NCVYS Exchange 18 - Winter 2014 by NCVYS

EXCHANGE The voluntary and community youth sector in dialogue

Winter 2014 Issue 18 Editors: Frederika Fisk (Intern) and Isabelle King

Social Action â&#x20AC;&#x201C; the potential legacy News: More Members Innovation and Creativity Corner Take Over Day 2014 Creative Collisions Content: Policy Analysis and Update Inspiring Student â&#x20AC;&#x201C; powered social change The Action Squad Academy Young People Take Centre Stage Free Your Mind Social Action and Workforce Development

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Detached Youth Work - ‘On the fringes?’

‘On the Fringes?’ The FDYW Annual Conference is a unique experience and opportunity to learn with others • Hear from influential speakers • Practitioner training and development • Network and share with others • Get help starting out in Detached Youth Work • Develop new ideas and skills for your practice • Critical reflection and national policy debate • Tailor your workshop choices

Detached youth workers are often considered “practitioners with access” (Tiffany, 2007), implying that their practice reaches ‘the parts others workers cannot reach’. The premise is: many of the young people detached youth workers engage with are failing to access services elsewhere – and this makes them ‘hard to reach’ and ‘at risk’. Certainly, the worker’s presence in the places these young people choose to be confers the special status: “privileged witness of social reality” (Dynamo, 2008), and this cannot be said of many other service providers. But what does this mean for practice? Should the detached youth worker be working on the fringes? Does this make them peripheral, or radical? If so, how, and why, should they do this work? We will be exploring these questions and many more at this year’s conference. The FDYW Conference continues to be an encouraging and inspiring event attracting delegates from a diverse range of disciplines. It is a great opportunity to share and develop practice through workshops and training with some of the most influential figures in youth work today.

For further details and bookings; Visit website: www.detachedyouthwork.info/conference.htm Email: fdyw@nya.org.uk Tel: 078 0422 3485 (Tuesdays and Thursdays 9.00am – 2.00pm) 2

Full Residential Cost: £349/£ 299 – single/ shared rooms (Incl. accommodation and meals)

Contents NCVYS news

New members join the network

Member news

Opinion 7 Policy analysis

Creative Collisions

Policy update

The Action Squad Academy

The Door Youth Project

Young people take centre stage!

ive ingredients for F good youth social action 14

I believe I have the power 15

Meet Tom Byrnes 17

Innovation and creativity corner 18 Generation Change

Social Gameification for more rewarding social action 19 Free your mind

Social action and workforce development 21 Working with Young People Qualification Framework

Managing safeguarding practice 23 Data on young people taking part in social action in the UK 24 Social media to social action

The Learning Curve Programme 26 Find and develop your voice on community radio!

Young people and money

Social Enterprise Qualification 30 Heads up

EDITORIAL Welcome to Issue 18 of Exchange What an extraordinary summer we have had and it hasn’t just been the weather! When I put out a call for articles I usually have to do a little arm twisting and encourage a few blushing violets… But this time, I was astounded by the number of young people who wanted to share their learning by telling their story and the number of organisations who offer social action activities. It started me thinking about the role of social action in society and what could be the legacy of having every young person engaged in such activities. People who don’t work in our sector often say to me, don’t you find it hard working with all those difficult young people? I always say, “it’s not hard, but it is constantly challenging, as you never know what’s around the corner.” After a while I realised I was actually reinforcing their opinion that young people are a challenge, so I started to develop a portfolio of good news stories, even though it sometimes feels harder to find an ear open to hearing these positive stories about young people. Social action activities are great because they put young people in a good light, encourage them to have a voice and give them opportunities to take control of things they want to do within their communities. But do they alone deliver the cultural change needed to support and nurture young people positively within society? Is there a down side? We need to reflect on whether all young people can equally access social action opportunities. It seems likely that some young people won’t become engaged as they are perceived as too difficult or it appears too labour intensive to deliver the support needed for them to engage. And are there enough left of other youth services that offer non-structured opportunities for young people and what does this mean for youth social action? In this Exchange issue, we have articles that show the enthusiasm and potential of some of these activities and the amazing opportunities they provide for young people. We are collectively developing a huge store of information and data on what works in engaging young people in social action, but what are we doing with it? And how can we harness this creative mass of energy to drive sustainable and transformative social and economic change. For example, we talk about developing employability skills in young people, but do we offer young people the opportunity to input into industry and the economy other than through employment? And Do we have the volunteers and staff with the right skills in the right place to help support young people through the process of developing young people? I could not possibly finish without a word on workforce development. Good and effective social action work is based on offering young people the opportunity to learn through experiences or experiential learning, and these are fundamental skills for youth workers. Alongside these skills, workers need to be able to offer guided reflective learning, which enables young people to gain a sense of ownership and a better understanding of themselves and their abilities. It supports young people to think through experiences for themselves and consider how they might do things differently in the future. How you facilitate guided reflection is important, as it supports young people to ‘see’ their own learning, but more importantly it enables them to develop the skills and confidence to take control of their lives. Which leads to thinking about how the youth sector itself needs to take ownership of the narrative around youth, understanding ourselves and our strengths and weaknesses, leaving me wondering who will guide our reflections as a sector? Thanks and enjoy the read. Isabelle King NCVYS Sustainability and Innovations Manager

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NCVYS NEWS Takeover Day 2014: Involving young people in their health services The Young People’s Health Partnership (YPHP) is a seven-strong consortium of organisations working with the Department of Health, Public Health England and NHS England as strategic partners to raise the profile of the health agenda across the voluntary youth sector.

What is Takeover Day? Takeover Day is organised by the office of the Children’s Commissioner and it takes place on Friday 21st November 2014. The day gives children and young people the chance to work with adults for the day and be involved in decisionmaking. Children benefit from the opportunity to experience the world of work and make their voices heard, while adults and organisations gain a fresh perspective on what they do.

How to get involved If you deliver or commission services for young people, we’d like you to invite a group of young people to come and spend the day with you, learning more about how you make decisions about services and influencing your thinking about what you do. You could ask young people to hold a workshop for you, chair your meetings or review some of your policies and procedures. Perhaps you could arrange for your services to be mystery shopped and invite young people to make recommendations for improvement. There are lots of ways you can involve young people in your decision making, for example, last year young people ran a workshop for the Executive board of NHS England and each board member made a pledge about young people’s services.

What kind of support can we get?

Where can I get more information? If you are interested in taking part in Takeover Day, please contact jules.hillier@brook.org.uk or follow @YPHealth on Twitter for more information as the project develops. You can find out more about the Young People’s Health Partnership. http://www.ncvys.org.uk/news/ takeover-day-2014-involvingyoung-people-in-their-healthservices#sthash.jHDsdOY9.dpuf

NCVYS launches a package of support to help members keep young people safe: Keeping it Safe Keeping It Safe is a young personcentred approach to safeguarding and child protection. It’s an essential tool helping children and young people’s voluntary and community organisations work through the process of safeguarding.

Sound Systems

New voter registration system The way we register to vote in England and Wales has changed and it will change in Scotland from 19 September 2014. NCVYS is proud to be working with the Electoral Commission to promote awareness of the new voter registration system amongst young people. Lots of young people are missing from the electoral register which means they don’t get a say in how things are run. With the new system, you can no longer rely on someone else in your household to register for you. Everyone must register themselves individually. You now have the option to register to vote online. If you are unsure whether you are registered under the new system, you should contact your local electoral registration staff. Your vote matters. Make sure you’re in. http://www.ncvys.org.uk/news/newvoter-registration-system#sthash. MuvtJOXI.dpuf

The Young People’s Health Partnership is working with young people to put together a Takeover Day Toolkit to support you in taking part in Takeover Day. It will have advice and information for young people and professionals, including lots of ideas of activities you might take part in and tips for making the day a really valuable one for everyone involved. The toolkit will come out in August and will be available to download online.

NCVYS offers a national quality assurance mark for safeguarding called Sound Systems. The accreditation process is based on organisations being able to evidence their commitment against six core standards and helps them to develop and use safeguarding policies and procedures when working with young people.

National Safeguarding Youth Forum The National Safeguarding Youth Forum is made up of many youth focused organisations who come together three times a year to review and consider good practice in safeguarding, new ways of thinking, policy and workforce development. An underlining principle of the Forum is that we place young people at the heart of what we do and encourage them to take ownership of their own safety: writing safeguarding policies in partnership; supporting delivery of activities; and in recognising when they need help and support. We would welcome your engagement around some of this thinking or perhaps an idea on how we could further work together in developing research opportunities for the youth sector.

Our Decision Our Decision, co-produced with Children England and the Disclosure and Barring Service, is a package of support to aid voluntary and community sector (VCS) organisations working with children, young people and families to understand the Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) application process. Visit NCVYS website for more information – http://www.ncvys.org. uk/safeguarding

NEW MEMBERS JOIN THE NETWORK Mosaic LGBT Youth Centre Mosaic LGBT Youth Centre provides informal and non formal learning for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender under 19’s. www.mosaicyouth.org.uk

Momentum World CIC Momentum World is an education and training provider. Their mission is to enhance the career prospects of young people. They develop young people’s leadership, communication and enterprise skills and promote intercultural understanding and inclusion. www.momentumworld.org

Excel Empresses Excel Empresses is a mentoring organisation for girls aged five to nineteen years old operating across London. They provide empowerment workshops and act as a ‘big sister’ to their mentees. They also provide workshops in beauty, dance, drama sports & wellness.

BYHP BYHP is based in Banbury, Oxfordshire and works with vulnerable young people aged predominantly 16-25 years, offering advice and information to young people facing housing problems. They also provide family mediation for young people and their families, group activities, and run projects to support young people back into employment, education, or training. www.byhp.org.uk

OK Club OK Club is a youth charity that has been established for 50 years and is based in South Kilburn (London). They work on an estate with local young people and in local schools. They provide a range of projects from sports to youth clubs and residentials. www.okclub.org.uk

Youth Ngage (Vinbrooke Support Kent CIC) Youth Ngage is a community group created to bridge the gap in relationships between young people and those in authority. They work to break post code groupings among young people and for young people in the community to come together and engage. www.vinbrooke.co.uk/youthngage.html

Youth Elements CIC Youth Elements based in Manchester is a youth-led organisation. Young people deliver training courses, projects, activities and seminars, which they develop themselves. They deliver voluntary, community and international based projects. www.youthelements.org.uk

Derbyshire VCI Consortium (CIC) Derbyshire VCI Consortium generates income for VCI sector organisations, delivering direct services to children and young people and their families. They are building VCI capacity and developing a sustainable and cohesive delivery arm, operate a network and have 50 members locally. They are also developing a consultation process within the sector to influence co-design and co-production of Children’s Services.

