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Opening Statement.................................................................................................................. 3-4
Headline statistics for 2014/15.....................................................................................................5
Key Principles of Activity Agreements........................................................................................6
Partners in Profile..................................................................................................................... 7-8
Summary of all activities..............................................................................................................9
Case Studies.......................................................................................................................... 10-14
Promoting Achievement...................................................................................................... 15-16
Improving Wellbeing of Participants.................................................................................. 17-18
Feedback from Providers..................................................................................................... 19-20
Feedback from young people............................................................................................. 21-23
Priorities for 2015/16..................................................................................................................24
Bibliography...............................................................................................................................25
Contacts Page....................................................................................................................... 26-27
2
It is vital that all young people are supported in their journey towards employment.
To further support this journey, The Scottish Government have made an increased
investment in services that develop young people’s skills for life, learning and work.
During 2014/15, this commitment has become ever greater via the newly formed
’Invest in Young people’ groups and we are fortunate that in the North East we are
one of the first regions in Scotland to take forward crucial recommendations from the
Developing the Young Workforce publication (The Scottish Government, 2014).
In the past year, local organisations have been leading from the front to better
promote and develop our local offer to young people and 2014 was the year in
which Aberdeen Guarantees came to the fore with a launch event in September
involving over 200 delegates from the Public, Private and Voluntary sectors.
Momentum has continued to build and, as a product of the efforts taken over the
last 9 months, Aberdeen Guarantees is now established as the network representing
the totality of Aberdeen City’s offer of learning, training and work for all 14 to 25
year olds. Aberdeen Guarantees has increased inter-service awareness across the
spectrum of services that support young people and enabled a
more integrated approach to engagement. The new
website, www.aberdeenguarantees.com and weekly
newsletter have been an important way of profiling
services and the range of opportunities which exist for
young people.
The need to enhance young people’s experiences and
interactions with businesses to better understand
industries requirements is crucial to continuing the
city’s journey towards improving positive
destinations. In the latest published Skills
Development Scotland SLDR, 91.9% of
school leavers progressed into a positive
destination (Scottish Government, 2015).
This is a further improvement on last year
and reflects a continual drive from services
to support young people in their
participation in opportunities over this
period.
3
2014/15 could be considered a year for developing infrastructures and governance
groups for Youth Employment initiatives within Aberdeen City which should secure
and create long term opportunities and leave a legacy for young people over the next
5-10 years and beyond.
These changes have been crucial, yet within a year of change, Activity Agreements
have remained a robust and much needed option for young people who are
considered furthest away from learning, training or work. The majority of these
young people fall into one or more vulnerable categories which put them at a greatly
increased risk of a negative destination. This year has been record breaking for the
programme and it is great to be able to celebrate that a 79% progression rate into
further opportunities has been achieved in this cohort. This achievement is a product
of the hard work and continual enhancements made by the Activity Agreements
team, the high quality opportunities accessed via activity providers several of which
are highlighted within this report, and through the continued support of referral
agents and Trusted Professionals who are key in identifying vulnerable individuals and
maintaining support networks around the young person to facilitate their journey
towards employment.
As in previous years these improvements will be
built upon in the coming year with
the aim for 2015/16 being to
maintain existing delivery whilst
continuing to enhance various
elements of the programme
such as engagement in Wider
Achievement awards, Vocational
experiences and through our
own internal moderation for
Quality Improvement.
Thank you for your support!
John Cairns
– Opportunities for All Manager
Nicholas Asante-Ampaduh
– Activity Agreement worker
Sharon Desbois
– Activity Agreement worker
4
Overall progression rate = 79%
Total number of participants in 2014/15 = 99
Characteristics %
ASN 21.2%
Educated Outwith
Mainstream
9.1%
Care Leaver 6.1%
Looked After 20.2%
Non Attenders 23.2%
Social Work Support 33.3%
Social, Emotional and
Behavioural Issues
17.2%
Young Offender 5.1%
Other 38.4%
Referral route %
SDS 38.4%
Social Work 20.2%
Voluntary Organisation 18.2%
Self 11.1%
School, CLD & Other 12.1%
Destinations
[Of Leavers who Left]
%
Training 28.8%
Employment 30.3%
Further education 19.7%
Positive 78.8%
Negative 21.2%
Age at Start %
15/16 61.6%
17 27.3%
18+ 11.1%
5
Each young person will receive a robust
assessment of their strengths, needs and
interests. This will identify their current
skills and experiences and what is needed
to help them engage in and sustain
learning, moving towards more formal
engagement and ultimately employment.
This forms the basis of the programme of
activity and support they will receive.
Youthlink Scotland have recently produced guidance on the national Activity
Agreements model which highlights the key principles of an Activity Agreement.
(Youthlink Scotland, 2015)
The National Activity Agreement model guidance booklet can be downloaded from;
www.youthlinkscotland.org/webs/245/documents/AAM.pdf
The Activity Agreement Model
Key
Principles
Early
identification
of need
Strengths
based
assessment
Defined
outcomes &
progression
Tailored/
flexible
programme of
learning and
activity
Consistent
one-to-one
support
Access to
financial
support
Strong
partnerships
Local planning enables
early identification of
those young people
likely to need Activity
Agreement support.
The activities and learning
which make up a young
person’s Activity
Agreement must for a
clear pathway towards
more formal
engagment with
learning, further
training or
employment.
Each young person will be
supported to create an individual
Activity Agreement learning plan.
This will start from their expressed
interests and be tailored to their
needs including flexibility of duration
and frequency of participation.
Each young person
will receive regular
support, on a one-to-one basis, from
a consistent professional, throughout
their period of engagment.
Young people who are
participating in Activity
Agreements should
have access to
financial support in
the same way as
young people
learning in more
formal settings. This is
an important part of
meeting those young
people’s entitlement to
support, set out in Building
the Curriculum 3.
Activity Agreements are planned and
delivered through strong
partnerships, with a shared vision
about how to best support young
people. Staff work in partnership
with the individual young person to
plan, review and evaluate their
Activity Agreement.
6
The full range of activities can be found on the following pages of this report.
During the past year, the following providers have supported the highest
uptake.
Adventure Aberdeen
Participants have accessed a range of outdoor education sessions through Adventure
Aberdeen and have been supported to take part in mountain bike sessions, climbing,
gorge walking, surfing, canoeing & hill climbing. Mike, Neil, Anna & Paul have
worked with the group to develop teamwork & leadership skills. Participants have
also been supported in extended work placements within the outdoor education
centre to further enhance their experience and provide additional outdoor education
qualifications.
