Youth workers challenge government policy
Tuesday, 16 February 2010 14:48
Taken from CYPNow -12 Feb 2010
More than a hundred youth workers gathered to challenge government policies they feel are undermining the principles of youth work.
Last week's national conference organised by the In Defence of Youth Work campaign attracted a 140-strong crowd, mainly made up of youth workers. Campaigners at the event said an emphasis on targets and accreditation is undermining the efforts of youth workers who are trying to make meaningful relationships with young people, and provide services driven by their needs.
Other concerns expressed included a shift in the nature of detached youth work with too much of a focus on policing and surveillance.
"The key messages coming out of the conference was a lot of anger about the way the basic priorities of youth work are being undermined," said youth work expert Bernard Davies, who is contributing to the campaign. "There's a lot of feeling that it is becoming hard to practice under the pressure of having to meet targets, and that targeted work starts with policy definitions rather than needs identified by young people."
Davies added that concerns were also raised about resources being targeted away from small local provision in favour of the government's Myplace programme. During the conference a steering group of around 15 members was formed to co-ordinate the campaign. The next steps will include reclaiming the national Youth Work Week, which campaigners say has been discarded by the National Youth Agency, and gathering evidence to support its case.
The conference took place at Manchester Metropolitan University, and campaign members have agreed to meet again in autumn.
The main thrust of this article highlights the increasing disparity between what youth workers see as youthwork, and what government policy makers identify as the same thing. This has implications for work on the ground because if the people who decide where the money goes, use targets and statistics to judge where that money should go, then youth workers will work to targets and statistics in order to secure the future of their work.
This is obvious, but this also changes the focus from government supporting youth work, to government deciding the focus of youth work. This shifts the emphasis from relationships to targets - viewing young people as 'things to be checked off on some list' opposed to an individual with value, worth and who needs supported in their own journey. Youth workers will shift from working to the needs of the young person, to working to an agenda decided by government.
This of course demands that youth work is understood by youth workers to incorporate participation, respect and equity among other things; something which those working in churches know all too well, but which we all can do better!
Do you work with young people? what do you see as the most important thing in youth work? Do you think it's about stats, relationships, or a mix of both or neither!!? Leave your comments below!
Written by Martin Montgomery.
The views represented in this article may not represent those held by DDYC.
