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As announced by Eluned Morgan AM, Minister for Welsh Language and Lifelong Learning, Wales now has an Interim Youth Work Board.
The Board will represent young people and the youth work sector, providing advice and guidance to the Welsh Government to support the development and delivery of the new Youth Work Strategy. They will also make recommendations on what needs to change in Wales in order to support a sustainable model for youth work in the future. More information about the Board can be found here .
They’ve already formally met three times - 30 October, 16 November and 7 December – and you’ll soon be able to find the published Board papers and minutes here.
Here we are only a matter of weeks into the establishment of the new Interim Youth Work Board for Wales and we have already had three meetings. As you would expect we are determined to get some real pace into our work. We have established a commitment to engage with the sector as openly as we can. Whilst the Board is charged with developing a set of proposals for Welsh Government Ministers we want to do this in collaboration with a unified youth work sector. We are also keen to ensure that young people get an on-going opportunity to shape the future of youth work services in Wales.
So in 2019 we will share our work plan. This will identify a number of work streams that we have identified to inform our recommendations. Each work stream will be led by an individual Board Member and we will be approaching the sector to seek those with an interest who would be willing to join working groups to help shape the work. We will soon share details of our social media presence so that everyone who wants to can engage with the Board and follow our progress.
I’m really grateful for all the positive messages of support and assistance that we are receiving from across the sector. I’m aware that austerity has had a real impact on youth work and that time is of the essence for many. There has never been a more important time for youth work in Wales. At our most recent Board meeting we met and were inspired by Youth and Community students at Glyndwr University. Their commitment to youth work and young people was infectious and their personal stories of engagement with youth work spoke an eternal truth; that youth work has the capacity to change young people’s lives for the better. Whatever we develop the Board are determined that our proposals will be informed, credible and focussed on delivery for young people.
We are all looking forward to the Youth Work Conference in February and hope that as many of you as possible will be there to help shape the future. See you there!
Keith Towler - Chair - Interim Youth Work Board for Wales
As part of their work, the new Interim Youth Work Board is committed to engaging with, and hearing the voice of young people. They want to understand what is important to them, how they feel about the support they receive now, and what they want it to look like in the future.
The Board has worked with a group of youth workers to develop a young people’s survey, along with a toolkit. They’ve asked you, the sector, to help them by using these resources to engage directly with the young people you work with. If you haven’t received your copy of the survey or toolkit please get in touch. If you’ve already worked through the exercise, or are planning to do so soon, we’d be grateful if you could submit your feedback sheet, collating and summarising your discussions with young people to the Youth Work Board mailbox by Monday 14 January 2019.
In recognition of the vital role of youth work/youth services, and the need to ensure young people can access them no matter where they live, the Welsh Government is providing significant additional investment via the Youth Support Grant in 2019/20. This includes:
- a 10% uplift in the Youth Support Grant baseline budget, reversing the previous cut in 2018/19, to deliver youth work and youth engagement activity;
- £2.5m in additional funding to help tackle emerging mental, emotional, and wellbeing issues in young people through youth work approaches; and
- £3.7m in additional funding to tackle youth homelessness through youth work and the youth services.
Collectively, this represents more than £10m being invested into youth work, and youth engagement and progression activity that will help secure the life chances of young people in Wales, including the most vulnerable. Local Authorities will shortly be notified of their allocations and will be expected to work with young people and a wide range of partners in developing their plans.
Please click here to see the newly revised ‘Youth Work in Wales: Principles and Purposes’ booklet.
This document was produced for the managers and trustees of youth organisations, politicians, local authority elected members and officers, practitioners, trainers and people training to be youth workers and youth support workers, young people already involved with youth organisations and those wishing to find out more about youth organisations.
This booklet was produced on a collaborative basis by representatives of the voluntary and local authority youth work sectors in Wales and with the Education Workforce Council.
After a hugely successful Youth Work Conference in 2018, the next annual conference will take place on 20 February 2019 in Venue Cymru, Llandudno. The event will be an opportunity to hear from the Interim Youth Work Board, understand more about the work they are undertaking and the development of the new Youth Work Strategy. You will also hear from youth work practitioners, including examples of innovative practice, and get a feel for the work that has taken place this year to drive youth work in Wales forward.
Details of the agenda for the conference will be available shortly and we will send details on how to register your place in due course.
The Youth Work Excellence Awards are an opportunity to recognise and celebrate outstanding youth work projects, youth workers and those involved with youth work across Wales.
The 2019 Awards will take place on Friday 28 June.
Successful nominees will be invited to celebrate at the Quay Hotel, Deganwy.
There are nine categories: six for projects and three for individuals.
This year nominations are online. Please click here for more information.
“Young people influencing decisions about what matters to them. How do you do it?”
In partnership with Inspection Wales and the Children’s Commissioner for Wales, the Good Practice Exchange is hosting an event which will highlight the key challenges facing young people of Wales today. The focus of this event will be how we can best design and deliver services together with young people to help them meet those challenges. These have been identified through a variety of sources who have had real conversations with young people and asked for their views on what matters to them.
