More than 26,000 16- and 17-year-olds took part in the National Citizen Service (NCS) in 2012. Although take-up was three times higher than in 2011, the fact that 6,000 available places were unfilled last year has prompted some to question its viability to expand in the future.
An evaluation by charity NatCen Social Research of the second year of the government's flagship youth programme points to problems in some areas of England where a lack of awareness in schools about the scheme challenged providers.
"There remained a feeling that providers were 'going in cold' in these schools," says the report, referring to schools that were not involved in the 2011 NCS. The report also notes that providers faced challenges "around multiple providers recruiting in the same areas, with some approaching the same schools and colleges".
Recruitment issues
University of the First Age (UFA) delivered NCS projects for the first time in 2012, hitting its target to provide for 400 young people in Northamptonshire, Durham and Kirklees. But chief executive Linda Gregory says recruitment has been easier for 2013 projects than last year.
"Information (from the Department for Education) had gone into schools before we approached them, but schools are busy places and a lot of information gets passed over the desk."
Gregory says once UFA staff approached schools personally, they found differing levels of engagement among students. "Some young people thought summer seemed a long way away - their key focus was getting exams done. But others were early adopters."
In January this year, the NCS Trust – an independent social enterprise set up by the Cabinet Office to manage the scheme - took over marketing of the programme. Since then, it has run advertising campaigns on radio, online and in print, which Gregory says has helped raise awareness.
Craig Morley, chief executive of the Challenge Network, says his organisation filled 92 per cent of its places in 2012 and is on target to fill 99 per cent this year. He says schools that had worked with the network in 2011 were willing to re-engage with the organisation, although problems arose if members of staff who had led on NCS in previous years had left.
"To overcome this, we tried to get the local MP to write an endorsement letter to the school or use other promotional strategies, such as digital communications or advertising through local publications," says Morley.
His staff were among those who found they were competing with other providers for participants from the same schools. He says this problem has now been rectified by the NCS Trust. Since 2012, it has established a process that enables regional leads to allocate schools to providers and avoid duplication.
Next year, the government wants 90,000 places to be available for young people. Morley is confident that this target will be met despite last year's shortfall in applications. "This year, we received expressions of interest from young people over five times the number of places we will deliver (14,000 in 2013). Based on this demand, it would be beneficial to explore rolling the programme out year-round."
Local delivery
Nicola Moore, head of programmes at provider London Youth, believes NCS's long-term success depends on local delivery. "If the programme grows at this rate, it is always going to be a challenge to maintain quality. Skilled staff are at a premium, as are quality venues or appropriate transport options, particularly in places like London."
Moore warns that the increasing numbers of participants places a strain on providers trying to cater for young people with behavioural issues or additional support needs.
"Where a personalised approach may be needed for some young people with high needs, this can be hard to achieve with 65 young people in any cohort," she says.
Confederation of Heads of Young People's Services chief executive David Wright says that NCS needs to be "embedded in the local offer if it's going to be there for the long-haul".
"Key to a local youth offer is making sure that it marries with what people want locally and there's the opportunity for young people to access them," he says.
Chair of the NCS Trust Stephen Greene - who is also chief executive of volunteering charity Rock Corps – says the target number of places available on NCS are designed to ensure no young person is turned down for a place on the programme. "The estimates for 2014 and beyond aim to ensure this remains the case with growing awareness and demand for the scheme," he says.
EVALUATION OF NCS IN 2012
- 26,003 16- and 17-year-olds took part in NCS in 2012
- 6,000 places commissioned for summer and autumn went unfilled
- 88 per cent of participants said they would recommend NCS to a friend
- 90 per cent of participants reported developing new skills
- 80 per cent felt more positive towards people from different backgrounds
- 70 per cent were more likely to volunteer in the local community because of NCS
- 57 and 55 per cent of participants in summer and autumn schemes respectively were female
- 66 per cent of summer participants classified their ethnicity as white
- 16 per cent had a disability
- 21 and 24 per cent of summer and autumn participants respectively received free school meals - higher than the national figure of 14 per cent
- Societal benefits of NCS in 2011 were revised down from £28m to £10-11m
Source: NatCen
