Public Health small grants

Purpose

General overview

North Tyneside Council is commissioning a programme focussed on supporting young people living in the most deprived areas of Chirton and Meadow Well (NE29). Providers may also extend support to vulnerable young people in neighbouring areas where appropriate.

Background

The Joint Strategic Needs Assessment for North Tyneside highlights significant challenges for young people, including:

• High levels of alcohol consumption
• Higher drug use than the adult population
• Hospital admissions for substance misuse significantly above the England average
• Hospital admissions for self‑harm among under‑18s significantly above the England average
• High rates of sexually transmitted infections
• A fifth of all youth offending involving alcohol as an influencing factor
• A significant number of young people experiencing partner or domestic violence

This programme of work also aligns with the Our North Tyneside Plan for 2025–29, particularly the ambitions for Better Lives for All and Places to Be Proud Of.

Aim of the project

The project aims to address key health and wellbeing needs — primarily mental health (including self‑harm), substance misuse (including drugs, alcohol and new psychoactive substances), domestic violence, sexual health, physical activity, and healthy eating.

Delivery approaches should include youth‑work‑based 1:1 work, group work, outreach, detached sessions, and educational interventions. Providers should incorporate peer education and a health champions model where young people help design and deliver activities.

Providers must demonstrate strong partnership working with local services, which may include CAMHS, NTRP, PROPS NE, Connexions, schools, sport and leisure services, Youth Offending Team, and a broad range of voluntary and community sector organisations.

Objectives

The service will support eligible children and young people to:

• Improve access to healthy food and understand nutrition
• Increase physical activity
• Participate in enriching activities that support resilience, wellbeing, and personal development
• Reduce social isolation and improve safety
• Strengthen engagement with schools and local services

Expected outcomes

The project is expected to contribute to the following outcomes:

• Improved mental wellbeing
• Improved self‑esteem and confidence
• Reduction in aggressive and/or violent behaviour
• Improved physical wellbeing
• Increased participation and engagement
• Increased access to employment, education, and training

Scope

Service description

The project should use youth work theory and practice to build trust, confidence, and motivation among vulnerable young people. Delivery should encompass 1:1 support, group sessions, detached and outreach youth work, and educational interventions.

The project should include peer‑led elements and co‑production approaches that empower young people to contribute to problem‑solving and activity design. In addition, the service should embed a Health Champions approach, enabling trained young people to promote positive health messages, model healthy behaviours, and support peers to access public health information, services, and preventative interventions.

Providers must evidence effective referral, signposting, and collaborative working with key partners. These partners may include: CAMHS, NTRP, PROPS NE, Connexions, Schools, Sport and Leisure, Youth Offending Team and a range of community and voluntary sector partners. 

Accessibility/acceptability

The service is offered to all children and young people in Chirton and Meadow Well.

Whole system relationships

The provider must demonstrate strong working relationships with:

• Local authority services
• Police
• Schools and alternative education providers
• GPs and wider health services
• Businesses
• Food partners
• Local charities and voluntary/community groups

The provider must develop connections with grassroots organisations to strengthen local capacity and avoid duplication.

Partnership working

The provider will be required to work in strong and proactive partnerships with organisations operating both within the Chirton and Meadow Well estate and across the wider borough. Partnership working is essential to ensure that young people receive coordinated, timely and effective support, and that the project contributes to a whole‑system approach to improving outcomes for vulnerable young people.

Local partnerships

The provider must demonstrate active collaboration with organisations based within the defined project area, including but not limited to:

• Voluntary and community sector organisations
• Grassroots youth and community groups
• Local housing providers
• Community centres and resident‑led initiatives
• Neighbourhood policing teams

These partnerships should support joint planning, shared delivery where appropriate, and co-ordinated responses to emerging issues affecting young people in the estate. The provider will be expected to maintain a visible presence within the community and contribute to local networks and forums.

Borough-wide partnerships

The provider must also work effectively with relevant borough‑wide services and statutory partners to ensure young people can access specialist or complementary support. These partners may include:

• CAMHS
• North Tyneside Recovery Partnership (NTRP)
• PROPS NE
• Connexions
• Schools and alternative education providers
• Sport and leisure services
• Youth Offending Team
• Health services including GPs and school nursing
• Other VCS organisations operating across North Tyneside

The provider will be expected to establish clear referral pathways, share information appropriately, and participate in multi‑agency meetings where required.

Partnership development and co-ordination

The provider must take a proactive role in:

• Identifying gaps in local provision
• Building partnerships where needed
• Co-ordinating with other organisations to avoid duplication
• Contributing to a whole‑system approach to supporting vulnerable young people
• Ensuring young people’s voices inform joint work with partners

Evidence of partnership activity will be reviewed through the project’s governance arrangements and performance monitoring framework.

Service delivery

Service model

The project will be expected to take flexible approach in response to young person’s needs within the area, using a mixture of detached and outreach youth work. As with all types of youth work, there are various models of how detached and outreach youth work should be structured. 

