ED 412 388

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ABSTRACT

DOCUMENT RESUME

CE 074 947

Hand, Jenny; Wright, WayneYouth Work in Colleges: Building on Partnership.Further Education Development Agency, London (England).;

National Youth Agency, Leicester (England).ISSN-1361-99771997-00-0069p.Further Education Development Agency, Publications Dept.,Mendip Centre, Blagdon, Bristol BS18 6RG, United Kingdom

(7.50 British pounds).Reports - Research (143)FE Matters; v2 n1 1997MF01/PC03 Plus Postage.Agency Cooperation; Agency Role; *Career Counseling; Case

Studies; Cooperative Planning; *Counseling Services;Counseling Techniques; Foreign Countries; *IndividualCounseling; *Partnerships in Education; PostsecondaryEducation; Program Development; Program Implementation;Questionnaires; Records (Forms); Self Evaluation (Groups);Technical Institutes; Vocational Education; *Youth ProgramsGeneral National Vocational Qualif (England); *United

Kingdom

This document, which is intended to help individualsinterested in developing or strengthening partnerships between the further

education (FE) colleges and the United Kingdom's National Youth Agency (NYA),

contains information about current youth work contributions in FE and

materials for FE colleges to use to assess their need for and develop youth

work programs. Discussed first is the joint Further Education Development

Agency-NYA project out of which the document developed. The second section,

which is devoted to youth work's contributions to supporting young people in

FE, considers the role of youth workers in the following: curriculum

enhancement and support; advice, information, and informal counseling;

mentoring; supporting the student union; security and youth work; and

recruitment. Examined next are various aspects of youth program management

and support, including recruitment and training of youth workers and

partnership arrangements. Section 4 presents a framework and materials

(including focus sheets and student questionnaires) for FE colleges to use in

assessing their youth work. Concluding the document are 10 case studies.

Appended are the following: data on development and management of youth work

in and with FE colleges; grading criteria matrix; and job description for a

full-time youth worker. The bibliography contains 17 references. (MN)

********************************************************************************Reproductions supplied by EDRS are the best that can be made

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U.S. DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION0 co of Educational Research and Improvement

ED CATIONAL RESOURCES INFORMATIONCENTER (ERIC)

O his document has been reproduced asreceived from the person or organizationoriginating it.

Minor changes have been made toimprove reproduction quality.

Points of view or opinions stated in thisdocument do not necessarily representofficial OERI position or policy.

FEI1A41, Further EducationDevelopment Agency

Youth work in colleges:building on partnershipJenny Hand and Wayne Wright

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PERMISSION TO REPRODUCE ANDDISSEMINATE THIS MATERIAL

HAS BEEN GRANTED BY-.1"aibp

TO THE EDUCATIONAL RESOURCESINFORMATION CENTER (ERIC)

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FEDA Further EducationDevelopment Agency

Youth work in colleges:building on partnershipJenny Hand and Wayne Wright

3

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Published by the Further Education DevelopmentAgency (FEDA), Dumbarton House, 68 OxfordStreet, London W1N ODATel: [0171] 436 0020 Fax: [0171] 436 0349

Feedback and orders should be directed to:Publications Department, FEDA,Coombe Lodge, Blagdon, Bristol BS18 6RGTel: [01761] 462 503 Fax: [01761] 463 140

Registered with the Charity Commissioners

Related publications are available from the NationalYouth Agency Sales Dept, 17-23 Albion Street,Leicester LE1 6GD.Tel: [0116] 285 6789 Fax: [0116] 247 1043

Editor: Lorraine Mullaney

Designer: Mike Pope

Printed by: Blackmore Limited, Dorchester

Cover photograph: Sebastian Buccheri, NYA

ISSN: 1361-9977

© 1997 FEDA

All rights reserved. No part of this publication maybe reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or trans-mitted in any form or by any means, electronic, elec-trical, chemical, optical, photocopying, recording orotherwise, without prior permission of the copyrightowner, except as follows:

FEDA grants the purchaser a non-transferablelicence to use the case studies and evaluation frame-works as follows: (i) they may be photocopied andused as many times as required, within a single site inthe purchasing institution solely; (ii) short excerptsfrom them may be incorporated into any devel-opment paper or review document if the source isacknowledged and the document is not offered forsale; (iii) permission for other uses should be soughtfrom FEDA, Blagdon.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTSThe National Youth Agency (NYA) and the FurtherEducation Development Agency (FEDA) would liketo thank the 10 project colleges and the localauthority youth services for their contributions tothe project and this resulting publication. The col-leges are:

Bilston Community CollegeHavering College of Further and HigherEducationLambeth CollegeNorfolk College of Arts and TechnologyNorth Warwickshire and Hinckley Collegeof Further EducationPreston CollegeSouth Cheshire CollegeStockport College of Further and HigherEducationWakefield CollegeWeston College

The Project was also supported by a steering groupof representatives from both youth work and furthereducation. The members were:

Judy Alloway, Vice Principal, OaklandsCollege, HertfordshireJane Bristow, Head of Faculty (CommunityAccess and Student Services), SouthfieldsCollege, LeicesterJames Burkmar, Student Welfare Officer,Southfields College, LeicesterMairi Christie, HMI, OFSTEDHoward Day, Principal Youth Officer,London Borough of RichmondJenny Hand, Youth Work DevelopmentAdvisor at the NYARichard Gretton, Project ConsultantPat Ledwith, Head of Youth Work,National Youth AgencyAnna Reisenberger, Head of Participationand Achievement, FEDAMerilee Vaughan-Huxley, FEFCInspectorateWayne Wright, Education Staff, FEDA

Their guidance and comments were invaluable.

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2 FE matters Vnl 7 Nn

VO1 2 No 1

ContentsForeword

1 Introduction

2 Youth work's contribution to supportingyoung people in FECurriculum enhancement and supportAdvice, information and informalcounsellingMentoringSupporting the student unionSecurity and youth workRecruitment

5

6

8

3 Management and support 18Recruitment and trainingPartnership arrangements

4 Framework and guidance for self-assessment and evaluation 22College self-assessment evaluationframeworkAssessing planned and unplanned workStudent questionnaires

5 Case studies 43

6 Appendices 53

References 62

FE matters5

3

ABOUT THE AUTHORSJenny Hand is a Youth Work Development Advisorat the NYA. Her key areas of work include: youthwork in schools and FE colleges, quality assurance,recognition and accreditation of young people'sexperiences in informal education settings andtraining of part-time and volunteer youth workers.

In her time at the NYA she has written a number ofpublications, including: Youth Work in Rural Areas:a training pack; NVQs and Their Implications forthe Youth Service; Raising Standards in Schools: theyouth work contribution and Guidance on Trainingand Employment of Disabled People in Youth Work.

Before taking up her post at the NYA, Jenny taughtin further education, and worked as a youth andcommunity tutor for the youth service in Coventryand in a community college in Leicestershire.

Wayne Wright is a member of FEDA's educationstaff. His areas of work include: youth work in col-leges, the role of counsellors in FE and the differ-ential achievement of disaffected young people.Wayne also leads FEDA's work on A-level devel-opment and plays a role in the curriculum and quali-fications programme area.

Wayne has previously worked at the Department ofTrade and Industry, Brighton College of Technologyand Newham Sixth Form College. He has managedand co-ordinated a number of programmes includingGNVQs, Access, A-levels and international shortcourses. He has also been an External Verifier.

Particular mention must also be made of the sup-porting work by Richard Gretton, project con-sultant. Richard's work with the colleges identifiedmany of the examples of practice in this publication.

4

ABOUT THE PARTNERSHIP

National Youth Agency

The National Youth Agency was established in 1991to act as a central focus for youth work in England.

Its task is to give support to all those involved in theinformal, personal and social education of youngpeople first and foremost local authority youth ser-vices and local and national voluntary youth organi-sations.

The Agency has a team of youth work specialistsworking alongside the youth service to improve thecontent and organisation of youth work and youthwork training. It houses the country's most compre-hensive collection of resources on work with youngpeople and offers an enquiry answering service, a fullrange of publications, and press and public relationswork to raise the profile of work with young people.

The NYA is also the major impetus behind theInformation Shops initiative, which offers high-quality high-street information provision for youngpeople.

National Youth Agency, 17-23 Albion Street,Leicester LE1 6GD. Tel: [0116] 285 6789.

Further Education DevelopmentAgency

FEDA'S mission is to provide services to further edu-cation which promote quality, lead curriculumdesign, and development and enhance effective gov-ernance and management.

To achieve our mission we offer a range of serviceswhich can be broadly divided into:

trainingpublications and informationconsultancyresearch.

We are committed to applying high standards of cus-tomer care and equality of opportunity across all ourservices.

FE matters

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VOI 2 No

ForewordYouth services and further education colleges arenatural partners: both work with young people whochoose to participate and seek to extend their expe-rience, horizons and skills. Each sector is respondingto a range of national initiatives to widen partic-ipation and promote lifelong learning.

This publication is the result of a timely projectbetween the Further Education Development Agencyand the National Youth Agency and is designed tostrengthen this partnership.

It demonstrates how youth work supports youngpeople in further education through a range of prac-tices drawn from the 10 project colleges.

We hope it will help to extend the range and qualityof joint initiatives and complementary work betweencolleges and youth work.

Tom Wylie, Chief Executive of the National YouthAgency, and Stephen Crowne, Chief Executive of theFurther Education Development Agency

VOI 2 No FE matters

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5

IntroductionHOW TO USE THIS PUBLICATIONThis publication has three main sections:

description and analysis of some of thecurrent youth work contributions whichsupport young people in further educationmaterials for college self-assessment andevaluation of this contributioncase studies of youth work provision tostimulate discussion on developing youthwork in colleges.

The case studies represent a wide range of youthwork practice contributing to the access, retentionand achievement of young people in further edu-cation. They are drawn from the practices describedby the colleges contributing to this project. Thematerial appears twice: firstly illustrating thefindings of the project, and secondly with questionsfor use by colleagues to stimulate thought andaction.

The case studies and evaluation framework havebeen designed for practical use and can be repro-duced. They are included on the computer discenclosed with this publication.

BACKGROUND

This publication is the result of a project establishedby FEDA and the National Youth Agency (NYA) in1996. The aims of the project were to:

assess the particular contribution of youthwork in supporting the personal and socialdevelopment of individual students,curriculum development and records ofachievementexamine how youth workers in collegeswork with student services, student unions,personal tutors and other college staffidentify factors which contribute to effectivepartnerships in different managementarrangementsidentify means of evaluating thecontribution of youth work to the access,retention and achievement of disaffectedyoung people in further education.

6

At the outset a focus of the project was the identifi-cation of support to disaffected young people.However, it became apparent very quickly that youthworkers in colleges were contributing to a widerange of programmes and support accessed by thefull range of students, including those identified asdisaffected.

The project was designed to complement work insimilar fields, by FEDA challenging behaviour;drugs; guidance; city estates and the NYA youthwork in different settings, quality assurance andevaluation. It has also informed the Young AdultLearners Project (YALP); NYA and NationalInstitute of Adult and Continuing Education(NIACE) project. It has built on findings from theDearing review of qualifications for 16-19 year oldsand the OFSTED report on youth work for1995-96. It was jointly managed and financed byFEDA and the NYA.

Ten project colleges worked with the consultant andadvisors from FEDA and the NYA. Selection of thecolleges was based on the following criteria:

geographical and environmental factorsthe size of the collegeyouth work practicethe relationship between the college and thelocal authority.

From November 1996 to March 1997 the projectteam visited the colleges and met with a range ofstaff and students. The aims of the visits were toascertain the role of the youth worker(s) and toexamine the contribution to whole college practice,particularly the recruitment, retention and achieve-ment of students under 25. Colleges also assisted inthe development of the evaluation materials.

The opinions of students were seen as critical inassessing the effectiveness of the work. From theoutset the project was designed to be developmentaland participatory. The involvement of the collegesand steering group members in piloting and com-menting on the draft evaluation materials andmethods as they have been developed has been acrucial part of the project.

In the light of the Kennedy Report (1997), with itsfocus on widening participation within further edu-cation, and the government's new employment and

FE matters 8 VOI 2 No

training options for young people, this work hasproved timely. It reflects the development of part-nership and consortia approaches within education,particularly in relation to young people who are dis-advantaged and disaffected, or who may have fol-lowed a less conventional route into furthereducation.

The White Paper 'Learning to Compete: educationand training for 14-19 year olds' further encouragedthe establishment of partnerships to create innov-ative programmes to identify disaffected 14 to 19-year -olds and draw them back into learning.

New Start (formerly Relaunch) was also establishedon the basis of strategic partnerships which providednew opportunities for disaffected 14 to 17-year-olds.Proposals had to include a wide range of educationand training providers, and guidance specified theinclusion of youth services, voluntary organisationsand further education institutions. Furthermore, inthe context of developing and extending opportu-nities for education and training to all, we expect tosee mention of both the youth service and the furthereducation sector in the Government's White Paperon lifelong learning due this November.

It is hoped that the range of youth work describedhere and the variety of management arrangementsfor successful partnerships and complementary workwill stimulate and encourage further developmentson practice with the shared aim of contributing toyoung people's achievements in further education.

Youth work in colleges is underpinned by principlesof young people's participation and empowerment.Youth work can be defined by students' voluntaryinvolvement. It is their choice to opt into the pro-grammes, projects and support offered through theyouth work presence in a college that often distin-guishes the practices from that of other college staff.

The basis of this engagement is often the strength ofthe work and the methods and approaches adopted,particularly when youth workers are targeting youngpeople who have been disaffected and disenfran-chised through more traditional and statutory educa-tional obligations.

Youth work in colleges may be undertaken bystudent liaison officers, student welfare workers,youth and security teams as well as youth workers,and youth and community workers.

In 1993 the Further Education Unit (FEU) and theNYA undertook a joint study of the contribution ofyouth work to further education (Pittham andHunter 1993). The NYA followed up these findingsby supporting the growth of youth work in and with

VOi 2 No 1

further education colleges through conferences, net-working and articles in the national press (Paraskeva1994). In January 1995 an NYA survey of collegesand local authority youth services focused on thedevelopment and management of youth work in andwith further education colleges (National YouthAgency 1995). The aim of the survey was to examinewhat type of collaborative work existed and how itwas managed (see Appendix B). It was already clearfrom responses that local partnerships were devel-oping and contributing to a range of practice.

FE matters9

7

2 Youth work's contribution tosupporting young people in FE

The range and quality of the contribution by youthworkers in colleges are extensive. The ethos of col-leges employing youth workers generally emphasisesstudent participation, responsibility and involve-ment. Through the different aspects and contri-bution of their work, youth workers in collegesencourage students to take responsibility for them-selves and others.

