Background and Methodology | Overview | Birmingham | Bradford | Bristol | Gateshead | Greenwich | Hackney | Leicester | Liverpool | Manchester | Norwich | Sheffield | Slough E: The Greenwich Project Project context E1 This project was based on the Ferrier estate, which is a geographically isolated council estate with poor transport links, extremely limited childcare facilities and generally an acute lack of provision. The estate was chosen for the project, over other areas of deprivation in the locality, as there are few services already in place. It was thought that measures found to work on the Ferrier, in an environment of the most extreme deprivation, could be reasonably expected to work in other areas. E2 Dwellings on the estate are traditionally hard to let, and occupants generally remain on the estate for relatively short periods, tending to seek alternative accommodation immediately on arrival. Many residents face extreme poverty; a large percentage are long term unemployed or lone parents who are terrified by any threat of benefit loss. The estate is multi-cultural - in total, residents speak twenty-four different languages - and there is a large Vietnamese and Somalian community on the estate, for these people the Ferrier may represent their first housing in England. Locally the estate and its residents have a bad reputation and this, in itself, represents a disadvantage for residents seeking to re-enter the workforce. E3 Since the bid for the project there have some developments in the local economy, with several major projects in the regional and local economies offering the prospect of future employment (eg. the Blue Water Retail Park). More immediately projects, such as the construction of the Millennium Dome, are able to offer real jobs to local residents. The timing of the project, therefore, could not have been better as it was possible to refer people on to real jobs. Project objectives E4 Central to the project was the aim to encourage learning locally as a first step to bringing people out of the estate to learn in a more formal environment. The target group for the outreach work was residents on the Ferrier, over the age of sixteen, particularly lone parents, the long term unemployed and the disadvantaged, although no local people were actually turned away. E5 The project sought to achieve its goals by running regular advice and guidance sessions in a variety of locations that were all accessible and familiar to residents. The advice sessions were offered on an individual and group basis, providing services such as action planning, identifying contacts for work experience and delivering job application courses. An experienced adviser was responsible for setting up and conducting the sessions, and for establishing co-operative links with groups who were already working on the estate. The rationale of the project was that by paying for an experienced adviser, training costs would be lower, supervision time kept to a minimum, and quality, informed guidance offered. Management arrangements E6 London South Bank Careers (LSBC) took on the responsibility for leading, managing and administering the project. In addition the LEA has provided consistent support via their Training Options Manager and the manager of GRETA (a shop front site offering guidance and training opportunities for adults, partly funded by the council), both of whom have provided advice to the project. SOLOTEC, which was an original supporter of the bid, has had less involvement in delivery and funding. E7 Attendance at steering group meetings has been good, although the TEC has not always been able to send a representative. The meetings were held every six weeks and the DfEE representative attended regularly, providing constructive and helpful advice. Overall, the influence of the steering group has been to provide a framework to focus on progress and to validate the work. Forceful 'steering', has not been necessary, as the project has been well managed on a day-to-day basis. E8 There have been no staff changes during the course of the project and LSBC ensured that another staff member covered any absences of the project worker, through holiday or sickness. In this way estate residents could be confident that sessions would run as planned. With the project relying on the services of only one worker, it was easier to plan and cover any absences. Progress against objectives E9 Initially the project fell behind schedule as the recruitment of the project co-ordinator took longer than expected (the recruitment took place in early December, not October as originally planned). Substantial progress was achieved, however, despite this initial delay. Specific progress will be discussed under the following headings:- establishing networks; marketing; client group. Establishing networks E10 One of the major challenges for the project co-ordinator was establishing contact with the relevant organisations working on the estate, as the Careers Service had not worked on the Ferrier before. It was expected that there would be some on-site provision and that a number of professionals would be working in the area already. Project workers were therefore surprised by how little was actually available for residents. E11 To identify individuals and organisations already working on the estate the project worker used the council directory of local clubs, contacted the health authority and drove around the estate in an attempt to identify local venues. Once identified these contacts were visited and asked if they would like to participate by offering the project worker the chance to hold guidance sessions on their premises. The reaction of organisations was positive although some were either unsuitable (eg. a church held in a shop front location that was only available during evenings) or unable to co-operate (eg. a youth club on site when contacted stated that all their members were actually in prison at that time). E12 The project ran sessions in the following venues with varying degrees of success:- at two local schools. A session was held weekly alternating between the two, for a term. Despite their being scheduled around 'drop off' time at the beginning of the school day, no-one used these sessions; in the Neighbourhood Office, for two hours a week. There was a limited take up at this site, possibly due to the formal setting; at the New Horizons Community College, for two hours a week. This was a successful venue with 28% of the project intake self-referring at this site; in the Green Hut (office of the voluntary organisation 'The Ferrier Partnership Project'). Over 50% of the project intake attended their first session here making it the most successful venue. In addition two sessions were held at the only day nursery on the estate which only accepts families in extreme need. These were very successful and it is hoped that further sessions can be held there in the future. E13 In addition to holding sessions in community venues, other links have been established with local agencies. One example has been to assist in providing careers