Aberdeen Foyer
Aberdeen Foyer offer support to young people through Activity Agreements on a 1 to
1 basis accessing up to 60 hours of bespoke engagement. Examples of support
provided has included: cookery, dance, football, music, working with tradesman,
work taster sessions as well as introducing young people to Stage 2 group
opportunities. The support and encouragement young people have received from
staff including David Birnie has been vital in the progression of participants who have
engaged in learning at the foyer.
Beatback
Beatback deliver one to one sessions in anything music related (Drum tuition/guitar
lessons/songwriting classes/music production) as well as linking young people into
wider music workshops which are running. Alan and Beatback tutors have been
extremely supportive of a wide range of one to one and group sessions at the studio
in Marischal Cottage.
Creative Learning
This year the Aberdeen City Council Creative Learning team have developed a
number of excellent opportunities for Activity Agreement participants including: One
to one sessions on painting, portraiture and drawing; Evening Arts classes; furniture
restoration and graffiti art. Sessions have been delivered within a young person’s local
7
community or within the new home for creative learning in Rosemount Community
Centre. The Creative Learning team including Andrea Howard have been excellent at
arranging sessions around the needs of participants.
Hayfield Riding Centre
Participants can be immediately engaged in a weekly equestrian care and riding
group which can progress onto individual work taster sessions at the pace of the
individual. Many young people over the last year have added a weekly work taster
session at Hayfield and gained additional responsibilities within the yard and care of
the horses and progressed through saltire award attainment as their voluntary hours
are added up. This activity is particularly of interest to those focused on pursuing a
career in animal care or working within the equestrian industry, Jared and the
Hayfield team have been great ambassadors for horse-riding and have provided high
quality learning experiences for many young people with an interest in animals.
Ice Hair & Beauty
An activity agreement exclusive wherein participants gain access to a leading hair and
beauty business in the heart of Aberdeen. Participants have become experienced in
make up application, lash and brow work, nail styling and hairdressing. Paul and
Kerrie have worked hard to establish groups during 2014/15 and aim to continue to
build on sessions in the upcoming year.
Station House Media Unit
Young people can participate in a series of taster sessions, providing young people
with an introduction to the work which SHMU delivers such as Radio, TV, DJ’ing &
Employability sessions. SHMU have offered an individual or small group Activity
Agreement programme encompassing sessions using digital media and life skills
sessions. Brian and Michelle have coordinated 1-1 sessions for participants and links
have been established to enable young people to progress into the SHMU 12-week
employability course Positive Transitions.
Transition Extreme
Transition Extreme currently facilitate a rolling programme which provides young
people with the opportunity to participate in NICAS indoor climbing awards, BMXing,
skateboarding and inlining. Alongside the obvious physical resilience benefits these
sessions have enabled individuals to build their confidence in group working
situations to the benefit of their social development. This is helping participants
achieve levels of ability which enable them to progress onto the Extreme &
Alternative Academy programmes. Internships and indoor climbing instructor awards
are direct employability avenues. Thanks to Andy, Linzi, Sean and team for your
support.
8
A range of activities have been organised for young people who are signed up to
Activity Agreements in Aberdeen. The following table outlines those activities which
have been accessed most frequently:
Activities Providers involved in delivery locally
Computing Excel/word sessions at ECPC
Cooking Sessions at Aberdeen Foyer & Nick Nairn Cookery school
Creative
Learning
Photography, Textiles, Animation, Illustration, Portraiture, Oil Painting,
Furniture restoration, Life drawing, Kilnformed glass techniques, Print making
Dance Sessions in partnership with Scottish Ballet & Citymoves
Digital Media One to One sessions at Station House Media Unit (SHMU)
Driving theory One to one sessions to prepare young people to sit their driving theory test
Extreme Sports BMX’ing, Skateboarding, In line skating, Wall climbing at Transition Extreme
Football Voluntary placements at Streetsports and sessions at Aberdeen Foyer
Hair & Beauty
session
Sessions delivered in partnership with Ice Hair & Beauty providing tasters to
the industry & sessions at Nail/Beauty Academy
Horse-riding Weekly sessions at Hayfield riding centre
Ice-skating Weekly sessions at Lynx arena
Jewellery making Sessions at Beadpop and Oil & Glass
Literacy One to One sessions delivered by WEA
Music One to one sessions at Beatback, CLD Youth Work services & Aberdeen Foyer
Musicbox in partnership with Aberdeen Football Club
Outdoor
Education
Mountain biking, surfing, gorgewalking, rock climbing, mountain bike
maintenance
Parent & Child
sessions
Sessions for young parents in partnership with Citymoves
Sport & Fitness Free passes to access Gym and swimming sessions at Sport Aberdeen
Facilities. One to one sessions at Aberdeen Combat Centre.
Trades Sessions at Aberdeen Foyer with local tradesman
Work taster
sessions
A range of work taster sessions have been arranged through the Aberdeen
City work experience department including placements within ACC and with
local businesses
Voluntary
placements
Nursery/after school club - early years placements
9
Kenny was referred by the Pupil support service after behavioural issues in School had
resulted in exclusions.
Kenny started on his activity agreement which consisted of Driving Theory Sessions
and NICAS indoor climbing award scheme group. Kenny became aware through his
climbing sessions that being a climbing instructor could be a potential job for the
future. Kenny was informed of a pathway he could follow to realise this goal which
consisted of completing his NICAS award up to level 4 at which point he will have
demonstrated many of the competencies for a climbing instructor course pass. Kenny
enrolled on the Duke of Edinburgh award scheme and began to pursue volunteering
opportunities with mountain rescue and the coastguard service. Kenny also attended
some weeks of other adventurous activities including kayaking, coasteering and
mountain biking but decided later to focus on climbing instead. Before long Kenny
completed level one and half way through level 2 of his NICAS award. Kenny applied
for the Alternative Academy personal development programme as it would enable
him to accelerate through the remainder of his NICAS competencies and be eligible
to go for the instructor course.
10
Kenny has had 100% attendance since starting the academy and has achieved the
maximum NICAS level 4 award (previously unreached by an Alternative Academy
participant). Kenny now has enough climbing experience to meet the criteria for an
indoor climbing instructor course. Now an Activity Agreement returner - which
enables Kenny to access more support to reach his goal of becoming a qualified
climbing instructor - Kenny has now enrolled on the Mountaineering Council of
Scotland and will be supported (getting the experience such as climbing in 3 different
centres / course pre reading ) to continue onto the July Climbing Wall Award course.