The project visits uncovered areas of work that thecollege and youth workers had not recognised.Youth work posts are sometimes established toaddress specific aspects of student support, and thenextended by the college and the individual workersas the skills, methods and approaches of the staff arefound to be of value in other aspects of the college'sdevelopment and support services.

Youth work within the 10 project colleges encom-passes all of the following:

curriculum enhancement and supportadvice, information and informalcounsellingpersonal and social developmentdecision-makingmentoringsupporting the student unionsecurity workequality of opportunityrecruitmentskills developmentthe involvement of young people on avoluntary basismethods which are empowering rather thandirective.

Some of the colleges plan to increase the numbers ofyouth workers employed or extend the hours of part-time youth worker posts. Budgets for youth work incolleges are also being re-examined in recognition ofyouth work's contribution to student retention andachievement, and also to the ethos and promotion ofthe college more generally. Youth workers are con-tributing to increased achievement and retention ofmany students and not simply those with a back-ground of 'disaffection' or who could perhaps bedefined as socially excluded (Merton 1996).

The following examples demonstrate the range ofways in which youth work contributes to the collegeenvironment and beyond.

8

CURRICULUM ENHANCEMENTAND SUPPORTExamples of curriculum enhancement are varied andextensive. The Duke of Edinburgh's Award is offeredby youth workers in several colleges. Some youthworkers work with student unions to offer a range ofclubs and societies, short courses and residentials.Youth workers deliver elective programmes andtutorial sessions encompassing a broad curriculumincluding health, driving, assertiveness, anger man-agement, equal opportunities, sports and arts. Ingeneral, colleges encourage students to recordachievements through youth work in their NationalRecord of Achievement. However, sometimesachievement in the form of curriculum enhancementis not recorded or recognised.

Youth workers also develop projects that contributeto students' core curriculum. These are often devisedand designed with a specific group of students. Inone example the youth work project contributed tosome students' evidence of achievement which waspart of their Advanced GNVQ course.

Several youth workers in different colleges areinvolved in supporting students on college local edu-cation authority link courses with disaffected 14 to16-year-olds. The youth workers may offer modulesor short programmes in basic or key skills or cur-riculum areas to small groups of students. Sometimesthese provide access into recognised qualifications,for example, First Aid, Food Hygiene or CommunitySports Leader awards. Youth workers also supportcollege teaching staff by giving specific help to indi-vidual students and assisting in ensuring individuallearning needs are met.

The evidence demonstrates that there is still far morescope for extending the formal recognition of youthwork's contribution to students' achievement. Forexample, students' organisation of events or man-agement of the student union provides evidence ofconsiderable achievement in some key skills ele-ments. There is also potential for linking many moreyouth work projects with core curriculum subjects,particularly in vocational education and training,where practical experience is paramount.

FE matters Vol 2 No

Case study 1: AIDS/HIV video project

Students from the college worked collaborativelywith the local Youth and Community Service on anAIDS/HIV awareness film, which was turned into a25 minute video. The project was part funded by anAIDS action group and a local arts organisation andinvolved staff from a media company, who providedthe technical expertise and specialist equipment.

The students in the film-making group took part in aseries of technical 'taster' workshops and HIVtraining sessions before entering the pre-productionphase of the film. Ideas for the format and script ofthe video emerged from a process of group role-play,mini-dramas, brainstorming and format decision-making sessions, in which all the young people tookpart.

The video, called 'Safe', tells the story of oneweekend in the lives of five housemates. It targets anumber of issues and misconceptions about AIDS/HIV in a challenging, entertaining but thought-provoking way.

The video is supported by an education pack whichincludes activities which may be used with youngpeople after watching the video; a list of health edu-cation resources, and details of agencies andhelplines, both local and national. The video packalso includes a range of pamphlets and brochureswhich provide additional information and advice.

Benefits to the college

It was a unique opportunity for students from avariety of courses and backgrounds to develop avideo resource for use with other college students.Some of the students involved were working on aGNVQ Media Studies course: they were able tosubmit evidence of work they had undertakentowards their course requirements.

What works for students

There was significant personal development for thestudents involved: the growth of an important teamspirit; an acute sense of working together; and nosmall amount of perseverance, as the whole exercisetook up 28 days of their own time over a four-monthperiod. Students had an opportunity to extend themethods and approaches within their GNVQ courseby using this option offered by youth workers.

Seeing the video project through from concept tofinal production was a valuable educational oppor-tunity for the students. They had the opportunity to

Vol 2 No

be involved in a wide range of activities including:scriptwriting; brainstorming; role-play; storyboardwriting; on-screen acting; location filming; sound;photography; set design; costumes; make-up andproduction.

Working with such a contemporary and sensitivetopic was also important. The students themselveshad their own awareness about AIDS/HIV issuesraised significantly, removing some of their ownignorance.

All of them had the opportunity to reflect on whatthey gained from the exercise and describe it in theappropriate section of their National Record ofAchievement.

They were also able to see their contribution to asuccessful resource used as part of the World AIDSDay activities, in the college and also in the widercommunity.

Case study 2: Curriculum

enhancement and younger collegestudents

The college offers a programme to young peopleexcluded from school. The students work on a port-folio programme leading to entry level and LevelOne qualifications using the Award Scheme Develop-ment and Accreditation Network (ASDAN) bronzeaward and the Northern Council for FurtherEducation (NCFE) qualification in Motor Skills andIndependent Living. The ASDAN award offers aqualification using projects and assignments andprovides opportunities for recording evidence forNCVQ key skills assessment.

The college also offers the Youth Clubs UK FirstGear Scheme for those interested in motor skills.

The 30 students spend one day each week workingwith a tutor and a youth worker in groups of five orsix and take part in other college courses.

The youth worker supports the students in thepreparation of their portfolios and provides generaladvice and guidance on an individual basis. Thesupport is often related to issues outside of college,for example, homelessness, violence, family relation-ships and childcare.

FE matters 9

Benefits to the college

The flexibility of the ASDAN bronze award enablesachievements to be recognised through projects. Theyouth worker role as a co-tutor/education supportworker enables students' needs to be met as theyarise.

Students' skills and achievements in building go-karts far exceed the college's expectations of them,providing substantial evidence to link with some ofthe key skills.

Students' portfolios are completed and awardsgained.

What works for students

They are able to experience success and appreciatethat college is different from school.

They say that they attend because they appreciate thesupport that extends beyond their college work.

They find the learning environment more relaxedand enjoy the challenges that they complete as partof the ASDAN programme.

ADVICE, INFORMATION ANDINFORMAL COUNSELLINGIn many cases, the advice and information workundertaken by the college youth workers is a key tothe retention of students.

The activities of the youth worker have beeninvaluable in contributing to student supportover the year. Her contribution has been greatlyappreciated and commented upon by staff andstudents alike. She has supported and offeredguidance to numerous students and has savedapproximately 50 students from withdrawingfrom college last term.

Director of Customer Services

This informal aspect of the work and its directimpact on students is often difficult for youthworkers and colleges to assess. At times the pressureof dealing with students' unforeseen issues createsconflict and tension, particularly in relation to timemanagement for the youth workers concerned. Thebalance between support for individual students andthe organisation of projects, residential and groupwork and student union support is often left to indi-vidual youth workers, who occasionally experiencesome isolation from other college staff. This work is

10

often reactive, and support is sought by students incrisis situations. Therefore it is not always targetedor planned.

Some colleges are developing systems for recordingyouth workers' contact with and support for indi-vidual students. Students in all the project collegesgave many examples of advice and support that theymaintained helped them to stay on at college. Insome colleges there was provision for youth workersto lead on focused work identified as a result ofcommon issues raised by students with the studentwelfare and support services. For example, youthworkers provided group work sessions for studentson behaviour management, equal opportunities,drug awareness and bullying.

In most instances, youth workers benefit from beingmanaged within the college student support servicesteam, where they are kept aware of the respectiveroles of the different guidance, advice and coun-selling services offered within the college.

There are often links with other student support ser-vices and external support agencies, and students areusually referred on to these following initial contactwith a youth worker. In some cases, youth workersfind it difficult to refer individual students on formore specialist advice and counselling. There is apossibility in college youth work that the quality ofcontact and/or relationship between a youth workerand a student may encourage a level of confiden-tiality to develop. Knowing clearly where the bound-aries lie in terms of when it is appropriate to providespecialist support or advice is crucial. Clearly, whereyouth workers are also qualified counsellors, theycan take on the dual responsibility for advice andcounselling with the appropriate counselling supportnetworks.

Many youth workers take responsibility for the moregeneral advice and information available to studentswithin the college. This type of work includes appro-priate supplies and access to a wide range of infor-mation leaflets; organising health information days;inviting in appropriate guest speakers; arranging forvisits by opticians, dentists, family planning services,and so forth. This can be seen as an extension of theyouth information role now provided through manylocal authority and voluntary youth work organisa-tions. Some colleges make use of the National YouthAgency Focused Access Information Service(NYAFAIS) system for storing and filing information(see Figure 1). This has now been developed as aninformation database for young people available oncomputer and in print.

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Vol 2 No

Figure 1: the NYAFAIS index

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VOi 2 No

i Education

1.1 Basic skills1.2 College1.3 Learning at home1.4 School

2 Employment and training

2.1 Being at work2.2 Looking for work2.3 Training schemes2.4 Types of work2.5 Unemployment2.6 Voluntary work

3 Environment

3.1 Animal rights and care3.2 Local action3.3 World issues

Europe

4.1 European union4.2 Holidays in Europe4.3 Working in Europe

5 Family and relationships

5.1 Childcare5.2 Family and personal5.3 Finding support5.4 Love and sex

6 Health

6.1 Diet and exercise6.2 Drugs6.3 Health matters6.4 Health services6.5 Mental health and

relaxation6.6 Women's health

e!!!!!!!5e

7 Housing

7.1 Household bills7.2 Leaving home7.3 Tenants' rights7.4 Types of housing7.5 Young and homeless

8 Justice and equality

8.1 Crime8.2 Cultures8.3 Dealing with

discrimination8.4 Legal rights8.5 Politics8.6 Religions

9 Money

9.1 Benefits9.2 Debt9.3 Fund-raising9.4 Managing money9.5 Shoppers' rights9.6 Tax

io Sport, leisure and travel

10.1 Holidays in U.K.10.2 International travel

and work10.3 Leisure10.4 Sport10.5 Transport10.6 Music and the arts

National Youth Agency Focused Access Information Service

FE matters

Youth workers, with the student union, oftenproduce student information newsletters, magazinesor newspapers, including articles and topical infor-mation, as well as listing social events and leisureopportunities.

In one college youth workers administer a welfarefund, including the Access Grant from the FEFC, tosupport students in financial difficulties. Issues suchas visas/immigration, housing, relationships, familylife and cultural identity, as well as curricular andacademic issues, impact on students' attendance andconsequent achievement. Often the youth workersare seen by students as semi-independent fromcollege and are their first point of contact. Studentswelcome the less authoritarian and more impartialrole ascribed to college youth workers. Like manyother college staff, youth workers often exceed theircontractual time, particularly when responding tounplanned 'crisis' situations.

Many colleges find that funding arrangementsthrough the FEFC do not provide for enough sup-port to address the wider range of issues that impacton students' learning and achievements. Balancingindividual student and college interests sometimespresents tensions for youth workers managed andemployed directly by a college.

Case study 3: Advice and information

the role of a youth workerThe college has a youth worker who is employedjointly by the college and the local youth service on afull-time basis overall. This arrangement allows two-thirds of the time to be spent in college and one-thirdon community-based activities. There is an in-builtflexibility which means that the youth worker mightspend the vast majority and sometimes the wholeof a week in college when the demand is high (forexample at the beginning of the Autumn term) andcompensate for this at other times of the academicyear.

The youth worker is located in a purpose-built suiteof rooms from which the college's student servicesdivision operates. This means that there is easy andfrequent communication between the staff workingin the various strands of student services, includingthe counsellors, the careers officer, the welfare officerand the head of student services.

The advantage of this arrangement is that the bound-aries of responsibilities between the youth workerand other members of the student services team areseldom compromised.

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Benefits to the college

The personal skills of the youth worker are wellrecognised by the students.

Regular use is made of all the facilities within studentservices, and the youth worker has a visible rolewithin that provision.

The youth worker works with both individuals andgroups and liaises closely with the counsellors.Contact records and student evaluations reveal thatseveral interventions on the part of the youth workerhave contributed to student retention on collegecourses.

What works for students

Having a youth worker who is widely seen as per-sonally accessible, very friendly and supportive in avariety of different contexts is crucially important.

Close liaison with the sabbatical student councilofficer and other members of the student councilmeans that the youth worker has a wide range ofopportunities to provide advice and support whereappropriate with the organisation of student activ-ities, including projects, day trips and residentials,drug or HIV awareness events.

The youth worker's office is located on the groundfloor, off a busy corridor/thoroughfare for students,which means that access is easy.

It is also helpful for the students to know that theyouth worker complements the work of othersupport staff who can provide more specialisedcounselling or accurate and up-to-date welfareadvice.

The youth worker is widely regarded as approach-able and accessible and is highly respected. Havingthe other members of the student services team sonear at hand within the dedicated suite of rooms,including the confidential interviewing rooms,enables cross-referrals to be arranged very efficiently.

MENTORINGMentoring is a term increasingly used in the supportand supervision of work-based learning. The use ofmentors or key workers is also being considered as ameans of supporting young people within the NewDeal. There has recently been an increase in 'men-toring' projects supporting disadvantaged or dis-affected young people. It is difficult, however, to

FE matters Vol 2 No

agree a definition of mentoring and how this rolediffers from that of supervisor, tutor, teacher, youthworker or role model.

It could be said that the role of the youth worker inthe college is that of mentor. A definition producedby the `Mentoring Working for a Degree' project atLeeds Metropolitan University, provides a helpfulstarting point:

A mentor is someone who facilitates thelearning, growth and development of theirlearner/mentee. Mentoring is about developinga 'special' relationship, built on trust.

(Leeds Metropolitan University 1995)

The emphasis is clearly on individual support andmutual understanding between the mentor andmentee. Youth workers also take on a mentoring rolein their own right and may well be approached byyoung people in this light, particularly when theirappointment includes targeted work with black orAsian students. The youth worker may have a spe-cific role focusing on equality and access for under-represented or disadvantaged students within thelocality of the college. Where they come from asimilar background and share a cultural identitywith students, they may be seen by students and thecollege as someone to identify with and someonewho will 'understand'. One of the strengths of youthwork is that the young people engage with the youthworkers on a voluntary basis: on the whole theydecide how, when and what to be involved in.

The age of mentors for young people is an importantfactor in some of the training developmentsinvolving young students in 'study support' (ThePrince's Trust 1997) schemes in schools, colleges andyouth centres.

There are several examples where youth workers areinvolved in more structured `mentoring' schemes andare responsible for training students as mentors orsupporters to other students.

