Our Partners

We’re proud of the fact that Connexions Surrey is a genuine partnership of agencies and organisations working together for the young people of Surrey. Our major partners are;

• Borough and District Councils, who are very important partners in assessing and responding to young people’s housing and leisure needs.
• We support the work of the Drug & Alcohol Action Team in reducing the numbers of young people misusing drugs and alcohol. Connexions Surrey fund two Personal Adviser posts working with the DAAT.
• The Government Office for the South East supports our work by facilitating liaison with Supporting Children and Young People’s Group (SCYPG), the DfES, and other Connexions partnerships in the GOSE region.
• Job Centre Plus are allied with Connexions to support our work with young people seeking employment through the Job Seekers Allowance. Personal Advisers also work with lone parents, and a dedicated link-person is available in each Job Centre Plus office to facilitate effective working relationships with Connexions Centres.
• With responsibility for funding post-16 education, the Learning & Skills Council works with Connexions on preventing young people disengaging from education through the Increased Flexibility programme. A second important part of our joint responsibilities is the development of the Surrey 14-19 Learning Strategy. A third strand of our working partnership is developing work based learning provision, together with the Association of Learning Providers. Finally, we jointly sponsor the Surrey Skills Festival, which attracts about 12,000 visitors over three days annually.
• The Primary Care Trust is represented because of the high priority put on ‘health’ by young people. A number pf Personal Adviser posts working on health-related projects and hosted or managed by the PCT.
• The Leaving Care Team through Rainer 16+ supports young people who have been living in care in their transition to independent living.
• Schools and colleges are where a majority of teenagers spend a majority of their time. Connexions Surrey have Partnership Agreements with all Secondary Schools, Colleges, and other educational institutions in Surrey in order to offer support to all schools with pupils in the 13 – 19 age range.
• Surrey County Council have overarching responsibility for the wellbeing of children and young people in the county through the new Children & Young People’s Trust For Surrey, into which Connexions Surrey will be fully integrated, along with;
  
  • Children’s Service – working with multi-professional teams in schools, and also Connexions-funded projects relating to truancy issues, and with care leavers and looked after young people
  • The Youth Development Service – working through all of the SCC-owned youth centres, of which more than 30 are designated ‘Connexions Access Points’
  • The Youth Justice Service – working to address the issues of youth crime
    
• The Teenage Pregnancy Strategy Group are a partner with whom we share challenging targets for the reduction in teenage conceptions and births. Connexions fund Personal Advisers who work in the field of sex and personal relationships, contraception, pregnancy and support of teenage parents.
• The Voluntary Sector provide what in total represents the largest and most varied resource of all for young people in the county. The Surrey Council for Voluntary Youth Services (Surrey CVYS) has been an essential partner to Connexions in identifying need and developing projects for young people through voluntary organisations.
• VT Careers Management Surrey are our major contracted partner organisation with responsibility for delivering statutory information, advice and guidance on education, careers and training to 13 – 19 year olds – and information and advice on the wider Connexions agenda – through schools and colleges, Connexions Centres, and increasingly on an outreach basis through the network of Connexions Access Points.

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