. It outlines research and findings linked to the

benefits of ETE and meaningful activities, considers current provision in England and the practical

steps that services can take to support their clients. This guidance should be considered alongside

other Homeless Link Effective Action Guidance, particularly Supporting Clients into Employmenti.

CONTEXT

The Places of Change agenda has encouraged homelessness services to focus on moving service

users forward by improving access to meaningful occupation, training and employment opportunities.

These opportunities are becoming more readily available for clients across homelessness services.

Homeless Link’s Survey of Needs and Provision in 2012 found that 94% of homelessness projects

reported ETE services were available to clients while 85% reported availability of meaningful

activitiesii.

In 2011, the Government’s Vision to End Rough Sleeping: No Second Night Out Nationwide set out

its ambitions to tackle worklessness amongst homeless people. They committed to closer working

with JobCentre Plusiii, a new round of the Sparkiv social enterprise initiative, the testing of Working

Hostels and promoting opportunities for employment in the homelessness sector. Additional

outcomes from the strategy include offering homeless people on JSA early access to the DWP Work

Programmev and providing an enhanced offer for homeless men and women at JobCentre Plus

during the pre-Work Programme periodvi.

ETE activities cover a wide spectrum. At one end, involvement in meaningful activities can equip

people with the skills, motivation and ‘personal space’ to address the problems that have led to their

homelessness and to rebuild self-esteem, personal relationships and quality of life. Informal learning

activities can also lead to wide-ranging improvements in mental and physical health for homeless

people. These activities may include gardening, sport, arts, crafts, music and a range of others that

inspire and engage individuals.

At the other end of this spectrum, structured training and education courses can help homeless

people gain the skills they need to operate in the job market and find sustainable employment. It is

important that all activities across this spectrum are recognised as valid, that their use is supported,

and that outcomes are measured both in terms of personal change (‘soft’ outcomes) and

educational/employment successes (‘hard’ outcomes).

As identified in Homeless Link’s Survey of Needs and Provision 2012, nearly all homelessness

services are reported to provide ETE services and meaningful activities. The following section

outlines evidence that supports this investment of resources and demonstrates the need for

homelessness services to continue this provision.

BARRIERS TO EDUCATION AND EMPLOYMENT

It has been identified in many reports the various barriers to employment that exist for people

experiencing homelessness. Addressing these is the first step for any service supporting clients

towards employment. Crisis published a report in 2006 on Homeless People and Learning and Skills:

Participation, Barriers and Progressionvii which explores the extent to which homeless people are

involved in learning and skills activities, and their experiences of these.

Business Action on Homelessness (BAOH)viii which is a part of Business in the Community, has

published resources to promote the emotional resilience of homeless people for the workplaceix and

a report on the barriers to employment that homeless people experiencex. BAOH also run Ready for

Workxi – a programme that equips homeless people, or those at risk of homelessness, with the

confidence and skills to re-enter the job market.

Homelessness charity St Mungo's helps people to overcome barriers through education, vocational

training, help with finding employment and engaging in meaningful activities. They provide a large

programme of occupation and learning opportunities for homeless people including gardening,

furniture making and hospitality training. A 2010 report by St Mungo's called Work Mattersxii

examines homelessness and worklessness.

MEANINGFUL ACTIVITIES: IMPORTANT AT ANY STAGE

Many of the clients accessing homelessness services are addressing a multitude of issues in their

lives and are not yet at a stage where they are able to engage in formal education. At this point many

services aim to engage individuals in meaningful activities, which can lay a foundation through

engagement and developing self-confidence. When developing and planning activities services

should be conscious of the aim of these activities and tailor them accordingly. Initial engagement

activities may benefit from an informal structure and require a low level of commitment from

participants. Homeless Link has run projects for both arts and sportsxiii activities. The learning and

good practice identified across the sector can be found on their webpages

www.homeless.org.uk/activities.

Although the ultimate aim for many people will be paid employment, for others pre-vocational life

skills training and confidence-building activities can help encourage them to develop healthier

lifestyles. There is rarely a clear dividing line between meaningful occupation and education, training

and employment activities. Meaningful occupation and activities can be just as vital when homeless

people have been rehoused in their own accommodation, when isolation and boredom can be most

acute. An example of activities being used as an effective way to support people’s transition into their

own accommodation can be seen in The Great Escape – a project run by Derbyshire Dales District

Council.