NAVCA NAVCA join NCVYS as associate members. NAVCA believes voluntary and community action offers solutions to the challenges communities face. Action rooted in communities brings local people together to campaign, volunteer and provide services. Their membership network of over 350 local support and development charities keeps them in touch with the views of local charities and community groups from across the whole of England. www.navca.org.uk

Bright Futures Enterprise Bright Futures Enterprise join NCVYS as associate members. They are a youth led social enterprise on a mission to inspire and educate young people to be successful. They deliver enterprise and employability programmes to young people across the country. Their main programmes include inspirational talks by their young CEO and a youth success coaching and enterprise programme for youth organisations. www.brightfuturesenterprise.co.uk

Number 18 Project The Number 18 Project provides a daily facility for young people ages 13-25 in the Bognor Regis area (West Sussex). They provide an Information Shop, Drop-in Cafe, Counselling, a Sexual Health Clinic, arts and music activities, and support young people’s youth engagement and rights. www.number18project.org.uk

SLYNCS SLYNCS join NCVYS as associate members. They work with young people to develop and deliver social action projects based on issues facing them and their communities. In addition they enable young people to engage with decision makers from a range of sectors to ensure the voice of young people is being listened to. www.facebook.com/SLYNCS

Derby Diocese Board of Education Derby Diocese Board of Education supports the youth and children’s work based in Anglican Churches across Derbyshire. This work may have a faith development objective, but it also aims to meet the needs of young people in the communities associated with local Anglican (Church of England) churches. http://derby.anglican.org/education

MEMBER NEWS Youth mental health services briefings Youth Access (the advice and counselling charity) and The Young People’s Health Partnership have published three new briefings to provide important guidance to commissioners in the NHS and local authorities on how to implement responsive and cost-effective solutions:

involved in social action. Bids were invited from members of the Youth United Network and from other uniformed youth organisations which offer social action opportunities and structured activities. Details of the recipients of the funding were announced in August. If you missed the funding round in June, a second funding round is expected to be launched in the autumn.

• Making Integration A Reality: Developing effective holistic services for young people in transition

http://www.youthunited.org.uk/supporting-inclusion/ uniformed-youth-social-action-fund

• Making Integration A Reality: Joining up the commissioning of young people’s services across health, social care, housing and youth services

https://www.gov.uk/government/news/winnersannounced-for-the-uniformed-youth-social-action-fund

• On The Right Tracks: A guide to commissioning counselling services for young people http://youthaccess.org.uk/publications

IT tool launched

Eighteen to twenty-four year olds are the age group least likely to be registered to vote. (*Source: Electoral Commission July 2014).

Young Advisors held a launch event on the 24 June in Manchester to promote an IT tool they have developed called RoundUp. The tool was created to show what the movement are doing by allowing Young Advisors and their teams to share their progress and work as they create change in their communities and services. Young Advisors, Team Leaders and other invited people are able to simply link their social media accounts to RoundUp and whenever they post something to do with Young Advisors, their post is displayed on RoundUp.

Youth Count! The Democracy Challenge Toolkit supported by The Cabinet Office aims to develop young people’s understanding of how important democracy is to our society, and that young people’s opinions matter. Youth Count! The Democracy Challenge Toolkit is a 15 hour group learning programme to run with young people. It is aimed at developing their understanding of democracy and voting, and increasing their interest through creative, imaginative and meaningful activities.

http://www.youngadvisors.org.uk/roundupyas

Youth Count! The Democracy Challenge Toolkit is designed around the following themes:

Commission on Local Infrastructure: Evidence-gathering sessions

• What is democracy? • Political decision making (including how the voting process works)

This independent commission has been set up to look at the future of support for the local voluntary and community sector and the implications for infrastructure provision. New NCVYS member NAVCA has been holding evidence gathering sessions during June and July which we supported and in September at our Local Network meeting we were able to share the finding. Read more here –

• How local and national democracy is organised • How to access your local MP • How to become involved in politics and the democratic process.

http://www.navca.org.uk/commission

The programme has been developed and designed in partnership with young people who are passionate about engaging other young people in democracy. It encourages young people to think for themselves, to question and challenge themselves and each other, and to develop confidence in expressing their own opinions.

Uniformed youth social action – second funding round in the autumn During June, NCVYS promoted the request for applications of a Cabinet Office new £10 million fund (from LIBOR fines) to enable young people living in disadvantaged areas to get

To order a copy of the toolkit please fill in this registration survey. www.surveymonkey.com/s/TheDemocracyChallenge

OPINION Youth at the Forefront By Jack Welch, NCVYS Youth Management Board Member

There are a number of paradoxes about young people’s perception of their place in Europe. A poll conducted recently by ICM Research, a few months before this year’s European Parliament elections hit the UK news agenda, found 41% of 18-24 year olds in the UK feel inclined to support the our membership of the European Union, as opposed to 32% who are against it. In contrast to this, 60% of over-65s strongly feel that the UK should discontinue our affiliation to political or economic union with the continent. I was recently a participant at this year’s inaugural European Youth Event (EYE), representing the British Youth Council in the heart of the European Parliament in Strasbourg. By seeing for myself how our social and cultural bonds are developing, it became more evident why my generation, who are perhaps the first to have grown up with the European Union’s existence as part of their lives, should perhaps feel more inclined to be supportive of this relationship. Political links are also developed by inviting young people to continent-wide forums such as the EYE and consulting us on the issues that matter to us most, including the economy, unemployment, sustainability and the future direction of the EU. I felt the leverage, power and influence of European youth engagement to be stronger than that in the UK. And decision makers and politicians outside the UK at least appear to show an active interest in youth affairs, including the European Parliament President, Martin Schulz. He recently said, “What we, the current generation of politicians, owe these young people are good ideas, courage and prompt action in order to generate growth at long last.” In addition to this, a wave of candidates to be Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) this year pledged themselves to the ‘Love Youth Future’ campaign, created by the youthled European Youth Forum. The campaign addresses issues including welfare, internships and the inclusion of young people on civic decision making platforms, like the European Economic and Social Committee. The will for young people to have a stronger and meaningful role in society is more evident in Europe than among our own representatives in the UK. On the other hand, only 42% of young people in a survey this April said that they were aware of their elections this year and a meagre 7% felt they know ‘a lot’ about the EU. But this is an unjust reflection upon the degree to which young people are socially engaged in their communities and show a strong desire to be further educated about what happens beyond their classrooms, with 88% saying they want more knowledge of European politics. In addition, a study from the UK Higher Education International Unit revealed that for every student in the UK taking part in the Erasmus programme (a European exchange programme for studying and work placements) fifteen internationals in turn come here. It is vital now that the disparity between the enthusiasm for European involvement and the lack of comprehension for its activities is remedied by our education system; we need a system which ensures that this generation can adapt to a constantly changing and increasingly globalised world.

Reference Sources: http://www.independent.co.uk/ news/uk/politics/exclusive-youngpeople-want-uk-to-stay-in-europefour-in-10-adults-aged-18-to-24-arefirmly-in-favour-of-membership-pollshows-9006438.html http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/ 2014/04/28/european-electionsyoung-people-apathy_n_5225085.html http://www.universityworldnews.com/ article.php?story=20140319125958917 http://www.europarl.europa.eu/ news/en/news-room/content/ 20130624STO14304/html/MartinSchulz-We-owe-young-people-goodideas-courage-and-prompt-action http://www.loveyouthfuture.eu/

OPINION Inspiring Student-Powered Social Change We know that it is crucial to offer tangible opportunities for young people to give back at every point of their personal development; and that these opportunities are framed relevantly and compellingly. Here are some of the key tips we have picked up over the years:

At Student Hubs, we have a core belief that young people can harness their time, energy and passion to positively affect their local and global communities. However, we know that belief alone is not enough.

• Peer effect is an important motivation for first-time engagement – 24% of students who have engaged with one of our programmes have done so because they heard about it through a friend.

With “generation self”1 now giving way to Generation Citizen2, it has never been more important to inspire young people and students to shape a better world. In the past, we have found that civic disengagement is not a concerted decision on the part of students and young people – but rather fostered by the disempowering lack of clear opportunities to give back to society. In order to ensure that future generations make lifetime connections to their communities, it is vital that individuals have ongoing access to volunteering, high-impact work placements and opportunities for social action: facilitating a lifecycle of social solidarity and citizenship.

• The specific needs and interests of different demographics should be recognised: offering weekend volunteering opportunities for students in 9-5 lectures, for example, and part-time charity internships during the holidays for students who have a part-time job to support themselves. • Offering a broad range of opportunities, causes, and levels of engagement is crucial to making social action an accessible, mainstream and sustainable activity for students and young people.

To achieve this we have crafted a support infrastructure that captures and mobilises young people as they progress from school, to university, to their graduate career. Our mantra is that we are not defined by a single cause; instead, our aim is to support more students to find theirs. That’s why we offer such a broad range of issues to be inspired by and opportunities to make a difference – from community volunteering to social enterprise.

“Taking part in the opportunities which the Hub offered affirmed my previously ‘idealist’ belief that communities can be the leaders in social change.”

Madeleine Ellis-Petersen is an Oxford University student who has been involved in a host of our Oxford Hub projects, starting with the OxGrow and School Plus volunteering programmes. With our support she established her own ecocafé social enterprise in her second year of university. She says, “There are so many things to do around Oxford, so it’s great to have a go-to point which connects you to opportunities. Taking part in the opportunities which the Hub offered affirmed my previously ‘idealist’ belief that communities can be the leaders in social change. I have learnt that even the small projects can make a big difference.” Supporting people to give during transition points in their lives is key. That’s why we’ve established Worthwhile www.worthwhile.org.uk our community for sociallyconscious graduates. The aim of Worthwhile is to ensure that students have follow-on opportunities after their time at university: empowering them to give back in a way that fits around their career and lifestyle.

ell, J. and Clark, T., 2013-03-11, The Guardian, ‘Generation self: B what do young people really care about?’ http://www.theguardian. com/society/2013/mar/11/generation-self-what-young-careabout?INTCMP=SRCH

ani, M. and Birdwell, J., 2014-02-19, Introducing Generation Citizen, B Demos.

POLICY ANALYSIS Speaking out about youth services

Consultation responses and campaigns

NCVYS has recently commented on a number of media reports about youth services. Following a government survey of local authority youth services spending we said: “We know that investment in young people is necessary and pays. So it is hugely concerning to see further evidence that there is reduced investment in young people from local government. It is clear that most local authority spending in the future will be directed towards targeted youth services. We support measures that ensure that limited spending reaches those young people who can most benefit from such funding, but we want to see investment in services that act early, invest in young people’s potential and save money further down the line – universal services are well placed to do this. Local Authorities must find ways to work with the VCS providers of such services to ensure that their provision expands.”

We joined many other children and youth sector organisations speaking out against the Department for Education’s proposals to further outsource the delivery of council children’s social care services. We said in our consultation response that the extra layers created by external organisations taking over delivery of vital children’s service functions, including child protection, would distance youth services from the council officials who hold responsibility for them. Although not all the changes we called for were made, the government did agree to keep profit out of child protection. NCVYS joined with UK Youth and Ambition for a number of recent consultations. We jointly responded to the Local Government Association’s paper on ‘rewiring services’ for children and young people. And we fed in to the independent Commission on the Future of Voluntary and Community Sector Infrastructure set up by NAVCA. The commission is looking at the future of support to organisations and individuals involved in social and community action.

“We still believe that a holistic, cross-governmental youth policy is the best possible move the government could make to harness the energy and potential of young people.”