Detached and outreach work are usually, though not always, time-limited and this time limited nature can lead to them being described as an intervention rather than an ongoing relationship.

Essentially the process is flexible with the level of involvement and time allowed for each stage varying according to the situation. It may not be strictly sequential as workers may have to revisit stages. The communication skills workers need in detached and outreach youth work are the same as in any good face to face work which involves working with immediate pressures and reconciling the views of various interest groups and partners. 

These include listening, negotiating, encouraging participation, facilitating action, decision making, mediating and advocacy.

The model will support young people, including those young people who are leaving care, by proactively working on early intervention and prevention to improve situations for all vulnerable young people with the ambition to provide the right services at the right time in the right places. The service model will look to support young people in various ways, such as:

• Exploring opportunities and aspirations and are supported to thrive in their own unique family / communities
• Helping young people participate effectively and responsibly in the life of their communities
• Ensuring young people are listened to and work with young people to see what support they need
• Supporting young people to become more resilient and enable them to have coping strategies
• Supporting young people to participate effectively in education, training and community

Applicable standards (national/local)

• Youth Work in England: Policy, Practice and the National Occupational Standards ~ April 2020
• Looked-after children and young people, NICE guideline [NG205] Published: 20 October 2021
• Guidance for Schools, EOTAS Centres and Youth Service on Supporting Transgender Young People ~ Education Authority

Governance

The project will be overseen through regular governance meetings chaired by the Public Health and Adult Social Care Commissioning team. These meetings will:

• Monitor progress against the performance workbook (KPIs and outcomes)
• Review project finances
• Promote activities
• Identify gaps and barriers affecting delivery or young people

Staffing

The provider must ensure:

• Clear job descriptions, person specifications, and employment contracts
• Ongoing training and professional development
• Staff competency monitoring and performance management
• Records of all training undertaken
• Compliance with mandatory training requirements

Policies and procedures

The provider will have written policies and procedures which include those listed below. Policies and procedures will be regularly reviewed and will be available on request:

• Business Continuity
• Complaints
• Freedom of Information
• Information Governance
• No smoking
• Health and Safety
• Safeguarding Adults and Children (more information below)
• Risk assessment and management
• Equality and Diversity
• Data Protection and Confidentiality
• Sudden Untoward Incidents

Staffing policies should include:

• Recruitment
• Disciplinary and grievance procedure
• Bullying and harassment
• Supervision and appraisal
• Training and development
• Code of conduct for staff and volunteers

If your application is successful, copies of the policies and procedures above may be requested as evidence. 

Health and safety

The provider must comply with all relevant health and safety legislation and ensure all staff and volunteers are trained, inducted, and operating in line with risk assessments.

Insurance

The provider must hold appropriate insurance, including:

• Public liability
• Employers’ liability
• Professional indemnity (where applicable)
• Motor insurance (where applicable)

Safeguarding adults and children and young people

The provider shall have policies and procedures in place that conform to the principles contained in the Authority’s Safeguarding Adult’s Policy. The provider’s policies and procedures shall include definitions of abuse and guidance on how to recognise abuse, how to report concerns and how it will be investigated.

All professionals within North Tyneside have a duty to consider the safety and wellbeing of children. North Tyneside Safeguarding Children Board (NTSCB) has produced procedures and guidance in respect of safeguarding children. 

The provider shall have policies and procedures in place that conform to the North Tyneside Children Partnership procedures, the Children Act 1989 and 2004 and Working Together 2015.

Referral, access and acceptance criteria

Geographic coverage/boundaries

Within the boundaries of Chirton and Meadow Well. 

Location(s) of service delivery

As above.

Days/hours of operation 

The project will offer the service in line with needs of young people, therefore there will be an expectation that the service is flexible within its days/hours of operation e.g. late evenings.

Quality and Performance Indicators

The provider will be measured against a set of indicators which will be agreed before the commencement of the project with the provider.

Monitoring

In terms of evidence of delivery and achieving outcomes for young people the Council would like to receive the following monitoring and reporting information:

• Six‑monthly progress and outcomes reports
• Anonymised case studies
• Digital video/media footage of activities
• KPI and outcomes reporting via the performance workbook
• Activity outcomes and participant feedback

Grant conditions and funding

Grants may be used for:

• Core costs (staffing, room hire, publicity)
• Essential equipment
• Non‑capital items

The scheme does not fund:

• Feasibility or research studies
• Religious activity or activities promoting religion

The grant will be paid to providers up front at the start of each grant period. The provider will be expected to report on budget expenditure and spend the budget in line with the grant terms and conditions. Financial reporting will include:

• Breakdown of expenditure
• Breakdown of any unspent grant

Any funding issued by North Tyneside Council to organisations will be supported by a grant agreement, setting out our expectation of organisations when accepting the grant funding. Any unspent grant funding will have to be returned to North Tyneside Council within 30 days of the end of the grant period.

Additional links

National Youth Agency: National Occupational Standards and English Youth Work Policy