CASE STUDY: THE GREAT ESCAPE

The Great Escape Project began in November 2011, set up by Derbyshire Dales District Council in

partnership with Derbyshire Dales CVS with the aim of providing residents in supported housing and

those receiving floating support with routes into services as it was recognised that access to leisure

activities, developmental opportunities, volunteering opportunities and other services will improve

residents’ mental and physical well-being.

Setting it up

The project was developed in response to the challenges and isolation faced by residents moving on

from supported accommodation, identified by council staff. Staff in the local authority’s housing team

brought together a Steering Group involving Leisure Services, residents, CVS and support workers

to plan and manage the project. With council funding a project worker was employed by Derbyshire

Dales CVS. The Great Escape Project Worker identifies opportunities, promotes the project to staff

and residents and supports residents taking part. The Leisure Services team identified their GP

Referral Instructors as appropriate personnel to conduct inductions and offer guidance around health

and fitness. They also ensured all leisure facilities’ reception staff were fully briefed before

participants were referred as they didn’t want an initial bad experience to deter involvement.

The programme

Potential participants are referred through their support worker or another professional or can self-

refer with the only criteria being clients who:

• Live in supported housing or receive floating support in the Derbyshire Dales

• Have a support worker

Clients meet with a Leisure Services staff member and they discuss the client’s needs, what is

available, provide a gym induction and exercise training plans as well as lots of encouragement. The

Great Escape Project Worker is kept up to date with participants and can follow up and address any

concerns or issues. The Great Escape Project Worker also has responsibility for developing a

directory of activities, updating the website and offering one to one support when needed.

Challenges and achievements to date

The project has had sixty referrals to date (November 2011 – June 2012). There was an early issue

with no-shows and instructors’ time being wasted. This was addressed by the Great Escape Project

Worker undertaking follow-up conversations and ongoing checks with participants. They have now

achieved 90% attendance at scheduled appointments and classes. As part of the project the Leisure

Services Team are able to offer participants the chance to qualify as National Pool Lifeguards,

potentially providing them future employment opportunities with the District Council.

ENGAGEMENT > EDUCATION > EMPLOYMENT

Engagement and informal learning opportunities

An opportunity exists for homelessness services to engage their clients in meaningful activities with a

clear route toward education and onto volunteering and employment opportunities. Services have

demonstrated the benefit of embedding learning and skills (e.g. literacy, numeracy, life skills) in the

delivery of meaningful activities. These have been shown to sometimes be more effective than

formal education approaches and serve a key role in building confidence and skills to attain formal

qualifications in the future.

CASE STUDY: INFORMAL LEARNING OPPORTUNITIES THROUGH SPORT

Sport, other outdoor activities and art have proven to be popular means of engaging people.

Crewe YMCA had a history of providing Learning and Skills Council-funded formal education and

training. However, supporting people mostly assessed at entry-level and with histories of low

educational attainment and lack of parental and emotional support, they discovered that informal

education and engagement had a greater impact than more formal approaches.

Informal structures

Crewe YMCA provides football as an activity for engagement via their Football & Life Academy

approach. This involves informal but structured learning across 6 modules, including anger

management, teamwork, dealing with disappointment, managing health and self-care, as well as

making FA accredited football coaching qualifications available to those interested.

They have funded this by charitable donations, support from the local community and by accessing

adult community learning funding; they have been able to fund a life skills tutor and football coach,

including supporting the former to obtain a PTLLS qualification.

Sustainment within the programme has improved compared to previous, more formal approaches.

The YMCA sees the pitch-side learning element of the academy as not just being beneficial for

health and well-being, but also bringing other benefits: there are now two teams playing in local

leagues, bringing a greater sense of social engagement and belonging.

Progression opportunities

There are several routes of progression which are client-led and non-prescriptive; these include

supporting people to access more formal training and education, focusing on employment and

volunteering, and further engagement with provision they deliver in accordance with the Foyer

Federation's “Open Talent” model.

This offers a flexible portfolio of services based on their tenants' strengths, abilities and interests.

They also establish an agreement with their tenants – by maintaining their flat, engaging with

activities and core Life Academy modules, and participating in key-working, tenants can gain credits

via a Talent Banking model: credits can be spent on items that can be used to help them progress in

education, employment or training directions.

