Chancellor Gordon Brown's rhetoric at a conference in February about the importance of the voluntary and community sector boosted its profile.
And the voluntary sector is increasingly being recognised as key to Connexions' success with hard-to-reach young people. A strategy and guidance document, produced by the Department for Education and Skills in conjunction with the National Council for Voluntary Youth Services (NCVYS), puts the onus on partnerships to set up local strategies by September (YPN, 24-30 March, p4).
Carrot and stick
Many partnerships and local authorities had already developed relationships in terms of providing contracts for personal advisers and activities for young people. Kevin Munday, head of programmes at NCVYS, believes that a carrot and stick approach is needed. "Partnerships have been around for two years so it was really time to prod them into involving a wider range of voluntary agencies," he adds.
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