Case study 4: Youth worker as rolemodel and mentorThe community in which the college is located has alarge number of disaffected young people, whoseattraction to and retention at the college are crucialin educational, community and financial terms. Thisled to the appointment of a part-time youth workerat one of the college's five main campuses, where themajority of youth provision is concentrated.

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This particular college site has a very high pro-portion of students of African or Caribbean originand large numbers of white lecturers. So it is signif-icant that the youth worker appointed is black,female, young and approachable.

Benefits to the college

There is evidence that some students see college staff(including some employed in supportive roles such asstudent welfare officers and careers advisors) as`authority figures' and would tend therefore not togo to them for advice. Many of the college tutors areseen by students in the same light.

The youth worker appointed by the college on apart-time basis has proved to be very effective. In therelatively short time since her appointment she hasdeveloped a range of support for students including:

working with non-attenders in less formalsettingsorganising activities, on, for instance, drugawarenesshelping with the running of clubs, societiesand sporting activities.

The college evidence indicates that the level of com-plaints and incidents at the college site has droppedsignificantly since the appointment of the youthworker.

A good rapport has been developed with both maleand female students and, from student contact infor-mation, it is clear that a larger proportion of malestudents have been seeking help and advice since theyouth worker was appointed.

The youth worker reported that she has been able toearn the trust of many of the young people, and hasbeen able to work with them, developing strategiesto enhance their social skills, time management,responsibility and communication skills. The conse-quence of this was that many more of these youngpeople are being retained on courses from whichthey would have dropped out otherwise.

What works for students

The youth worker is also involved outside the collegeon another project in the community which gives herconsiderable experience on housing issues. She istherefore able to advise many students on that spe-cific welfare issue with up-to-date and relevant infor-mation.

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Many of the students see the youth worker as amentor whom they can turn to for support andencouragement.

SUPPORTING THE STUDENTUNIONMany youth workers are involved in supporting thestudent union. It is a role that fits very comfortablywith the skills, experience and professional trainingof youth workers. Most youth workers work in part-nership with the student union. Their shared aimsare:

increased representation of students oncollege committeescreation of more democratic structureswithin the college and the college NUSincreased membershipmore activities organised by the union.

The youth worker is likely to be involved in estab-lishing and monitoring some of the systems andsupport structures that enable the union to function.In some instances this includes oversight of theaccounts and providing a signature for the bank.

The increasing numbers of part-time students andthe younger age of many full-time students in somecolleges often make recruitment to sabbatical postsand executive roles very difficult in further educationcolleges. The continuity provided by the support of ayouth worker is regarded as particularly importantby colleges wanting an active union to carry on fromone year to the next.

Case study 5: Supporting the studentunionThe youth worker in the college is employed by thecollege for three days a week during term time, andestimates that she spends on average a quarter of hertime supporting the student union executive. Thiswork is more intensive during student elections andat the start and end of the year. For the last year shehas been working an extra one or two days perweek. The college has gradually moved to makingthe youth worker post more substantial. It started asa temporary post of nine hours per week in 1995.The college has also experienced a 72% rise innumbers of full-time students during the past twoyears.

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The youth worker works alongside the student unionexecutive and membership, establishing structuresthat encourage students to take responsibility fortheir own union. This includes:

identifying with the executive events theywant to organisesupporting residentials and activitiespublicityelectionsfinancial responsibility.

Training to support the executive is organised asearly as possible and includes representation skills,working as a team, understanding discriminationand equality. The current age range of the executiveis 17 to 23. The youth worker is developing linkswith the youth service and plans to run the Duke ofEdinburgh's Award Scheme in the college.

A successful health fair was organised using astudent health group and external agencies. It wasfunded by the local health promotion team and willbe run on an annual basis.

Benefits to the college

The college has an effective student union and stu-dents are involved in organising a number of theirown activities.

The general team-building and group work skillsused by the youth workers in empowering thestudent union executive are recognised and valued.

Re-organisation of the elections, so that some of theposts are elected in the Spring term and some in theAutumn term, has benefited the college in the conti-nuity of the executive over the academic year.

The youth worker has helped retention and has seenand supported numerous students who would haveleft without advice and support.

The high profile fund-raising events such as Childrenin Need and Red Nose Day have attracted positivemedia coverage and contributed to raising the profileof the college.

What works for students

Students are contributing to college policy docu-ments. A student union executive member sits on theGoverning Board and the Academic Board.

The student union executive members have jobdescriptions. They have also acquired their ownoffice and have just appointed a part-time adminis-trator.

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The student newsletter and information guide areaccurate and up to date and produced regularly.

The student executive team hold a regular weeklymeeting with the youth worker. They produce termlyreports, evaluate events and attend NUS training.

The student union has organised events including:discos and balls, fund-raising for Children in Need,events for World AIDS Day and World MentalHealth Day, and sports and arts activities.

The students organise a range of activities. They seethe youth worker as supporting them, and under-stand that they are responsible for making the unionand the events work.

They enjoy being with the youth worker and take anactive interest in the other aspects of the role. Theyregard the youth worker as their advocate and seekadvice on an individual as well as a collective basis.They respect the fact that she does not make thingseasy for them by doing it herself. They have learnedby mistakes as well as successes.

SECURITY AND YOUTH WORKIn all of the project colleges the youth workers havesome responsibility for safety and security. This isnot usually their primary role, but is a result ofmethods and approaches which complement acollege ethos where students are encouraged to takeresponsibility for themselves, as well as for othersand the college. Youth workers in two of the collegeswork from rooms adjacent to the refectory. In twoothers they are prominently located on main cor-ridors near reception, while the library is the base inanother college. In one college the canteen is the basefor some of the youth work projects and activities.This is where students and youth workers worktogether on displays and promotion of local andnational campaigns such as World AIDS Day,Mental Health Week, Environment Week, and fund-raising activities. It is this high profile in public areasof the college during students' free time that meansyouth workers are on hand to deal with difficult sit-uations as they arise. In some cases they do defuseviolent situations.

Where youth workers work in both the college andthe locality they often know some of the non-stu-dents who enter the college premises.

As the FEDA paper 'Tackling Drugs Together'(Mitchell and Bone 1997) identifies, colleges' fran-chising of catering and security services may exac-erbate concerns about security, because the staff areunfamiliar with the students and the college ethos.

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In one college spending on security and more tradi-tional surveillance is minimal, and this is attributedto the youth work team. The college is open 364days of the year, with two youth workers coveringthe premises 12 hours each day. The local com-munity is encouraged to use the college.

There is currently debate in the further educationsector regarding the profile and approaches of youthand security teams. Clearly, as with all other aspectsof youth work in colleges, there will not be oneapproach that all colleges will adopt. The ethos ofthe college in relation to security is critical and allstaff need training to ensure that this is promotedthroughout their work. The level of involvement ofyouth workers in security matters will then com-plement the whole college approach, which mayinclude the appointment and training of a specificteam responsible for youth and security work.

Case study 6: Youth and securityThe college has employed a team of youth andsecurity workers since the mid-1980s. The teamoperate across three main sites from 9.00 am until10.00 pm. They are trained by the team manager.Each member of staff gains a City and Guilds quali-fication in security and undertakes the college's ownyouth work training. The induction period includestwo weeks shadowing staff and familiarisation withan operational handbook.

The team organise a range of activities, visits andspeakers for students. The youth and securityworkers are always on hand to respond to issues anddeal with any violence. They wear tracksuits whichenable them to be identified easily by staff and stu-dents.

Benefits to the college

Recruitment to the college has improved and thelevel of violent incidents has decreased since theyouth and security team has been in post.

Consistency of approach by the team is important insuch a large college. Staff do not have to know thedetail of all policies when they know that the generalpractice is to call the team to deal with incidents.

The team support other staff and ensure that proce-dures are followed, investigations are thorough andany statements necessary are recorded.

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The high profile of the security element is particu-larly significant in enabling the number of Asian stu-dents attending the college to rise. The ethnic profileof the team reflects that of the locality of the college.

Staff development is valued in that the team are qual-ified in security work and experienced in youthwork. Many have moved on to new jobs or taken upopportunities for further education and training.

Recording of incidents provides support to staff ifpolice are involved in more serious cases.

What works for students

The students feel safer in college. They have a rangeof activities and events available to them.

They know that each incident will be responded toaccording to the operational handbook and in thisrespect any response to incidents will be dealt withfairly and equitably.

There is less bullying of disabled students or thosewith learning difficulties, and the youth and securityteam members make a point of knowing these stu-dents, and providing them with additional support.

The team can arrange for individual students to havecontracts regarding behaviour, and are responsiblefor monitoring these and reporting back to staff, stu-dents and parents.

RECRUITMENT

For many colleges, recruitment of students from newand different areas and extending traditional furthereducation college boundaries is a priority. Theproject found that youth workers' involvement inrecruitment was significant, but often unplanned andpiecemeal. It is difficult to find hard evidence of thisinvolvement as it is mainly anecdotal. Their contri-bution and potential cannot be underestimated, par-ticularly in relation to widening participation andaccessing new younger students within their enti-tlement to the New Deal.

Where youth workers were employed in both thecollege and local authority youth work settings,opportunities for 'informal' promotion of andrecruitment to further education were evident. Thoseworking in the community were in contact withyoung people who were unemployed and not in edu-cation or training, and encouraged them to go alongto the college for information on opportunities andcourses available. They arranged to meet youngpeople in college so that they would be assured ofcontact with at least one person who knew them.

Where organisation and management between theyouth service and college were most effective, collegeyouth workers and local authority youth workersused locality staff meetings to inform each other ofopportunities available to young people, includingupdating on new college initiatives.

In one college the youth work team organise a fullprogramme of summer activities on site during themain holiday. These activities are open to childrenand young people in the local community. Studentsare trained and supported by the youth workers toprovide playscheme activities in addition to takingpart in their own organised activities and visits. Thisprogramme is valued by the college for its contactwith parents as potential students, as well as withtheir children, who may become college students inthe future.

Youth workers are important. They often act asan informal link into the community servicedby the college . . . youth workers often alreadyhave a good dialogue with the parents andguardians of our students. They can provideuseful insights in this respect.

College Manager

Youth workers are often very active in studentinduction weeks and college open days. They usuallywork with the student union to demonstrate to newyounger students how college is different fromschool, and that it offers support and a social life inaddition to education. For the more reluctant andsceptical recruits, in particular, the welcome andintroduction to college may be critical to theirdecision to remain. Word of mouth is vitallyimportant, and the new students will assist inwidening access if they feel the college has somethingto offer them. The youth worker, like any othercollege staff, in this first week will also be involved inhelping new students to make decisions relating notonly to their education and training, but often familylife, relationships, finance and accommodation.

While it is important that the youth work contri-bution to recruitment is acknowledged and recog-nised, a more holistic and strategic managementapproach would take on board this contributiontogether with analysis of the overall impact of thedifferent recruitment strategies and costs.

One college was using Section 11 funding toestablish a mentoring scheme for college students tosupport underachieving pupils in a neighbouring11-16 school. This provided a potential link intocollege for Asian pupils who may not have thoughtof continuing in education. Another college had

16 BEST COPY AVAILABLE FE matters 18VO1 2 No

linked with the local authority youth service andbeen successful in gaining European funding for aproject designed to target young unemployed people.These young people received training in a local youthcentre and attended college. Staff from the collegeand the youth service provided complementarysupport, and in working together the project wasable to extend the opportunities available to youngpeople who otherwise may not have considered re-entering education.

Other examples of college youth work cited hereprovide further in which youth workers have beenattributed with contributing to improved recruit-ment (see security and youth work, Case study 6).

Case study 7: Youth work with Asian

studentsYouth work in the college is managed by theguidance and liaison section of student services.There are three part-time Asian youth worker posts,which were established specifically to focus on theneeds of Asian students. Two of the youth workers(one male and one female) are each employed for 25hours per week, while another male worker providessupport for two sessions a week.

A support group for Asian students was establishedby the youth workers and has proved very popular. Itprovides regular sessions on a weekly basis in termtime.

The youth workers also support students in thelibrary on a regular basis.

The number of full-time Asian students, mostlyMuslims aged 16 to 19, is high in relation to the full-time college student population, and the proportionof Asian students in the college is also higher thanwithin the local population.

Benefits to the college

A major reason for appointing the Asian youthworkers was to provide support for students in chal-lenging alleged racism from some of the non-teaching staff within the college, particularly amongthe security staff. The issues which prompted thecollege to appoint the Asian youth workers werebecoming increasingly significant. They have nowbeen largely resolved as a result of the initiative.

The Asian youth workers liaised closely with thesestaff and provided opportunities to discuss race-related issues. Given that the previous situation hadcontributed to management concerns about

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retention of the college's Asian student population,there has been an important contribution made toimproving retention rates and achievement levels.

Support was provided for the Asian students on agroup and individual basis, with additional supportthrough acting as an advocate with their parentsover certain college-related issues.

The number of complaints from Asian students, par-ticularly regarding the nature of remarks made bysome members of the non-teaching staff, hasdropped significantly following the appointment ofthe Asian youth workers. Some of the previous com-plaints related to being treated as children ratherthan young adults and these have also been resolved.

There was also an improvement in the quality oflinks between the college and the parents of some ofthe Asian students. The youth workers had been ableto talk successfully and meaningfully to some of theparents regarding issues of gender, culture and edu-cation.

What works for students

The Asian students interviewed reported that thecontribution of the Asian youth workers had beencrucial in enabling them to continue at college.

The youth workers live within the local communitiesfrom which the Asian students are drawn. They aretherefore well known and respected: two of themmeet many of the same students in other youth activ-ities with which they are associated outside college,such as community-based football and cricket teams.

The students felt that their opportunities forachievement were enhanced by the general supportof the Asian youth workers and their increasedaccess to the college library, where one of the Asianyouth workers is based.

Through the support group Asian students wereinvolved in a number of projects, including plans for aninternational exchange to Pakistan. This included linkswith a college in Lahore and a variety of fund-raisingevents, including an Eid party (a celebration at the con-clusion of Ramadan) and a fashion show.

The support group is run by a committee of studentswho are taking responsibility for many of the activ-ities, with the help of the youth workers. Thesupport group has developed an education pro-gramme, including some outside speakers, onmatters such as cultural awareness, Asian dance anddrug education, and are also now involved in organ-ising trips and visits.

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3 Management and supportManagement arrangements are almost as varied asthe youth work contributions. The main issues relateto the size of the youth work team, partnershiparrangements with the local youth service andstaffing matters such as recruitment, training andline management.

In 1995 the National Youth Agency examined man-agement arrangements for youth work in colleges insome depth. Questionnaire responses from 51 col-leges and local authority youth services provided thebasis for the analysis. The information in AppendixA is taken from an NYA briefing paper (Middleton1993). The findings continue to be reflected incurrent practice, where the numbers and hours ofyouth work contact time for the 10 project collegesvaries from two part-time youth work posts of threehours to a team of eight covering the college site inshifts from 8.30 am until 10.00 pm.