“Kenny has gained lots of skills in the climbing
wall. He can belay, tie in and use the centre
responsibly. He has a high level of skill on both
the roped wall and the bouldering wall…“
Tutor Provider
“Activity Agreements has helped me progresssthough life much better and has helped mereach skills and potential I couldn’t reach onmy own.”
Kenny
11
Curtis presented with very low self-confidence on sign up and was chaperoned by
mum. His aims under Activity agreements were to increase self-confidence and
physical ability as a preparation for considering applying for the police force/armed
forces in the future. Curtis had initially participated in challenges as part of a Duke of
Edinburgh award at school but had to withdraw as he felt he wasn’t up to it
physically, feeling that he had been let down by his knees.
Curtis needed to become more physically resilient and broaden his life experiences so
we gave him a broad range of activities that were both group and physical activity
based. Group activities ranged from extreme sports, adventure sports such as
climbing, ice-skating through to Horse-Riding/Care.
It was evident after some weeks that
Curtis favoured working with horses and
requested adaptations in his agreement
to commit to an ever increasing weekly
attendance at Hayfield. Curtis
commenced with riding tuition and
horse care to which was added a series
of voluntary work tasters. Curtis agreed
to participate in the Saltire Awards
Scheme and worked through his Saltire
Approach targets of 10 and 25hr
awards before beginning on his Saltire
Ascent 50hr award.
Curtis agreed to take part in The
British Horse Society Horse ownership
Course as this appeared the most
appropriate to aid his volunteering
endeavours. Curtis progressed
through the course well, sat the
exam, and 3 months later was
notified that he had passed.
12
As part of his confidence building Curtis was given the opportunity to attend a focus
group at the town house to feedback on learning opportunities to the Care
Inspectorate. Curtis reviewed his activity agreement experience and was a very vocal
member of the panel showing increases in self-confidence with fluent public
speaking.
Curtis agreed to revisit the Duke of Edinburgh Award Scheme. He was able to satisfy
criteria for entering at Silver level utilising the British Horse Society Course as the
learning element and weekly riding lessons as the physical exercise components.
Saltire Ascents of 50, 100 and 200hrs were achieved then with over 500 hours of
volunteering. Demonstrating outstanding quality Curtis was nominated for the Saltire
Summit Award and was one of only 4 individuals across the City to gain this
prestigious award. The Summit is the pinnacle of the Saltire Awards and reserved for
the best exemplars of outstanding contributions in the voluntary sector (12-25yrs).
Curtis was nominated as he exceeded requirements in a very demanding role and
dedicated himself to delivering first class care of Hayfield Horses/Yard. Curtis
continued to work throughout 2013/2014 winter and also helped lessen the burden
to staff in the day to day running of the yard so that they could more effectively
manage a strangles outbreak amongst some key horses.
Curtis is now enrolled onto level 2 British Horse Society Horse Ownership Course and
has become a very confident young person, taking control of horses and customers
at Hayfield and working well within the Hayfield team to become a highly valued
member. Curtis is very passionate about horses and wishes to pursue this as a lifelong
career and talks of end goals in terms of being able to stud horses. Curtis now also
has links to other horse yards in the city. Curtis has begun planning the equestrian
expedition element of his Duke of Edinburgh Award, via meetings and workshops
over the past few months. Since gaining his Summit Award, Curtis has already been
invited back to share his experiences at a future Saltire Event for the Shire and has
also been offered the opportunity to become a Saltire Ambassador. Curtis is currently
entrusted with the care of Hayfield Director’s horses as well as other duties at present
and we are looking into ways of developing a paid employment opportunity for him
there utilising employer incentives. Curtis has got a lot from his activity agreement as
the following quotes demonstrate.
“Curtis has been consistent in
attendance and work output. He
has been exceptional with clients,
both helpful and willing to go that
extra step.“
[Provider] Hayfield
From a 6 week review:
Curtis
“This course is great, it has opened
up more jobs in the equine world.
Currently finishing a BHS horse
ownership level one course (exam
tomorrow) in which has built better
bonds and understanding of both
the animals and rider.”
13
“Thank you the course is amazing if I pass it opens up more doors into
the equine world which is the goal to own a yard in the future so by
doing the courses it means it will make my knowledge and understanding
of the animals greater which means a better bond between human
and horse”
CC’d Email Accepting offering Curtis Saltire Awards Ambassador Role from
ACVO Volunteering Development Worker [Excerpt]
“Hi Curtis - Nick said that you might be interested in becoming a Saltire
Ambassador – brilliant, I am so pleased!” …
Curtis’ Email Reply to Cate:
“I would like to be an ambassador for the awards as I feel this helps not just
business but it helps people who do work ever so hard and gaining skills they
might have never of had the chance to which will potentially have helped them in
the future either job wise or guiding the younger generation and opening their
options for later on. So I’m all for it thanks”
“I feel the Activity agreements programme is a highly effective unit that
has helped me gain new skills through out the year I have been with this.
I greatly recommend this for the people that would like further education
but in a more practical sense as it truly can change your life.”
”...I’ve loved every minute of it...”
14
During 2014/15, there has been a focus on enhancing young people’s
activities through aligning with accreditation which can then be used to
engage with:
Duke of Edinburgh Awards
Young People can engage with the Duke of Edinburgh award programme at three
levels, which when completed, lead to a Bronze, Silver or Gold Duke of Edinburgh’s
Award. Young people can achieve an Award by completing a personal programme of
activities in four sections (five if they are going for Gold) Volunteering, Physical, Skills,
Expedition and for Gold and a Residential. To gain awards participants help people or
the community, get fitter, develop skills, go on an expedition and take part in a
residential activity (Gold only). Young people will complete modules during their
Activity Agreement and have until they are 24 to complete any outstanding modules
once they complete their agreement and progress onto further learning, training or
work. In Aberdeen, a DoFe 16+ support group has been formed where young people
can receive assistance from DoFe team to complete their online activity logs.
