Enable young people to develop and working with young people to facilitate personal, social and educational development.
A youth worker is someone who uses rights-based, person-centred relationships to engage with young people to promote their social, emotional, and personal development using informal education approaches.
This occupation can be found in a range of settings where young people are present, including (but not limited to) youth projects, educational settings, health environments and faith sector. The settings may be informal, such as youth clubs, activity-based or social action projects, or more formal, such as Local Authority Children's Services, hospitals, schools, alternative education provisions or youth custody. In this occupation and context, 'youth' refers to young people aged 11 to 19, or up to the age of 25 for those with additional needs.
The broad purpose of the occupation is to enable young people to develop holistically, working with young people to facilitate personal, social and educational development. This is to enable them to develop their voice, influence and place in society, and reach their individual and collective potential.
An employee in this occupation will be responsible for working with young people to plan, deliver and evaluate the youth work curriculum and programmes with individuals and groups. They will receive supervision from their line manager but will also work autonomously and manage other staff, which may include volunteers, youth support/assistants, youth support workers, peer mentors.
They may be responsible for building management, such as youth clubs and youth project premises or mobile units depending on the size or structure of the organisation. They will be responsible for managing projects (including budgets) and maintaining appropriate financial and other administrative records.
In their daily work, an employee in this occupation interacts with voluntary, charitable and statutory services, such as youth services, education, health, social and community provisions. They will also engage with a range of other partners and stakeholders, such as funders, families, and allied professionals.
A satisfactory enhanced DBS check will be an entry requirement for the programme.
| Duty | KSBs |
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Duty 1 Establish relationships with young people, communities and partners |
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Duty 2 Establish, manage and develop different youth work provisions. |
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Duty 3 Manage and develop staff, projects and facilities. |
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Duty 4 Work with other agencies to develop services across a community. |
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Duty 5 Design, lead, implement and evaluate a youth work curriculum. |
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Duty 6 Lead on rights-based youth work, and voice and influence strategies. |
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Duty 7 Lead project development, implementation and evaluation. |
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Duty 8 Engage in continuous professional development. |
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Duty 9 Demonstrate professional youth work values and ethical practice. |
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Duty 10 Manage provision within relevant legislative frameworks |
K1: The importance of building trust and rapport, and methods for achieving this.
Back to Duty
K2: Professional relationship boundaries and the implications of these for youth workers.
Back to Duty
K3: Communication styles and methods, including barriers to communication and ways to overcome these.
Back to Duty
K4: Different models of youth work e.g. Outreach, Detached, Open access, Targeted, Social Action, Digital
Back to Duty
K5: Theories of management and leadership e.g. inter-professional and inter-disciplinary working.
Back to Duty
K6: Human resources procedures, e.g. professional development, disciplinary, grievance.
Back to Duty
K7: Youth work supervision models.
Back to Duty
K8: The importance of staff development.
Back to Duty
K9: Resource, financial and facilities management, including relevant legislation and regulations that need to be followed.
Back to Duty
K10: National and local plans and strategies relevant to youth work and young people.
Back to Duty
K11: Roles, remit and responsibilities of key stakeholders.
Back to Duty
K12: Strategies to build and manage professional partnerships.
Back to Duty
K13: Theories and models of informal and non-formal education and their application in practice.
Back to Duty
K14: Theories and models for programme planning, development, delivery and evaluation.
Back to Duty
K15: Policies and strategies related to the national and local youth work curriculum.
Back to Duty
K16: Contemporary models for impact and evaluation of youth work.
Back to Duty
K17: Models for inclusive and active participation and barriers to participation.
Back to Duty
K18: International, national and local factors impacting on young people’s engagement in decision making, including legislation (e.g. UNCRC) and local and national participation strategies.
Back to Duty
K19: Models to undertake appropriate situational needs analysis.
Back to Duty
K20: Project management tools and processes, including assessing and managing risk.
Back to Duty
K21: Evaluation and impact processes and strategies.
Back to Duty
K22: Commissioning and funding processes.
Back to Duty
K23: Theories, models and principles for reflective practice.
Back to Duty
K24: The importance of critical reflection and continuous professional development for youth work practice
Back to Duty
K25: The relationship between rights, responsibilities and power dynamics in professional youth work relationships and society.
Back to Duty
K26: Cultural and community competency in good youth work practice.
Back to Duty
K27: Principles of anti-oppressive and anti-discriminatory practice.
Back to Duty
K28: Safeguarding legislation, government guidance and national framework regarding record keeping, disclosure management and reporting referrals to a designated safeguarding lead.