Individual part-time youth workers continue toprovide aspects of all of the areas of work describedin Section 4, encouraging students to contribute toan enormous range of projects and programmes.College youth work is found to be most effectivewhen the youth workers take part in collegemeetings with staff from relevant departments, andwhere managers from the college and the localauthority youth service meet on a regular basis. Inthe majority of colleges, the youth workers aremanaged within the student support services. Youthworkers who are employed part-time by the college,and part-time by the local authority youth service,value the benefits of networking with colleagues andthe development of area youth work strategies. Theyare also able to inform colleagues of the collegecourses available and any new initiatives that may beof relevance to young people in contact with theseyouth workers.

The benefit of being a youth worker/welfareofficer at this college, enables me to use mytraining and background to work with andsupport students to enable them to get the mostout of their time at the college.

Student Welfare Officer

Youth workers' access to facilities within the collegevaries according to their employment and the aims ofthe college for the work. In one college the youth

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work team manage a separate youth centre. Youthworkers also generally operate through collegecommon rooms and refectories. Office accommo-dation and space for meeting with individual stu-dents is sometimes difficult for youth workers to findand they often borrow rooms from other depart-ments. This flexible use of accommodation is advan-tageous in that it gives youth workers access tosports and arts facilities. There are additionalresourcing difficulties when a college operates onseveral sites and a youth worker's time is spread toothinly.

RECRUITMENT AND TRAININGWhere youth workers and those undertaking youthwork in colleges are employed directly by the college,they are often appointed on salary scales well belowthose nationally agreed by the JNC for the youthwork profession (see Appendix B). Colleges are notalways aware of the national structures for trainingand employment of youth workers, and do notalways look for qualified youth workers. However,where youth workers are employed by the college,they have access to the college appraisal systems anda wide range of staff development and trainingopportunities.

Professional training for college youth workers isgenerally better where there are links with the localyouth service and recognition is given to nationallyand locally recognised professional qualifications.Similarly, where the youth service assists colleges indrawing up job descriptions and recruiting youthworkers, the posts are more likely to acknowledgeprofessional youth work qualifications, pay and con-ditions. (Appendix C offers sample job descriptions.)

PARTNERSHIP ARRANGEMENTSA variety of partnership arrangements with the localauthority youth services exist within the 10 projectcolleges. There is not one single accepted practice.The value of working in and with the college isrecognised by the youth service and the college alike.At a time when both sectors are struggling withdiminishing budgets, partnership developments are

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seen as beneficial. They also assist in attracting addi-tional sources of income to work with disadvantagedyoung people.

Evidence exists of additional benefits in partnershipbetween colleges and youth services leading to jointaccess of additional finance, including SingleRegeneration Budget, Section 11 and European-funded projects (Youth Start).

With new government initiatives, such as the NewDeal for young people and the New Start, it is

evident that this national encouragement to continueinnovative partnerships will continue.

Several youth services have also made arrangementswith colleges to provide training for youth workersunder FEFC Schedule 2a.

College networking with the voluntary youth worksector was unusual and tended to relate to the levelof local activity by specific voluntary organisations.Some colleges encourage students to volunteerwithin their communities and are working withCommunity Service Volunteers (CSV) and PrincesTrust Volunteers (PTV) to support community vol-unteering initiatives.

In some colleges clear partnership agreements havebeen made between youth services and colleges forlocal authority youth workers to work on collegesites; in others there is a looser arrangement. Thelocal authority youth work managers and collegemanagers generally hold regular meetings to discussprogress and developments.

Case study 8: Partnershiparrangements district youthworkers

The college has three youth workers, all of whom arefull-time employees of the local authority youthservice and work in the college on a sessional basis.As district youth workers, they also work in theother further education college in the town, schoolsand various youth centres. Mixing with studentsboth inside and outside the college is seen to be avaluable component of the current arrangement.

The management arrangements therefore allow forthe use of the college premises as a base for youthwork strategies developed within the localauthority's youth service policy framework.

The youth service district team manager and thecollege's dean of membership services jointly managethe development of youth work in the college. Thisenables discussions on matters where the youth

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service is involved with the college to be handled in aco-ordinated and more efficient way. Many furthereducation colleges are extremely large organisations,as in this case, and the youth service is particularly infavour of having a single contact point within thecollege.

In this example, the staffing costs of the youthworkers are covered by the youth service. (Undercurrent arrangements, one of the youth workers ispaid for out of Section 11 funds.) The college isresponsible for the costs of providing a dedicatedyouth work room in the main dining area and anytime for related senior management staff liaison.

Benefits to the college

The youth workers come into the college with par-ticular specialisms, interests and experience whichbenefit the students and provide another tier ofsupport for the college's advice, guidance andsupport services.

One particular strength of the youth work team isthat it is mixed race in composition and has under-taken some pro-active multi-cultural work, address-ing issues of racial tension.

There is limited formal security within the college,and the youth workers are seen to contribute to theoverall college ethos of promoting student partic-ipation and community involvement.

The two senior managers meet on a regular basis andhave established what was described as a goodworking relationship. There was joint recognitionthat both the college and the youth service wereseeking to focus more and more on serving theyoung people of the town as effectively as possible.

Links with the personal tutor system have beendeveloped by the youth workers. Evidence is

growing that their sympathetic intervention in disci-plinary issues is seen as a contribution to studentretention.

Youth workers' awareness of potential issues andopportunities outside the formal college curriculum,for example sessions on drug awareness and withAsian young men, was seen to be very valuable.There are examples of inter-agency co-operation inarranging events for the college. Co-operationbetween the college, youth service and other localservices resulted in the college acting as a venue for acommunity theatre, which has raised a number ofissues of importance to students at the college.

FE matters 21. 19

The college and youth service are developing aframework for action which links into issues likerecruitment, support and achievement of students.Three levels of involvement have been devised whichrelate to shared and complementary strategic objec-tives:

Level One The college pursues its own strategicobjectives, as does the youth service. Under this sce-nario, the college's function is to serve as a conve-nient location for accessing young people for theyouth service.

Level Two This relates to agreed joint ventureswhich aim to achieve shared strategic objectives.Under these circumstances, each party would con-tribute funding on a pro rata basis.

Level Three These are agreed joint ventures forwhich allocated funds do not exist in either organi-sation's budget. The two partners, the college andthe local youth service, agree to work on collabo-rative partnership bids to fund an agreed jointproject. Depending on circumstances, this mayinvolve additional interested agencies and/or parties.

What works for students

Having youth workers who are well known, in andout of college, is seen to be an important asset.

Receiving quality, well-informed advice, and tutorialsupport is important.

The recent allocation of a youth work room immedi-ately adjacent to the main student dining area is seenas an important development. It is next door to thestudent union office, which will provide an oppor-tunity for promoting closer links between the youthworkers and the student union.

Case study 9: Partnership

arrangements a college youth workteam

The college has extensive links with the localauthority youth service, based on shared values andpurposes, within a mutually supportive framework.

The college has three youth workers, each of whomoperates on one of its three main sites, comingtogether for shared activities and team meetings.They are, however, employed directly by the college,rather than the youth service.

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All three youth workers are youth and communitywork trained and are experienced practitioners.Their line manager (the student services manager)was previously the local authority principal youthofficer. In addition, the director of the departmentwhich embraces student services has worked in theyouth and community service.

There is therefore considerable knowledge of thefacilities and opportunities within the local youthservice, and this has led to a breadth of networking.

Joint activities have included: evening excursions,which involved team-building and sailing, at a localoutdoor centre; a joint youth service/college drugreview group; a collaborative drug challenge bid;and the use by college students of youth service facil-ities, accommodation and equipment.

Benefits to the college

The college has benefited from employing qualityyouth workers, who have high levels of credibilitywith the student population.

In addition, support for the college youth workershelps alleviate their sense of isolation, with opportu-nities through training to keep up-to-date withcurrent developments in youth work provision.

The close relationship has also meant that there hasbeen extensive promotion of youth service activitiesand projects among the college student population.This has included a large number of referrals to theyouth service's Information Shop.

The links with the local youth service have also pro-vided the chance to demonstrate good practice inquality assurance and inspection, such as: supportfor students through links with community-basedagencies; and cross college/general facilities, wherethe college has been able through the youth serviceto access recreational and sport facilities which arenot available within the college itself.

Close links do enable cross-referrals to take place,with some contribution made to recruitment andretention within the college.

What works for students

The youth workers are very experienced in sup-porting activities like the welcome fair (part of thestudents' induction programme), drug awareness,equal opportunities, women's week, faith festivals, aswell as theatre and residential visits.

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They are also well informed on a range of youth-related issues, supporting tutorial work on issuessuch as bullying, personal effectiveness and stressmanagement.

The student union at the college is a registered vol-untary youth organisation in its own right, and thusis on the local youth service mailing list. They aretherefore able to access the full range of literatureand information first-hand.

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4 Framework and guidance forself-assessment and evaluation

Evaluation in youth work and in colleges entails anongoing process of checking, reviewing andamending practice. The collection of a range ofinformation, including reports, surveys, studentfeedback, attendance figures, etc, will influencechange and development in the work of the collegeyouth work team. To provide the most appropriatesupport for students, college youth workers and theirmanagers have to be able to measure how practicehas changed and identify new outcomes, as well asconsider how far youth work meets the targets iden-tified at the outset.

The monitoring and evaluation materials developedas part of the project have been designed to assist intargeting college youth work in order that the contri-bution is focused and complementary to othercollege provision. They are also in keeping with theprocesses of self-assessment and reporting intro-duced by the new FEFC inspection framework.

The examples and evidence from the project collegesindicate that youth work needs to be evaluated onthe basis of both planned and unplanned outcomes.As has been demonstrated through many of theexamples in this publication, youth work can beplanned, targeted and pro-active. Projects are oftendeveloped with the students over a period of time, inresponse to issues identified by them. These may bedelivered through tutorial sessions, peer education,skills development, optional programmes, and theorganisation of residentials. Some of this work maylead to recognised accredited qualification for stu-dents.

It is both possible and desirable for youth work to beresponsive to unplanned issues arising within thecollege for example bullying, stress, racism anddrugs. This responsive nature of youth work is oftencritical as it provides the college with a means ofaddressing unforeseen issues, many of which arerelated to individual students' attendance and conse-quently their achievement.

Where youth workers were offering advice/infor-mation, the collection of statistics and monitoringwas more comprehensive. Logging this type ofcontact information by youth workers is in keepingwith college practices for monitoring advice andinformation provided across the student support ser-vices. However, evaluation in one college was

22

described as verbal and informal. Collection of dataand evaluation was generally better where collegeshad recently been inspected, or were preparing forinspection.

In one college a youth worker represents the collegeyouth work team on the college quality committee.Several other youth workers provide establishedaccess routes for students to engage with andinfluence college management and evaluationthrough representation on college committees andpolicy review groups.

The project colleges assisted in developing three aidsto evaluating practice. They are all designed to facil-itate self-assessment and evaluation. They can alsobe used to assist in planning youth work and settingperformance indicators and evidence prior to estab-lishing new areas of work or introducing youth workin colleges.

The premise for evaluation of college youth work isthat it will be placed within the context of bothyouth work and college aims and objectives.

All three approaches are complementary and can beused to support each other.

Case study= Evaluation and qualityassurance

The college, located on two main sites, has a youthwork team of six full-time staff. This team haverecently been re-named the student liaison team.They are housed in a separate Student Centrebuilding, within easy access of the main collegeteaching and administrative block. The actual dis-tance from the main building is only about 25metres, but this was seen to be a significant almostsymbolic divide.

The team provide extensive services and support forstudents at the college. This includes assisting thestudent union, running a student electives pro-gramme, supporting tutorial provision, holiday pro-grammes, outreach work, residentials, specialprojects and the facilitation of specialist groups.They work a shift system and are on duty at thecollege for 12 hours per day from 8.30 am, 364 daysa year.

FE matters 24Vol 2 No

The entire team operate a comprehensive method ofrecording detailed information about the activitieswith which they are involved. This 'QualityPortfolio' is a means of collating qualitative andquantitative data about all the support provided forstudents across the college.

Benefits to the college

A recent FEFC inspection gave the college a grade 1for both Quality Assurance and student recruitment,guidance and support.

The Quality Portfolio, which is bound in a numberof large ring-binders, is an impressive and efficientlyfiled compilation of evidence of the range of youthwork-related activities that are being undertakenacross the college.

Routinely, appropriate examples of correspondence,advertisements, posters, attendance registers, tickets,photographs, evaluation sheets and any relevantpress coverage associated with a particular activityare filed in the portfolio.

The student liaison team complete weekly contactrecord sheets, including transcripts of referrals toother services. Registers are kept for studentsattending electives and tutorial sessions. In addition,use of the student centre itself is monitored andrecorded regularly four times each day. The portfolioincorporates year planner project sheets.

The advantage is that materials to support a claim ofquality provision are collated on a regular on-goingbasis, rather than immediately before an inspectionvisit. The process of finding evidence was now anexpected part of the job. All of this assists in moreeffective planning of activities across the year.

The college has attributed a measurable decrease inspending on formal security staff and other securityprovision to the youth work provision.

The youth workers in the student liaison team nowoffer a programme of tutorial support. This includestutorials on issues such as: equal opportunities,drugs education, and the written qualification for thedriving test. Additional support has been providedby members of the team for special projects such asWorld AIDS Day, Youth Work Week and mentalhealth awareness.

A range of activity-based holiday events is alsoorganised, offering fuller use of students' time andthe college premises, and consequently providingopportunities to fill what might otherwise be idletime for the students.

VOI 2 No

What works for students

Students are now involved in planning the tutorialprogramme and, as a result, many more of themchoose to attend. Some also tutor on the programmeas peer educators.

Delivery of some aspects of the tutorial programmeby members of the student liaison team was seen bystudents as a positive contribution. They likedhaving key, contemporary issues addressed by youthworkers, who are much closer to them in age thanmany of the personal tutors.

Students have access to the support of a youthworker at any time during the college day.

Youth workers are on duty in the dining area as wellas the student centre and are seen as a friendly faceand someone who knows what is happening andhow students can get involved.

COLLEGE SELF-ASSESSMENTEVALUATION FRAMEWORK

This evaluation framework is based on the FEFCCircular 97/12 'Validating Self-Assessment' and theOFSTED revised inspection schedule for youth work`Inspecting Youth Work', both published in March1997. Given that the FEFC and colleges arepreparing for self-assessment, and many localauthority youth services use the OFSTED frameworkas guidance for their own evaluation and qualityassurance practices, it was found appropriate toproduce a framework for evaluation and planning ofyouth work in colleges which synthesises the twodocuments.

