Vital funding will continue to support young people in Norfolk
Children and young people will continue to be supported by Serious Violence Duty funding in Norfolk, thanks to an allocation of funding from the Office of the Police and Crime Commissioner for Norfolk (OPCCN).
The Government’s Serious Violence Duty commenced in January 2023, placing a new legal obligation on key partnership organisations to work together to prevent and reduce serious violence. This obligation is being delivered in the financial year 2026/27 by the OPCCN.
As grant holder of Home Office funding, the PCC’s office, in partnership with responsible authorities, has agreed to part fund Norfolk County Council’s Targeted Youth Support Service (TYSS) Detached and Project Team, and TYSS Summer Programme, with £175,000 of grant funding.
Norfolk’s new Police and Crime Commissioner, Colin Sutton, said: “This funding will help vulnerable young people navigate the summer holidays with much needed support. Preventative measures are so important in building positive relationships and experiences. Thanks to the power of partnership working we can invest in healthier and safer futures for our young people.”
This multi-agency approach will help us to understand the causes and consequences of serious violence, focusing on prevention and early intervention, and informed by evidence.
Funding will support the key objectives of TYSS, which include:
- Reducing the risk of serious violence through targeted, place-based interventions in identified hotspot areas.
- Engagement of children and young people experiencing increased vulnerabilities by early identification.
- Promotion of positive peer networks and role models through structured sport, youth and mentoring activities.
- Building on young people’s strengths, interests and aspirations.
- Supporting opportunities to develop positive relationships, confidence and life skills.
- The TYSS Summer Programme will use this funding to deliver inclusive holiday provision through the Big Norfolk Holiday Fun (BNHF) model across Norfolk to reduce holiday-related risks, including isolation, inactivity and poor nutrition.
Cllr Wendy Atkinson, Cabinet Member for Children, Families and SEND at Norfolk County Council, said: “We have got a brilliant summer programme lined up for our young people this year, which includes film making, music and sport.
“The aim is to give them something fun and engaging to do, whilst building their skills and linking them up with positive role models. Overall, our priority is to keep them safe and help them make positive choices for the future.
“We’re grateful for the support of the OPCCN in helping to fund this vital work.”
The council’s TYSS works with young people across Norfolk in the places and spaces where they choose to meet up.
The summer programme is aimed at supporting young people who have been identified as being at risk outside the home.
The team is made up of specialist youth workers who are there to provide advice and support. They also work with young people and other community organisations to put on positive activities that are open to all young people. This includes a range of drop-in sessions over the summer holidays. More information is available at Targeted Youth Support Service - Norfolk County Council
Another successful recipient of Serious Violence Duty Partnership funding is Future Projects, who have been awarded £89,262 to continue their service to young people. Previous Serious Violence Duty funding for the charity enabled it to provide a dedicated 1-2-1 Advocate, ‘Life Connector’, to children and young people identified as at high risk of high harm from serious violence, including those at risk from child criminal exploitation and child sexual exploitation. This focused on children and young adults between the ages of 17.5- and 25, as they transition to adulthood. The service equips them with supported, protective measures and attitudes to support young people to sustain positive changes, strengthen protective relationships and move forward from experiences of exploitation and harm.
The additional funding will enable continuity of service and provide an increase in service provision through an additional ‘Life Connector’ practitioner, supporting an expected increase in demand on the service and in the intensity of support required.
Adult Services Manager, Grace Richardson from Future Projects, said: "We are absolutely delighted to secure continuation funding for the Transitions Project. Too often, vulnerable young people face a cliff edge of support as they leave children's services and enter adulthood, at a time when they may still be at significant risk of exploitation, serious violence and harm. This project ensures that we do not lose sight of those young people, providing the consistent, trusted relationships and practical support they need to navigate some of the most challenging periods of their lives. This funding not only protects that vital continuity of support but strengthens our ability to reach more young people, build resilience, strengthen protective relationships, and help them move forward with confidence, hope and opportunity."
Norfolk Office of Data Analytics
The Serious Violence Duty requires the Norfolk Community Safety Partnership, which is led by the OPCCN, and its member organisations to develop a robust evidence base to create and implement a strategy that sets out tailored approaches for how partners will work collaboratively to prevent and reduce serious violence.
Serious violence can have long-lasting impacts on individuals, families and communities. By understanding the factors that increase vulnerability and strengthening protective support, partners can work together to prevent harm and improve outcomes for children and young people.
To address this, the Office of the Police and Crime Commissioner has als0 awarded grant funding, via the Home Office Serious Violence Fund, of £64,074 to Norfolk County Council’s Norfolk Office of Data Analytics (NODA) to deliver strategic analytical support for Serious Violence Duty and the Norfolk Community Safety Partnership activity, supporting partners’ responses to the community safety agenda.