In recent months we have signed up to a number of important campaigns. The Keep Volunteering Voluntary agreement notes that: “As charities and voluntary organisations we know the value of volunteering… We believe in keeping volunteering voluntary and will not participate in government workfare schemes.” We’ve joined The League of Young Voters, a UK-wide campaign aiming to get 1.5 million more young people to join the electoral register and 1.2 million more young people to vote by the end of 2015. We’ve signed up to GO 20 to make 20mph limits the norm in our cities, towns and villages, making them safer, healthier, nicer places.

We also spoke out about where youth policy should sit in government, saying: “we still believe that a holistic, cross-governmental youth policy is the best possible move the government could make to harness the energy and potential of young people as well as maximising resources to ensure appropriate youth support. While devolving commissioning of services to a local level can help identify community needs and assets, a strong central government policy for youth is vital. Without a consistent national strategy and guidance it is unlikely we can achieve aims to increase social mobility and ensure all young people have a fair opportunity to fulfil their potential. Central government must work closely with local agencies and voluntary and community sector organisations to develop this policy.”

NCVYS is supporting iRights, a set of five rights for children and young people in the digital space. We believe that these rights must be accepted as a framework by which we design and deliver web and digital technologies to children and young people under 18. And we have also backed Generation Diary from the Anne Frank Trust, a year long multi-media diary writing campaign aiming to build the biggest ever digital diary. We also continue to support a number of groups calling for changes in Bills currently passing through Parliament. This includes the Standing Committee on Youth Justice, which is focussing on the Criminal Justice and Courts Bill. Please take a look at the Influencing Policy pages of our website for further information: http://www.ncvys.org.uk/policy If you would like to find out more about this work, please contact Dom Weinberg, Policy Manager E: dominic@ncvys.org.uk

CREATIVE COLLISIONS

Conference that will deliver the unexpected Following the success of the Creative Collisions conference in 2013, which energised over 500 delegates, the youth sector will once again unite on Thursday 6 November. Delegates will benefit from a unique opportunity to share ideas and create something unexpected with and for young people. Taking place during Youth Work Week, Creative Collisions will draw together the force of ten youth organisations and networks; British Youth Council, the Foyer Federation, Leap Confronting Conflict, London Youth, National Citizen Service (NCS), NUS, National Youth Agency (NYA), the National Council for Voluntary Youth Services, UK Youth and vInspired. The conference will engage key sector decision makers, practitioners and young people to debate the current issues they face. Through the power of collective action, the conference will showcase key successes and send vital messages to all that investment in young people is necessary, and pays. This year’s programme will include stimulating debates, learning labs to catalyse change and a vibrant market place providing plenty of opportunity for delegates to meet, engage and collide with new ideas and organisations. For further information, see the Event Flyer or visit the Creative Collisions microsite or register Your Place on Eventbrite.

Register Your Place To play a part in this year’s event, as a workshop-holder or exhibitor, or share inspiring stories from last year’s conference to feature on the website, please contact creativecollisions2013@gmail.com. Please note that the NCVYS AGM will be taking place on 5 November and not during Creative Collisions (unlike in 2013). Further details of both events will be shared with members over the coming months.

POLICY UPDATE With the summer having seen youth social action taking place all over the country, it should be no surprise that there are plenty of developments in the social action policy space going on right now too. Most recently, the Government announced the first uniformed youth groups that will benefit from the £10 million Uniformed Youth Social Action Fund. The money, funded through LIBOR fines levied on banks for serious misconduct, aims to create 15,000 more places for young people to get involved in social action through uniformed groups. Following a competitive grant process, the Youth United Network will distribute the funding to 14 organisations, including many NCVYS members, with further funding to follow. August also saw the third annual evaluation of the National Citizen Service (NCS). This year’s report from Ipsos Mori evaluated the short-term impacts and value for money of the summer and autumn programmes of NCS 2013. It measured impact across four outcome areas: social mixing; transition to adulthood; teamwork, communication and leadership; and community involvement. It found that both summer and autumn programmes in 2013 had positive impacts in all four areas and the value of social benefits was estimated to be larger than the costs involved. 31,738 young people took part in the NCS summer programme and 7,828 in autumn, with nine out of ten participants feeling that they learnt important skills for the future and three quarters feeling more likely to get a job. Of course the impact of social action is not just on young people – these NCS participants raised £750,000 for charity and gave more than 1 million hours in social action. The NCS, currently available in England and Northern Ireland, will be piloted in Wales during 2014 and is expected to reach even more young people. But it is not only the 16 – and 17 – year-olds taking part in the National Citizen Service who are taking part in social action. Step Up to Serve, launched in late 2013, is a national Campaign aiming to inspire a generation of young people by increasing the quality, quantity and frequency of social action for all young people aged between 10 and 20. Alongside the government it recently launched the Young Social Action Ambassadors network – the 60 young people in this network will help find exceptional examples of volunteers from across the UK who will work to support and encourage volunteering. NCVYS is influencing the Step Up to Serve campaign through our work with Generation Change, the independent voice of youth social action in Britain. This partnership of 19 specialist youth social action organisations, empowering over half a million young people to take action in thousands of local communities and schools, is helping create the infrastructure to increase the quantity and quality of social action taken by young people in the UK today. The government has also introduced new legislative proposals relating to social action. The Social Action, Responsibility and Heroism Bill (SARAH) aims to provide additional protection against negligence claims for volunteers and people who offer help in emergencies. There is some debate about whether the Bill is even necessary, but if the Bill helps reduce public anxieties about liability and sends a message about the value the government places on social action then it will have had an impact. https://www.gov.uk/government/news/winners-announced-for-theuniformed-youth-social-action-fund http://www.ipsos-mori.com/researchpublications/publications/1692/ National-Citizen-Service-2013-Evaluation.aspx https://www.gov.uk/government/news/step-up-to-serve-and-cabinetoffice-launch-young-social-action-ambassadors http://blogs.ncvo.org.uk/2014/07/17/the-sarah-bill-is-it-ok-to-changethe-law-for-a-pr-stunt 11

“with nine out of ten participants feeling that they learnt important skills for the future and three quarters feeling more likely to get a job.”

THE ACTION SQUAD ACADEMY The Action Squad Academy is one element of the wider NCVYS led Youth Social Action Journey Fund programme which focuses on providing environmental and rural aspects of social action. To deliver NCVYS has partnered with The Canal and River Trust, The National Federation of Young Farmers’ Clubs and The Royal Society for the Protection of Birds to as well as the Conservation Volunteers, Berkshire Youth and Youth Action. www.actionsquadacademy.org.uk The online academy is divided into three areas: News – offers up to date information on social action activities and stories happening in England. You can place information here by contacting socialaction@ncvys.org. uk Resource Bank – offers a collection of free toolkits, guide books and worksheets. It also offers general resources that support organisations or individuals with the planning, delivery or evaluation of social action activities. We have brought together a collection of resources to create a dynamic, easily accessible learning platform with something for everyone. Opportunities – The opportunities hub will be different from many established volunteering databases like www.do-it.org. uk or https://vinspired.com/volunteer. This is because it will be providing a unique space for young people including organisations to recruit likeminded individuals to support them with developing social action ideas or projects and promoting activities, events or awareness raising campaigns.

• Development: Provide opportunities for personal and community development

We invite all young people, staff members and organisations to submit opportunities that relate to social action.

We will usually direct young people to relevant external websites to register for opportunities; however young people can use the inbuilt registration process if this is specifically requested at the time of opportunity submission.

• Health and Safety: Must be safe and lawful and supported by an organisation in some capacity (If you are unsure about meeting any of these criteria please send queries to socialaction@ncvys.org.uk)

To be published they need to meet the following criteria: • Availability: Open to 10-20 year olds that are resident in the UK

How to Get Involved

So what do we want from you…?

Whether you are a young person, youth worker, organisation if you want to develop your understanding of social action then you should visit the new Action Squad Academy.

Resources We acknowledge that the NCVYS membership and the wider sector already have a vast range of wonderful resources and toolkits that are designed to directly or indirectly support young people’s social action journeys. Our aim is to pull all these existing resources together into one easy to access platform to maximise advice and support available for young people and promote the work of the author and corresponding organisation.

“The Academy is the sector’s new platform for people with a passion for social action” The Academy is the sector’s new platform for people with a passion for social action to gain inspiration and experience, recruit support for their own project and tap into a wealth of knowledge and advice from across the Voluntary and Community Youth Sector.

We invite anyone to submit resources as long as they meet the following requirements: • They are free and public resources

What’s in it for Organisations?

• You have permission to share it from the copyright holder

• Promote and share opportunities that are available to 10-20 year olds that encourage personal development as well as being of benefit to the wider community.

• It supports the planning, delivery or development of social action

• Share and access a breadth of resources from across the Voluntary and Community Youth Sector that support the delivery of social action projects and programmes

• It does not promote or encourage unlawful activity

• Find out more about the Action Squad Programme, its Consortium Partners and Host Organisations as well as how your organisation could get involved in the Action Squad Programme.

For more details contact: Chloe Donovan Young Facilitator Action Squad Academy

What’s in it for Young People?

socialaction@ncvys.org.uk T: 0207 843 6471

• Use of the opportunities pages to recruit support for social action activities or gain experience split by supporting others. • Gain inspiration, when starting their own projects, from those Action Squads that have been spotlighted as best practice • Once they have an idea they can access advice, guidance and toolkits on social action through the Resource Bank.

A CHARITY SHOP – THE DOOR YOUTH PROJECT The Door Youth Project’s Charity Shop also known as Tranzform ‘does what it says on the tin’. The Shop transforms the lives of local disadvantaged young people and their families through raising the vital funds required to sustain the

work of The Door Youth Project, which consists of support for families, parents and young people. The charity shop itself provides life changing voluntary opportunities and accreditation to help young people back into employment.

Furthermore helping young people to reach their true potential, improving confidence and self esteem while improving their communication and social skills through working with the public.

YOUNG PEOPLE TAKE CENTRE STAGE! Five ingredients for good youth social action:

a young person’s perspective By 19-year-old Emirjona Gjana, a graduate of Envision, the youth social action charity. www.envision.org.uk

I don’t think people necessarily expect young people to do social action. So, if you give a young person the opportunity to make a change, they’ll not only change the world, but they’ll also change the way people see the world. To me, that’s incredible, and as an Envision grad, I know how incredible youth social action feels. So, what makes youth social action work well? I have identified these five key ingredients: Ingredient One: A youth-led approach For me, youth-led social action is a freedom. As a young person, you don’t often get the opportunity to stand up and make yourself heard about a topic you care about. When Envision came into my school and asked “What do you believe is an issue in today’s society?” I replied, “the negative perception of young people.” I was really used to this question. At school, you always get asked what you think issues are. But it’s always about the issue – never the solution. The next question was something I’d never been asked before: “What do you want to do to change that?”

important that young people feel facilitated and not instructed. When I volunteered as a reading tutor for a teenager with a low reading age, I was given lots of great adult coaching and guidance on different ways that I could help her. It was perfect because the support was there and I never felt alone, but I still had independence to make my own decisions about the tutoring style I wanted to use. I could draw from the experience and expertise of these adult mentors, but I was ultimately able to take my own approach. I think it’s really important that that balance is right. Ingredient Three: Feedback from adult mentors Receiving feedback from these adult mentors is one of the most heartening and validating parts of a young person’s social action journey.

