Happy #YouthWorkWeek! From Monday 6th November to Sunday 12th November it’s Youth Work Week 2023. The theme this year is…Youth work in every place and space. ‘The key purpose of youth work is to….‘Enable young people to develop holistically, working with them to facilitate their personal, social and educational development, to enable them to develop their voice, influence and place in society and to reach their potential’ – Youth Work National Occupational Standards What makes youth work distinctive from other services is that youth workers have a voluntary relationship with young people which starts from where the young people are at, their interests, goals and experiences. Youth Work is a distinct educational process adapted across a variety of settings to support a young person’s personal, social, emotional and educational development. It begins with the development of a unique, trusting relationship with young people, which is utilised to:
We thought the best way to actually celebrate and champion youth work during #YouthWorkWeek, was to speak to an actual youth worker! We recently had the chance to sit down with YMCA Northumberland Youth Worker McKenzie to hear about his experience as a young person starting a career in youth work. McKenzie has recently become a paid member of staff at the YMCA after volunteering and studying for his Level 3 Youth Work diploma. Read on to find out about the rewards and challenges of youth work, practical advice for any young person interested in a youth work career and his experience as a young person early on in his youth work career. McKenzie, over to you…… What made you want to be a youth worker? Originally, I started a placement at YMCA Northumberland as part of my college course. I had tried a couple of places including a care home; but they didn’t quite fit. From my first visit to the YMCA, I felt welcomed, comfortable and supported. I saw in real time that youth work was making a difference and I valued that. Did you have any experience with youth clubs growing up? Not one bit; I felt like a bit of an antisocial weirdo! I started volunteering for YMCA at 16 and must have liked it, as I decided to stay. Do you wish you’d had a youth club when you were younger? I think spending time playing pool and chatting with good role models would have calmed me down a bit earlier and given me a bit of life perspective. Did anyone inspire you into youth work? I had a driving factor - it was an inspiration but not a very positive one. I had a family member who was neglected and seeing the impact on their life, made me realize that if there had been some form of youth services in the area, something that was offering support to young people, it could have made a big difference. And that’s my reason for getting into youth work. What do you think makes someone a good youth worker? Someone who deep down wants to make a positive difference; someone who’s not trying to be anything but themselves. You must be a people person and try to get on with everyone- youth workers are there to help people at the end of the day. Confidence, resilience and having a thick skin are all helpful attributes, as is prior experience with challenging behaviour. Youth work is often a drop-in service and we inevitably experience challenging behaviour, so it’s good to be in a position where it doesn’t shock you, you can handle it and move forward. What are the advantages of getting into youth work when you’re young? You can have long careers in youth work - therefore the earlier you start your career the better. I’ve been lucky to have brilliant mentors who have passed on their knowledge and wisdom to me. Additionally, I relate to the young people better as a young person myself. We are into the same things, and we often grew up in the same environment, so I share their perspective. We have a connection and something in common; that’s a good place to start in creating positive relationships with young people. What are the most challenging things about getting into youth work at a younger age? It can be intimidating. I was 16 years old when I started volunteering and when people are your age, it's very hard to speak from a place of wisdom. Whereas, if someone’s 40, people assume they’ve got a lot of life experience, and you should listen to them. You do need confidence but even if you’re not confident, after a few years of work, you’ll develop confidence. At the start, I was just sitting in the corner speaking to one or two young people out of 30, but now I’m comfortable running a session of 30. Showing up is the most important thing- if you show up even when you don’t want to, you’ll usually have a good session and you’ll gain confidence. And it’s important to remember you’re not going to be perfect at the start, but you keep improving with every new group of young people and each session. Everyone starts somewhere, and the other youth worker staff at the YMCA are very understanding and supportive. What are some practical steps folks can take if they’re interested in youth work?