The findings from this project indicate that collegeyouth work is generally evident in the following fourareas from the FEFC guidance:

the college and its missionstudents' achievementsthe curriculum content, organisation andmanagementsupport for students.

The evaluation materials focus on specific qualitystatements from the above areas.

Elements from the OFSTED framework for youthwork have been selected and adapted to give it afurther education focus, so that the principles andpractice of good youth work can be applied to acollege environment.

FE matters 25 23

It is suggested that colleges use this framework toanalyse their current provision and that it forms thebasis of discussion for a continuous cycle ofplanning, review and development. It can be copiedso that managers, youth workers and college staff inall other appropriate departments can address thefollowing questions for each FEFC focus area:

What indicative sources of evidence does thecollege have currently? What can it collect in thefuture?

What are the strengths and weaknesses of yourcollege work?

What action will be taken as a result of this evalu-ation and review?

The examples of practice adapted from the OFSTEDframework are provided to encourage considerationof self-assessment. They relate specifically to theadapted OFSTED framework elements. The exam-ples of best practice relate to college provision likelyto be graded with a 1 in the FEFC inspectionframework. Colleagues using this evaluation mayfind it useful to grade the youth work provision anddiscuss the results of this exercise.

24 FE matters

26

VOI 2 No

FEFC focus: the college and its mission

Quality statement

The college youth worker has a clear mission, is responsive to the needs of its students and young people inthe local community, seeks to widen participation in further education and promotes equal opportunities.

From the OFSTED framework: quality of practice in college youth work

Evaluation criteria

The quality of college youth work practice is judged by the extent to which youth workers:

understand and implement the educational principles of youth workknow the college and its localitydevise responsive programmes and plan sessions to the needs of the college students, and youngpeople in the localitybuild positive relationships with studentsdisplay flexible styles of leadershippresent activities which stimulate and challengeinvolve students in planning and review.

Indicative sources of evidence (FEFC and OFSTED)

mission statementpolicy statement and college's charter encompassing youth workstrategic and operational planscollege student profilethe views of college management, local youth service, students and members of the localcommunityaspects of the college's youth work performance relating to retention and achievement of studentsnumbers of students engaged in youth work programmes and activitiessession observation notesobservation of students' involvement in management and programme planningdiscussion with youth workers and studentssessional, mid and long-term planning documentsworkers' own review and evaluation procedures, including recordingsuser surveysother.

For college completion

Evidenceavailable

Who hasresponsibility?

Datefor development

Who will beinvolved?

Vol 2 No FE matters27

25

Examples

High standards are achieved where youth workers and students show mutualrespect. Youth workers make use of relationships of friendship and trust to involvestudents in challenging programmes. Youth workers understand and can deploy inpractice a range of appropriate social education methods to achieve their objectives.Sessions are thoroughly planned and use approaches which are differentiated forability and interest, and encourage students to take responsibility and develop skillsand understanding. Youth workers regularly review their work and can demonstratehow students have developed personally and socially through their participation inprogrammes.

Where standards are unsatisfactory, there is mistrust and resentment between staffand students, a reluctance to participate in stimulating activities, and a sense thatstudents are merely being 'kept out of trouble'. Youth workers do little more thansupervise activities and 'police' college premises, and show no evidence of planningor reviewing their work.

What is your grade for your college?

26 FE matters

28

Suggested grades

5

VOI 2 No

FEFC focus: students' achievements

Quality statements

Students' work is of an appropriate standard and where appropriate demonstrates vocationalcompetence.Students' other achievements are recognised and valued.Students attain their primary goals in terms of progression, for example, to other further educationcourses, higher education or employment.

From the OFSTED framework: standards of achievement for college youth

work and quality of students' response

Evaluation criteria

Standards of achievement are judged by evaluating the extent to which students show evidence of:

acquisition of new skills and interests; gains in knowledge, understanding and awareness; a sense ofachievement and enjoyment; making use of information and resourceslearning, including information-seeking, problem solving, communicating information and ideas,applying what is learned in different contexts, evaluating achievementsgrowth in confidence, self-esteem and a sense of empowerment; an ability to make choices,influence programmes and events; and engage in self-advocacy; an ability to discuss and debateissuesability to take responsibility for themselves and other people; form positive relationships withsupportive adults and peers; successfully sustain relationships.

The quality of students' response is judged by:

their ability to engage with the programmes on offertheir relationships with one another, with the workers and with other adults in the collegetheir attitudes including sensitivity, tolerance, awareness of self and others, motivation, interest andthe ability to co-operatetheir attendance and participation rates and the quality and duration of their involvement withyouth work in the college.

Indicative sources of evidence (FEFC and OFSTED)

students' reviews, evaluation and documentation of their own achievement and contribution toyouth work projects (video, photographic, written, media/press coverage)information on awards, grants, performances, exhibitions, local and national qualificationstandards and levels achieved, for example, the Community Sports Leadership Award, Duke ofEdinburgh's Award, Prince's Trust Volunteer Programme, ASDAN awardscontributions to students' Records of Achievementcontribution of youth work projects to student's courses. For example peer education projectslinked to GNVQ Business, student organisation of events and volunteering projects linked toLeisure and Tourismtestimonials from othersreports and observations from youth workers on students' achievement (video, photographic,written)

VOi 2 No

BEST COPY AVAILABLE

FEmatters 9 27

students' representation on college bodies, committees and student union activity.surveys of studentsstudents' reviews of their peers' contributions and participation.youth workers records of students participationrepresentation in college bodies and committeesmembership and attendance recordsother

For college completionEvidenceavailable

Who hasresponsibility?

Datefor development

Who will beinvolved?

28 FE matters VO1 2 No

Examples

High standards are achieved where students are influencing programmes and deci-sions, are taking responsibility for themselves and others in the college and thewider community, can demonstrate evidence of having developed new skills andinterests, and have gained in knowledge, understanding and awareness. This hasresulted in an enhancement of self-esteem and greater maturity in their relation-ships. They demonstrate effective personal and social skills as a result of their expe-rience of youth work, and they show initiative in seeking and using information insolving problems.

Response is of good quality when students are demonstrating good relationshipswith others, are engaged with the programmes on offer, and are keen to make con-tributions; they are sensitive to the needs of others and are able to co-operate inorganising and taking part in events and activities.

Standards are unsatisfactory where students are dependent on adults to provide forthem, are reluctant to take responsibility for the consequences of their actions, havenot developed new skills and interests nor made gains in knowledge, understandingand awareness. Their self-esteem is low and they show little regard for the needs andfeelings of others.

Response is of poor quality when students are immature, lacking in initiative and insensitivity to the needs of others. They are reluctant to share ideas and resources andcan neither organise for themselves nor work collaboratively with their peers orwith youth workers.

What is your grade for your college?

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31

Suggested grades

I

5

o

FE matters 29

FEFC focus: the content and organisation of the curriculum areas

Quality statement

Students have the opportunity to participate in extra-curricular activities.

OFSTED framework: youth work curriculum range and development

Evaluation criteria

The curriculum is evaluated by the extent to which it:

is co-ordinated to provide a broad and relevant range of activities and experiencesoffers wide-ranging opportunities across the college but is also targeted where appropriateprovides an effective basis for students' personal and social education and developmentrecognises, provides access and makes appropriately differentiated provision for students accordingto age, gender, ethnic origin, interests, abilities, social circumstance and sexual orientationis responsive to the needs of students by being provided at times, in places, and in ways which areaccessible and by offering opportunities for the views of students to be expressed and listened to.

Indicative sources of evidence (FEFC and OFSTED)

curriculum documents provided by timetable of provision, availability of youth worker(s) andlocation/premises for youth workpatterns of usage of different types of provisionstrategic planninguser surveys and needs assessmentsession planningcase studies and examples of good practiceother.

For college completionEvidenceavailable

Who hasresponsibility?

Datefor development

Who will beinvolved?

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VOi 2 No

Examples

Responsive programmes of activities are organised effectively and as appropriate indifferent circumstances, in ways which motivate students. Staff have high expecta-tions of their responses. Themes and activities are chosen which reflect the interestsof young people and encourage them to explore themselves and their social envi-ronment. Students are stimulated to try out new forms of self-expression and to par-ticipate in the planning, management and delivery of the work.

An unsatisfactory curriculum lacks breadth, balance, differentiation or progression.It is irrelevant to the needs and interests of students. It rarely moves beyond low-level recreation, offering little challenge or risk-taking.

What is your grade for your college?

Vol 2 Noi

33

Suggested grades

5

FE matters 31

FEFC focus: support for students

Quality statements

Students receive effective learning support to meet their individual learning needs throughout theirstudies.Students have access to relevant support on personal issues.

From the OFSTED framework: assessment of students' needs and

development

Evaluation criteria

The quality and effectiveness of assessment are judged by the extent to which youth work in colleges:

develops a curriculum and programmes according to an assessment of need, with priorities agreedby all parties, including the studentsemploys measures for assessing students' collective and individual developments within the variousprogrammes and activities on offerrecords, in conjunction with the students concerned, their achievements and development, bothindividually and collectively and in ways which enable them to recognise and demonstrate theirown and others' achievements.

Indicative sources of evidence

college profiles including demographic and socio-economic data and key trendsuser surveysminutes of advisory committees and student forumsyouth workers' annual and more immediate planning and session planssessional recordings and evaluationsdiscussion with students and college staffrecords of students achievementsproject reportsrecords of individual contact for advice and informationother

For college completionEvidence

availableWho has

responsibility?Date

for developmentWho will beinvolved?

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Vol 2 No

Examples

Where assessment of the needs of students is good, youth work will have establishedprocedures for monitoring the views and responses of students, college man-agement, other staff and other organisations and agencies. Every effort is made toobtain the views of those not in contact with the college youth work as well as thosewho are currently using it. The information gathered is used to inform the planningof programmes and the deployment of staff. Individual and group development andprogress are evaluated in conjunction with the young people involved, and arerecorded in ways which will be most helpful to their future development andprogress.

A wide range of students is reached and services, including information and advice,are easily accessible. The information provided is relevant, reliable and up-to-date.Advice is provided in confidence with an effective referral system so that specialisthelp can be secured. Students make effective use of provision and services, ensuringthat they meet their needs without becoming unduly dependent upon them.

Where assessment is poor, college youth work managers have little up-to-date infor-mation which will assist the planning of programmes and the deployment of staffand are unaware of the view of the wider college community or of demographicfactors. Youth work offers programmes which lack relevance or opportunities forprogression and students' progress is neither planned for nor recognised.

Students attend spasmodically with no real sense of purpose or interest. Provision islimited and unresponsive. College youth work has developed through custom andpractice rather than on the basis of research or analysis of students' needs.

What is your grade for your college?

VOI 2 No 1 FE matters

35

Suggested grades

i

5

o

33

ASSESSING PLANNED ANDUNPLANNED WORKThis part of the evaluation tool is designed to enablesome analysis of planned and unplanned outcomes.It may also be used as a prompt for discussionbetween youth workers and their line manager(s) onhow time might be allocated to the various tasks. Itis drawn from the principles outlined by Jeffs andSmith in their recent publication 'Informal Learning'(1996). Again this analysis of a youth worker's timecan be used to plan, review and develop the work incolleges.

The suggested strategies for use of this section are:

make an appropriate number of copies ofthe sheetline manager completes Column A onindividual copyindividual youth workers complete ColumnA on their own copies, without any liaisondiscuss the findings.

After this procedure, in a specific week or month,youth workers keep an approximate log of how theirtime was actually spent. Clearly, there will have to besome estimation, particularly in terms of unplannedinteractions in corridors, social areas or on the tele-phone. This should provide interesting data for com-parison of Columns B and C, both for individualyouth workers and across the team.

The subsequent discussion might address issues like:

areas of expertise of individual youthworkers, where a greater proportion of timemight be devoted to particular tasksareas of work which might be neglected andhave too little time allocated to them

This exercise should be seen as a 'snapshot' of activ-ities. Given that some youth work activities are spe-cific to particular parts of the year, this exercisemight be repeated in the three different terms.

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VOI 2 No

College youth work: planned and unplanned work

Date:

Name of person completing the sheet:

Post held:

(If you are a youth worker)

Total amount of time for youth work per week (in hours):

Is this term time only? Yes No

Types of activity

Date of completing each column

Supporting groups one off unplanned

Drop-in sessions specific support time

Time spent in common room/general area/social area

Involvement in projects:

Specify

Preparation, planning and evaluation

(including training)

Administration

Other category:

Specify

TOTAL

Column A Column B Column CIdeal Estimated Actual

0/0 % 0/0

Ok 0/0 Ok

0/0 0/0 0/0

0/0 0/0 0/0

0/0 0/0 0/0

0/0 0/0 0/0

100%

0/0 0/0

l00% l00%

Guidance notes

Column A What you consider to be an ideal distribution of time among the various categories.

Column B Your estimate of how time is actually spent in a given period (week, month, term).

Column C The evidence of how time was actually spent during a specific period when time was logged.

Questions for discussion given the completed information above:

Is there a need to readjust the balance of the work?How does the time spent relate to the planned outcomes of the work?How have students and the college benefited from the balance of youth work achieved? What evidencedo you have for this?

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FE matters 35

STUDENT QUESTIONNAIRESAll the project colleges carry out student surveys;however in general they do not ask for feedback oncollege youth work.

Students should be encouraged to assess how theirinvolvement in youth work projects contributes tokey skills achievements and to include this evidencein their National Records of Achievement. Collegeyouth work teams also need to keep evidence of stu-dents' participation and achievements as part of theiroverall evaluation.

It is also hoped that colleges will incorporatesurveys, and that they will also want to analyse insome detail the contribution of project work to stu-dents' achievement and curriculum enhancement.

The following questionnaires are examples of theinformation that colleges may ask students in orderto plan and evaluate the college youth work. Theyrelate to three different aspects of college youth workand include:

a survey of project involvementa general student surveyindividual advice/information contactrecord.

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VO1 2 No

Student planning and evaluation of youth work in further education colleges

i Activity/Project Summary

Date:

College Youth Work Activity/Project:

Student Completing Form:

Others involved:

a) Briefly state what the project/activity will do and how this will be achieved:

b) What skills, interest and ideas are you giving to this project?

c) What support/help will you require from other college staff?

d) What resources and equipment will you need?

2 Estimate to the nearest hour the amount of time you expect to spend on this project. If the headingsare not appropriate, put o or add your own heading.

Activity Estimate in hours Actual

Planning meetings

Fund raising

Individual preparation

Delivery of project

Training

Administration

Evaluation and review

Travel

Others (please state)

Total

VOi 2 No FE matters39

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3 Column 2 and the following questions are for you to review when the project is completed.

Please circle the skills and personal development gained through being involved with this project:

increased confidence, public speaking, working in groups, working alone, planning work, contactingpress, using new equipment, keeping financial records, meeting new people, representing the college,

writing reports, design skills, increased tolerance of others.

