YOUTHWORK IN WALES:PRINCIPLES AND PURPOSES

INTRODUCTION

Published by the Youth Work inWales Review Group, October 2018

This document has been producedfor the managers and trustees ofyouth organisations, politicians,local authority elected membersand officers, practitioners, trainers,and people training to be youthworkers. It has also been writtenfor young people, those alreadyinvolved in youth organisations aswell as those wishing to find outmore about the kinds of experienceyouth organisations can provide.

The main objective of the document is toset out the key principles which underpinyouth work and to provide an overview ofits nature, purposes and delivery. Thecontent of the document applies specificallyto youth work in Wales but is likely to beconsistent with youth work principles,purposes and practice in other parts ofthe UK and in the Republic of Ireland.

The delivery of youth services provides apowerful mechanism for engaging withand listening to young people. In Wales,the ‘Rights of Children and Young PersonsMeasure, 2011’ strengthens and builds onthe rights-based approach of the WelshGovernment to making policy for childrenand young people in Wales. WelshMinisters must have due regard to therights in the United Nations Conventionon the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) whenmaking decisions about proposed newpolicies or legislation or about reviewingor changing existing policies. From 1 May2014, Welsh Ministers must have dueregard to the rights in the UNCRC wheneverthey use any of their legal powers or duties.

The National Youth Work Strategy forWales (see Section 08, ‘Signposts to OtherInformation’) sets out national prioritiesfor the Youth Service and for supportingyoung people in Wales.

Whilst the youth work sector in Walesrecognises and contributes to a numberof national policy priorities such as theNational Youth Work Strategy for Wales, itseeks to respond to and inform policy onthe basis of the values and principles setout in this document.

Youth Work in Wales: Principles andPurposes has been produced byrepresentatives of the voluntary and local authority youth work sectors in Wales. A web-based version, designed primarily for young people, is available atwww.cwvys.org.uk or www.wlga.org.uk

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WHAT IS YOUTH WORK?

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Youth work respects the views andopinions of young people through theirparticipation in the design, creation andestablishment of services and provisionwhich meet their needs and aspirations.Such provision is determined as a resultof the participation of young peopletaking into account their requirements,desires, interests and aspirations.

Youth work provides or facilitates:

f places and relationships within whichyoung people can enjoy themselves,feel secure, supported and valued,learn to take greater control of their lives,and recognise and resist the damaginginfluences which may affect them;

f non-formal, informal and structurededucational opportunities andexperiences which challenge both theinstitutions and young peoplethemselves to enhance their personal,social and political development;

f access to relevant advice, information,support and guidance.

Good youth work provides all youngpeople with opportunities, can supportthem through significant developments intheir lives, assists them to understandtheir rights and encourages them todevelop knowledge and skills.

Youth work in Wales is based primarily on a voluntary relationshipbetween young people and youth workers. The Youth Service is auniversal entitlement, open to all young people within the specifiedage range 11-25.

What is youth work?The key purpose of youth work is to... “enable young people todevelop holistically, working with them to facilitate their personal, socialand educational development, to enable them to develop their voice,influence and place in society and to reach their full potential.”

Youth Work National Occupational Standards

THE DELIVERYOF YOUTHWORK IN WALES

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Settings:

f centre-based work;

f street-based, outreach and mobile work;

f work with a broad range of membersof the community, irrespective of age;

f residential work;

f targeted provision for specific groupsin a variety of environments including,for example, schools, the youth justicesystem and health environments.

Methods:

f curriculum specialities like arts andculture, first aid, sport, etc;

f youth forums and councils;

f information, advice, guidance andcounselling services;

f project work;

f group work;

f one to one work;

f the use of new technologies and media;

f opportunities for young people to beinvolved in decision-making processes;

f opportunities for volunteering inWales, the UK and internationally.

Youth work is provided through both the voluntary and local authoritysectors and through a variety of youth work settings and methods.

Collaboration and partnership betweenorganisations is often a key aspect ofdelivering youth work.