I think I was shocked – and excited – to realise that I could be in charge of changing something I cared about. Not the teacher or the Envision Co-ordinator. Me. That, for me, was a freedom. And it was feeling empowered by that freedom that inspired my team to organise a community-wide gala showcasing youth talent and tackling youth stereotypes.

When planning our Envision event to combat negative youth stereotypes, our co-ordinator introduced us to corporate mentors who gave us feedback on our project plan. I will always remember how one mentor told us that our project was not only inspirational, but an example of how positive a role young people can play in society.

Ingredient Two: The right kind of adult support

Nobody had ever referred to me as inspirational before. This comment gave me the fire to really strive for the best. I understood that what we were doing was important, and that it mattered to people. That one piece of feedback made me realise that we were giving young people a voice.

Adult support is another key element of good youth social action. But it definitely has to be the right kind of support. If social action is youth-led, it feels like it belongs to you, and so it’s extremely

Ingredient Four: The opportunity to reflect and celebrate I think it’s really key that young people have the opportunity to reflect on their social action experience and celebrate their accomplishments. When tackling negative youth stereotypes, I went out to members in my community and spoke to them about the difference that our event had made. Realising that I’d changed people’s perceptions of young people was extremely empowering. I’d say that sums up how youth-led social action makes young people feel – powerful. I also got to celebrate my achievements when I received an award from Envision. My journey had been very rewarding even before that moment, but I think the sense of pride that gave me has really motivated me to carry on making a change. Ingredient Five: Positive energy! Or put more simply, fun! I have devoted a lot of my time to volunteering and social action. The reason? I really enjoy it! I find it so exciting tackling something that I feel really passionate about it. It makes me feel like you’re part of something really big. I’ve also really loved meeting people I know I wouldn’t have otherwise met. And this positive energy has actually gone beyond doing social action activity. It’s also a new buzz and confidence that I have in myself. I ultimately want to be a Human Rights barrister and have heard repeatedly that this is “extremely difficult”, and very competitive. I should probably be scared or uncertain about my future career path, but I’m not at all. Social action generally, and my Envision project specifically, has made me feel like I can do anything I put my mind to.

YOUNG PEOPLE TAKE CENTRE STAGE! “I believe I have the power...” By Insia Ishaji – Senior Manger: Training and Business Development. @insiai Gateway is a national organisation based in the East Midlands. We deliver training, bespoke projects and event speaking and work in partnership with educational establishments, organisations and businesses to lead change. We believe passionately in providing young people with opportunities that will support them to identify their strengths and drive their own futures creating ripples of success. We believe that everyone has the power to embrace challenge, lead change and grow success. We believe passionately in ensuring the voice of young people is heard. We also believe that given the opportunity young people can be leaders within themselves, in their educational setting and within their communities. Therefore what better than to have a team of young people join the organisation. In October 2013 we launched the search for nine Ambassadors aged 13 – 25 to join Gateway. We wanted the organisation to have a team of young people who bring a creative flair, energy and buzz but we also wanted to provide the ambassadors with a chance to be part of a growing business, develop hands on experience of being part of the working world and support them with their own career ambitions as they leave college and university and pursue their lifelong dreams. The 12 month opportunity allows the ambassadors to contribute their skills,

expertise and ideas in the following areas: photography and video, event reporting, design and website development. We approached educational establishments and posted the opportunity through our social networking channels and received over 70 applications for the post, which reflects the passion, drive and determination of young people wanting to be involved in a growing business. Northampton College decided to work in partnership with us to promote this opportunity to their students. Mark Owen, Student Services Manager says: “Northampton College works proactively with employers to promote and inspire business activity amongst its student body whilst at the same time educating tomorrow’s workforce by providing them with primary exposure to people and organisations who are in a position to help. Our commitment to ensuring our students receive the maximum opportunity of success includes ensuring

our students get the opportunity to volunteer as gateway ambassadors which provides them with a range of invaluable skills that supports their eventual progression into employment.” The Ambassadors were then shortlisted and interviewed and then the difficult task begun of choosing the final Ambassadors who were the best fit for the roles. We proudly recruited eight voluntary Ambassadors to work with us on a number of projects. The Ambassadors are already bringing creative flair, energy and enthusiasm to Gateway. With the chance to be part of

“The Ambassadors are already bringing creative flair, energy and enthusiasm to Gateway.” a growing business, the Ambassadors will gain hands on experience of working with the team and will receive personal development and employability coaching from the Gateway team.

YOUNG PEOPLE TAKE CENTRE STAGE! “I believe I have the power...” Continued. Charlie Borthwick, aged 17, works with us filming and editing videos to showcase the work of young people. Here he talks about why he decided to apply and what the role has helped him to achieve. “I decided to apply to be a Gateway Ambassador because I thought it was an amazing opportunity for me and could improve my knowledge and experience of the type of work I want to be in. I also thought my key strengths matched the requirements of the Ambassador role. I feel very involved and appreciated at Gateway and the team make sure I have everything I need to complete the task which keep me wanting to progress as an Ambassador and makes the tasks more enjoyable. I have gained a lot of knowledge of the working world while being part of the Gateway team, most importantly it has improved my confidence in working with and talking to people. Working with Gateway has improved my skills and helped me to learn how to produce videos of different genres and styles, definitely broadening my horizon and providing me with the skills and qualities that will help me to stand out to future employers.” The Gateway Ambassadors work on a voluntary basis giving their time to support us to share and celebrate the work of young people and they have demonstrated pure passion, belief and commitment to their futures. Nikki May, Director at Gateway says: “It is important to us, as an organisation working to empower and skill-up young people, that we don’t just pay them lip service. When we talk to and encourage young people to look for and embrace opportunities, I believe that we must demonstrate that we ‘walk the walk’. We created the Ambassador role to show that we truly have belief in young

people’s capacity and willingness to take on new challenges that will help them enhance their skills and ultimately their employability. The Ambassadors have shown outstanding commitment and have been involved in a range of project briefs that have enabled them to work with all members of the team. This has been truly beneficial as each member of the team has different experiences and skillsets which challenge the Ambassadors in different ways. Being able to work successfully as part of a team is something which I believe is really important to personal growth and a key skill which employers look for; and this is something that we frequently talk to our Ambassadors about. We have invested considerable time with our Ambassadors to give them an experience which they wouldn’t usually get at this stage of the education and I believe that beyond the development of skills such as communication, personal organisation and teamwork, the greatest benefit to them has been the growth of self-belief. Which is probably the most important life skill of them all.” Too often young people are branded negatively with many people in society believing that they do not care about their futures. But our response is that this is not true; the Gateway Ambassadors are proof that young people do care about those around them, they believe in their futures and most importantly they want to make a difference. To learn more about our ambassadors visit: www.gatewaygrowth.co.uk/ GatewayAmbassadors Tweet us your thoughts: @ gateway_g Complete the sentence below and tweet us @gateway_g #thepower ‘I believe I have the power to…’

“The Ambassadors have shown outstanding commitment and have been involved in a range of project briefs that have enabled them to work with all members of the team.”

YOUNG PEOPLE TAKE CENTRE STAGE! Meet Tom Byrnes Tom Byrnes volunteered with Youth Elements in 2012. He has just recently started a full time apprenticeship with them. Hello, I’m Tom and I am 20 years old and from Manchester. I’m very talkative and always up for a laugh, I love music, reading and the art of conversation. I got into youth work because I’ve worked with professionals in the past that have motivated and inspired me. I love what I do for one key reason, it is the first opportunity I’ve found that drives me and makes me happy. I have just been appointed a full time apprentice with Youth Elements. I am so excited. I will be doing my NVQ level 2 in youth work, this September. I will also be taking the lead for our first North West youth newspaper, funded by the Big Lottery, Awards for All grant. The aim and mission of the paper is to inspire, motivate and liberate young people. Social action is a very important factor for Youth Elements. We are an organisation led and managed by young people. At Youth Elements we aspire to give young people opportunities to get into employment, education and training. We do this through our youth led training and peer mentoring programmes. We encourage and inform young people that their backgrounds does not dictate who they are and that the possibilities are endless to gain success and achievements. Youth Elements aims to combat social exclusion of all young people aged between 13-25 years through positive social action and positive thinking. Recently we travelled to Blackburn Foyer to deliver our peer mentoring programme to residents of the project. Through the training days we were able to establish the qualities of effective mentors. We then applied these qualities to the residents to start their way towards mentoring in the future. The feedback we received was incredibly positive. The results of this training means the residents can lead the way for new mentoring programmes within the Foyer. The new mentoring

programme will pair new residents with the existing mentors so they can relax and feel safe in their new environment. We also deliver various training schemes to the professionals that work day in day out with children and young people. I am developing “The Art of Mentoring” training programme. Our team will be facilitating this training throughout the UK, starting in London in July. It’s really great to have the opportunity to travel and work at the same time. After delivering a training taster with Stockport Youth Offending Service a member of staff had this to say. “We were so inspired that we are currently looking to work in partnership with Youth Elements to form a peer mentoring group with a view for this to be a young person lead initiative and we plan to firmly embed this into our daily practice”. We think it is important for both professionals and young people to see both sides of the coin. This is why we deliver the same training to both groups, it helps the professionals empathise with the young people that they work with and helps young people understand the skills needed for these professionals. They also get the opportunity to explore issues first hand with young people. We also deliver our One World All Different conferences to professionals working with young people. The participants who attend the conference learn and have fun throughout the day. I have facilitated a workshop on “Youth in Business”. That was a great feeling. I worked with Jamaar Stewart who is one of the Ambassadors for Youth Elements. He once told me that Amina use to be his youth worker when he was 15. It’s cool to see that he has an important role 5 years later!! Jamaar and me were full of enthusiasm and confidence after the event. It was amazing hearing positive feedback

from professionals. It made the whole experience worthwhile, I felt so proud and good with myself. The young people delivering these workshops enjoy themselves and learn new valuable key skills. Young people learn to organise and gain real responsibility and take ownership. It also helps them with good social attitudes and confidence building. At the end of a conference everyone leaves with a good attitude. I can’t wait to see what else we can achieve with this organisation. After all there is no such thing as limitations. The next One World All Different conference will take place in Birmingham on Friday 26th September. There is a 10% discount for all NCVYS members Please visit: www.youthelements. org.uk You can contact Tom on 0161 286 1566 or email training@youthelements.org.uk

INNOVATION AND CREATIVITY CORNER This space is developed specifically to Y-Stop has arrived raise awareness of the importance of being A new stop and search project for young people by young creative and innovative in the current climate. people. We think it really addresses the problems experienced during a police led stop and search. It aims to give you the skills to handle stop and search and your interactions with the police, as well as provide tools for advice, empowerment and reporting police behaviour.