Further information is available from:
www.dofe.org/en/content/cms/doing-your-dofe/whats-the-dofe
(Duke of Edinburgh, 2015)
Mountain Bike Maintenance
Participants have participated in sessions at Adventure Aberdeen and have worked
towards an internally accredited certificate. Participants are also now working
towards a Go Mountain Bike Award through Cycling Scotland which is a progressive
mountain bike achievement award that enables people to advance their technical
riding skills as well as learning how to look after themselves, their bike, the
environment, and other people.
www.gomtb.org.uk (Go Mountain Bike Scotland, 2015)
15
Nicas Award
The National Indoor Climbing Award
Scheme (NICAS) is a UK wide scheme
designed to promote climbing
development and accredit individual
achievement on artificial climbing
structures. It can be used as a starting
point for people wishing to take up
climbing and mountaineering. It is
open to all candidates aged 7 and
upwards. Young people on Activity
Agreements can work towards a Nicas
award during climbing sessions at
transition Extreme and supported to work through the 5 tier award
scheme from Foundation through to advanced level.
Further details are available from: www.nicas.co.uk/nicas/scheme.aspx
(Nicas Award, 2015)
Saltire Awards
Saltire awards recognise the
volunteering efforts of young
people aged between 12 and
25. Young people receive
certificates and Young Scot
Award points for their
volunteering with organisations
around Aberdeen.
Young people register
themselves at:
www.saltireawards.org.uk
(ACVO, 2015)
16
In 2015/16 there is going to be an additional monitoring of the improvement of
young people’s wellbeing though participating in activity agreements. The Activity
Agreements referral form has recently been refreshed to include a section to capture
how young people feel in terms of the Getting it Right for Every Child Wellbeing
indicators.
I feel safe
I feel active
Iam
healthy
Iamachieving
Ifeelincluded
Iamresponsible
Ifeelrespected
Ifeelnurtured
17
All new Activity Agreements participants will be
asked to capture how they feel about their
wellbeing at the start and end of the
agreements and this information will be used
as an additional performance measure
indicator for the programme during 2015/16.
Encouraging Aspirations
The newly launched 2015 referral form also
features an aspiration section where
individuals are asked to assess both their
current situation and where they would
like to be in the future. The activity
agreement worker/ trusted professional
writing the referral is then able to
highlight and fill at least 3 steps which
have been identified as necessary to
achieve this goal. This can then be
used as a further tool to shape the
agreement.
18
“Good service, tailored
to the needs of young
people.”
“Stepping
stone into more
structured
training”
“Engages difficult to engage”
“Wide range ofactivities available”
“Good for
young people to
know what’s
available/going on
in their area”
“Opportunities to do work
tasters/placements to develop
future employability; but also
increase young person’s
confidence”
“Chance for young person togain source of income whichis important, especially thosefrom low income families”
“Opportunities for youngpeople to boostqualifications (awards/certificates) contributingto future employability”
“Quite therapeutic
– confidence/
self-esteem
building; routine,
structure”
“Good relationship
between AA worker
and young person
and parents”
“It’s been great
working with
yourselves over the
last 12 months.”
19
“Length of time young personis on AA before progressioncan be quite lengthy and is atrisk of not challenging a youngperson to move beyond “
“It would be good to know if
there are any new courses that
we could offer that would be
of interest and benefit to
young people.”
“A challenge
for us is to try and
improve courses to
make them more
engaging to young
people.”
“Aware that
resources are stretched
and staffing is finite”
“Would value a system for
updating SDS re yp’s
attendance/engagement -
esp in light of participation
measure recording on CSS.”
“AA tracker is sometimes not current“
“Perhaps an area to focus onwould be attendance. Therecould maybe some sort ofrewards system to improveattendance.”
20
Participants who completed an Activity Agreement during 2014/15 were
invited to submit their own comments on their experience on the programme
– here’s what they had to say about their activities!
“I done guitar lessons through activity agreements and it helped me get
back into a routine and made my confidence grow so that I could build
up the courage to go to college and the whole experience was really
good and beneficial.”
“My horse riding today was amazing J Feeling proud”
“This is honestly the best thing to get involved with if you have nothing
else to do. I don’t regret doing these things one bit before I started
working J”
“The ice hair and beauty activity was really good and got me motivated
to learn more and I got accepted to do the beauty course at college so
everything’s looking up”
21
22
23
During the next year, the following are aims and objectives for continuing the success
of Activity Agreements within Aberdeen City;
	 •	 Target to maintain progression rate above the national average of 70% of
		 Activity Agreement participants into enhanced opportunities
	 •	 Target to engage over 60 young people in a new Activity Agreement
		in 2015/16
	 •	 Further expand use of Wider Achievement awards which can be gained
		by participants
	 •	 Further expand case studies to profile vocational pathways which are created
		 through participants agreements
	 •	 Further expand work experience and voluntary placement opportunities
	 •	 Internally review Quality Improvement via parameters of the new framework
	 •	 Maintain wide breadth of activities which can be accessed in a timely manner
		 and maintain relationships with key providers who are supplying activities
	 •	 Develop new Access Database for storing participant information which will
		 improve analysis of progression and characteristics of participants and accuracy
		 of data which is shared with partners
	 •	 Arrange Trusted Professional training sessions for key referring agencies to
		 refresh knowledge of aims/objectives of Activity Agreements
24
The Scottish Government (2014). Developing the Young Workforce publication.
www.gov.scot/Topics/Statistics/Browse/School-Education/leavedestla/follleavedestat/
attainmentandleavers1314
ACVO (2015).
Retrieved from www.saltireawards.org.uk
Duke of Edinburgh (2015).
Retrieved from www.dofe.org/en/content/cms/doing-your-dofe/whats-the-dofe
Go Mountain Bike Scotland (2015).
Retrieved from www.gomtb.org.uk
Nicas Award (2015).
Retrieved from www.nicas.co.uk/nicas/scheme.aspx
Skills Development Scotland (2015).
Summary statistics for attainment, leaver destinations and healthy living
No. 5: 2015 Edition
www.gov.scot/Topics/Statistics/Browse/School-Education/Datasets
Youthlink Scotland (2015). Activity Agreements – National Delivery Model.