Challenges

Sport as an activity for engagement is attractive, but whether it is the right choice for an organisation

will depend on a number of factors: are the facilities available, does the staff team have the expertise

to design and deliver a low-threshold, structured programme, and is it the right fit for the client

group? Agencies may wish to consider other options – for example non-sporting outdoor activities,

conservation, cooking, creative or IT activities. Another option is to look at ways in which people

unable to participate in the core activity can still be encouraged to engage – e.g. by becoming

involved in related areas that could include filming and photography, IT and website design or

administrative support.

A focus is often placed on ‘hard’ outcomes and the gaining of qualifications and employment by

individuals. As shown by the Crewe YMCA case study1, there is a need for the sector to provide

entry points suitable to all clients. Homelessness services are often frustrated at the apparent lack of

support and recognition for the work done in achieving ‘soft’ outcomes. These include self-

confidence, motivation, communication skills and many others that build a foundation for further

learning. Homelessness charity Broadway undertook practitioner research in 2007 that looked at the

value of ‘soft’ outcomes measurement in supporting homeless people into and through education in

their report ‘I Can’: Demonstrating soft outcomes for homeless and vulnerable adult learnersxiv.

Providing accredited qualifications

While building the skills and confidence of clients is an effective step towards employment and away

from homelessness, recognition of achievement through qualifications can also be valuable. In their

research into the provision of sport in the homelessness sector, Groundswell identified the positive

impact that recognition in the form of certificates and medals can have in retaining participants and

demonstrating progress. Similarly, qualifications can be a tangible achievement for individuals and

something that can clearly assist in further education and seeking employment.

What is accreditation?

Accreditation is the formal recognition of an individual's achievements and is linked to an internal or

external standard.

Internal accreditation

This is where you offer your own award to clients. You will set standards to judge against and work

out the evidence you need to demonstrate that they have been achieved. This is a cheaper

alternative to external accreditation and achieves many of the benefits of accreditation without the

costs, but it may lack external credibility.

External accreditation

This involves using an externally recognised awarding body to assess your course. This guarantees

that the standards you use have been defined and that the assessment of skills and competence is

rigorous. It has more status for the client and is more likely to impress potential employers than an

internal accreditation scheme. It may, however, be less focused on the needs of the clients and is

more costly than internal accreditation.

Customised Awards

This involves approaching an awarding body that is willing to accredit your course. A number of

awarding bodies offer this service. The benefits of this are that it provides local accreditation based

on the specific training requirements of your organisation. It can, however, be an expensive option

and the qualification may only be recognisable and transferable within the awarding body's own

award structure. With customised awards, however, there may be the opportunity to franchise the

award to other organisations. All of these considerations should be measured when taking a decision

around accreditation.

There are various organisations that accredit courses and qualifications (e.g. City and Guilds, Open

College Network, AQA). A homelessness service that is currently providing informal learning

opportunities may seek to have these courses accredited by an accrediting organisation.

1. For a case study of a homelessness service using creative activities to engage and develop their clients please visit:

http://homeless.org.uk/arts-sifafireside

Delivering accredited awards

You may also deliver awards that are already accredited, within your homelessness service. This

would require you to establish yourself as an Accreditation Centre and have an accredited trainer

within your staff team. This can be a great way to support staff development and harness their

particular skills and interests for the benefit of your organisation and clients. This also means that

courses can be delivered with a greater understanding of the clients’ needs and in a way that suits

your service and its resources (facilities, IT etc.)

CASE STUDY: DEVELOPING LEADERS

Chapter 1’s Manchester hostel, The Limes*, has become an Approved Assessment Centre for

delivering the Community Sports Leaders Award (CSLA), Levels 1 and 2. They offer this opportunity

to residents as part of a pathway of engagement that they have developed around their Sports

Academy.

Becoming an Assessment Centre

An online application to Sports Leaders will allow you become an Assessment Centre for the CSLA

Levels 1 and 2. A member of Chapter 1 staff at The Limes took the opportunity to become an

accredited tutor as they had been actively encouraging residents to take part in external sports

opportunities and had a personal interest and passion for physical activity. Identifying and

capitalising on the skills and interests of staff members will benefit the clients, staff and wider

organisation.

Initial engagement

Recruitment to the CSLA courses is done through ongoing opportunities to take part in sports

activities in the hostel and with external partners. The course is also able to serve as a motivator to

residents wanting to achieve the qualification to participate regularly in sports activities (e.g. football

training, rugby training, basketball, running, walking, cycling). This participation may be as part of an

activity delivered by the service, an external partner or undertaken individually by a resident.