Young Black Job Seeker’s Guide Launched Communities Inc have been working with young black people to produce a simple job seeker’s guide that covers the key barriers to securing a job. This guide came out of previous work done by Communities Inc through their involvement in the Ready to Work partnership project, where young black people were confused and struggled to make sense of job seeking resources they had access to.

After working with the talented young people of Hackney Quest, Octavia’s Foundation BASE, Fully Focused, SE1 United, Skyway Blue Hut, Waltham Forest YIAG and Youth Futures we have come up with 6 key principles to help you deal with a stop and search. http://www.release.org.uk/publications/y-stopsearch-card

Fixernation Helping 16-25 year olds creatively campaign about issues that matter to them. Real people, real stories, real change. #FixerNation

Aimed at the young end of the market this guide is visually appealing and sets out top tips in where to look for a job, how to apply and how to do a good interview.

https://twitter.com/FixersUK

http://www.communitiesinc.org.uk/young-black-jobseekers-guide-launched/

GENERATION CHANGE Generation Change is a partnership of 19 leading youth social action organisations in the UK.

opportunities, we want to increase recognition of programmes to build demand across the country.

Together we support over 600,000 young people a year to create social change in over 20,000 communities in every part of the UK. We define youth social action by its double benefit: describing activities that tangibly benefit young people whilst creating social change.

Generation Change is working with Step Up To Serve (SUTS) to produce guidance on the six quality principles created at the start of the campaign. This work will unpick the principles to show what they look like in practice and offer guidance to stakeholders in business and education looking to support youth social action. To create this guidance, the campaign is looking for a wide variety of examples of how the principles are applied in practice, and has issued a call for information.

Call for information:

In 2012 our organisations identified a shared mission to focus on improving the quality and impact of our programmes in the communities we work, to pioneer common evidence approaches and share data to identify the most effective programmes and the most marginalised communities.

http://www.stepuptoserve.org.uk/quality-principlesinformation/ You can contribute to this by filling in a simple form here.

Together we can transform the role of a young person growing up in the UK, by making social action a normal activity and pathway recognised by employers and universities. We are working closely with Step Up To Serve, a cross-party initiative to increase the number of young people who take part in social action. Our role is to lead on the quality objective, to help embed quality principles and best practice in delivery and commissioning. At the same time as increasing the quality of

https://docs.google.com/a/generationchange.org. uk/forms/d/1TxC5UAs9XmSJXQF32Qi7esvU6Sv9q9DTpbGUO2ADsI/viewform We encourage all our members who support young people to take social action to share their learning and best practice.

SOCIAL GAMEIFICATION FOR MORE REWARDING SOCIAL ACTION It’s interesting to chart social action’s rise through the ranks as a methodology that people of all ages can engage with to empower them to organise themselves and take action on issues. Everyone has slightly different models for social action. Young Advisors’ brand combines their “Cycle of Social Action” theory and award winning training with entrepreneurialism to create sustainable social action to engage under represented young people in improving products, services and communities. The golden chalice for our sector is youth-led social action, but to be youth-led you have to leave the outcome setting and identification of need, and to a large extent, the pace and learning journey open ended. So how do you encourage behaviours that lead to inspirational social action that’s rewarding for all involved? That’s where social gameification comes in.

So what is it? “The use of game thinking and game mechanics in non-game contexts to engage users in solving problems.” Great but what are ‘Game Mechanics’? Technically; constructs of rules intended to produce a game or gameplay. They allow for people taking part in a project to have an engaging experience. Points, Levels, Scoreboards, Missions/quests, Virality, Status, Community Collaboration, Challenges, Achievement are all part of it. But you’re not going to get people to do something they don’t want to do by giving them points and badges. You have to think of Gamification as a way of amplifying an existing signal. So in order to harness the power of social gameification and tap in to an emerging trend, expected by younger people from brands and organisations, known as Advanced Transparency; we have built RoundUp. It’s an app that allows people to form team profiles for projects they are doing. The clever bit is the content of those profiles, that are built using social media posts collected automatically when a person uses specific phrases or ‘killer’ hashtags to capture the power and passion of participants. This technology is attractive to corporates too, particularly those involved in social action in their communities. Add in that organisations can build their own points and rewards systems to encourage the behaviours they’re looking for, whether that be around learning, submitting case studies, reflective practice or programme advocacy. And because they have to share on their social networks to get the posts on to RoundUp it is a highly influential vehicle for your brand awareness, growth and saturation amongst peer networks. For more information: @RoundUpHub, email hello@rounduphub.org.uk and www.rounduphub.org.uk 19

“The use of game thinking and game mechanics in nongame contexts to engage users in solving problems.”

FREE YOUR MIND Free Your Mind is a campaign created and run by young people from the Youth Cabinet in West Sussex. It was started by Kai Moore, a West Sussex Youth MP, two years ago, with the aim of improving young people’s access to mental health services at a local level. Kai was keen to address stigma and challenge the taboo and stereotypes associated with young people’s mental health. Key achievements at this stage include better access to mental health information via the West Sussex Your Space website. Kai and his team worked to ensure this information is accessible and relevant to young people, plus developed crucial links with decision and policy makers. Kai also worked with CAMHs and Crawley Mental Health Steering Group to develop a drop-in hub for young people aged 16-18. When Kai started University, FYM was handed over to others to take forward. West Sussex Youth Cabinet joined forces with young activist, Emily Fox who was delivering a similar campaign through her charity, The Albatross Connection. Together, they have demanded meetings with service commissioners, politicians and health care professionals to make sure young people are heard and taken seriously. Emily’s passion shines through: “I am a 17 year old studying for my A levels in Chichester. I am irrevocably passionate about diminishing the negative stigma towards mental health and I am urging adolescents to speak out and seek help for their mental health issues. After suffering from anorexia, severe depression, anxiety, emotional intensity disorder, self-harm and body dysmorphia throughout my teenage years, I have first-hand experience of the mental health system and decided to use my experiences in a positive way to become a voice for teenage sufferers of mental health issues. I set up my charity, TAC (The Albatross Connection) with the aim to connect young people going through mental health issues in order to share experiences, tips and their

‘stories’ to recovery, as I felt that was what was missing in my personal mental health journey. I also aim to connect parents in order to provide a level of carers support. It’s time to change the public’s view of mental health and I am determined to campaign until every young person feels they can seek the help they need without prejudice or fear.” Emily Fox – Founder, The Albatross Connection Mental Health Charity, mental health advocate and collaborator on West Sussex Free Your Mind Campaign. Youth Cabinet member, Marvellous Jibogu tells his story from when he picked up the campaign batton: “I am very interested in this campaign because the main concern of the Free Your Mind is changing people’s views of mental health. I am in support of Emily Fox’s goal of campaigning until all young people can find help without feeling out of place or excluded from society. I believe that we see too much of this in society and perceptions of mental health in young people are wrong. As part of the Free Your Mind campaign, we have been working on a convention to market the campaign and make people aware of mental health issues and addressing stigma. It also gives information and support to young people who need it. My aim with this campaign is to make sure that young people with mental health have somewhere to go, with a good atmosphere; not a place that leaves the young person feeling depressed, a place that can take care of any questions or problems they have. Quality of service and accessibility is very important. This campaign will hopefully create a long lasting legacy that will change the way we see young mental health and inform people countywide about mental health and eradicating negative mental health stigma in society. Personally, I think that I have learnt a lot in this campaign. I think this is a great campaign to get involved in, one way or the other. If everyone supports, then we can make a big difference.”

Marvellous Jibogu, 13, Horsham Member of West Sussex Youth Cabinet. The Free Your Mind Convention is planned for the 28 October and brings together young people, practitioners and parent/carers to explore mental health solutions collectively. Young people are incredible drivers of change, with support where needed for putting their views into action. This can range from practical transport provision, to training for adults to build empathy and design services around their customers’ needs. Emily and Marvellous’s message to other young people is to take your vision and make it into reality by getting out there to as many people as you can.

Participation Works

www.participationworks.org.uk

“Participation is a process where someone influences decisions about their lives and this leads to change”. Treseder (1997) Participation Works enables organisations to effectively involve children and young people in the development, delivery and evaluation of services that affect their lives. We are a partnership made up of the following six agencies: the British Youth Council, Children’s Rights Alliance for England, KIDS, National Council for Voluntary Youth Services, National Youth Agency and Save the Children UK. The Carnegie UK Trust was one of the initiating partners and coordinator of Participation Works until September 2006. The National Children’s Bureau were partners until June 2013. Our vision is that all organisations, agencies and services that affect children and young people will have structures and systems in place to respond to their ideas and priorities, and to work with them to bring about positive change.

SOCIAL ACTION AND WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT Social action is a fundamental part of the National Citizen Service (NCS) programme and should be an activity that a young person feels incredibly proud to be part of and that inspires them to become more involved with their local community.

And if a team is going to make a huge mistake, what do you do? How far do you let them go down a route before you gently pull them back? There is a fine line between success and failure, and a team leader has to decide whether partially failing will strengthen or weaken a team – and to be ready to deal with the consequences. Some of the other issues that can affect the success of an NCS social action project, which has limited lead in and planning time in terms of planning, delivery and evaluation, include:

For this to happen successfully, it is vital that NCS delivery staff (team leaders) are effectively trained:

• Feasibility: what is a realistic goal for the project given its available resources?

• so NCS is of a consistently high quality; • so they can support their team of young people to complete the best social action project;

• Scalability: how many people will be helped by the project and can it be expanded?

• for the impact of the social action projects to be sustained beyond the end of the NCS programme.

• Replicability: can the project be completed by others in other communities?

Each team of young people plans and delivers a social action project which they manage themselves. As part of this they have to consult local people to find out what their community needs are, ensure their project fulfils a community need and establish that it will have a tangible local benefit. They also have to liaise with the beneficiaries of the project, publicise their project, ensure the project has a legacy that will be managed in the future, and potentially fundraise to support their project.

• Longevity: how long will the results and effects of the project last? • Sustainability: can the project continue after the team’s participation? • Roles and Responsibilities: who is responsible for which element of the project? • Funding: is funding required – how this will be raised?

This is no mean feat for a group of young people – particularly when they will have known each other for a maximum of two weeks.

• Health and safety: supporting young people with health and safety issues • Coping with success or failure: working with young people to gain from success and learn from failure.

With up to 60,000 young people participating in NCS this year, it is vital that the social action projects the teams manage are of the highest quality, so young people are motivated to continue doing this type of work in the future, and that local communities see and feel the benefits. And that’s why the team leaders who facilitate the NCS programme are crucial, as they are the ones who guide the teams through the highs and lows of putting a plan together, and then making sure their plan is delivered successfully.

There are many different elements to delivering an excellent social action project and there are therefore many things that can go wrong. The social action plan could be unrealistic and unachievable; the team doesn’t work well together; the team starts to miss deadlines; the team doesn’t have the right skills to be able to deliver the project. A team leader needs coping techniques and strategies to deal with these situations and many others and to be able to guide (not lead) their team through them.

It is a complex task, as at this stage, the teams should be making decisions and running everything themselves. But inevitably, most teams come across problems they have to resolve and sometimes they aren’t quite sure how to do that. Their team leader has to guide them through this process – a tricky balancing act of not leaving the team completely alone, but not telling them what to do.