25
Aberdeen City Council
John Cairns
Opportunities for All Manager
jocairns@aberdeencity.gov.uk
01224 814787 & 07917326668
Nicholas Asante-Ampaduh
Activity Agreement worker
nasante@aberdeencity.gov.uk
01224 814568 & 07557191804
Sharon Desbois
Activity Agreement worker
sdesbois@aberdeencity.gov.uk
01224 764574 & 07785773075
Postal Address:
Activity Agreements
Education & Children’s Services
Education and Children’s Services
Aberdeen City Council
Ground Floor
Frederick Street Centre
Frederick Street
Aberdeen AB24 1HY
Shared Email Address for returning referral forms:
activityagreements@aberdeencity.gov.uk
Activity Agreement Aberdeen Facebook page:
	www.facebook.com/activityagreements
26
Aberdeen Guarantees
To learn about further opportunities
within Aberdeen City, please visit:
	www.aberdeenguarantees.com
	www.twitter.com/abguarantees
	www.facebook.com/aberdeenguarantees
27
Activity Agreement EOYR 2015 - Final version

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Activity Agreement EOYR 2015 - Final version

  • 1.
  • 2. Opening Statement.................................................................................................................. 3-4 Headline statistics for 2014/15.....................................................................................................5 Key Principles of Activity Agreements........................................................................................6 Partners in Profile..................................................................................................................... 7-8 Summary of all activities..............................................................................................................9 Case Studies.......................................................................................................................... 10-14 Promoting Achievement...................................................................................................... 15-16 Improving Wellbeing of Participants.................................................................................. 17-18 Feedback from Providers..................................................................................................... 19-20 Feedback from young people............................................................................................. 21-23 Priorities for 2015/16..................................................................................................................24 Bibliography...............................................................................................................................25 Contacts Page....................................................................................................................... 26-27 2
  • 3. It is vital that all young people are supported in their journey towards employment. To further support this journey, The Scottish Government have made an increased investment in services that develop young people’s skills for life, learning and work. During 2014/15, this commitment has become ever greater via the newly formed ’Invest in Young people’ groups and we are fortunate that in the North East we are one of the first regions in Scotland to take forward crucial recommendations from the Developing the Young Workforce publication (The Scottish Government, 2014). In the past year, local organisations have been leading from the front to better promote and develop our local offer to young people and 2014 was the year in which Aberdeen Guarantees came to the fore with a launch event in September involving over 200 delegates from the Public, Private and Voluntary sectors. Momentum has continued to build and, as a product of the efforts taken over the last 9 months, Aberdeen Guarantees is now established as the network representing the totality of Aberdeen City’s offer of learning, training and work for all 14 to 25 year olds. Aberdeen Guarantees has increased inter-service awareness across the spectrum of services that support young people and enabled a more integrated approach to engagement. The new website, www.aberdeenguarantees.com and weekly newsletter have been an important way of profiling services and the range of opportunities which exist for young people. The need to enhance young people’s experiences and interactions with businesses to better understand industries requirements is crucial to continuing the city’s journey towards improving positive destinations. In the latest published Skills Development Scotland SLDR, 91.9% of school leavers progressed into a positive destination (Scottish Government, 2015). This is a further improvement on last year and reflects a continual drive from services to support young people in their participation in opportunities over this period. 3
  • 4. 2014/15 could be considered a year for developing infrastructures and governance groups for Youth Employment initiatives within Aberdeen City which should secure and create long term opportunities and leave a legacy for young people over the next 5-10 years and beyond. These changes have been crucial, yet within a year of change, Activity Agreements have remained a robust and much needed option for young people who are considered furthest away from learning, training or work. The majority of these young people fall into one or more vulnerable categories which put them at a greatly increased risk of a negative destination. This year has been record breaking for the programme and it is great to be able to celebrate that a 79% progression rate into further opportunities has been achieved in this cohort. This achievement is a product of the hard work and continual enhancements made by the Activity Agreements team, the high quality opportunities accessed via activity providers several of which are highlighted within this report, and through the continued support of referral agents and Trusted Professionals who are key in identifying vulnerable individuals and maintaining support networks around the young person to facilitate their journey towards employment. As in previous years these improvements will be built upon in the coming year with the aim for 2015/16 being to maintain existing delivery whilst continuing to enhance various elements of the programme such as engagement in Wider Achievement awards, Vocational experiences and through our own internal moderation for Quality Improvement. Thank you for your support! John Cairns – Opportunities for All Manager Nicholas Asante-Ampaduh – Activity Agreement worker Sharon Desbois – Activity Agreement worker 4
  • 5. Overall progression rate = 79% Total number of participants in 2014/15 = 99 Characteristics % ASN 21.2% Educated Outwith Mainstream 9.1% Care Leaver 6.1% Looked After 20.2% Non Attenders 23.2% Social Work Support 33.3% Social, Emotional and Behavioural Issues 17.2% Young Offender 5.1% Other 38.4% Referral route % SDS 38.4% Social Work 20.2% Voluntary Organisation 18.2% Self 11.1% School, CLD & Other 12.1% Destinations [Of Leavers who Left] % Training 28.8% Employment 30.3% Further education 19.7% Positive 78.8% Negative 21.2% Age at Start % 15/16 61.6% 17 27.3% 18+ 11.1% 5