Although youth work is delivered by twodistinct sectors, statutory and voluntary,the sectors work together to achieve thebest possible outcomes for youngpeople.

f Youth work is based on the voluntaryengagement of young people.

f Young people should be empoweredpartners in the processes andopportunities that youth organisationsprovide.

f Youth work starts at whatever pointyoung people are in their lives,regardless of circumstance, andrecognises their potential.

f Fundamental to youth work are theprinciples of equality and inclusion.

f Youth work recognises that youngpeople have rights and seeks to workin a rights-based way.

f Youth work recognises that youngpeople have responsibilities andrequirements placed upon them.Youth work seeks to help themaddress those responsibilities andrequirements.

f Youth work is essentially focused onactivity which is both informal andnon-formal. Informal activity seizesopportunities that are not necessarilyplanned. Non-formal activity providesplanned opportunities which lie outsideformal systems such as school-basededucation. Both kinds of activity mightlead to accreditation or recognition.

f The identification of youth work as apartnership with young people outsideformal or legal requirements is animportant element in securing thevoluntary engagement of young people.

f Youth work has at its core theimportance of providing safeenvironments for young people and ofsupporting the safety as well as thedevelopment and well-being of youngpeople.

THE PRINCIPLESOF YOUTH WORKIN WALES

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Youth work in Wales is intended to:

f promote and actively encourageopportunities for all young people inorder that they may fulfil their potentialas empowered individuals and asmembers of groups and communities;

f support young people throughsignificant changes in their lives andassist them to understand theirresponsibilities;

f support young people to be able tounderstand and exercise their rights;

f encourage young people to gain anddevelop knowledge, understanding,attitudes and values and to makeconstructive use of their skills, resourcesand time;

f promote opportunities and access forall young people whatever their race,gender, sexual identity, language,religion, disability, age, background orpersonal circumstances;

f challenge oppression and inequality;

f support and enable young people inkeeping themselves safe.

Youth work in Wales also:

f recognises the importance and valueof the Welsh language and the needto promote its use;

f recognises that Wales is a country witha diversity of languages and cultures;

f recognises the importance ofsustainable development and equipsyoung people with the knowledge andskills to play their part in shaping thefuture;

f encourages young people as local,national and global citizens to exercisetheir responsibilities;

f encourages young people to protecttheir own rights and those of others.

THE PURPOSESOF YOUTH WORKIN WALES

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THE FIVE PILLARSOF YOUTH WORKIN WALESYouth work has a value base which is grounded in respect for youngpeople and in the principles of inclusion and equal opportunity.Through its voluntary relationship with young people it offersopportunities for learning that are:

EDUCATIVEEnabling young people togain the skills, knowledge,understanding, attitudesand values needed fortheir own personaldevelopment andfulfilment and as a meansof contributing to societyas members of groupsand communities, locally,regionally, nationally, andinternationally.

EXPRESSIVEEncouraging and enablingyoung people to expresstheir understanding andknowledge and theirideas, opinions, emotionsand aspirations through abroad range of creativeand often challengingopportunities.

PARTICIPATIVEEncouraging andsupporting young peopleto become partners in,and share responsibilityfor, the opportunities,learning processes anddecision-making structureswhich affect their own andother people's lives andenvironments.

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INCLUSIVEEnabling young people to developknowledge, understanding and positiveattitudes and behaviour in relation to:

f racial, social, and cultural identityand diversity;

f heritage;

f languages and the value of one'sown and other languages;

f citizenship;

f respect for other people’s choices.

EMPOWERINGEquipping young people with theunderstanding and skills to enable themto exercise their rights including:

f recognising that all young peoplehave rights and that this impliesrespecting the rights of others;

f supporting young people to carryout their responsibilities as citizensand members of their communities;

f encouraging young people to engagewith the personal, social and politicalissues which affect their lives andthe lives of others and to developqualities of leadership.

DELIVERINGHIGH QUALITYYOUTH WORK

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f developing relationships and trust;

f emphasising the role of the youngperson in the processes of youth work;

f assessing need;

f providing information;

f referring young people to otherprovision as appropriate whilst offeringcontinued support if required;

f mentoring;

f advocating;

f challenging;

f building personal and socialdevelopment and resilience;

f planning, monitoring and evaluation.