Residents who display an ongoing commitment to sport and physical activity will then be encouraged

to take part in the course.

CSLA: Developing leaders

The CSLA qualification requires students to plan and manage sport events. This serves as an

opportunity for Chapter 1 The Limes to engage residents in volunteering opportunities. Having

established local opportunities including the Manchester homeless football league, E.Quality FC,

marathons and cycling races CSLA students have access to a range of large and exciting events.

These volunteering opportunities have seen residents build their self-confidence and skills and gain

an accredited qualification. They also gain an understanding of the benefits that volunteering can

have for them and have wider access to their local communities. The hostel also invites non-

residents to take part in the courses they deliver, which increases the funding opportunities available

to the project as they are able to ‘draw down’ additional money2.

Chapter 1 hopes to broaden the scope of activities currently offered at The Limes, beyond

2. Providers draw down funding from the Skills Funding Agency (SFA) for each student that they teach. The level of this funding is pre-

decided by the SFA/BIS (Business Skills and Innovation Department) each year.

basketball, rugby and football. They have seen residents who completed the course go on to win

national volunteering awards and engage in further education – both in sport and other areas of

study.

*The Limes is a supported housing project run by national housing charity Chapter 1 for 26 men aged 16 to 30.

Pathways into employment

As mentioned, for many the primary motivator for education is to gain employment. As outlined in the

case study above, volunteering can offer an effective link between education and work. Homeless

Link’s Effective Action guidance Managing Volunteers in Homelessness Servicesxv provides advice

on recruitment, retention and management of volunteers.

Thames Reach runs the National GROW3 (Giving Real Opportunities for Work) Programme.

Supported by the Department for Communities and Local Government, this programme is changing

the culture of the homelessness sector so that it fully embraces employment of service users. It

delivers a bespoke consultancy service to homelessness organisations across the country.

Homeless Link’s Effective Action guidance Supporting Clients into Employment details further

programmes and approaches to employment in homelessness services and serves as a useful tool

in developing opportunities for clients.

CONCLUSION

As this guidance has outlined, homelessness services can do a great deal with regard to providing

education and training opportunities to their clients. These can begin as initial engagement in

activities that spark interest and passion of both clients and staff. Focusing on ‘soft’ outcomes can be

a meaningful first step towards training/education and employment. Also, by considering

accreditation opportunities – for clients, staff and services as a whole – there is the potential for

improved outcomes, greater aspiration across the sector and diversified funding streams.

3. To find out more about the GROW programme please visit: http://www.thamesreach.org.uk/what-we-do/user-employment/national-grow-

programme/

RESOURCES / ENDNOTES

i. Homeless.org.uk/effective-action

ii. Survey of Needs and Provision www.homeless.org.uk/snap

iii. http://www.jobcentreplus.gov.uk/JCP/index.html

iv. Spark is a pioneering development and investment programme designed to build and inspire organisations to tackle homelessness

through social enterprise (http://www.sparkchallenge.org.uk/)

v. http://www.dwp.gov.uk/docs/the-work-programme.pdf

vi. For further information about this enhanced offer please read Homeless Link’s Effective Action guidance ‘Jobcentre Plus and

Support for Homeless People: Know the Direction of Travel’: http://homeless.org.uk/effective-action/workingwithjcp

vii. http://handbooks.homeless.org.uk/ete/training/learningandskillscrisis.pdf

viii. BAOH supports homeless people to gain and sustain employment and campaigns for the removal of barriers

http://www.bitc.org.uk/community/employability/homelessness/index.html

ix. http://www.bitc.org.uk/community/employability/homelessness/emotional_resilience.html

x. http://www.bitc.org.uk/resources/publications/homelessness.html

xi. http://www.bitc.org.uk/community/employability/homelessness/ready_for_work.html

xii. This report, and many others on education, training and employment, can be found on Homeless Pages:

http://www.homelesspages.org.uk/node/24151

xiii. Get Creative: Arts for All and Aiming High: Sport for All.

xiv. http://www.broadwaylondon.org/ResearchInformation/Research/SoftOutcomes.html

xv. This guidance can be accessed at: http://homeless.org.uk/effective-action/managingvolunteers