  • 6. Each young person will receive a robust assessment of their strengths, needs and interests. This will identify their current skills and experiences and what is needed to help them engage in and sustain learning, moving towards more formal engagement and ultimately employment. This forms the basis of the programme of activity and support they will receive. Youthlink Scotland have recently produced guidance on the national Activity Agreements model which highlights the key principles of an Activity Agreement. (Youthlink Scotland, 2015) The National Activity Agreement model guidance booklet can be downloaded from; www.youthlinkscotland.org/webs/245/documents/AAM.pdf The Activity Agreement Model Key Principles Early identification of need Strengths based assessment Defined outcomes & progression Tailored/ flexible programme of learning and activity Consistent one-to-one support Access to financial support Strong partnerships Local planning enables early identification of those young people likely to need Activity Agreement support. The activities and learning which make up a young person’s Activity Agreement must for a clear pathway towards more formal engagment with learning, further training or employment. Each young person will be supported to create an individual Activity Agreement learning plan. This will start from their expressed interests and be tailored to their needs including flexibility of duration and frequency of participation. Each young person will receive regular support, on a one-to-one basis, from a consistent professional, throughout their period of engagment. Young people who are participating in Activity Agreements should have access to financial support in the same way as young people learning in more formal settings. This is an important part of meeting those young people’s entitlement to support, set out in Building the Curriculum 3. Activity Agreements are planned and delivered through strong partnerships, with a shared vision about how to best support young people. Staff work in partnership with the individual young person to plan, review and evaluate their Activity Agreement. 6
  • 7. The full range of activities can be found on the following pages of this report. During the past year, the following providers have supported the highest uptake. Adventure Aberdeen Participants have accessed a range of outdoor education sessions through Adventure Aberdeen and have been supported to take part in mountain bike sessions, climbing, gorge walking, surfing, canoeing & hill climbing. Mike, Neil, Anna & Paul have worked with the group to develop teamwork & leadership skills. Participants have also been supported in extended work placements within the outdoor education centre to further enhance their experience and provide additional outdoor education qualifications. Aberdeen Foyer Aberdeen Foyer offer support to young people through Activity Agreements on a 1 to 1 basis accessing up to 60 hours of bespoke engagement. Examples of support provided has included: cookery, dance, football, music, working with tradesman, work taster sessions as well as introducing young people to Stage 2 group opportunities. The support and encouragement young people have received from staff including David Birnie has been vital in the progression of participants who have engaged in learning at the foyer. Beatback Beatback deliver one to one sessions in anything music related (Drum tuition/guitar lessons/songwriting classes/music production) as well as linking young people into wider music workshops which are running. Alan and Beatback tutors have been extremely supportive of a wide range of one to one and group sessions at the studio in Marischal Cottage. Creative Learning This year the Aberdeen City Council Creative Learning team have developed a number of excellent opportunities for Activity Agreement participants including: One to one sessions on painting, portraiture and drawing; Evening Arts classes; furniture restoration and graffiti art. Sessions have been delivered within a young person’s local 7
  • 8. community or within the new home for creative learning in Rosemount Community Centre. The Creative Learning team including Andrea Howard have been excellent at arranging sessions around the needs of participants. Hayfield Riding Centre Participants can be immediately engaged in a weekly equestrian care and riding group which can progress onto individual work taster sessions at the pace of the individual. Many young people over the last year have added a weekly work taster session at Hayfield and gained additional responsibilities within the yard and care of the horses and progressed through saltire award attainment as their voluntary hours are added up. This activity is particularly of interest to those focused on pursuing a career in animal care or working within the equestrian industry, Jared and the Hayfield team have been great ambassadors for horse-riding and have provided high quality learning experiences for many young people with an interest in animals. Ice Hair & Beauty An activity agreement exclusive wherein participants gain access to a leading hair and beauty business in the heart of Aberdeen. Participants have become experienced in make up application, lash and brow work, nail styling and hairdressing. Paul and Kerrie have worked hard to establish groups during 2014/15 and aim to continue to build on sessions in the upcoming year. Station House Media Unit Young people can participate in a series of taster sessions, providing young people with an introduction to the work which SHMU delivers such as Radio, TV, DJ’ing & Employability sessions. SHMU have offered an individual or small group Activity Agreement programme encompassing sessions using digital media and life skills sessions. Brian and Michelle have coordinated 1-1 sessions for participants and links have been established to enable young people to progress into the SHMU 12-week employability course Positive Transitions. Transition Extreme Transition Extreme currently facilitate a rolling programme which provides young people with the opportunity to participate in NICAS indoor climbing awards, BMXing, skateboarding and inlining. Alongside the obvious physical resilience benefits these sessions have enabled individuals to build their confidence in group working situations to the benefit of their social development. This is helping participants achieve levels of ability which enable them to progress onto the Extreme & Alternative Academy programmes. Internships and indoor climbing instructor awards are direct employability avenues. Thanks to Andy, Linzi, Sean and team for your support. 8
  • 9. A range of activities have been organised for young people who are signed up to Activity Agreements in Aberdeen. The following table outlines those activities which have been accessed most frequently: Activities Providers involved in delivery locally Computing Excel/word sessions at ECPC Cooking Sessions at Aberdeen Foyer & Nick Nairn Cookery school Creative Learning Photography, Textiles, Animation, Illustration, Portraiture, Oil Painting, Furniture restoration, Life drawing, Kilnformed glass techniques, Print making Dance Sessions in partnership with Scottish Ballet & Citymoves Digital Media One to One sessions at Station House Media Unit (SHMU) Driving theory One to one sessions to prepare young people to sit their driving theory test Extreme Sports BMX’ing, Skateboarding, In line skating, Wall climbing at Transition Extreme Football Voluntary placements at Streetsports and sessions at Aberdeen Foyer Hair & Beauty session Sessions delivered in partnership with Ice Hair & Beauty providing tasters to the industry & sessions at Nail/Beauty Academy Horse-riding Weekly sessions at Hayfield riding centre Ice-skating Weekly sessions at Lynx arena Jewellery making Sessions at Beadpop and Oil & Glass Literacy One to One sessions delivered by WEA Music One to one sessions at Beatback, CLD Youth Work services & Aberdeen Foyer Musicbox in partnership with Aberdeen Football Club Outdoor Education Mountain biking, surfing, gorgewalking, rock climbing, mountain bike maintenance Parent & Child sessions Sessions for young parents in partnership with Citymoves Sport & Fitness Free passes to access Gym and swimming sessions at Sport Aberdeen Facilities. One to one sessions at Aberdeen Combat Centre. Trades Sessions at Aberdeen Foyer with local tradesman Work taster sessions A range of work taster sessions have been arranged through the Aberdeen City work experience department including placements within ACC and with local businesses Voluntary placements Nursery/after school club - early years placements 9