Youth work organisations and all engagedin youth work are expected to assessoutcomes and impact and to have systemsfor the planning, monitoring and evaluationof all aspects of their work with youngpeople. Organisations and individualyouth workers should be able to use self-assessment and self-assessment tools toidentify positive benefits for young peopleand to reflect on and develop their practice.

In developing and evaluating their work,providers should take account of theNational Occupational Standards (NOS) forYouth Work, the Participation Standardsand the Information Standards. Links to these standards have been provided in Section 09, Signpoststo Other Information.

To deliver the Five Pillars of Youth Work (see Section 06), organisationsand youth workers use a range of processes including:

Youth work seeks to implement theseprocesses whilst ensuring the health,well-being and safety of young people.

08EWC AND YOUTH WORK

This means that Wales is one of the fewcountries in the world that regulatesqualified youth workers and youth supportworkers, bringing their skills and expertisein line with those working in formaleducation and valuing their contributionto education in Wales.

By bringing non-formal and in-workeducation in line with formal education,we are enhancing the status of the oftenoverlooked profession of youth work andthe important role that it plays in youngpeople's wellbeing and education.

The youth work landscape in Wales is richand varied, with local authority servicesand voluntary organisations supportingour work to raise the profile of theprofession and to give the youth worksector and the young people they workwith a voice. Our unique data and insightinto the youth work sector can then be usedfor workforce planning and development.

How we support youth work in WalesBeing registered with the EWC has manybenefits. All registrants get free access tothe Professional Learning Passport, anonline platform which allows users torecord and reflect on their professionaldevelopment by uploading documents,videos, presentations, and audio files asyou progress through your career.

Registrants can also share best practicewith colleagues.

It includes free access to EBSCO, anonline database of over 4,500 academiceducation journals and e-books.

We also offer full support and guidancethrough bespoke presentations andworkshops where registrants can learnmore about their rights and theprofessional conduct expected of them.Our popular good practice guides ontopics such as using social mediaresponsibly are available on our website.

Registrants can apply for the EWCresearch bursary. Those interested inconducting close-to-practice research aspart of their career development, andmeet the criteria can be awarded up to£2,000 in funding.

Anyone wishing to work as a qualifiedyouth worker or qualified youth supportworker in Wales must be registered withEWC. Contact us on 029 2046 0099 or e-mail registration@ewc.wales for moreinformation.

Follow us on Twitter using @ewc_cga andvisit our website at ewc.wales.

On 1 April 2017, qualified youth workers and youth support workersjoined school and FE teachers, school and FE learning support workers,and work-based learning practitioners on the EWC list of registeredpractitioners, making the EWC the largest professional body in Waleswith over 80,000 registrants.

09SIGNPOSTS TO OTHERINFORMATIONInterim Youth Work Board for WalesE-mail: youthworkboard@gov.wales

Welsh Government Youth EngagementBranchwww.gov.wales

Council for Wales of Voluntary YouthServices (CWVYS)www.cwvys.org.uk

Principal Youth Officers’ Group (Wales)www.wlga.wales/principal-youth-officers-group-wales

Education and Training Standards Waleswww.etswales.org.uk

Education Workforce Councilwww.ewc.wales

Estynwww.estyn.gov.uk

Association of Youth Workers Cymruwww.aywc.co.uk/

Youth Resource Basewww.youthworkwales.org.uk

National Occupational Standardswww.youthworkwales.org.uk

Code of Professional Conduct andPractice for Registrantswww.ewc.wales

United Nations Convention on the Rightsof the Child (UNCRC)www.childrensrights.wales/index.php

National Participation Standards forChildren and Young People in Waleswww.gov.wales

Children’s Commissioner for Waleswww.childcomwales.org.uk

Learning & Skills Act 2000 (Section 123)www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2000/21/contents

Welsh Government ‘Rights of Childrenand Young Persons Measure’ 2011www.legislation.gov.uk/mwa/2011/2/contents

Welsh Youth Parliamentwww.youthparliament.wales/

National Academy of Educational Leadershipwww.nael.cymru

Education Act 1996www.legislation.gov.uk

Future Generations Commissioner for Waleswww.futuregenerations.wales