Issue details

The YFSS Parenting Support Unit [PSU] offers support to parents who are experiencing difficulties managing their children’s behaviour, impacting on their children’s educational achievement and involvement in crime and anti-social behaviour.
The PSU offers both individual and group work programmes and also provides a duty system to offer advice to parents. Additionally, the PSU operates in the SPOE on a daily basis and works closely with local schools to reduce exclusions and improve attendance and behaviour.
The PSU is a professional, valued service which was noted by Ofsted. However, Ofsted also noted that whilst the service was working well it only had one trained social work position within it [the manager] and lower than expected levels of management oversight given the complexity of need that the PSU deals with.
The PSU is funded from two sources:
• The Dedicated Schools Grant [DSG]
• Youth Development Unit [YDU] main budget to augment the delivery of parenting support to young people
Due to changes to the Education Services Grant (ESG) and school funding the restructure of the service has been delayed until the budget position was clarified.