This is why the training that NCS team leaders receive has to be of the highest quality.

Here are some comments from NCS providers that reinforce how important training our team leaders is for social action. We have a whole planning week in which we dedicate 25% of our time to social action since it is such an important part of the programme. We go through the activities we will do with young people and assess what they will achieve. It is important to determine what social action actually is and what is realistic for the young people to do. We spend time discussing this so we can steer young people in the right way. It is not just about raising money and young people need to be encouraged to do something practical that will make a difference.

Our approach is to combine the science of learning, the art of teaching and the ethos of great youth work to create the processes for facilitating youth led social action. Without the right training we couldn’t do that. It’s an investment in people and therefore the impact of NCS goes much wider than just the outcomes for young people; NCS is positively impacting on the skillset of many adults too. Manjit Shellis, UFA

Arnika Knight, Future Foundations

Training the workforce is essential as we need to deliver a uniform approach. The NCS programme should be youth led, therefore training involves up-skilling staff to ensure they ask the questions needed to help the young people safely and realistically plan and deliver a successful social action project. We use the NCS Trust template to support this process. This tool has a vast array of questions that team leaders should be asking their group. If the questions are answered, then the projects will be successful.

We have found that in order to support the progression of young people continuing with their own social action project after NCS, it is essential to have a trained workforce that understands the principles of social action and provides young people with the necessary skills, inspiration and confidence to continue on their volunteering journey. Alison Guiton, Football League Trust

Samantha McNeice, Catch 22 Sefton Workforce training certainly facilitates the provision of a wider range of social action projects, for instance the acquisition of the Sports Leaders UK ‘Day Certificate in Sports Leadershi’ allows the young people to deliver activity sessions for primary school age children in deprived areas. It is however difficult, both because of time constraints and projects needing to be initiated by the young people, to include a significant amount of workforce training in our activity plan.

Woodcraft Folk calls on our 95 years of experience of empowering young people to lead their own social action projects. The training includes facilitation, group decisionmaking and empowerment skills plus looking at the practical steps to make a project work. Past work and examples can be found here: http://woodcraft.org.uk/youth-ledprojects and http://woodcraft.org.uk/action-projects. Jamila Karolia, Woodcraft Folk

Lee Stephens, Grimsby Town FC Quite often people become very confused by the concept of social action and what it actually entails. We find the key to successful delivery and understanding of social action comes from investing time and resources into a strong social action focused training package. Over time we have not only developed a training element devoted solely to social action, we have also created a social action toolkit that clearly sets out what social action is, and the process in which it should be completed. It is from devoting focus, time and experience that we believe we have been effective in our provision of social action.

Workforce training is invaluable to deliver quality social action projects. It is essential that the training furnishes the skillset and imbues the team with a desire to achieve. A team leader without passion can be as big a barrier to success as an under qualified one. Christopher Hill, Groundwork South Yorkshire

Liam Noble, Safe in Tees Valley Ltd

WORKING WITH YOUNG PEOPLE QUALIFICATION FRAMEWORK UPDATE The Level 2 Award and Certificate in Working with Young People are excellent foundations for staff or volunteers working with young people in a range of settings, whilst also offering clear progression routes for those that want to further their learning. They enable learners to interact with young people safely and effectively, starting with two mandatory units (covering safeguarding and youth work principles and practice) and building through a range of optional units in three areas: working with young people skills, personal development and workbased skills. Delivered through centres across England and by in house teams this popular qualification has now been updated with some new Units (Link) . To support the delivery of the Award and Certificate NCVYS have developed a suite of resources and supportive workshops as part of an ongoing CPD opportunity for trainers/facilitators. Developing facilitator skills – The toolkit provides you with an easy guide to developing a session plan, template hand-outs, YouTube links and a selection of experiential learning sheets. The toolkit is based on the learning outcomes of the unit along with some activities for both formative and summative assessment. The toolkit is ideal for developing young people (16 plus) who are wanting to deliver training. The toolkit is also supported by an optional one day refresher for trainers delivering this unit – £90 inclusive of the toolkit

Exploring the roles and responsibilities of young leaders – The toolkit provides you with an easy guide to developing a session plan, template hand-outs, YouTube links and a selection of experiential learning sheets. The toolkit is based on the learning outcomes of the unit along with some activities for both formative and summative assessment. The toolkit is ideal for developing young people (16 plus) who are wanting to become leaders and has a special pull out section that looks at Social Action and leadership. Leading a community-based social action project – The toolkit provides you with an easy guide to developing a session plan, template hand-outs, YouTube links and a selection of experiential learning sheets. The toolkit is based on the learning outcomes of the unit along with some activities for both formative and summative assessment. The toolkit is ideal for developing young people (16 plus) who are wanting to become leaders and has a special pull out section that looks at How to do Guided Reflective Learning a powerful technique when enabling young people understand their own learning. Toolkits are £35 to Members and £50 to non-Members per pack For more details contact Isabelle@ncvys.org.uk Release date 1st October 2014

Managing Safeguarding Practice (ILM Endorsed)

This programme has been specifically designed to support managers and designated safeguarding officers working in a young people based environment who have responsibility for either the day to day running of the project/ organisation or who are supporting managers with implementing safeguarding practice. Equally this workshop is a great way of revitalising and up dating knowledge and skills around safeguarding. The delivery of the workshop will also provide insight into and build skills in other core management areas such as: influencing, change management and giving constructive feedback. The delivery is very practical using tools such as case studies, scenarios and ‘live’ documents from the organisation, as well as offering ‘action learning’ techniques. Please contact: Isabelle@ncvys.org.uk if you are interested in attending one of our open training workshops in October/ November 2014

DATA ON YOUNG PEOPLE TAKING PART IN SOCIAL ACTION IN THE UK Impact

The closest proxy to youth social action figures are those available on ‘youth volunteering’, most of which cover the 16-24 age range.

In February Demos launched a report commissioned by NCS, Introducing Generation Citizen. Some have referred to the next generation, the generation after ‘Gen Y’ as ‘Gen C’, because they’re the most ‘connected’ in history. But research shows that Gen C stands for something else too, because to us, it’s Generation Citizen. The new research with 1000 young people and 500 teachers shows that today’s teens are more engaged with social issues than ever – they’re just using new tools – such as social media – to do so. They see social action and social enterprise as the route to change their world and their communities – and taking part has real benefits to young people too. But the false stereotypes are hurting young people’s self esteem and holding them back in the job market. You can find the full report here.

The Education Endowment Foundation and Cabinet Office commissioned the Institute of Education to carry out a literature review on how non-cognitive skills – attitudes and behaviours – are increasingly considered to be as important as – or even more important than – cognitive skills. Indeed, there is now growing attention from policymakers on how such character or soft skills can be developed in children and young people.

The Numbers

Research shows that young people acting in the service of others not only has a positive impact on the direct beneficiaries of the action itself, but also on the young people themselves, and on society at large. These benefits are interlinked, overlapping and mutually reinforcing.

The most recent data (2012-2013) shows that under a third (29 per cent) of those aged 16 to 24 in England and Wales are involved in some form of regular (monthly), formal volunteering. Formal volunteering is defined as giving unpaid help through groups, clubs or organisations to benefit other people or the environment. Approximately 40 per cent take part in less frequent, formal volunteering at least once a year. UK participation rates are much lower than those in leading countries such as Canada where 58% of young people are involved.

Social action improves young people’s sense of belonging to and duty towards the communities they live in, and in turn young people benefit through improved emotional wellbeing, educational outcomes and career prospects. Wider society benefits by more connected and safer communities.

A huge number of young people currently not involved in any type of social action do express an interest in becoming involved: a 2010 survey of 11 to 16 year olds found that no less than 91% of them would like to get involved in at least one type of activity presented to them.

The most significant areas of impact are: • Improving young people’s skills (academic, metacognitive, character capabilities) and employability; • Strengthening social bonds and integrating young people who are on the margins, thereby reducing crime and anti-social behaviour;

We need to provide more meaningful opportunities for young people to get involved. Partly because social action will improve the life chances of those young people and partly because we will be helping to build safer and more connected communities.

• Increasing other dimensions of active citizenship, like formal political engagement; • Better emotional, behavioural and social wellbeing which in turn leads to higher levels of educational attainment and more engagement in school. For more background visit the website.

SOCIAL MEDIA TO SOCIAL ACTION Young people in Ambition’s network are being inspired to use social media to spread the word about social action, thanks to the Action UP programme. With support from the Cabinet Office Youth Social Action Journey Fund, Ambition and The Mix Stowmarket are supporting youth organisations to explore new ways of using social media to encourage young people to get involved in their own social action journey. It’s about young people telling their social action story, so that others might recognise their own contribution or get involved. Action UP is a youth club based model working with 635 young people across six locations. It inspires them to lead and participate in quality social action projects, using teamwork, leadership and social enterprise. We know that young people are frequently inspired to get involved with activities through peer recommendations and social media – a recent BeatBullying survey showed more than half would take part if opportunities were publicised more. But feedback from Ambition’s members told us that the ever-changing world of social media can seem a daunting prospect for many organisations working with young people. Through collaborating with The Mix, who specialize in youth-led digital and creative media, Ambition aimed to provide informative, sustainable training for staff and volunteers that they could take forward in their local communities. We wanted to increase understanding of what social action is for young people and inspire more to get involved, using creative and digital media as a catalyst. Through Action UP, young people work in small teams to develop and deliver projects focusing on taking practical action in the service of others, to create positive social change for the wider community. Using residential and sessional programmes, Action UP develops young people’s skills, exploring issues that are important to them and their community to motivate action. The programme is OCN accredited as part of Ambition’s level one leadership offer and all partners are working towards Ambition Quality, ensuring high standards of delivery. By the close of 2015 we aim that 70% of the young people will have achieved leadership qualifications and that 70 new social action projects will have been established, with 50% more young people using creative and digital media to promote social action and NCS. Since its start in February 2014 we have received high praise for the training delivered by The Mix. One member who has benefitted is Somerset Rural Youth Project, who have increased their use of Facebook to reach young people and their number of Twitter followers. Wanting to develop their brand identity and project a sense of fun across different media, they have opened Pinterest and Instagram accounts and have reviewed their smartphone usage to encourage staff to proactively engage with social media. Chief Executive Nik Harwood said: “Thank you for sharing the wealth of your experience with us – it’s massively appreciated and has given us plenty of food for thought. Your feedback on our branding is exceptionally useful. It’s prompted our thinking and challenged us to get on top of this!”

