youthlink scotland national partners in youth work youthlink scotland strategic vision for work with...

YouthLink Scotland National Partners in Youth Work

YouthLink Scotland

Strategic vision for work with young people

SURF conference May 2002


Maureen Mallon

Development Manager

YouthLink Scotland


YouthLink Scotland

2002, 60th Anniversary year

New brief from April 2002:

The national point of access to informal education work with young people in Scotland, serving both voluntary and statutory sectors


YouthLink Scotland

50% funded by Scottish Executive to deliver a range of services to the sector


YouthLink Scotland’s role• articulate a national vision for young people

• develop a framework for good youth work practice

• support statutory/voluntary sector partnerships at local and national level

• map the work of the sector

• find champions for young people and youth work

• secure resources for youth work


YouthLink Scotland

The policy context• Osler and 4/99 - the challenge of community

learning and development• The policy jungle - from Community Planning to

Active Communities


Young People

young people are:

• moral beings • enthusiastic learners• passionate believers• tolerant democrats

Yet not all realise their potential


Youth work

‘The key purpose of youth work is to work with young people to facilitate their personal, social, and educational development, and to enable them to gain a voice, influence, and place in society in a period of their transition from dependence to independence’National Occupational Standards for Youth Work


Youth Work

• For the last century and a half, youth work has been

• Combating social exclusion; • Promoting lifelong learning; • Developing active citizens• Developing safe communities. • Promoting rights and responsibilities• Promoting health


Strategic context

• At United Nations level:• UN Special Session on Children• 8 - 10 May in New York• first ever ‘holistic’ session on children• UK issues

– lack of information for young people– need to involve them in decision making– education, poverty, and discrimination


Strategic context

• At European level:• EC White Paper on Youth - November 2001• participation• information• voluntary service among young people• greater understanding of youth issues• taking account of young people in other policy

areas


Strategic contextScotland:• SE draft priorities for young people

• involvement in policy development

• preparation for employment and training

• life skills through informal education

• citizenship and community participation

• participation in leisure activities

• Community Learning and Development • Synergy between statutory and voluntary


Scottish Crime Survey 2000

• 50% of young people had been the recent victim of crime

• 33% of young people had recently committed offences

• 36% had recently experienced adversarial police contact

• The main issues young people worried about were doing badly at school and finding a job


Scottish Executive response

Announced this morning (16.5.02)

Ministerial task group charged with

“taking stock” of rising youth crime


Targeting or entitlement agendas?

Sport for All: new sporting comprehensives in North Lanarkshire

Glasgow City Council’s Young Scot card carries a free swim entitlement for all


Some Key Issues

• Competition between sectors and agencies diminishes provision capacity

• Lack of joint planning leads to duplication and gaps

• Responding to new priorities leads to others falling down the agenda (until the next time?!)

youthlink scotland national partners in youth work youthlink scotland strategic vision for work with...

Documents