information for users of the community college, New Horizons. By pooling the resources of the college - which has a budget for a new IT system, and the facilities of the Careers Service - which has an information directory which is stored on disk, the project will further help to meet local needs. The same directory has also been provided to the Ferrier Partnership Project, but in a paper-based format. E14 There have been problems, however, due to extreme levels of rivalry between providers (in one extreme case a fist-fight broke out between two rival groups!). The Ferrier Partnership Project, for example, operates in perceived competition with the 'one-o-clock club', a playscheme on the estate, by offering mothers a room to bring their children to play in. As a result people who use the one-o-clock club have been unwilling to participate in guidance as the project worker has become identified with 'those people at the green hut'. Through multi-agency events (see paragraph E22) it is hoped this animosity can be overcome for future work. Marketing E15 In order to attract residents to the sessions a number of marketing tools were used. These included:- posters displayed at community sites such as the college; leaflet drops across the estate; leaflets given to new residents through the Neighbourhood Office new lettings packs; information in the Ferrier Partnership Project newsletter. E16 It was hoped that inserts into the local free press could be used to ensure that all residents received information about the project. However, it has emerged that estate residents do not have access to these newspapers, as they are not delivered to the estate. The distributors allege that they cannot find employees willing to make the necessary deliveries, due to the reputation of the estate and its residents. Estate caretakers were able to distribute the leaflets and were paid for their efforts in the first distribution. Two local lone parents then took on responsibility for the second distribution. This second payment had to split over a two-week period, however, in order to avoid them losing any benefits. Two leaflet drops were made, the second with a clear job focus as a reaction to local economic developments (see paragraph E3). It was this leaflet that was the most successful. E17 It has been word of mouth that has been the most successful way of gaining the interest of residents. The project worker has increasingly found that an extended project referral system has come into operation, on an informal basis, with a number of individuals from the same family attending sessions. The client group E18 The project worker has kept extremely detailed records, reflecting the intensive nature of the guidance on offer. This has made it possible to examine closely the nature of those individuals using the service. Clients participating in the project are from a variety of educational and geographical backgrounds, reflecting the diverse ethnic make-up of the estate. It was felt, however, that the Vietnamese and Somalian residents were under-represented in the client group. Possible reasons for this could include the lack of translated publicity materials or provision of a translator at guidance sessions. Although the project considered providing these facilities, it was not possible within the budget and evidence suggested that some residents were likely to demonstrate low levels of literacy in their own languages anyway, and therefore unlikely to respond to printed materials. E19 The information which people requested varied in accordance with their individual situation and needs. It was apparent that the extreme poverty of both the individuals and the community contributed at some level to almost all the barriers to participation. Some examples of the kind of assistance offered include:- typing up of CVs for those without access to a computer (most of the client group), printed copies of the CV and a copy on floppy disk; help in completing application forms for those with literacy problems; advice on training options including New Deal for Lone Parents and Work Based Training for Adults. As a result of the guidance a number of individuals have found work or started on a training course. Next steps E20 Due to the success of the project the decision has been taken by LSBC to try and incorporate the Ferrier estate into another project which is operating under SRB funding, namely 'Skills for the Millennium'; this is funding a number of deprived boroughs covering three careers service areas. Operating under SRB funding will result in a number of changes in the way the project will have to work, mainly due to a more target-driven approach. The result could be that those most in the need of intensive guidance will miss out in favour of those deemed to be more 'work ready'. E21 The provision of the facility Key Notes Plus now on offer at the college (see paragraph E13) will also be available after the end of the project. In addition the project worker has succeeded in raising the awareness of college staff about the importance of job-related training. This has resulted in commitment from the college on two levels. Firstly, basic literacy courses will now be designed to more accurately reflect the needs of adults on the estate with a clear focus on job-related issues. Secondly, the college has agreed to provide facilities for a job club on the estate (there is a need for such a club since the centralisation of services resulted in the removal of the local employment services provided job club). E22 The project has also participated in a number of events working with local people and agencies in an attempt to bring a feeling of community to the estate. One example was a 'fun day', which was held involving a number of agencies such as Healthy Greenwich 2000 and the Local Exchange Trading Schemes. Residents were offered a number of activities including a bouncy castle for children, which was staffed by the local playscheme who were able to use it as a fundraising exercise. Attendance was extremely high for the estate, over seventy residents participating. E23 Another development has been the establishment of a Ferrier Food Co-operative, of which the project worker has been made chair. Overall, the project worker has established herself as a community resource, establishing the trust of residents slowly, but making real progress. Principal learning points E24 The project worker has produced a detailed evaluative report, which details a number of learning points. The following represent a selection:- It nearly always takes longer than expected to get the project up and running. Using an experienced member of staff can help to reduce delays; finding a community representative in an ethnically diverse area can be problematic. In practice, it may be difficult to find someone with whom all groups can identify; on estates with housing problems, the local neighbourhood office can be a great source of help; awareness of local politics is essential and it is important to try and maintain a neutral image (although this isn't always possible!).