“By the close of 2015 we aim that 70% of the young people will have achieved leadership qualifications and that 70 new social action projects will have been established”

THE LEARNING CURVE PROGRAMME Sophie recently achieved a Level 1 Certificate in Employment, Teamwork and Community Skills whilst participating in The Prince’s Trust Team programme, delivered by The Learning Curve, a not for profit learning and development organization based in Wiltshire. Team is a full-time 12-week personal development programme which aims to increase confidence, motivation and skills and enable young people to move into employment, education, training, volunteering or an apprenticeship. Here, Sophie tells her story… “I had just left a very difficult relationship when I decided to enroll on a Jamie Oliver home cooking course with the Learning Curve as cooking is one of my passions. I enjoyed it and after successfully completing the course, I volunteered as a helper on the next one. During this time, the tutor, Sue Robbins,

qualifications before and I was unsure how I would cope with working towards a qualification on the programme, having been out of education for a long time. I need not have worried! The tutors were really approachable and easy to talk to and they provided a nice balance of fun and focused learning. I enjoyed meeting new people and the activities gave me a boost in confidence and self-esteem. For example, we designed a programme of support for disabled people at a Leonard Cheshire day centre. Doing the course gave me another interest outside of being a young mother at home. This was something just for me! Successfully

Consequently, I volunteered to help with the next Team programme. I reveled in the responsibility given to me by the tutors in helping the learners on the course. I used my own life experiences to empathise with others who are going through similar life challenges. At present I am undertaking a qualification at Salisbury College which will help prepare me for teaching in the Lifelong Learning Sector. This was suggested to me by the tutors when I was doing the course. In the future, I would like to secure a position similar to tutoring on the Team course. The Team programme has totally transformed my life. Before, I was feeling depressed and I did not have a sense of direction or vocation. Having completed the Team programme I now feel so much more confident and I have a sense of where I want to go and what I need to do to get there!”

told me about The Prince’s Trust Team programme in Salisbury. I was apprehensive about committing to the course as I have young children and it meant arranging childcare. The prospect of the course also evoked in me a “going back to school” feeling which was unsettling. I had not achieved any formal

passing the qualification and receiving my Level 1 Certificate was a massive achievement. I never thought I’d get an opportunity to further myself so it felt amazing to have this qualification to put on my CV and it motivated me to continue learning.

NB: The Prince’s Trust Qualifications team is now offering a Level 3 Award in Education and Training. This is an introductory, knowledge-based teaching qualification http://www.princes-trust.org.uk/ trustqualifications/education__ training.aspx

FIND AND DEVELOP YOUR VOICE ON COMMUNITY RADIO! Community radio is a powerful resource for young people to find and develop their voice. This is one of the conclusions of the Connect:Transmit project, which has trained over 100 young people in community radio production, with a specific focus on speaking and listening skills. Connect:Transmit worked with young people, aged between 11 and 18, from a range of backgrounds across the UK, and trained them in community radio skills in a variety of settings – including GCSE curriculum delivery, extra-curricular activity, and informal drop-in sessions. The project was co-ordinated by Radio Regen, a charity supporting the community radio sector, working in partnership with four UK community radio stations – ShmuFM (Aberdeen), BCB (Bradford), Future Radio (Norwich) and Preston FM (Preston). Connect:Transmit was a two-year project funded by the Paul Hamlyn Foundation. Connect:Transmit has shown that community radio is a valuable resource for young people. Community radio not only gives young people a voice; it inspires them to develop their voice and to use it.

What we’ve learned • Community radio engages young people to develop speaking & listening skills, raise confidence & self esteem, and increase community awareness. • Community radio allows young people to learn in a fun, motivating, but also challenging environment. • Making community radio builds important life skills – e.g. communication, confidence, and employability.

• Working with a community radio station can tie into formal learning (e.g. GCSE) – or allow young people to gain QCF or other qualifications. • Young people want to be on the radio, and rise to the occasion when given the opportunity! Everyone who participated in the project was enthusiastic about its impact. One of the young people summed up the motivating factor: “Thirteen and you’re going to be on the radio. That’s pretty cool.” Another said: “I think what we are learning is that preparation and teamwork are important... when you’ve got something that’s ‘going live’ you’ve got no room for mistakes so you’ve got to know what’s coming next, that running order is really important.” A trainer argued: “Our kids have said things like: ‘Nobody listens to us.’ Well, this gives them a chance to have a platform where people potentially will listen to them. And it will give them more of a motivation to say it right, to say it properly, to do it well.” One of the school teachers reflected: “When you go right back to the very first sessions, you wouldn’t dream where some of these students are today.... you wouldn’t dream they would have ever got this far.” Overall the project made a clearly positive impact on the lives of the young people it worked with. Connect:Transmit shows the added value that community radio brings. The radio training undertaken in the project has included delivering part of a GCSE in Media Studies, an extra-curricular activity at school, a station-based peer-led weekly radio show, and one-to-one mentoring. The common thread throughout this variety of approaches has been a deep respect for young people’s interests and opinions, a strong encouragement for them to find their voice, and the 27

accessibility of a medium that actually gives them a platform for that voice. Through the accessible platform of radio, young people developed their ability to speak with and listen to others, including not just peers and teachers/trainers, but also the wider community such as councillors, representatives of police and fire services, and the audiences for their radio shows. This experience helped young people to build confidence and work more effectively and collaboratively with others. Many community radio stations undertake work with young people – 81% of the UK-based community radio organisations who took part in an initial survey of the sector said that they worked with young people, often those who have not thrived in traditional learning institutions. Community radio organisations are able to deliver positive social outcomes by providing learning opportunities for young people, and can create a unique learning culture that is ‘different to school’ in a number of ways. Connect:Transmit shows that community radio stations, educational institutions, and youth organisations can work together in delivering real and meaningful outcomes for young people. Connect:Transmit partners would love to see this work being developed and built on – if you have any ideas or questions, or require any further information, you can email: cormac@radioregen.org.

Find out more See more resources, videos, reports, and evaluation materials: http://www.connecttransmit.org.uk Find community radio stations: http://www.commedia.org.uk/map Sign up to the new mailing list to discuss youth media initiatives: http://mailman.commedia.org.uk/ mailman/listinfo/youth-media-l

YOUNG PEOPLE AND MONEY This article introduces some key concepts and current best practice on financial capability, along with some top tips on how to engage young people in issues around money in a youth work setting and help them be more in control of their money and finances. “Young people, at the outset of their adult lives, need to be able to manage their money effectively. Between 2004 and 2011, as part of the Financial Services Authority Financial Capability Strategy, ‘Young People and Money’ was developed to help youth practitioners support vulnerable young people to be better able to manage their money. Those working on the original project have now come together to create a new online toolkit which you will find brimming with new ideas and suggestions to help you to support the young people you work with.” Money Advice Service, March 2014

• Keeping track of money – to live within means and get out of problem debt • Planning ahead – by having enough savings, being prepared for later life and protecting against the unknown • Making informed decisions – for financial choices and products

This tool kit has been written collaboratively by practitioners from the youth work sector along with others from the money advice world. Please see details below of where to find this toolkit, and we hope you will find the snippets from it in this article useful.

Being financially capable is about being able to make reasonable decisions that suit a person’s situation and preferences. Financial capability will differ from person to person, depending on their personal circumstances. For example, a person who has little or no money does not need to be financially capable in investment management.

Here are some young people’s views on money that we worked with on the Young People and Money Programme: “As soon as I get money it just burns a hole in my pocket.” Young Person, aged 14

The recent Money Advice Service research ‘Money Lives’ March 2014 gives insights into the factors that influence how well people manage their money and ways to encourage good money habits:

“I have never used money.” Young Person, aged 13

• Attitudes, motivations and opportunities as well as skills and knowledge influence what we do with our money and how we feel about it

“A lot of people think money is not the most important thing. I wish it wasn’t the most important thing, like love’s the most important thing, but you’re stuffed without money.” Young Person, aged 21

• The ability and willingness to plan ahead is key in determining how effective people are at managing their money. The ability to plan tends to be learnt from parents.

Quotes taken from Introducing financial capability skills: A pilot study with Fairbridge West, Bristol. An evaluation report from the Personal Finance Research Centre, University of Bristol, Adele Atkinson, July, 2005

• Preparing for a key life event, such as having a first baby, starting an apprenticeship or job can be a major stimulation to people in developing long-term positive money habits

Financial Capability – what’s it all about? A person’s financial capability is best judged by their actual behaviour. Someone who has the knowledge and skills to manage their personal finances well would be considered to be financially literate but not financially capable if they do not use this understanding to make informed decisions. For example, someone might know about the importance of shopping around before buying financial products or services, and know how to do so, but cannot be regarded as financially capable if they are not motivated to put this into practice.

• Learning to cope financially with difficult life events, such as bereavement or being made homeless can also have an impact on people’s money habits The full research can be found at: https://www. moneyadviceservice.org.uk/en/static/money-lives We have used the above key principles from the Money Advice research to inform the overall structure of the toolkit, the wheel on the next page is explained further in the ‘Psychology of Young People and Money’ and can used as a needs analysis tool to help inform our practice.

The Money Advice Service have identified three key aspects and outcomes of financial capability:

Top tips – These combine money advice practice and youth principles: 1. Remember relationships are the key and form the bedrock As all youth workers will agree, foremost is the importance of the relationship the young person has with you.

7. Do it again! And strengthen the review process For young people who may have been failed by the education system and find formal learning hard review, repetition and reinforcement is key to both learning and practising good money habits.

2. Money is not an isolated stand alone topic It is essential that a holistic, consistent, joined up approach is taken to ensure any intervention is effective.

8. Behaviour or knowledge? Addressing attitudes and behaviour with young people is as important as ensuring they have the right knowledge skills and inbetween knowledge and skills

3. Know who you are working with Young people face a number of different challenges and respond to a range of learning styles, so a ‘one size fits all’ approach will not succeed.

9. Support and training You wouldn’t be expected to run a sexual health session based on your own experience – the same is true for running sessions on money. Providing suitable training and support will enable staff and volunteers to effectively support and inspire young people.

4. Make it relevant, engaging and inspiring As youth workers you are in a unique position to be able to respond to needs creatively and at the right time.

10. Embedding financial capability The evaluation of our ‘Young People and Money’ programme found that to be successful financial capability should be embedded in organisations’ policies, procedures and practice.

5. Don’t force it! As well as your interventions being real and relevant they need to add choice. Building more knowledge and skills will help young people make informed decisions around their finances.

This Tool Kit has been written by ‘Developing Youth Practice’ in partnership with Money Advice Service and can be downloaded at: http://developingyouthpractice.co.uk/resources

6. Bring real benefits into the present Many young people live in the ‘now’. Frame interventions to help young people see the benefit to changes now and in the short term. 29

SOCIAL ENTERPRISE QUALIFICATION (SEQ) What is SEQ? SEQ is a progression ladder of UK qualifications that encourage and accredit people interested in making positive change; for themselves, society and the environment. SEQ students set up enterprises to address a social or environmental issue, linking to and making change in their communities or beyond. The SEQ progression ladder is a set of vocational qualifications on the QCF that grow social entrepreneurs.

How does SEQ work? SEQ is learning through doing. Students plan and deliver socially enterprising activity while creating a portfolio of evidence in any format. Teachers, youth workers or adult educators access SEQ through a Membership Package which includes; a 90 minute ‘remote’ training session (delivered over Skype or the telephone) to learn about the basics of social enterprise and delivering the qualification, a handbook, online resources, and continual support via the SEQ helpdesk. Full day, face to face training is also available for larger groups.

development increase attainment at Maths and English through the practical application of those subjects (budgeting, marketing an enterprise, portfolio building)

How much does SEQ cost?