4 Did you learn about any specific subjects, for example health, AIDS, bullying, driving theory?

Say what:

5 Did youth work with the youth workers and other college staff happen as you expected?Yes No

Say why:

6 Did you enjoy the project? Yes No

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38 FE matters Vol 2 No

Youth work in further education college: general student survey

Strongly agree Disagree

1 Why did you come to this college?

a) I knew other students here.

b) It offered the course I wanted.

c) My friends were coming here.

d) Because a youth worker told me about it.

e) It was closest to home.

f) The student facilities are good.

g) My school recommended it.

h) I want to use the free transport/creche facilities.

2 Student life in college:

a) I have made full use of college facilities in my sparetime (such as common rooms, canteen, studentunion, clubs and societies).

b) It is important that college life outside lessons isinteresting and that there is plenty to do

3 Making decisions:

a) If I want to change something in my college I knowwho to go to and how they might help (i.e. tutor,youth worker, student services).

b) If I want to make a complaint about something incollege I know how to do this.

c) I know about the student union.

d) I have been involved with student union work.

4 Yourself:

a) If I have a problem concerning my course I knowwho to see.

b) If I have any other problems I know I can seesomeone in college for advice and help.

c) I know that I can get confidential advice fromthe youth worker(s) in college.

Vol 2 No i

4.

FE matters 39

Strongly agree Disagree

5 Youth work

a) I know what the youth worker(s) in college do(es).

b) I know where the youth worker(s) in college are basedand when they are available.

c) I have taken part in projects/activities organised bythe college youth worker(s). CI

If YES please answer the following:

The youth worker(s) support(s) students in college by:

40

Please add other comments about college youth work or your spare time in college:

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VOI 2 No

Youth work team contact form for individual support

Date:

Campus F/T P/T

Gender: Male Female

Age: 16-17 18-25 26+

Ethnic Origin:

White Indian Chinese

Black Caribbean Asian other Other

Black African Pakistani Not known/refuse to answer

Black other Bangladeshi Irish

Disability:

Department:

Yes No Don't know

Course:

Method: First visit Return visit

Time Seen: 5-10 mins 10-20 mins

4o-6o mins Over 6o mins

Outcome of contact:

No further contact May return

Future appointment Onward referral

How did you find out about the service?

Tutor Fees office Induction

Student Exams office Other (please specify)

20-4o mins

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FE matters 41

Reason for visit:

Exam fees Materials Childcare

Finance Travel College fees

Wants to leave Family meal ticket Communication problems

Health Bereavement Abuse

Alcohol Drugs Study problems

Suicidal Other Student Union

Additional opportunities Student Loan company Job Seekers allowance

Welfare benefits Others

Withdrawal:

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Would you have withdrawn from your college course if you had not received this help?

Yes No Don't know

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Vol 2 No

5 Case studiesThe examples cited as illustrations of college youthwork practice in the text are offered here as casestudies for discussion by colleagues. The case studiesoffer a range of work that is successful in differentcolleges. There is clearly not just one model of suc-cessful youth work in colleges, and the provisionmust relate to the college environment and the needsof the students and the college together. Successfulcollege youth work will be demonstrated where theyouth work complements other college services, andwhere the methods and the approach enable anincrease in the participation and achievement of stu-dents.

Readers may like to consider the general questionsbelow alongside the examples and specific questionsand issues raised within each one.

What links are currently in place between thefurther education college and youth workproviders?

Who are the disaffected young people in yourlocality and how is disaffection characterised?Would your college employ youth workers just toaddress the needs of disaffected students?

Are there any groups of students who wouldbenefit from support in relation to personal andsocial development?

Which of the provisions described in the casestudies is appropriate to your college?

How is youth work in your college managed andis this the most effective and beneficialarrangement?

Case study 1: Curriculum

enhancement AIDS/HIV videoprojectStudents from the college worked collaborativelywith the local Youth and Community Service on anAIDS/HIV awareness film, which was turned into a25-minute video. The project was part funded by anAIDS Action Group and a local arts organisation,and involved staff from a media company, who pro-vided the technical expertise and specialistequipment.

Vol 2 No

The students in the film-making group took part in aseries of technical `taster' workshops and HIVtraining sessions before entering the pre-productionphase of the film. Ideas for the format and script ofthe video emerged from a process of group role-play,mini-dramas, brainstorming and decision-makingsessions, in which all the young people took part.

The video, called 'Safe', tells the story of oneweekend in the lives of five housemates. It targets anumber of issues and misconceptions about AIDS/HIV in a challenging, entertaining but thought-pro-voking way.

The video is supported by an education pack thatincludes a number of activities which can be usedwith young people after watching the video; a list ofhealth education resources; and details of agenciesand helplines, both local and national. The videopack also includes a range of pamphlets andbrochures, which provide additional informationand advice.

Benefits to the college

It was a unique opportunity for students from avariety of courses and backgrounds to develop avideo resource for use with other college students.Some of the students involved were working on aGNVQ Media Studies course: they were able tosubmit evidence of work they had undertakentowards their course requirements.

What works for students

There was significant personal development for thestudents involved: the growth of an important teamspirit; an acute sense of working together; and nosmall amount of perseverance, as the whole exercisetook up 28 days of their own time over a four-monthperiod. Students had an opportunity to extend themethods and approaches within their GNVQ courseby using this option offered by youth workers.

Seeing the video project through from concept tofinal production was a valuable educational oppor-tunity for the students. They had the opportunity tobe involved in a wide range of activities including:scriptwriting; brainstorming; role-play; storyboard

45FE matters 43

writing; on-screen acting; location filming; sound;photography; set design; costumes; make-up andproduction.

Working with such a contemporary and sensitivetopic was also important. The students themselveshad their own awareness about AIDS/HIV issuesraised significantly, removing some of their ownignorance.

All of them had the opportunity to reflect on whatthey gained from the exercise and describe it in theappropriate section of their National Record ofAchievement.

They were also able to see their contribution to asuccessful resource used as part of the World AIDSDay activities, in the college and also in the widercommunity.

Questions to assist your development of thisapproach

Who is responsible for recognising students' otherachievements and how is this recorded?

Is the youth service/college involved in peer edu-cation?

How can youth workers contribute to curriculumenhancement and students' achievements?

What college courses could benefit from projectenhancement opportunities?

What scope is there for the local youth service andcollege to create joint projects with shared aimsand objectives?

Is the local youth service leading in other projectsthat could afford students similar opportunities?

Case study 2: Curriculum

enhancement and younger collegestudentsThe college offers a programme to young peopleexcluded from school. The students work on a port-folio programme leading to entry level and LevelOne qualifications using the Award Scheme Develop-ment and Accreditation Network (ASDAN) bronzeaward and the Northern Council for FurtherEducation (NCFE) qualification in Motor Skills andIndependent Living. The ASDAN award offers aqualification using projects and assignments; andprovides opportunities for recording evidence forNVQ key skills assessment.

The college also offers the Youth Clubs UK FirstGear Scheme for those interested in motor skills.

44

The 30 students spend one day each week workingwith a tutor and a youth worker in groups of five orsix, and they take part in other college courses.

The youth worker supports the students in thepreparation of their portfolios, and provides generaladvice and guidance on an individual basis. Thesupport is often related to issues outside of college:for example, homelessness, violence, family relation-ships and childcare.

Benefits to the college

The flexibility of the ASDAN bronze award enablesachievements to be recognised through projects. Theyouth worker role as a co-tutor/education supportworker enables students' needs to be met as theyarise.

Students' skills and achievements in building go-karts far exceed the college's expectations of them,providing substantial evidence for linking with somekey skills.

Students' portfolios are completed and awardsgained.

What works for students

They are able to experience success and appreciatethat college is different from school.

They say that they attend because they appreciate thesupport that extends beyond their college work.

They find the learning environment more relaxedand enjoy the challenges that they complete as partof the ASDAN scheme.

Questions to assist your development of thisapproach

How do the programmes described apply to yourwork with younger students?

Does the local youth service or college offer arange of other courses for young people that couldbenefit from youth work involvement and support(for example, Community Sports Leader Award,BETA expedition training, First Aid qualifica-tions)?

How does the college encourage students to enjoylearning opportunities?

How does the college currently provide additionalsupport to younger students?

FE matters46

VOI 2 No

Case study 3: Advice and informationthe role of a youth worker

The college has a youth worker who is employedjointly by the college and the local youth service on afull-time basis overall. This arrangement allows two-thirds of the time to be spent in college and one-thirdon community-based activities. An in-built flexibilitymeans that the youth worker might spend the vastmajority and sometimes the whole of a week incollege when demand is high, for example at thebeginning of the Autumn term, and compensate forthis at other times of the academic year.

The youth worker is based in a purpose-built suite ofrooms from which the college's student servicesdivision operates. This means that there is easy andfrequent communication between the staff workingin the various strands of student services, includingthe counsellors, the careers officer, the welfare officerand the head of student services.

The advantage of this arrangement is that the bound-aries of responsibilities between the role of the youthworker and other members of the student servicesteam are seldom compromised.

Benefits to the college

The personal skills of the youth worker are wellrecognised by the students.

Regular use is made of all the facilities within studentservices and the youth worker has a visible rolewithin that provision.

The youth worker works both with individuals andgroups and liaises closely with the counsellors.Contact records and student evaluations reveal evi-dence of successful interventions by the youthworker, a number of which have contributed tostudent retention on college courses.

What works for students

Having a youth worker who is widely seen as per-sonally accessible, very friendly and supportive in avariety of different contexts is crucially important.

Close liaison with the sabbatical student councilofficer and other members of the student councilmeans that the youth worker has a wide range ofopportunities to provide advice and support whereappropriate with the organisation of student activ-ities, including projects, day trips and residentials,drug or HIV awareness events.

VO1 2 No

The youth worker's office is located on the groundfloor, off a busy corridor/thoroughfare for students,which means that access is easy.

It is helpful for the students to know that the youthworkers complement the work of other supportivestaff who provide more specialised counselling oraccurate and up-to-date welfare advice.

The youth worker is widely regarded as approach-able and accessible and is highly respected. Havingthe other members of the student services team sonear at hand within the dedicated suite of rooms,including the confidential interviewing rooms,enables cross-referrals to be arranged efficiently.

Many youth workers take responsibility for the moregeneral advice and information available to studentswithin the college. This type of work includes appro-priate supplies and access to a wide range of infor-mation leaflets, organising health information days,inviting in appropriate guest speakers, arranging forvisits by opticians, dentists, family planning services,etc. In many colleges the youth workers togetherwith the student union will produce a studentnewsletter, magazine or newspaper listing socialevents and leisure opportunities. This is an extensionof the youth information role now provided throughmany local authority and voluntary youth workorganisations. Some colleges had made use of theNational Youth Agency Focused Access InformationService (NYAFAIS) system for storing and filinginformation (see Figure 1). This has now beendeveloped as an information data base for youngpeople, available on computer and in print.

Questions to assist your development of thisapproach

How would a youth worker providing advice andinformation support to students complement thework of the current college support services?

How can the youth work contribution to adviceand information provision be evaluated?

What training could be offered across the collegeand youth service to ensure respective professionalroles are understood?

What provision is currently in place to enableyouth workers to give information and advice torefer students for counselling?

What policies are currently in place regardingchild protection and disclosure of abuse?

FE matters 4 7 45

Case study 4: Youth worker as role

model and mentorThe community in which the college is located has alarge number of disaffected young people, whoseattraction to and retention at the college are crucialin educational, community and financial terms. Thisled to the appointment of a part-time youth workerat one of the college's five main campuses, where themajority of youth provision is concentrated.

This particular college site has a very high pro-portion of students of African or Caribbean originand a large number of white lecturers. So it is signif-icant that the youth worker appointed is black,female, young and approachable.

Benefits to the college

There is evidence that students see some college staff(including some employed in supportive roles such asstudent welfare officers and careers advisors) as`authority figures', and would tend therefore not togo to them for advice. Many of the college tutors areseen by students in the same light.

The youth worker appointed by the college on apart-time basis has proved to be very effective. In therelatively short time since her appointment she hasdeveloped a range of support for students, including:

working with non-attenders in less formalsettingsorganising activities, such as drugawarenesshelping with the running of clubs, societiesand sporting activities.

The college evidence indicates that the level of com-plaints and incidents at the college site has droppedsignificantly since the appointment of the youthworker.

A good rapport has been developed with both maleand female students and, from student contact infor-mation, it is clear that a larger proportion of malestudents have been seeking help and advice since theyouth worker was appointed.

The youth worker reported that she was able to earnthe trust of many of the young people and had beenable to work with them, developing strategies toenhance their social skills, time management,responsibility and communication skills.Consequently, many more of these young peoplewere retained on courses from which they wouldhave dropped out otherwise.

What works for students

The youth worker is employed on a part-time basis:she is also involved outside the college on anotherproject in the community which gives her consid-erable experience on housing issues. She is thereforeable to advise many students on that specific welfareissue, with up-to-date and relevant information.

Many of the students see the youth worker as amentor whom they can turn to for support andencouragement.

Questions to assist your development of thisapproach

How do you define mentoring?

Do you have mentoring programmes for somestaff or students? If so, for whom?

What responsibility do staff and students have formentoring?

How important is it to have mentors of the samegender, class, race and cultural identity as theirmentees?

How are links between the college and its localcommunity maintained? Who has overall respon-sibility for this?

What is a realistic workload for one part-timeyouth worker?

Case study 5: Supporting the studentunion

The youth worker in the college is employed by thecollege for three days a week during term time andestimates that she spends on average a quarter of hertime supporting the student union executive. Thiswork is more intensive during student elections andat the start and end of the year and for the last yearshe has been working an extra one or two days perweek. The college has gradually moved to makingthe youth worker post more substantial. It started asa temporary post of nine hours per week in 1995.The college has also experienced a 72% rise innumbers of full-time students during the past twoyears.

The youth worker works alongside the student unionexecutive and membership, establishing structuresthat encourage students to take responsibility fortheir own union. This includes identifying with theexecutive events they want to organise, supportingresidentials and activities, publicity, elections, andfinancial responsibility. Training to support the

4846 FE matters VO1 2 No

executive is organised as early as possible,e andincludes representation skills, working as a team,understanding discrimination and equality. Thecurrent age of the executive is 17 to 23. The youthworker is developing links with the youth service andplans to run the Duke of Edinburgh's Award Schemeshortly in the college.

A successful health fair was organised using astudent health group and external agencies. It wasfunded by the local health promotion team and willbe run on an annual basis.

Benefits to the college

The college has an effective student union, and stu-dents are involved in organising a number of theirown activities.

The general team-building and group work skillsused by the youth workers to empower the studentunion executive are recognised and valued.

Reorganisation of the elections, so that some of theposts are elected in the Spring term and some in theAutumn term, has benefited the college in the conti-nuity of the executive over the academic year.