Volunteering and gaining session experience has been the most important and useful thing for me. Anyone can contact a youth agency and ask to volunteer. From there you can gain experience and show that you are willing to go out of your way to make a difference and improve your skills and any future employer will look at that positively. It gives you the opportunity to try it out, go in with an open mind and learn something new. Then you can think about formal education. I did a level 3 diploma in youth work because I was interested but I didn’t necessarily think I would choose youth work as a career when I started. For me, education and youth work practice go hand in hand. Any final thoughts? Youth work is a great way to help people because you get to see the fruits of your labour. As long as you’re interested, just keep showing up – listening and learning from other youth workers and young people and you’ll get the rest in time. The youth sector is beginning to get the recognition it deserves as a front-line service which is key in tackling the youth mental health crisis and provides valuable opportunities for young people wherever they live. The government has recently pledged to fund the training of 500 new youth workers, making this a fantastic time to embark on a career in youth work. If you’d like to follow in McKenzie’s footsteps – we suggest linking up with the following organisations:
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Happy Black History Month! To mark it, we are sharing our favourite diverse and anti-racist resources for teachers, parents, drama practitioners and youth workers. Teaching black history is not a compulsory part of the national curriculum in England, meaning that young people could go their whole school lives without gaining any knowledge of the crucial role that black people have played in British and World history. This means that it is frequently up to motivated individuals to educate our young people with limited resources, often whilst educating themselves in the process. To help we have collated some wonderful anti-racist resources filled with creative activities and interesting discussion prompts to give you the confidence to teach young people about the history of people of the Global Majority and have honest conversations about race and racism: 1. Show Racism the Red Card Education Hub Show Racism the Red Card is the UK’s leading anti-racism education charity, founded in 1996 with a generous donation from Newcastle goalkeeper Shaka Hislop, who wanted to use education and the elevated status of footballers to challenge racist attitudes. They have plenty of free and high-quality lesson plans on their education hub which can help to guide young people through safe and open discussions. The lesson ‘exploring racism through drama’ looks at specific experiences of racism in a school environment encouraging young people to act out different roles of students and teachers, looking at the different choices they can make to challenge racism and understanding the impact on victims. They also have brilliant resources exploring media bias and helping young people to examine media representations of different groups and how stereotypes are perpetuated. You can find the education hub here. We have had the pleasure of attending practical and thought-provoking training from Show Racism the Red Card and would highly recommend their training to teachers and practitioners who want to deepen their knowledge of anti-racism education. 2. Performing International Plays If you are looking to diversify a drama curriculum, Performing International Plays is the perfect place to find inspiration. They feature 20 plays, from 6 continents, originally written and performed in 15 languages. Each play has an English translation available, with accompanying education packs provided to guide your lessons with discussion prompts that explore the play's key themes. Many of the plays also have videos of translated scenes alongside the same scenes in their original language to help bring the text to life. Reading, seeing, and performing stories from a range of countries can be an exciting way to learn about different cultures and explore points of connection and difference. Check out the full catalogue here. If you would prefer to watch a live performance there are some fantastic black and global majority theatre companies in the UK.
3. A New Direction The creative education charity A New Direction has some fantastic resources for exploring race and heritage. The Culture, Community & Activism resource looks at identity, political activists and black British culture through poetry and self-publishing. For young people who enjoy active learning, this resource is perfect as it includes plenty of opportunities to creatively engage with the learning material through zine making and sound recording. Find the resource here. 4. The Black Curriculum The Black Curriculum aims to equip young people with a sense of identity and knowledge of black British history with the goal of making this a compulsory part of the national curriculum. Their video series on prominent black figures throughout history is simple, fun, and accessible and can be a great jumping-off point to discuss different elements of Black British culture. Their introductory booklet of home learning activities is perfect for parents who are just starting with anti-racism work as it includes simple explanations of terms like prejudice and colonialism. It’s also jam-packed with creative art and writing activities that will help young people to contextualize the stories of black British icons like Dr Harold Moody and Mary Seacole. Check out the learning resources here. We hope these resources will help you actively embrace and celebrate black history all year round. Using diverse creative resources and storytelling can help young people of the global majority to understand their place in the world and develop a strong sense of identity whilst building empathy and understanding for others.
As Mortal Fools has a white staff base, it’s vital that we embed this education into all areas of our work to improve the diversity of our practice and create spaces where everyone feels equally safe, welcome, and included. You can find out more about our activism and inclusion work here. Charity So White have been fundamental in holding space for People of Colour, challenging the institutional racism that is prevalent in our sector. They provide fantastic resources and anti-racism training that have been beneficial for us in our anti-racism journey. This is an ongoing area of work for us, and we are always interested in connecting with individuals and organisations to listen, learn and share knowledge to strengthen our anti-racist practices. If you would like to connect, email our accessibility and inclusion lead at: rachel.horton@mortalfools.org.uk. And if you have any resources, you’d like to share with our Mortal Fools community please let us know in the comments. Have a fantastic Black History Month! |
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