This event is open to all sectors so if you are involved in designing and delivering services, which are seeking to engage with and involve young people in a meaningful way, then this is the event for you.
Where and when:
March 12th 2019, 09:30 - 15:30
Glamorgan County Cricket Ground, Sophia Gardens, Cardiff
March 28th 2019, 09:30 – 15:30
Glasdir Rural Development Centre, Llanrwst, Conwy Valley
Registration
You can register here and if you have any questions about this event please contact Sara Woollatt on 02920 320614 or via email
Congratulations to Youth Cymru who are the latest organisation to achieve the Bronze Quality Mark, and to Torfaen Youth Service for achieving the Silver Quality Mark. The next application date for the Quality Mark is Thursday 10th January.
The Welsh Government has recently undertaken a survey of our stakeholders to find out what they think of the Quality Mark, why they have or haven’t applied to undertake the Quality Mark process, and the benefits or downsides to it. The results of this survey were considered alongside information provided by the Council for Wales of Voluntary Youth Services (CWVYS) and a survey undertaken by Atkins Associates who run the Quality Mark. Overall the results were largely positive around the impact achieving the Quality Mark has on an organisation and on individuals who sign up to become Assessors. However, the feedback suggested there was room for improvement and further consideration is being given as to how the Quality Mark could become more inclusive for all sections of the youth work spectrum and more accessible to small organisations with limited resources. Work to consider how we build on these findings will start immediately.
In the mean time, there is no intention to stop running the Quality Mark, but it may change going forward. The current contract comes to an end in March 2019 and the Welsh Government will then go out to open tender. This may mean there is a slight pause between the end of the old contract, and the start of a new one whilst design work on a new model is undertaken. If you have any queries please contact the mailbox.
European Solidarity Corps – Overview
What is the European Solidarity Corps?
The European Solidarity Corps is a new European Union initiative intended to bring young people together to build a more inclusive society, supporting vulnerable people and responding to the challenges facing society across the continent. It funds opportunities for young people to volunteer or work in their own country or abroad.
Young people between 18 and 30 years of age are the main target group of the European Solidarity Corps. UK organisations of all sizes, from multinational companies to small NGOs working in local communities, which support social action and promote social inclusion, can submit an application. Young people themselves can also be an applicant for specific types of actions supported by the European Solidarity Corps.
Find out more by visiting the UK European Solidarity Corps Website here.
Boys' and Girls' Clubs of Wales have recently taken part in the Erasmus+ project 'Activists Against Xenocide'. The project is an international youth meeting on the subject of migration to (and within) Europe today and in the past. Activities included workshops of Identity and Migration, Film, Photography, History and Human Rights. Earlier this year three staff members visited Krzyzowa in Poland for a Youth Workers conference and, following this, they were able to take a group of young people to attend the Youth Exchange (or youth meeting) in October. Cathryn Evans, the Project Coordinator, took four young people to participate in the youth meeting in Poland. Throughout the week they took part in intercultural training, workshops and seminars on politics, heritage and migration, and took part in film and photography training. They also presented their own micro project film based around Brexit and Wales. The youth meeting was a fantastic opportunity for young people from Wales to meet other young people from at least six different countries including Greece, Macedonia, Serbia, Poland, Estonia and Germany, some of whom were or had been refugees at some point in their lives. When the young people were asked to describe their experience of the project in five words here’s what they had to say:
“Widened my view of everything”
“Included, Interested, Involved, Happy, Good”
“Felt part of something bigger ”
“Aware, Shocked, Amazed, Grateful, Appreciated”
If you want to know more about this project please get in touch with the Boys and Girls Clubs of Wales through their website
The Welsh Government are currently undertaking a number of consultations which may be of interest to you. Please find more details below:
Connected communities - Tackling loneliness and social isolation
The Welsh Government currently has an ongoing consultation `Connected communities - Tackling loneliness and social isolation’. This consultation wants to hear from organisations and individuals about what more needs to be done to effectively tackle loneliness and social isolation, including access to services. Hearing from the youth sector is therefore really important. The Consultation ends on 15 January 2019 so please consider submitting a response.
Written Statement: Launch of the public consultation on the draft Additional Learning Needs Code
The consultation on the draft ALN Code & proposed regulations is live.
The new legislative framework will help improve the planning and delivery of #ALNWales. To get it right, and ensure it delivers the outcomes we want for all learners with ALN, we need to hear your views.
Have your say here
Guidance to school governing bodies on school uniform and appearance policies
The Welsh Government is consulting on school uniform and appearance policies. They would love to encourage young people to contribute to the consultation and have developed a young person friendly version. If you are working with young people who may wish to contribute to this please pass on these details to them and encourage them to have their say. The consultation can be found here. Closing date for comments is 21 February 2019.
Do you have a story you would like to share with the rest of the youth work sector in Wales? Get in touch giving us details of what it is, why you think it is best practice, and why we should share it here. Let’s celebrate the great work you are doing!
Are you Subscribed to Youth Work Bulletin? Sign up fast here
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