This article is based on the premise that youth work practice is contained within a Community of Practice (Lave and Wenger. 1998) underpinned by and through experiential learning mirroring a quasi-Steiner approach to learning. The amalgamation of these three tenets make youth work, as practiced mainly by qualified workers, an interesting template that tips the balance of learning in favour of young people rather than based on a more formalized curriculum. The blending of both informal, non-formal and formal approaches within a youth work context is, we will argue, a more holistic approach to the development of learning which is based on the needs of young people.

In a previous article (Gallagher and Morgan. 2013) it was argued that while youth work should be independent of the school system it could offer a valuable contribution that will complement the learning process. This article takes the debate further by suggesting a model that could be emulated in other youth work projects and that might form the basis of collaboration between the formal and informal sectors.

 

This article is a positional paper on the need to reinvent or at least reinvigorate the use of group work in a youth work context. While youth work practitioners work with many diverse groups the imposition of an imposed policy curriculum continues to shape the nature of the group process towards, we contend, a more prescribed set of outcomes.

What we are suggesting in this paper is that if we know the expected outcomes that many young people need to achieve in life in order to make them more resilient and self-aware of their lives, do we need to emulate the formal didactic approach to learning, i.e. as in school? If we have a vehicle in which and from which these outcomes can be achieved do we really need a curriculum? Or more appropriately can the curriculum emanate from the lived lives of the young people themselves?

This paper presents a practical approach to the measurement of outcomes in youth work.  What we are proposing is that the ‘core’ of youth development can be addressed and achieved within an ‘experiential growth group’ and that the process is indeed the product. In other words we are proposing a move away from highlighting the end product of outcomes or ‘expected ‘ outcomes to refocusing on the vehicle in which and from which certain less tangible and nebulous outcomes can be nurtured and recorded.

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The central tenet of this article is predicated upon a belief that there is a need to link both the formal with the informal/non -formal sectors without at any point compromising the strengths of either. The analysis within this article deconstructs the ideology and philosophy behind the perceived dominance of the formal sector over the informal youth work sector. It suggests that both worlds need not collide but that they can and should work more closely together in the interest of their common denominator, the development of young peoples’ potential. 

We also contend that youth work practice is qualitatively different from teaching and schooling and that the process used in youth work identifies that difference. We also contend that the inchoate nature of the youth work profession is militating against addressing some of these complex issues that are challenging the essential essence of youth work practice.

The Welsh Government Wellbeing of Future Generations (Wales) Act 2015  and the recommendations from Donaldson’s Successful Futures review gives youth work in Wales a refreshed opportunity to prove its value and create for itself a sustainable future.

This article explores the contribution youth work can make to these Welsh Government policy agendas.

Jamie Jones-Mead was awarded a bursary from Youthworkwales to complete this article.

Jamie is a professionally qualified youth and community worker.  He has 15 years’ experience as a youth worker and has worked in a number of settings in Wales, the UK and globally. 

These include in statutory youth services, with young disabled people, young offenders, young cancer patients and significant experience in the third sector.  As well as being an experienced practitioner, Jamie has a particular interest in health and wellbeing, having spearheaded and managed ASH Wales' youth tobacco and smoking programmes, and is currently working in a public health setting.

Between 2009-2011 CWVYS was commissioned by the Welsh Government to facilitate the research and publishing of Youth Work Methodology Handbooks or best practice guides for youth workers in Wales. CWVYS facilitated this work by bringing together voluntary youth organisations and maintained local authority youth services. This document is part of a library of Good Practice Methodology Handbooks for Youth Work in Wales. 

Youth work delivers information, advice, activities and support to young people who are learning about the many aspects of Health and Well-being. Youth workers have generally been in the position of seeking the resources to deliver these effectively through their own research. This handbook contains advice, guidance and suggestions for delivering good quality Health and Well-being youth work in one place. It is not meant to be the definitive answer to this but offers resources on most areas in which youth workers engage with young people. The resources are intended to be useable by all youth workers, paid or unpaid, in any setting and for whatever length of time that setting is operational. 

[CWVYS does not represent that the information contained in the handbook is accurate, comprehensive, verified or complete, and shall accept no liability for the accuracy or completeness of the information contained in this website or for any reliance placed by any person on the information.] 

Between 2009-2011 CWVYS was commissioned by the Welsh Government to facilitate the research and publishing of Youth Work Methodology Handbooks or best practice guides for youth workers in Wales. CWVYS facilitated this work by bringing together voluntary youth organisations and maintained local authority youth services. This document is part of a library of Good Practice Methodology Handbooks for Youth Work in Wales. 

The purpose of writing this handbook is to highlight the role of the youth centre in the delivery of youth work. The work will look at the origins of youth work and the position that buildings take within that, it will look at key milestones in the history of youth work and will draw together aspects of youth work practice and delivery that contribute to the notion of Fit for Purpose Youth Centres.

We will look at the role that youth centres play in the development of young people. Importantly the handbook will focus on the range of activity that is offered but also how the many functions of youth work come under the umbrella of youth centres. This will not be just about Youth services in a Statutory/Local Authority sense but encompass the voluntary sector, private provision but also highlight the importance of the legal aspects of work, how centres are staffed and impact of that. 

[CWVYS does not represent that the information contained in the handbook is accurate, comprehensive, verified or complete, and shall accept no liability for the accuracy or completeness of the information contained in this website or for any reliance placed by any person on the information.] 

MA Dissertation.

The purpose of the study was to determine the level of voluntary sector service provision for children, young people and families in South East Newport and to seek to identify any gaps in that provision. The study was undertaken as an internship within the Families First programme in Newport supported by the One Newport Local Service Board (LSB). The results will inform the LSB’s Neighbourhood Working Model.

Therefore this study, which is limited to provision relating only to children, young people and families in the geographical area of South East Newport (comprising the wards of Alway, Ringland and Lliswerry) presents the findings of an audit of voluntary sector provision within those limitations.

In order to address the key objectives of the research a combination of surveys, semi-structured interviews and focus groups was conducted between June and October 2013. Questionnaires were administered to two groups: service providers and residents in the pilot area. Three focus groups were conducted with adults, whilst 20 focus groups were conducted with 189 children and young people between the ages of 4 and 15 years from schools across the pilot area. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with adults at Summer Fun Day events.

It was concluded that a substantial level of service provision already exists in the pilot area, but that there are gaps in provision and barriers to access which need to be addressed. Despite this, enthusiasm to participate was high and should be encouraged. There could be merit in exploring the potential of the themes which emerged in an attempt to nurture this interest in engagement. The study confirms the need to increase the range and level of service provision in South East Newport and that children, young people and families would benefit from improvements and enhancements to existing services. 

Autumn 2015 paper from the Principal Youth Officers' Group (PYOG) on the role of youth work in the current policy environment in Wales.

This paper, prepared by a UK-wide alliance of representative youth work bodies, sets out the basis for a fully developed and properly resourced youth policy which the country needs now.