The youth worker has helped with the issue ofretention and has seen and supported numerous stu-dents who would have left without advice andsupport.

The high profile fund-raising events such as Childrenin Need and Red Nose Day have attracted positivemedia coverage and contributed to raising the profileof the college.

What works for students

Students are contributing to college policy docu-ments. A student union executive member sits on theGoverning Board and the Academic Board.

The student union executive members have jobdescriptions. They have also acquired their ownoffice and have just appointed a part-time adminis-trator.

The student newsletter and information guide areaccurate, up-to-date and produced regularly.

The student executive team hold a regular weeklymeeting with the youth worker. They produce termlyreports, evaluate events and attend NUS training.

Vol 2 No

The student union has organised events including:discos and balls, fund-raising for Children in Need,events for World AIDS Day and World MentalHealth Day, and sports and arts activities.

The students organise and take part in a range ofactivities. They see the youth worker as supportingthem, and understand that they are responsible formaking the union and the events work.

They enjoy being with the youth worker and take anactive interest in the other aspects of the role. Theyregard the youth worker as their advocate and seekadvice on an individual as well as a collective basis.They respect the fact that she doesn't make thingseasy for them by doing it herself. They have learnedby mistakes as well as successes.

Questions to assist your development of thisapproach

How is your student union empowered and sup-ported?

What are students' roles and responsibilitieswithin the union, and how can their experiencesbe recognised and accredited?

Do executive members have job descriptions?

Does the student union organise events and haveits own regular publicity/ newsletter?

What scope is there for linking students' organi-sation of events with the GNVQ programmes?

How effective is the scheduling of current NUSelections in terms of an active, democratic andrepresentative union?

Case study 6: Youth and security

Description

The college has employed a team of youth andsecurity workers since the mid 1980s. The teamoperate across three main sites from 9.00 am until10.00 pm. They are trained by the team manager andeach member of staff gains a City and Guilds qualifi-cation in security and undertakes the college's ownyouth work training. The induction period includestwo weeks shadowing staff and familiarisation withan operational handbook.

The team organise a range of activities, visits andspeakers for students. The youth and securityworkers are always on hand to respond to issues anddeal with any violence. They wear tracksuits whichenable them to be easily identified by staff andstudents.

FE mattersA O 47

Benefits to the college

Recruitment to the college has improved and thelevel of violent incidents has decreased since theyouth and security team have been in post.

Consistency of approach by the team is important insuch a large college. Staff do not have to know thedetail of all policies when they know that the generalpractice is to call the team to deal with incidents.

The team support other staff and ensure that proce-dures are followed, investigations are thorough andany statements necessary are recorded.

The high profile of the security element is particu-larly significant in enabling the numbers of Asianstudents attending the college to rise. The profile ofthe team reflects that of the locality of the college.

Staff development is valued in that the team are qual-ified in security work and experienced in youthwork. Many have moved on to new jobs or taken upopportunities for further education and training.

Recording of incidents provides support to staff ifpolice are involved in more serious cases.

What works for students

The students feel safer in college. They have a rangeof activities and events available to them.

They know that each event will be responded toaccording to the operational handbook, and in thisrespect any response to incidents will be dealt withfairly and equitably.

There is less bullying of disabled students or thosewith learning difficulties and the youth and securityteam members make a point of knowing these stu-dents, and providing them with additional support.

The team can arrange for individual students to havecontracts regarding behaviour, and they are respon-sible for monitoring these and reporting back tostaff, students and parents.

Questions to assist your development of thisapproach

How do security arrangements promote students'sense of belonging and commitment to theircollege?

How do security arrangements encourage every-one to take responsibility for themselves and eachother?

What training is provided for current securitystaff?

What evidence do you have of the relationshipbetween security and recruitment?

Who is responsible for addressing bullying anddiscrimination by students? How effective is thewhole college in promoting a commitment to anti-oppressive practices?

How does the budget for security compare withthat for student support?

How much of the security budget is allocated tocosts of gatekeeping/exclusion?

Case study 7: Youth work with Asian

studentsYouth work in the college is managed by theguidance and liaison section of student services.There are three part-time Asian youth worker posts,which were established specifically to focus on theneeds of Asian students. Two of the youth workers(one male and one female) are each employed for 25hours per week, while another male worker providessupport for two sessions a week.

A support group for Asian students was establishedby the youth workers and has proved very popular. Itprovides regular sessions on a weekly basis in termtime.

The youth workers also support students in thelibrary on a regular basis.

The number of full-time Asian students, mostlyMuslims aged 16 to 19, is high in relation to the full-time college student population; the proportion ofAsian students in the college is also higher thanwithin the local population.

Benefits to the college

A major reason for appointing the Asian youthworkers was to provide support for students in chal-lenging alleged racism from some of the non-teaching staff in the college, particularly among thesecurity staff. The issues which prompted the collegeto appoint the Asian youth workers were becomingincreasingly significant; they have now been largelyresolved as a result of the initiative.

The Asian youth workers liaised closely with thesestaff and provided opportunities to discuss race-related issues. Given that the previous situation con-tributed to concerns about retention among thecollege's Asian student population, there has been animportant contribution made to improving retentionrates and achievement levels.

48 FE matters 50 Vol 2 No

Support was provided for the Asian students on agroup and individual basis, with additional supportin terms of acting as an advocate with their parentsover certain college-related issues.

The number of complaints from Asian students, par-ticularly regarding the nature of remarks made bysome members of the non-teaching staff, hasdropped significantly following the appointment ofthe Asian youth workers. Some of the previous com-plaints related to being treated as children ratherthan young adults, and these have also beenresolved.

There was also an improvement in the quality oflinks between the college and the parents of some ofthe Asian students, the youth workers were able totalk successfully and meaningfully to some parentsregarding issues of gender, culture and education.

What works for students

The Asian students interviewed reported that thecontribution of the Asian youth workers had beencrucial in enabling them to continue at college.

The youth workers live within the local communitiesfrom which the Asian students are drawn. They aretherefore well known and respected: two of themmeet many of the same students in other youth activ-ities with which they are associated outside college,such as community-based football and cricket teams.

The students felt that their opportunities forachievement were enhanced by the general supportof the Asian youth workers and by their increasedaccess to the college library, where one of the Asianyouth workers is based.

Through the support group, Asian students wereinvolved in a number of projects, including plans foran international exchange to Pakistan. This includedlinks with a college in Lahore and a variety of fund-raising events, including an Eid party (a celebrationat the conclusion of Ramadan) and organising afashion show.

The support group is run by a committee of studentswho take responsibility for many of the activities,with the help of the youth workers. The supportgroup has developed an education programme,including some outside speakers, on matters such ascultural awareness, Asian dance, and drug edu-cation, and they are also now involved in organisingtrips and visits.

Vole Noi

Questions to assist your development of thisapproach

Do students attend the college who would benefitfrom a similar targeted approach by youthworkers?

In your opinion, how useful is the link betweenthe youth workers and the student's own com-munity?

What additional activities and support wouldbenefit targeted student groups at the college?

Case study 8: Partnershiparrangements district youthworkersThe college has three youth workers, all of whom arefull-time employees of the local authority youthservice and work in the college on a sessional basis.As district youth workers, they also work in theother further education college in the town, schoolsand various youth centres. Mixing with studentsboth inside and outside the college was seen to be avaluable component of the current arrangement.

The management arrangements therefore allow forthe use of college premises as a base for youth workstrategies developed within the local authority'syouth service policy framework.

The youth service district team manager and thecollege's dean of membership services jointly managethe development of youth work in the college. Thisenables discussions on matters where the youthservice is involved with the college to be handled in aco-ordinated and more efficient way. Many furthereducation colleges are extremely large organisations,as in this case, and the youth service was particularlyin favour of having a single contact point within thecollege.

In this example, all staffing costs of the youthworkers are borne by the youth service. (Undercurrent arrangements, one of the youth workers ispaid for out of Section 11 funds.) The college isresponsible for the costs of providing a dedicatedyouth work room in the main dining area and anytime for related senior management staff liaison.

FE matters5I.

49

Benefits to the college

The youth workers come into the college with par-ticular specialisms, interests and experience whichbenefit the students and provide another tier ofsupport for the college's advice, guidance andsupport services.

One particular strength of the youth work team isthat it is mixed race in composition and has under-taken some pro-active multi-cultural work, address-ing issues of racial tension.

There is limited formal security within the college,and the youth workers are seen to contribute to theoverall college ethos of promoting student partic-ipation and community involvement.

The two senior managers meet on a regular basis andhave established what was described as a goodworking relationship. There was a joint recognitionthat both the college and the youth service wereseeking to focus more and more on serving theyoung people of the town as effectively as possible.

Links with the personal tutor system have beendeveloped by the youth workers. Evidence is

growing that their sympathetic intervention in disci-plinary issues is seen as a contribution to studentretention.

Youth workers' awareness of potential issues andopportunities outside the formal college curriculum,(for example, sessions associated with awareness ofdrug issues and with Asian young men) was seen tobe valuable. There are examples of inter-agency co-operation in arranging events for the college. Co-operation between the college, youth service andother local services resulted in the college acting as avenue for a community theatre which has raised anumber of issues of importance to students at thecollege.

The college and youth service are developing aframework for action which links into issues likerecruitment, support and achievement of students.Three levels of involvement have been devised whichrelate to shared and complementary strategic objec-tives:

Level One The college pursues its own strategicobjectives, as does the youth service. Under this sce-nario, the college's function is to serve as a conve-nient location for accessing young people for theyouth service.

Level Two This relates to agreed joint ventureswhich aim to achieve shared strategic objectives.Under these circumstances, each party would con-tribute funding on a pro rata basis.

50

Level Three These are agreed joint ventures forwhich allocated funds do not exist in either organi-sation's budget. The two partners, the college andthe local youth service, agree to work on collabo-rative partnership bids to fund an agreed jointproject. Depending on circumstances, this mayinvolve additional interested agencies and/or parties.

What works for students

Having youth workers who are well known, in andout of college, is seen to be an important asset.

Receiving quality, well-informed advice, informationand tutorial support is important.

The recent allocation of a youth work room immedi-ately adjacent to the main student dining area is seenas an important development. It is next door to thestudent union office, which will provide an oppor-tunity for promoting closer links between the youthworkers and the student union.

Questions to assist your development of thisapproach

What current partnership arrangements existbetween the local youth service and the college?

What, if any, are your complementary strategicobjectives?

Can you make use of the three levels described indeveloping new initiatives together?

How important do you regard the youth workers'connections with both the college and youngpeople in their own communities?

What potential benefits or problems do you seewith the management or financial arrangementsdescribed?

Case Study 9: Partnership

arrangements a college youth workteam

The college has extensive links with the localauthority youth service, based on shared values andpurposes, within a mutually supportive framework.

The college has three youth workers, each of whomoperates on one of its three main sites, comingtogether for shared activities and team meetings.They are, however, employed directly by the college,rather than the youth service.

FE matters52

VO1 2 No

All three youth workers are youth and communitywork trained and are experienced practitioners.Their line manager (the student services manager)was previously the local authority principal youthofficer. In addition, the director of the departmentwhich embraces student services has worked in theyouth and community service.

There is, therefore, considerable knowledge of thefacilities and opportunities within the local youthservice, and this has led to a breadth of networking.

Joint activities have included: evening excursions,which involved team-building and sailing, at a localoutdoor centre; a joint youth service/college drugreview group; a collaborative drug challenge bid;and the use by college students of youth service facil-ities, accommodation and equipment.

Benefits to the college

The college has benefited from employing qualityyouth workers, who have high levels of credibilitywith the student population.

In addition, the support for the college youthworkers helps alleviate their sense of isolation, withopportunities through training to keep up-to-datewith current developments in youth work provision.

The close relationship has also meant that there hasbeen extensive promotion of youth service activitiesand projects among the college student population.This has included a large number of referrals to theyouth service's Information Shop.

The links with the local youth service have also pro-vided the chance to demonstrate good practice inquality assurance and inspection, such as support forstudents through links with community-basedagencies; and cross college/general facilities, wherethe college has been able through the youth serviceto access recreational and sport facilities which arenot available within the college itself.

Close links do enable cross-referrals to take place,with some contribution made to recruitment andretention within the college.

What works for students

The youth workers are very experienced in sup-porting activities like the welcome fair (part of thestudents' induction programme), drug awareness,equal opportunities, women's week, faith festivals, aswell as theatre and residential visits.

VO1 2 No

They are also well informed on a range of youth-related issues, supporting tutorial work on issues likebullying, personal effectiveness and stress man-agement.

The student union at the college is a registered vol-untary youth organisation in its own right and thusis on the local youth service mailing list. They aretherefore able to access the full range of literatureand information first hand.

Questions to assist your development of thisapproach

What current partnership arrangements existbetween the local youth service and the college?

What, if any, are your complementary strategicobjectives?

What potential benefits or problems do you seewith the management or financial arrangementsdescribed?

Case study 10: Evaluation and qualityassurance

The college, located on two main sites, has a youthwork team of six full-time staff. This team hasrecently been re-named the student liaison team.They are housed in a separate Student Centrebuilding, within easy access of the main collegeteaching and administrative block. The actual dis-tance away from the main building is only about 25metres, but this was seen to be a significant almostsymbolic divide.

The team provide extensive services and support forstudents at the college. This includes assisting thestudent union, running a student electives pro-gramme, supporting tutorial provision, holiday pro-grammes, outreach work, residentials, specialprojects and the facilitation of specialist groups.They work a shift system and are on duty at thecollege for 12 hours per day from 8.30 am, 364 daysa year.

The entire team operate a comprehensive method ofrecording detailed information about the range ofactivities with which they are involved. This 'QualityPortfolio' is a means of collating qualitative andquantitative data about all the support provided forstudents across the college.

FE matters 5 3 51

Benefits to the college

A recent FEFC inspection gave the college a grade 1for both Quality Assurance and student recruitment,guidance and support.

The Quality Portfolio, which is bound in a numberof large ring-binders, is an impressive and efficientlyfiled compilation of evidence of the range of youthwork-related activities that are being undertakenacross the college.

Routinely, appropriate examples of correspondence,advertisements, posters, attendance registers, tickets,photographs, evaluation sheets and any relevantpress coverage associated with a particular activityare filed in the portfolio.

The student liaison team complete weekly contactrecord sheets, including transcripts of referrals toother services. Registers are kept for students attend-ing electives and tutorial sessions. In addition, use ofthe student centre itself is monitored and recordedregularly four times each day. The portfolio incorpo-rates year planner project sheets.

The advantage is that materials to support a claim ofquality provision are collated on a regular on-goingbasis, rather than immediately before an inspectionvisit. It was reported that this process was nowbecoming part of the expectation of the job. All ofthis assists in more effective planning of activitiesacross the year.

