Ieuenctid Fynwy/Monmouthshire Youth

The youth service manager has created a dynamic and forward-thinking service delivery plan that drives improvement. This acts as a living framework, continually refreshed each quarter to reflect progress, learning, and changing priorities. The manager skilfully connects the service’s strategic ambitions with day-to-day operations and wider corporate goals, ensuring that every action contributes to the bigger picture.A robust management information system underpins this process, gathering real-time sessional data that flows directly into the service delivery plan. This enables leaders to make informed, timely decisions and to generate clear, evidence-based reports for senior officers and partners whenever needed. For example, this allows the service to provide time sensitive information to town councils on the work the service has been doing in their area.Importantly, this is a shared endeavour. Many staff contribute to the plan, updating the sections linked to their own areas of responsibility. Their active involvement strengthens ownership and promotes a culture of collective leadership across the service. Each update includes reflective commentary, capturing honest evaluations, emerging challenges, and clear steps for improvement.Over time, these updates form a narrative of progress, outlining the development and achievement that charts the service’s ongoing journey. Embedded within each quarterly review are case studies and other evidence that bring the data to life, showcasing the tangible impact of youth work on young people’s lives.

Monmouthshire’s Make your Mark is an annual county-wide youth-led ballot used to increase the participation of young people in decision making. The Youth Service facilitates and co-ordinates the ballot, providing young people with a valuable opportunity to vote on the issues in order of importance to them. Nearly three-quarters (3,509) of 11 to 18-year-olds in education settings voted in the most recent ballot. The most common issues were discussed at a youth conference held in County Hall with 45 young people attending to share their experiences and viewpoints and to create recommendations for schools, services and policy makers. Young people stated clearly that the top three priorities were the cost of living, mental health matters, and employment and skills. The youth service subsequently provides young people with progress reports on the actions taken on recommendations from the previous year.Through taking part in the ballot and attending the conference many young people express their views clearly and democratically. Their voices make a tangible difference to policy. For example, progress on recommendations following the 2024 ballot include, strengthening student voice with an emphasis on co-production of inclusive well-being policies in schools; introducing a Passport to Leisure scheme to reduce the cost of leisure centre access; and expanding bus services in rural areas to align more closely with school schedules.