  • 10. Kenny was referred by the Pupil support service after behavioural issues in School had resulted in exclusions. Kenny started on his activity agreement which consisted of Driving Theory Sessions and NICAS indoor climbing award scheme group. Kenny became aware through his climbing sessions that being a climbing instructor could be a potential job for the future. Kenny was informed of a pathway he could follow to realise this goal which consisted of completing his NICAS award up to level 4 at which point he will have demonstrated many of the competencies for a climbing instructor course pass. Kenny enrolled on the Duke of Edinburgh award scheme and began to pursue volunteering opportunities with mountain rescue and the coastguard service. Kenny also attended some weeks of other adventurous activities including kayaking, coasteering and mountain biking but decided later to focus on climbing instead. Before long Kenny completed level one and half way through level 2 of his NICAS award. Kenny applied for the Alternative Academy personal development programme as it would enable him to accelerate through the remainder of his NICAS competencies and be eligible to go for the instructor course. 10
  • 11. Kenny has had 100% attendance since starting the academy and has achieved the maximum NICAS level 4 award (previously unreached by an Alternative Academy participant). Kenny now has enough climbing experience to meet the criteria for an indoor climbing instructor course. Now an Activity Agreement returner - which enables Kenny to access more support to reach his goal of becoming a qualified climbing instructor - Kenny has now enrolled on the Mountaineering Council of Scotland and will be supported (getting the experience such as climbing in 3 different centres / course pre reading ) to continue onto the July Climbing Wall Award course. “Kenny has gained lots of skills in the climbing wall. He can belay, tie in and use the centre responsibly. He has a high level of skill on both the roped wall and the bouldering wall…“ Tutor Provider “Activity Agreements has helped me progresssthough life much better and has helped mereach skills and potential I couldn’t reach onmy own.” Kenny 11
  • 12. Curtis presented with very low self-confidence on sign up and was chaperoned by mum. His aims under Activity agreements were to increase self-confidence and physical ability as a preparation for considering applying for the police force/armed forces in the future. Curtis had initially participated in challenges as part of a Duke of Edinburgh award at school but had to withdraw as he felt he wasn’t up to it physically, feeling that he had been let down by his knees. Curtis needed to become more physically resilient and broaden his life experiences so we gave him a broad range of activities that were both group and physical activity based. Group activities ranged from extreme sports, adventure sports such as climbing, ice-skating through to Horse-Riding/Care. It was evident after some weeks that Curtis favoured working with horses and requested adaptations in his agreement to commit to an ever increasing weekly attendance at Hayfield. Curtis commenced with riding tuition and horse care to which was added a series of voluntary work tasters. Curtis agreed to participate in the Saltire Awards Scheme and worked through his Saltire Approach targets of 10 and 25hr awards before beginning on his Saltire Ascent 50hr award. Curtis agreed to take part in The British Horse Society Horse ownership Course as this appeared the most appropriate to aid his volunteering endeavours. Curtis progressed through the course well, sat the exam, and 3 months later was notified that he had passed. 12
  • 13. As part of his confidence building Curtis was given the opportunity to attend a focus group at the town house to feedback on learning opportunities to the Care Inspectorate. Curtis reviewed his activity agreement experience and was a very vocal member of the panel showing increases in self-confidence with fluent public speaking. Curtis agreed to revisit the Duke of Edinburgh Award Scheme. He was able to satisfy criteria for entering at Silver level utilising the British Horse Society Course as the learning element and weekly riding lessons as the physical exercise components. Saltire Ascents of 50, 100 and 200hrs were achieved then with over 500 hours of volunteering. Demonstrating outstanding quality Curtis was nominated for the Saltire Summit Award and was one of only 4 individuals across the City to gain this prestigious award. The Summit is the pinnacle of the Saltire Awards and reserved for the best exemplars of outstanding contributions in the voluntary sector (12-25yrs). Curtis was nominated as he exceeded requirements in a very demanding role and dedicated himself to delivering first class care of Hayfield Horses/Yard. Curtis continued to work throughout 2013/2014 winter and also helped lessen the burden to staff in the day to day running of the yard so that they could more effectively manage a strangles outbreak amongst some key horses. Curtis is now enrolled onto level 2 British Horse Society Horse Ownership Course and has become a very confident young person, taking control of horses and customers at Hayfield and working well within the Hayfield team to become a highly valued member. Curtis is very passionate about horses and wishes to pursue this as a lifelong career and talks of end goals in terms of being able to stud horses. Curtis now also has links to other horse yards in the city. Curtis has begun planning the equestrian expedition element of his Duke of Edinburgh Award, via meetings and workshops over the past few months. Since gaining his Summit Award, Curtis has already been invited back to share his experiences at a future Saltire Event for the Shire and has also been offered the opportunity to become a Saltire Ambassador. Curtis is currently entrusted with the care of Hayfield Director’s horses as well as other duties at present and we are looking into ways of developing a paid employment opportunity for him there utilising employer incentives. Curtis has got a lot from his activity agreement as the following quotes demonstrate. “Curtis has been consistent in attendance and work output. He has been exceptional with clients, both helpful and willing to go that extra step.“ [Provider] Hayfield From a 6 week review: Curtis “This course is great, it has opened up more jobs in the equine world. Currently finishing a BHS horse ownership level one course (exam tomorrow) in which has built better bonds and understanding of both the animals and rider.” 13
  • 14. “Thank you the course is amazing if I pass it opens up more doors into the equine world which is the goal to own a yard in the future so by doing the courses it means it will make my knowledge and understanding of the animals greater which means a better bond between human and horse” CC’d Email Accepting offering Curtis Saltire Awards Ambassador Role from ACVO Volunteering Development Worker [Excerpt] “Hi Curtis - Nick said that you might be interested in becoming a Saltire Ambassador – brilliant, I am so pleased!” … Curtis’ Email Reply to Cate: “I would like to be an ambassador for the awards as I feel this helps not just business but it helps people who do work ever so hard and gaining skills they might have never of had the chance to which will potentially have helped them in the future either job wise or guiding the younger generation and opening their options for later on. So I’m all for it thanks” “I feel the Activity agreements programme is a highly effective unit that has helped me gain new skills through out the year I have been with this. I greatly recommend this for the people that would like further education but in a more practical sense as it truly can change your life.” ”...I’ve loved every minute of it...” 14
  • 15. During 2014/15, there has been a focus on enhancing young people’s activities through aligning with accreditation which can then be used to engage with: Duke of Edinburgh Awards Young People can engage with the Duke of Edinburgh award programme at three levels, which when completed, lead to a Bronze, Silver or Gold Duke of Edinburgh’s Award. Young people can achieve an Award by completing a personal programme of activities in four sections (five if they are going for Gold) Volunteering, Physical, Skills, Expedition and for Gold and a Residential. To gain awards participants help people or the community, get fitter, develop skills, go on an expedition and take part in a residential activity (Gold only). Young people will complete modules during their Activity Agreement and have until they are 24 to complete any outstanding modules once they complete their agreement and progress onto further learning, training or work. In Aberdeen, a DoFe 16+ support group has been formed where young people can receive assistance from DoFe team to complete their online activity logs. Further information is available from: www.dofe.org/en/content/cms/doing-your-dofe/whats-the-dofe (Duke of Edinburgh, 2015) Mountain Bike Maintenance Participants have participated in sessions at Adventure Aberdeen and have worked towards an internally accredited certificate. Participants are also now working towards a Go Mountain Bike Award through Cycling Scotland which is a progressive mountain bike achievement award that enables people to advance their technical riding skills as well as learning how to look after themselves, their bike, the environment, and other people. www.gomtb.org.uk (Go Mountain Bike Scotland, 2015) 15