• increase ‘real world’ skills in young people – project management, team work, confidence

The Membership Package is a one off fee of £150 per SEQ Mentor.

• links to the local community, businesses, and charitable partners

Learner fees:

• re-engagement of disengaged learners through setting up a practical social enterprise

• Bronze SEQ (level 1 award): £20 • Silver SEQ (level 2 award): £25 • Gold SEQ (level 2 certificate): £30

What are the benefits of delivering SEQ? • Through taking part in SEQ, students gain real experience of making money, organising events and building management skills, all the time considering how what they do can make a real difference to the world around them. • SEQ helps schools deliver PSHE, enterprise education and Spiritual Moral Social Cultural

• encouraging Gifted and Talented young people to develop cutting edge enterprise skills – developing a business against a triple bottom line of people, planet and profit • teacher and youth worker training in social enterprise

• community change

Find out more... Please visit the SEQ website www.realideas.org/SEQ or contact the SEQ team on helpdesk@realideas.org 03333 441700

Case studies Ecovation, Plymouth College, Gold SEQ

Ecovation is a group of between 8-25 young people from Plymouth College, with an eye on the environment. Working through the SEQ handbook they identified a clear aim; to help families and communities tackle food waste and reducing the amount that goes to landfill. To do this they have developed the Ecofeeder, a birdfeeder made from recycled and FSC wood, painted with low VOC, UV paint to attract birds without damaging the environment. The Ecofeeder holds lard cakes, also being made by Ecovation out of the recycled fat from fast food restaurants. Profits raised from sales are being put back into developing the business with a portion being donated to the Wildlife Trust. Developing, making and promoting the Ecofeeder the group has really embraced social enterprise and made it their own, developing an innovative product that is really turning heads. Having already sold over 400 Ecofeeders and made nearly £4000 in revenue, the group won a Young People’s Social Enterprise of the Year Award and were invited to the national awards ceremony at the O2 arena in London to profile their product. They have since sold an Ecofeeder to Vince Cable and are working with a social enterprise mail order catalogue and local Fair Trade shops to distribute their products. They are now looking to develop their website and manufacture their products on a larger scale while still remaining true to their social enterprise principles.

Healthy Eating, The Unit, Silver SEQ

The Unit, a youth-led promotions project based in Salisbury, took on an SEQ Silver after hosting an ‘Angry Conference’ where local young people could air their views and issues, then pitch ideas to do something about them. From here an SEQ product development group formed. Focusing on the problems of waste food and poor diets, they have begun to create a cook pack, which contains cooking utensils and access to online and mobile videos showing young people how to prepare basic recipes and teaching them about healthy eating. They have considered their target market, product design and marketing and are working towards their product launch in the next few months. The young people in the group are learning the value of teamwork, handson experience and practical working. They are also getting to grips with the importance of creative thinking in running a successful social enterprise venture.

SEQ Uganda, PEDN, Gold SEQ

Taking part in Gold SEQ, Asah and Rehema – along with a handful of their friends – are setting up their own ethical business in Uganda, making and selling clothes while mentoring other 31

young girls to build self awareness and confidence. Working with Uganda’s Private Education Development Network (PEDN), we have been able to run the SEQ as part of PEDN’s Entrepreneurship Programme for adolescent girls and women. The programme reaches out to young girls not in school, girls from very poor homes, girl headed families, sex workers in Uganda’s slums, and juvenile offenders, helping them to develop socially entrepreneurial skills, build their confidence and move forward, making positive changes for themselves, their families and their communities. Training and planning complete, the clothes-making venture is going from strength to strength, with the team creating ties, jackets and skirts to sell locally, nationally, and potentially internationally, online.

Red Henna, Truro College, Silver SEQ

As part of their Silver SEQ, sisters Fahima and Masuma have set up a henna painting mini-business. The venture, which has developed their creative thinking, planning skills and confidence, offers henna tattoos to customers and raising awareness of Indian culture while raising money for charity. 25% of the Red Henna’s profits will be donated to Muslim Hands, which helps children in need through education, disaster relief, community schemes and environmental projects (www. muslimhands.org). The rest of their profits will go back into growing the business and buying more henna. So far the venture has been a real success, with a bustling stall at a recent Fair Trade market and plans for more.

Lakers School, Silver SEQ

Recycled Cycles, Vanel, Silver SEQ

Six mixed ability groups of year nine students at Lakers School have been taking part in Silver SEQ. Identifying issues within their school and community including water wastage, lesson disruption and health and wellbeing, each group has come up with a different socially enterprising idea to make positive change happen. From environmentally-friendly spray car washes and stationery-selling stalls to music and fitness lunchtime sessions, the young people focused on ventures that could be started in school time and on school grounds. The carwash group kicked things off with teachers’ cars in the school car park, using an eco-spray product instead of a hosepipe to reduce excess water use. They’ve already had a busy few weeks and have taken future bookings too. The Stationery stall aims to tackle the disruption that happens when pupils don’t have the right equipment with them, selling ethically sourced or recycled products in school to make sure everyone can start their lessons well equipped. Profits from the groups’ social enterprise activities are going to fund the School’s exchange programme with schools in Kenya. Throughout the process Lakers pupils have been getting to understand what social enterprise means, finding out through firsthand experience the skills and thought processes that need to go into running an ethically-minded business. Over the next few months, Lakers hopes to hear from established social entrepreneurs in the area and beyond to inspire the young people to drive their ventures forward and really engage with the fundamentals of social enterprise.

Charity Fair, Hessle High School, Silver SEQ Hessle High School’s year 10 students took part in Silver SEQ, learning the principles of social enterprise and putting them into practice. Working together, the 260 pupils organised a charity fair for the whole school which took place at lunchtime.

Three young people from Voluntary Action North East Lincolnshire (VANEL), have found a social and environmental issue in their community they would like to tackle. Aware that people in the area might be struggling to find work because of prohibitive transport costs, they are setting up a mini-business cleaning up and repairing old bikes and parts and selling them on, to provide a green, cheap transport alternative. Recycled Cycles hosted a market stall to tell people more about the project and sell/hire bikes. They sold nine bicycles in total along with loads of parts, making a solid profit, which will be fed back into the mini-business. Through SEQ the three young people have developed their teamwork, leadership and creative thinking skills as well as building up their confidence and increasing their employability, applying their solid sense of ethics and values within an enterprising framework.

Activities and stalls included a pool competition, a penalty shoot out, a cake stall and a jewellery stall. The aim was to raise money for a range of children’s charities, Cancer Research and Leeds Royal Infirmary. Devising, planning and delivering the charity fair tested the students’ event management, marketing, team work and leadership skills, all the while stretching their understanding of social enterprise and how making money can benefit the community. The fair raised over £1600 for charity and the young people are now concentrating on documenting the event and building their SEQ portfolios. For more information on Social Enterprise Qualification please visit: www.realideas.org/SEQ

HEADS UP CREATIVE COLLISIONS TICKETS RELEASED!

The conference will explore three themes: • Impact & Innovation

Uniting for Young People

• Social citizens

• Life, work & the future

Thursday 6 November, London

Within each theme it will ask:

Following the success of the Creative Collisions conference in 2013, which energised over 500 delegates, the youth sector will once again unite on Thursday 6 November.

• What kind of workforce do we need? • What kind of leadership do we need? • What kind of partnerships do we need? • What kind of investment do we need? The conference aims to bring together key sector decision makers, practitioners and young people to debate these. Through collective action the conference will build consensus around creative solutions for young people, sending clear messages to policy makers that investment in young people is necessary and pays.

The partnership has grown to be 10 organisations strong and our exciting venue, The Copper Box at the Olympic Park, ensures we can deliver something unique and unexpected to even more delegates this year. This year will, for the first time, include workshops which bring more than one partner together in the true spirit of Creative Collisions. The event will also host an expanded fringe element that will provide the perfect atmosphere to stimulate thought provoking discussions. This year’s programme will include sparky debates, learning labs to catalyse change and a vibrant market place providing plenty of opportunity for delegates to meet, engage and collide with new ideas and organisations.

• Buy your tickets (from just £25) online now! • Explore the website if you’d like to be a key element on the day: organisations can become workshop-holders, exhibitors or sponsors and we’re looking for young people to be speakers or get involved with organising and delivering the event.

Taking place during Youth Work Week, Creative Collisions will draw together the force of ten youth organisations and networks; British Youth Council, the Foyer Federation, Leap Confronting Conflict, London Youth, National Citizen Service (NCS), NUS, National Youth Agency (NYA), the National Council for Voluntary Youth Services (NCVYS), UK Youth and vInspired.

• Get in touch with us now to help spread further sparks and creativity – tell us how you’ve made positive changes following last year’s event and we’ll feature your ideas and creations on the website.

• Follow us @unitingforyouth to get updates on the conference.

http://ncvys.org.uk/news/creative-collisions-ticketsreleased

Voter registration The way we register to vote in England and Wales has changed and it will change in Scotland from 19 September 2014. NCVYS is proud to be working with the Electoral Commission to promote awareness of the new voter registration system amongst young people and encourages you to communicate this message to the young people in your own organisation. Lots of young people are missing from the electoral register which means they don’t get a say in how things are run. With the new system, they can no longer rely on someone else in their household to register for them. Everyone must register themselves individually. It is now possible to register to vote online at www.gov.uk/register-to-vote. Those unsure about whether they are registered under the new system should contact their local electoral registration staff. To get their contact details you can visit www.aboutmyvote.co.uk. Your vote matters. Make sure you’re in. 33

THE KEY The Key _ Your Potential Unlocked believes all young people have the power to be great. For 22 years we have worked towards a vision for each young person to have the opportunity to make the most of their unique potential by motivating them to prove they can work as a team to think up, plan, do and review a project that takes them through a journey of discovery and personal development. Young people achieve all of this with the support of a trained Key Facilitator who guides, challenges and supports them on their Key journey. This is a critical role and providing an individual has patience, understanding, confidence and a genuine passion for seeing young people learn and grow, anyone can take the role on. The Key think it’s really important that young people have the opportunity to meet friendly, but challenging people. During The Key programme young people pitch their project ideas to a live panel. The panel members’ job is to listen and challenge the young people making sure that they can demonstrate how they’ve developed our 12 Key skills whilst planning their project. The Key projects our young people design may be ambitious (creating emergency kits for the homeless) or small and simple (organising a fundraising event), but must be challenging. Although the projects are often fantastic and create social value, what’s most important is the developmental journey young people undertake.

“Although the projects are often fantastic and create social value, what’s most important is the developmental journey young people undertake.”

See www.yourpotentialunlocked.org.uk to find out more or call 01912238800 to get you and your young people involved. One of our stories: http://www.yourpotentialunlocked.org.uk/case-studies/86/walbottle-devils

Cover illustration by: Ria Dastidar www.uberpup.net Exchange is a regular magazine, bringing together a unique collection of news, policy analysis and practical advice for voluntary and community organisations and networks working with young people. Exchange contains articles by expert contributors from the sector and beyond. The magazine is distributed throughout the youth sector, reaching around 5000 readers in print and offline.

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