Co ntact det ails: The Viewpoint Organisation, Gower House , 4 Pant Y Blodau, Penc oed, B ridgend C F35 6LX

Tel: 01656 865 858 and E: adminvpt@vptorg.co.uk

View

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YOI

View

POINT

Managers and practitioners at

HMP/YOI Hindley have designed a

version of Viewpoint specifically for

use in the secure estate as part of

their consultation and safeguarding

strategies. CASI questionnaires and

reports focus on three main areas:

Health

– consolidating existing

paper health-focused questionnaires

to assess young people’s physical and

mental/ emotional health, healthy

lifestyle and issues relating to

substance misuse.

Safety

– consolidating existing

safety and complaints questionnaires

to assess the degree to which young

people are safe from harm, bullying,

discrimination and anti-social

behaviour, and their sense of

stability and security.

Service Quality

[post-induction

and pre–release] for young prisoners

to feedback on service quality

including:

Their views on induction and

pre-release work

Relationships with staff

YOI facilities and equipment

Education services

Sports/PE

Written information and advice

Their experience of complaints

procedures and consultation

systems

Their views about offending.

A Direct Line to the

Views of young people

The Viewpoint Organisation

provides information services to

local authorities and government

agencies. Most data collection is

online CASI (computer assisted

self-interviewing) Data is stored

on a secure server and is

accessed with appropriate

permissions with Viewpoint

Analysis.

Evidence based practice in

the Secure Estate

Part of the process of

implementing the Strategy for the

Secure Estate for Children and

Young People has meant

professionals in YOIs needing to

design and deploy improved

systems for listening to and

reporting on the views of young

people in custody.

For these systems to be effective,

they need to:

Be Accessible

– for young

people so that they have easy

access to a system that they can

use notwithstanding their age or

level of ability, and

for professionals, so that they

can easily access up-to-date

reports when and in the form

that they require them.

Be Engaging

– Viewpoint CASI

employs a medium that is familiar

for young people and is most

likely to engage their interest –

CASI or Computer Assisted Self

Interviewing. Research has

shown that using CASI

[interactive, computer-based]

programmes engages almost all

young people, most significantly

including those young people

who are most likely not to

participate in more traditional

methods and ‘vote with their

feet’ when invited to participate

in consultation or user-feedback

processes.

Produce Valid Reports

– for

managers and practitioners

working in the most inspected

and audited section of Children's

Services, easy access to a system

that produces a range of reports

for internal and external use is

essential. As with all Viewpoint

reports, YOI Viewpoint enables

professionals with access

permissions to generate a range

of tailor-made online reports

against Home Office KPTs and

the five Every Child Matters

Outcomes as well as other

measures. Viewpoint Analysis can

also produce engaging and

accessible reports for feeding

back findings to young people –

an essential part of any

consultation process. The

programme also helps

professionals to avoid duplication

of surveys and associated

consultation ‘fatigue’ for young

prisoners.

Be Secure

– The Viewpoint

programme allows easy access to

those given permission to use

CASI questionnaires or reports

by using a login and password

provided by the administrator.

In addition, the version of

Viewpoint used in the Secure

Estate sits on the YOI intranet,

so that a] there is no

unauthorised access to the

internet, and b] data collected is

retained on the YOI’s own

server[s].

YOI Safeguarding Services

Research relating to child

protection and to self induced

harm by juveniles and young

adults in the Secure Estate,

emphasise the importance of

systems that support young

people’s views and concerns

being listened to and acting upon.

That cases of significant harm in

its various forms - bullying,

physical and emotional abuse, self

harm and SID –can be prevented

through more effective listening

services not only in individual

cases but also through

developing a better

understanding directly from

young people themselves of risk

and ‘what works’ to prevent

these tragedies occurring.

As well as its use in the secure

estate, Viewpoint CASI

programmes are used extensively

for listening to looked after

young people [in foster and

residential care], careleavers and

young offenders accessing

community-based YOT services

across the UK. To make best

use of these programmes,

Viewpoint is not used in isolation

but as part of an overall

safeguarding strategy in

conjunction with other

consultation and listening

services.