  • 16. Nicas Award The National Indoor Climbing Award Scheme (NICAS) is a UK wide scheme designed to promote climbing development and accredit individual achievement on artificial climbing structures. It can be used as a starting point for people wishing to take up climbing and mountaineering. It is open to all candidates aged 7 and upwards. Young people on Activity Agreements can work towards a Nicas award during climbing sessions at transition Extreme and supported to work through the 5 tier award scheme from Foundation through to advanced level. Further details are available from: www.nicas.co.uk/nicas/scheme.aspx (Nicas Award, 2015) Saltire Awards Saltire awards recognise the volunteering efforts of young people aged between 12 and 25. Young people receive certificates and Young Scot Award points for their volunteering with organisations around Aberdeen. Young people register themselves at: www.saltireawards.org.uk (ACVO, 2015) 16
  • 17. In 2015/16 there is going to be an additional monitoring of the improvement of young people’s wellbeing though participating in activity agreements. The Activity Agreements referral form has recently been refreshed to include a section to capture how young people feel in terms of the Getting it Right for Every Child Wellbeing indicators. I feel safe I feel active Iam healthy Iamachieving Ifeelincluded Iamresponsible Ifeelrespected Ifeelnurtured 17
  • 18. All new Activity Agreements participants will be asked to capture how they feel about their wellbeing at the start and end of the agreements and this information will be used as an additional performance measure indicator for the programme during 2015/16. Encouraging Aspirations The newly launched 2015 referral form also features an aspiration section where individuals are asked to assess both their current situation and where they would like to be in the future. The activity agreement worker/ trusted professional writing the referral is then able to highlight and fill at least 3 steps which have been identified as necessary to achieve this goal. This can then be used as a further tool to shape the agreement. 18
  • 19. “Good service, tailored to the needs of young people.” “Stepping stone into more structured training” “Engages difficult to engage” “Wide range ofactivities available” “Good for young people to know what’s available/going on in their area” “Opportunities to do work tasters/placements to develop future employability; but also increase young person’s confidence” “Chance for young person togain source of income whichis important, especially thosefrom low income families” “Opportunities for youngpeople to boostqualifications (awards/certificates) contributingto future employability” “Quite therapeutic – confidence/ self-esteem building; routine, structure” “Good relationship between AA worker and young person and parents” “It’s been great working with yourselves over the last 12 months.” 19
  • 20. “Length of time young personis on AA before progressioncan be quite lengthy and is atrisk of not challenging a youngperson to move beyond “ “It would be good to know if there are any new courses that we could offer that would be of interest and benefit to young people.” “A challenge for us is to try and improve courses to make them more engaging to young people.” “Aware that resources are stretched and staffing is finite” “Would value a system for updating SDS re yp’s attendance/engagement - esp in light of participation measure recording on CSS.” “AA tracker is sometimes not current“ “Perhaps an area to focus onwould be attendance. Therecould maybe some sort ofrewards system to improveattendance.” 20
  • 21. Participants who completed an Activity Agreement during 2014/15 were invited to submit their own comments on their experience on the programme – here’s what they had to say about their activities! “I done guitar lessons through activity agreements and it helped me get back into a routine and made my confidence grow so that I could build up the courage to go to college and the whole experience was really good and beneficial.” “My horse riding today was amazing J Feeling proud” “This is honestly the best thing to get involved with if you have nothing else to do. I don’t regret doing these things one bit before I started working J” “The ice hair and beauty activity was really good and got me motivated to learn more and I got accepted to do the beauty course at college so everything’s looking up” 21
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  • 24. During the next year, the following are aims and objectives for continuing the success of Activity Agreements within Aberdeen City; • Target to maintain progression rate above the national average of 70% of Activity Agreement participants into enhanced opportunities • Target to engage over 60 young people in a new Activity Agreement in 2015/16 • Further expand use of Wider Achievement awards which can be gained by participants • Further expand case studies to profile vocational pathways which are created through participants agreements • Further expand work experience and voluntary placement opportunities • Internally review Quality Improvement via parameters of the new framework • Maintain wide breadth of activities which can be accessed in a timely manner and maintain relationships with key providers who are supplying activities • Develop new Access Database for storing participant information which will improve analysis of progression and characteristics of participants and accuracy of data which is shared with partners • Arrange Trusted Professional training sessions for key referring agencies to refresh knowledge of aims/objectives of Activity Agreements 24
  • 25. The Scottish Government (2014). Developing the Young Workforce publication. www.gov.scot/Topics/Statistics/Browse/School-Education/leavedestla/follleavedestat/ attainmentandleavers1314 ACVO (2015). Retrieved from www.saltireawards.org.uk Duke of Edinburgh (2015). Retrieved from www.dofe.org/en/content/cms/doing-your-dofe/whats-the-dofe Go Mountain Bike Scotland (2015). Retrieved from www.gomtb.org.uk Nicas Award (2015). Retrieved from www.nicas.co.uk/nicas/scheme.aspx Skills Development Scotland (2015). Summary statistics for attainment, leaver destinations and healthy living No. 5: 2015 Edition www.gov.scot/Topics/Statistics/Browse/School-Education/Datasets Youthlink Scotland (2015). Activity Agreements – National Delivery Model. 25
  • 26. Aberdeen City Council John Cairns Opportunities for All Manager jocairns@aberdeencity.gov.uk 01224 814787 & 07917326668 Nicholas Asante-Ampaduh Activity Agreement worker nasante@aberdeencity.gov.uk 01224 814568 & 07557191804 Sharon Desbois Activity Agreement worker sdesbois@aberdeencity.gov.uk 01224 764574 & 07785773075 Postal Address: Activity Agreements Education & Children’s Services Education and Children’s Services Aberdeen City Council Ground Floor Frederick Street Centre Frederick Street Aberdeen AB24 1HY Shared Email Address for returning referral forms: activityagreements@aberdeencity.gov.uk Activity Agreement Aberdeen Facebook page: www.facebook.com/activityagreements 26
  • 27. Aberdeen Guarantees To learn about further opportunities within Aberdeen City, please visit: www.aberdeenguarantees.com www.twitter.com/abguarantees www.facebook.com/aberdeenguarantees 27