Back to Duty
K29: Safer recruitment and staff management processes (including for volunteers).
Back to Duty
K30: Boundaries of professional accountability and responsibility for self, staff and project leadership.
Back to Duty
K31: Principles of child development and human growth applicable to behaviours likely to be observed in youth activities.
Back to Duty
S1: Evaluate and utilise a range of styles of communication suited to the audience, e.g. verbal, non-verbal, written and electronic methods.
Back to Duty
S2: Maintain professional boundaries in relationships with young people and colleagues.
Back to Duty
S3: Select and use suitable youth work models for the needs of young people they are engaging with.
Back to Duty
S4: Work in partnership with young people to develop suitable services.
Back to Duty
S5: Utilise appropriate methods and tools for planning, monitoring and evaluating youth work.
Back to Duty
S6: Complete, store and retain accurate administrative and financial records.
Back to Duty
S7: Carry out regular supervision, staff development and appraisals (where appropriate) with colleagues.
Back to Duty
S8: Apply different leadership styles appropriate to the needs of colleagues.
Back to Duty
S9: Utilise a range of sources of information to inform service development.
Back to Duty
S10: Identify and work with appropriate partners to add value to work with young people, e.g., Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS), schools, local councillors.
Back to Duty
S11: Advocate for young people and youth work in policy and service development.
Back to Duty
S12: Select and use appropriate methods and tools when planning youth work programmes and activities.
Back to Duty
S13: Identify and apply differentiated methods and styles when engaging with groups to meet the needs of young people, promoting learning and development
Back to Duty
S14: Facilitate youth work programmes that support the learning and development of young people in line with the youth work curriculum.
Back to Duty
S15: Evaluate, demonstrate and report on the impact of youth work.
Back to Duty
S16: Provide a safe environment for young people to explore and challenge values, beliefs, ideas and issues.
Back to Duty
S17: Create and evaluate effectiveness of inclusive and participatory learning environments.
Back to Duty
S18: Support young people to plan, organise and deliver youth-led activities and programmes.
Back to Duty
S19: Select and apply appropriate participation models to overcome barriers to participation
Back to Duty
S20: Support young people to make their voice heard to influence change on issues affecting them.
Back to Duty
S21: Identify and challenge oppressive attitudes, behaviours and situations.
Back to Duty
S22: Conduct and use information from situational needs analysis to develop projects.
Back to Duty
S23: Produce reports, evaluations and summary data in a format appropriate for the intended audience, e.g. commissioners, funders or other stakeholders.
Back to Duty
S24: Use outcomes of evaluation of service delivery to inform, develop and enhance practice and projects.
Back to Duty
S25: Monitor own practice and use supervision to identify areas for continuing professional development and improvement.
Back to Duty
S26: Apply appropriate supervision models to support the development of colleagues.
Back to Duty
S27: Ensure professional ethical standards are developed, promoted and maintained across the youth work environment.
Back to Duty
S28: Demonstrate and promote a person-centred approach to youth work.
Back to Duty
S29: Implement, identify and report safeguarding referrals, drawing on safeguarding information, in line with safeguarding policies and procedures, to take action when a young person discloses information.
Back to Duty
S30: Carry out risk assessments, plan activities, visits, and manage situations to mitigate risks to ensure the safety of all young people, depending on the setting and the environment they are working in.
Back to Duty
B1: Work in an anti-oppressive, anti-discriminatory manner
Back to Duty
B2: Act as an ambassador for young people and youth work.
Back to Duty
B3: Leads and manages by example, demonstrating inclusive and participatory behaviours in their work.
Back to Duty
B4: Work collaboratively for the benefit of young people by personal example, encouraging and facilitating cooperation, trust and commitment.
Back to Duty
B5: Be a reflective practitioner.
Back to Duty
B6: Respect young people’s rights to make their own decision about involvement with youth work
Back to Duty
B7: Promote the values of justice, fairness and equality
Back to Duty
B8: Take a positive interest in young people’s concerns, ideas and interests
Back to Duty
B9: Promote the development of political and social education for and with young people
Back to Duty
B10: Compliance with relevant policies and procedures
Back to Duty
| High Level Qualification |
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JNC endorsed professional Level degree in Youth Work Level: 6 (integrated degree) Additional information: https://www.nya.org.uk/youth-work/jnc/ |
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| Version | Change detail | Earliest start date | Latest start date |
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| 1.0 | Approved for delivery | 11/02/2022 | Not set |
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