1. About This Website
2. News from Youth Connexions
3. 2008 Events calendar
4. About youth connexions
5. Resources for users
6. Staff support area
7. Info for parents & carers
8. Support for young people
9. Staff Learning & Development

Youth Connexions Hertforshire

The role and styles of Youth Work

The role of Youth Work within Integrated Youth Support Services

Over the past few years the government has issued a number of key policy documents that impact on youth services and that strive to improve services and access to services, for all young people.

Notably

• Every Child Matters
• Youth Matters and Youth Matters Next Steps
• Section 507B (2008) of the Education and Inspection Act 2006
• Aiming high for young people (2007), The 10 year strategy for positive activities

These key documents set out government expectations and measures for improving the lives of young people in the country.

All of these documents acknowledge the role of quality youth work in supporting young people to gain the best possible start in life.

A set of National Occupational Standards for Youth Work have also been developed that describe the knowledge and skills needed to perform a job role or work task.  These standards provide a benchmark of good practice as they explain to youth workers what needs to be done.

Within Youth Connexions Hertfordshire, key Resourcing Excellent Youth Services (REYS) targets are also used to measure performance and standards of youth work delivery and these are:

• Contact
• Participation
• Recorded Outcomes
• Accredited Outcomes

The youth work process is also underpinned within Hertfordshire by the Hertfordshire Youth Work Curriculum which provides a framework for delivering high quality work with young people.

Youth Connexions Hertfordshire also recognise and value that all partner agencies within the Hertfordshire Children's Trust Partnership have a role to play in developing a comprehensive youth offer. Only through working in partnership can services collectively meet the needs of young people.

Therefore it is even more important that youth workers, young people and key partners are clear about what youth work offers to young people.

Effective youth work:

• Engages with a wide range of young people on a voluntary basis.
• Is about developing respectful and trusting relationships between workers and young people.
• Is about listening to young people and working together
• Provides a challenge and helps develop young people's critical thinking capacity.
• Offers young people creative, exciting and fun opportunities
• Offers young people the opportunity to develop new skills and gain accreditation
• Supports young people to work as part of a team and independently

Styles of Youth Work

Youth work in Hertfordshire is delivered in a wide variety of ways in order to accommodate the diversity and needs of young people themselves. Youth workers need to be flexible in their response, providing both planned and spontaneous activity as required.

Most youth work is delivered with groups of young people rather than individuals although there is scope for one-to-one work. This is because experience has shown the benefits of young people learning through sharing and understanding with their peers. Youth work with groups of young people, whether planned or responsive, should have or develop clear learning goals.

Detached and Outreach Work

"Detached youth work aims to work with young people where they are and to negotiate further contact and any programme with them. Outreach work is expected to contain similar objectives but its underlying aim is to recruit young people to an existing project or centre.

Detached work is not an emergency response to anti-social behaviour by young people, nor something that should be moved around to tackle "hotspots". However, it is appropriate that detached work is used as part of a planned programme, perhaps as part of a multi-agency approach to working with young people causing concern."

(Hertfordshire CSF Youth Service, "Detached Work Policy", 2004)

Centre based

A large proportion of youth work is delivered in buildings. These vary from substantial youth centres that operate several days per week, to one night a week in a village hall. Large centres should be able to provide a wide range of facilities, including services that are not available elsewhere, e.g. music studios, video editing facilities, sports.

Village halls are more limited but they are often the only facility in the village for young people. Our work in all venues should be time limited and open to review as young people's needs change i.e. the work is designed around the needs of the young people, not the building. What all centres have in common is a 'safe,' non-judgemental environment where young people have the space and freedom to explore who they are and what they want from life.

Project or Targeted Work

Youth workers will work directly with young people who are disaffected or disadvantaged, providing project work which reflects need. Projects will vary in length and some may operate across District boundaries. Youth workers seek to identify those within the target groups and develop opportunities appropriate to their needs. This is done by focusing work with identified groups or simply taking into account individuals within its existing provision. Targeted work will use all the styles available to it in order to ensure that it is reaching those who have the greatest need of its services.

One Stop Shops (OSS) or Youth Enquiry and Information Services (YEIS) operate from a number of venues in the county and are regarded as one of the key components of the curriculum. OSS are a multi-agency partnership. They are committed to providing free access to quality, up-to-date information. The range of partners offering advice or specific services within a OSS might include youth workers, Connexions personal advisers, the Police, health professionals and voluntary sector counselling agencies.

They offer a non-judgmental, confidential service that allows young people to express their needs and feelings about their personal situations. They aim to supply young people with all the information they require to make informed decisions on a range of subjects from benefits rights to contraceptive advice.

Youth workers need to be aware oftheir limitations and the need to refer young people on to specialist agencies if appropriate

There is a variety of structures, formal and informal, that give young people a voice both within their organisation and at District or County-wide levels. They seek to engage young people in the design, delivery and evaluation of services provided for them. Examples include youth centre management committees, UK Youth Parliament and more creative projects to give young people influence on youth issues.

These can provide a powerful tool for young people to demonstrate their skills and achievement, work together and support each other and raise the profile of youth work. Examples of these include a dance event, band showcase, 5-a-side football tournament or a Youth Awards presentation.

Peer education enables young people to take ownership of projects and work with their peers on subjects where a young person may deliver a message more, or as, effectively as an adult. Typical peer education projects include issue-based work around sexual health, bullying, drugs and mental health.

Young people can get involved in a range of voluntary activities both in their own project or in the wider community. Volunteering can be used to gain recognised accreditation such as the service section of the DoE Award.

The use of converted buses or other vehicles, taken to particular localities as a mobile youth project, offer young people opportunities to meet together, take part in structured programmes and gain access to resources, information and advice. This may be especially useful in rural areas where youth projects or access to leisure facilities is limited by public transport.

Outdoor education, residentials and sporting activities

Safe, adventurous activities provide an important learning tool for young peopleas they learn team skills, take risks andtry out new challenges. Young people are encouraged to push themselves and to support each other to achieve, adding a valuable dimension to the curriculum

Young people are offered the chance to get involved in music, arts, drama, dance, film making, magazine and website development. The Youth Work curriculum provides both individual skill development and the opportunity to work as part of a team, involving both creative and technical skills and experiences.

learning is a way of formally recognising their achievements and a requirement of REYS for youth work. There are numerous national awards, as well as the opportunity to develop locally-designed achievement programmes, that will maximise the opportunities for young people to achieve through their involvement with youth work.

skating rinks and night clubs in partnership with the owners of these venues. Youth workers may be targeting particular groups or providing information and support to young people, particularly around drug and alcohol use.

Youth Advocacy / Participation

Youth workers encourage young people to get involved in decision making, share responsibility and to become equal partners in project delivery as part of the learning process.

They encourage young people to understand their rights and responsibilities so that they have a better understanding of the personal, social and political issues that affect their lives and the lives of others.

Websites -The county youth portal www.channelmogo.org provides a means of giving information to young people regardless of whether they are engaged in our programmes or not.