The college has attributed a measurable decrease inspending on formal security staff and other securityprovision to the youth work provision.

The youth workers in the student liaison team nowoffer a programme of tutorial support. This includestutorials on issues such as, equal opportunities,drugs education, and the written qualification for thedriving test. Additional support has been providedby members of the team through special projectssuch as World AIDS Day, Youth Work Week andmental health awareness.

A range of activity-based holiday events is alsoorganised, offering fuller use of the students' timeand the college premises, and consequently pro-viding opportunities to fill what might otherwise beidle time for the students.

What works for students

Students are now involved in planning the tutorialprogramme and, as a result, many more of themchoose to attend. Some also tutor on the programmeas peer educators.

52

Delivery of some aspects of the tutorial programmeby members of the student liaison team was seen bystudents as a positive contribution. They likedhaving key, contemporary issues addressed by youthworkers, who are much closer to them in age thanmany of the personal tutors.

Students have access to the support of a youthworker at any time of the college day.

Youth workers are on duty in the dining area as wellas the student centre, and are a seen as a friendly faceand someone who knows what is happening andhow students can get involved.

Questions to assist your development of thisapproach

What evidence do you have that will help identifythe contribution of youth work?

How does the college make use of premises duringholidays?

What provision is made for student involvementin decisions and delivery of the tutorial pro-gramme?

What evidence is there of the youth work contri-bution in the college quality records?

FE matters

54

VO1 2 No

6 AppendicesAPPENDIX A

The development and management of youth work in and with furthereducation colleges from NYA Policy Update briefing paper, Issue 1,1995 -96

Youth Workers Involved in Work in Colleges in 1995

Total %

College employs own youth worker 15 29

College finance and service level agreement 8 16

Youth service funded and service level agreement 13 25

Youth service funded sessional work in colleges 6 12

joint funding 9 18

51 100

The 51 examples of college youth work were analysed to record the total number of youth workers involvedin some capacity in the colleges full-time, part-time or on a sessional basis.

Number of Youth Workers

Youth Service sponsoredyouth workers in colleges

FE sponsored youthworkers in colleges

Full-time 21 13

Part-time and sessional 112 28

132 41

The number of youth workers, full and part-time, in the 51 colleges is 173. The employment of part-time andfull-time staff in teams and as individuals is shown in Table 1 (see below). Clearly the employment of youthworkers in teams is the most common, although youth workers at an NYA conference in February 1995 stillspoke of isolation. Within the staff teams of further education colleges, relatively small teams of part-timeyouth workers or even combined full-time and part-time workers can still feel virtually insignificant innumbers by comparison.

Current practice includes successful examples of youth workers managed through partnership arrangementsbetween colleges and their local authority youth service, contracted from the local authority to the college, oremployed and managed within the college.

VO1 2 No 1

55FE matters 53

Of the 15 colleges financing and managing youth workers directly, the salary scales used were in the mainAPT&C but included the following range:

FE colleges financing and managing own youth workers

Salary scales multiple responses

APT&C 7

FE Lecturer 1

Level 2 Youth Leader 1

J NC 1 1

1NC 2 1

JNC 3 2

Didn't know 1

Other 2

Some colleges use more than one pay scale.

The accommodation/work area for youth work in these colleges tended to make extensive use of the studentunion/common room areas:

Accommodation/Work area

Own room 2

Own room and student union and/or student common room 7

Student common room and student union office 2

Student 'social area' 1

Student blocks on two campuses 1

Don't know 2

For those youth workers financed by the youth service and working solely in further education colleges thegeneral management/financial arrangements and line management arrangements are significant in that themost common practice is to second or contract workers while retaining line management responsibilitythrough the youth service.

The salary scales are more reflective of those of the youth and community service nationally that is, JNC.

54

56

FE matters VO1 2 No 1

Youth service financed

General management

Seconded/contracted to college 9

Delegated budget 2

Negotiated arrangement 2

Line management

Line managed by youth service 11

Line managed by youth service with additional college support 1

Managed by college I

Salary scales

J NC 2 5

J NC 3 3

FE lecturer 1

Other 3

Part-time scales 1

Don't know 2

VOI 2 No 1

57FE matters 55

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omm

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men

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way

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mm

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sura

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outh

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mun

itypo

licy

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prac

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elop

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toan

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the

man

agem

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mitt

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nd/o

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ffice

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orga

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lopm

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incl

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to d

ay a

dmin

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run

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he p

ro-

gram

me

of a

ctiv

ities

, ser

vice

s an

dfa

cilit

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l one

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thol

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ini-

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orke

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l one

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velo

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serv

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prov

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uni

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oreq

uiva

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).

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60B

EST

CO

PYA

VA

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BL

Er)

I

82

Acc

ount

abili

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Leve

l tw

o

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thol

ders

rec

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lim

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dire

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perv

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us r

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for

orga

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ccou

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to a

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leve

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offic

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man

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ngpe

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ee p

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a s

enio

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leve

l thr

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stan

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ater

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e po

sts

grad

ed a

t lev

el tw

o. It

is e

xpec

ted

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the

dutie

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dre

spon

sibi

litie

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soci

ated

with

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ith s

taff

and

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rag

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nd/o

r de

velo

pmen

t of

serv

ice

prov

isio

n w

ill fo

rm th

em

ajor

par

t of t

otal

dut

ies

and

resp

onsi

bilit

ies

of p

osts

at t

his

leve

l.

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env

isag

ed th

at p

osts

with

spec

ific

line

man

agem

ent o

r te

amle

ader

ship

res

pons

ibili

ty fo

r an

auth

oris

ed e

stab

lishm

ent o

f a fu

lltim

e eq

uiva

lent

sta

ff of

thre

e or

mor

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d/or

with

spe

cial

ised

resp

onsi

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clud

ing

deta

ched

and

proj

ect w

ork

of a

bro

adly

equi

vale

nt le

vel,

will

be

grad

ed in

leve

l thr

ee. (

See

par

a 14

(0).

APPENDIX C

job Description

Post:

Salary Scale:

Conditions of Service:

Location:

Supervision from:

Supervision to:

Liaison with:

Purpose of post:

Special conditions:

Main Duties

Youth worker (full-time)

JNC Level 2 (points 1-9) £14,337 £18,804 inclusive

JNC

College

Area youth work manager

Part-time youth work staff

Council departments, voluntary organisations, community groups, statutoryagencies, councillors

To manage and deliver a range of youth service provision at the college andto maximise its appropriate usage.

Casual car user allowance

I Initiate, support and develop a youth work programme to meet the social, educational and recreationalneeds of young people within the local community and the college.

2 Encourage and support member participation in decision-making regarding the operation of the youth workprovision. Work effectively in face-to-face youth work situations with young people. Organise publicity andfund-raising for youth work event and activities where appropriate.

3 Manage a team of part-time paid and voluntary youth work staff. Identify relevant staff development andtraining requirement and convene staff meetings as appropriate.

4 Liaise with, service and report to the college Advisory Committee with a view to receiving advice and supporton matters concerning youth work provision.

5 Be responsible for the financial management of the college youth work in consultation with appropriatemembers of staff and officers.

6 Prepare an annual workplan.

7 Prepare an annual report on youth work in the college, including information regarding monitoring the effi-ciency of services to young people and suggestions for future developments. Provide other reports, bothverbal and written, as required.

8 Be responsible for development and oversight of holiday provision particularly in response to young peoplein the 14-18 age range.

9 Be responsible for day-to-day management of college youth work.

io Establish practical links with local voluntary and statutory agencies and other bodies to provide a variety ofservices for college students and young people in the college locality. Ensure that such services conform withthe aim of both the youth service and the college.

11 Support local youth service initiatives and contribute to training and other events organised for youngpeople locally and paid and voluntary part-time staff.

12 Attend youth service full-time staff meetings and college management meetings and functions as required.

13 Any other duties and responsibilities that may be required from time to time by the college principal and areayouth work managers.

VO1 2 No FE matters 6 4 59

Person Specification - Skills/Abilities/Knowledge

The person appointed will hold a recognised youth work qualification and ideally possess the following qualities:

i An ability to demonstrate understanding and a commitment to equal opportunities issues in policy andpractice.

2 Proven experience of working with young people on a face-to-face basis; and the ability to form effective rela-tionships with them.

3 The capacity to motivate and manage a team of youth workers and administrative staff.

4 The ability to work effectively with other voluntary, statutory and community groups.

5 Clear oral and writing skills, and financial and administrative competence.

6 An energetic and imaginative approach to youth work.

7 The ability to create and co-ordinate a diverse range of youth work.

8 An up-to-date understanding of youth work issues and development.

65

6o FE matters VOI 2 No 1

Job description 2 college youth work

Post: Part-time youth worker Tuesday and Friday afternoons

Salary: 3 hour session range from £19.50 to £21.00 depending on qualification/experience

Location: FE college

Aims of college youth work and the local authority youth service

1 To seek to ensure equality of opportunity.

2 To provide social education by a variety of methods offering young people, in their leisure time, diverse expe-riences involving mental, emotional and physical challenge, leading to deeper self-knowledge and greaterawareness of the nature of society.

3 To foster social relationships and social confidence among young people.

4 To encourage young people to participate in decision-making processes related to the resourcing and man-agement of youth work, to assist in preparation for adult life and in finding their place in the community.

5 To offer young people a forum for the development and expression of their views and a reference point wherethey can seek, informally and in confidence, advice and guidance.

6 To co-operate with other voluntary and statutory services available to help young people and to encourage acollaborative approach to all agencies to the expressed needs of young people.

Main Duties

1 To support, develop and co-ordinate a youth work programme to meet the social, personal and recreationalneeds to young people in the college.

2 To ensure this programme conforms to the aims of the college and the youth service and displays evidence ofthe equal opportunities policy.

3 To encourage young people's participation in decision-making regarding initiatives.

4 To disseminate information regarding the resources available to young people

Person Specification Skills/Abilities/Knowledge

1 Ability to demonstrate an understanding of why equal opportunities is important in employment and servicedelivery.

2 Ability to demonstrate an understanding of why customer care is important in employment and servicedelivery.

3 Ability to form effective relationships with young people.

4 Ability to use initiative and to motivate others.

5 Ability to work as part of a team.

6 Flexibility in response to young people's abilities and needs.

Qualifications/Experience

I Experience of face-to-face work with young people.

VOI 2 No 1IS 6

FE matters 6i

ReferencesAudit Commission and OFSTED (1993) Unfinishedbusiness full-time educational courses for 16-19year olds. London Stationery Office

Further Education Development Agency Adequateand Sufficient FE for Young People (1995) FEDA

The Further Education Funding Council (1997)Validating self-assessment. FEFC circular 97/12

The Further Education Funding Council (1997) Self-assessment and inspection. FEFC circular 97/13

Jeffs, Tony (1996) Informal education. Chapter 6Education Now Publishing Co-operative

Kennedy Helena (1997) Learning Works wideningparticipation in further education. The FurtherEducation Funding Council.

Leeds Metropolitan University (1995) Working for adegree (WFAD). Mentoring Project Final Report,Leeds Metropolitan University

Merton, Bryan (1996) 'Disappointed, disadvantageddisappeared.' Adults learning Vol. 10 No. 7 pp

259-260

Merton, Bryan (1997). 'Still Disaffected After AllThese Years.' Social Action Today No.5 DeMontfort University

Middleton, Julie (1993) 'Learning to stay thecourse.' Young People Now No.52 National YouthAgency

Mitchell, Carole and Bone, Mike (1997) TacklingDrugs Together: addressing the issues in the FEsector. FEDA

National Youth Agency (1995) Policy Updatebriefing paper: 'The development and managementof youth work in and with FE colleges.' NYA

OFSTED (1997) Inspecting youth work a revisedinspection schedule. OFSTED

Paraskeva, Janet (1994) 'Youth workers can boostFE demand.' FE Now No.9 June 1994. pp 5

Pittham, Paul and Hunter, Rob. Quadrant Associates(1993) The contribution of youth work to furthereducation a report of research carried out for theFEU and NYA.' (unpublished).

The Prince's Trust (1997) 'Awarding Innovation inEducation.' The Action, Summer 1997

62

Reeves, Frank and colleagues (1993) Communityneed and further education. Education NowPublishing Co-operative in partnership with BilstonCommunity College

FE matters

67

VO1 2 No

FEDA publication seriesDeveloping FE - FEDA reports:Volume 1

1 Student tracking2 Case loading

3 Assessing the impact: provision for learnerswith learning difficulties and disabilities

4 Adults and GNVQs

5 On course for next steps: careers education andguidance for students in FE

6 Marketing planning7 Managing change in FE

8 The effective college library

9 Appraisal in FE where are we now?

io Clarity is power: learning outcomes and coursedesign

FE Matters - FEDA papers: Volume 1

1 Environmental education in FE: part 1

2 Environmental education in FE: part 2

3 Towards self-assessing colleges

4 Colleges working with industry5 Evidence for action: papers prepared for FEFC's

Learning and Technology Committee

6 Student retention: case studies of strategiesthat work

7 Getting the credit: OCN accreditation andlearners with learning difficulties anddisabilities

8 Moving on from Key Stage 4: the challenges forFE

9 Monitoring student attendance10 Educational Psychologists in FE

11 Assuring coherence in individual learningprogrammes

12 Adult learners: pathways to progression

13 A real job with prospects: supportedemployment opportunities for adults withdisabilities or learning difficulties

14 Transforming teaching: selecting and evaluating

teaching strategies15 Information and learning technology: a

development handbook16 Changes in FE: career path or job degradation

for part-time professional academic staff?17 Planning an FEFCmerger

18 Tackling drugs together: addressing the issues

in the FE sector

19 Security is not an option learning in a safe

environment20 Give us some credit: achieving a comprehensive

framework for accreditation

FEDA bulletins: Volume 1

1 Developing college strategies for HumanResource Development

2 Enhancing GCE A-level programmes

3 Impact of voucher schemes on the FE curriculum

4 Quality assurance in colleges

5 Maintaining quality during curriculum change

6 Action planning and recording achievement

7 Implementing modular A levels

8 Comparing content in selected GCE A levels and

Advanced GNVQs

9 Engineering the futureio Charters in FE: Making them work

ii Access to accreditation12 Back to the future: modern apprenticeship

schemes13 Competing for business: colleges and the

Competitiveness Fund

14 Developing an information strategy for a college

15 Strategic approaches to processes, cultures and

structures

A full catalogue of NYA publications is available fromthe National Youth Agency Sales Dept, 17-23 AlbionStreet, Leicester LEi 6GD. Tel: [oii6] 285 6789 Fax:[0116] 247 1043

64 FE matters

68

Vol 2 No 1

FE matters

Student support services

FEDA's student support programmefocuses on how students are supportedto achieve their primary learning goals.It covers the work of specialist studentservices staff as well as other staff witha role in supporting students.

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