Watchdog praises innovative action

Opportunity knocks for youngsters

OLDHAM is helping to give its citizens a brighter and more positive future, according to a new report.

Oneplace, a review published by the Audit Commission, shows how Oldham managed to buck the national trend and halted a rise in the number of young people not in education, employment or training (NEETs).

Better qualifications were achieved, particularly by those from poorer backgrounds, as a result of Oldham Council working closely with Oldham Sixth Form College, University Oldham, Oldham Partnership and others.

Among the positive schemes highlighted was a junior university aimed at those who may otherwise have left education at age 16, and there was success in attracting teenage mothers into education or training.

More opportunities for youngsters have been launched this year.

January saw the start of Boxing is NEET, a pioneering scheme based at Oldham Boxing and Personal Development Centre in Derker.

The community-based initiative introduces young people to courses and accredited training that could help them change their life by opening doors to new careers, in turn finding long-term employment.

Oldham Council leader Howard Sykes said: “The Oneplace report is justification of the work the council and its partners are doing to improve the lives of our young citizens and ensuring they have the best start in life.

“By providing education, employment and training for youngsters who may not have had access to it before, for whatever reason, we are making sure the borough’s next generation of citizens are fully prepared and ready to take advantage of opportunities in the future.”

Nick Brown OBE, principal of Oldham Sixth Form College and Oldham Partnership’s chairman, said: “Oldham has been singled out by the Audit Commission as a place where many organisations are working together to deliver successful and innovative schemes.

“The work with youngsters in the borough has been earmarked as something that other local authorities can learn from.

“I see first hand the effects on Oldham’s young people; there’s a generation of confident, ambitious and talented youngsters in this borough.”

The Oneplace document is a national assessment carried out by the Audit Commission, the watchdog which oversees efficiency in local public government services.

Michael O’Higgins, chairman of the Audit Commission, said: ‘Oneplace has made a lot of interesting information available for the first time in straightforward language to local people.

“It shows that much progress has been made, although stubborn problems persist.

“It highlights examples of really imaginative solutions to serious problems that other parts of the country should steal or adapt.

“The good news is that for every problem local public services face, this review shows someone, somewhere, is tackling it intelligently and innovatively.”