The 2014 Report: Youth work

Emerging thinking from the Cabinet Office endorses the role of youth work in stimulating the development of young people's character, resilience and confidence; the evolution of the National Citizen Service and the new cross-party Step Up To Serve campaign have youth work principles integral to them; and proposals from across the political spectrum are increasingly backing a stronger role for youth work in everything from employability to education and family support.

But sometimes the view from the helicopter isn't the same as the view from the ground. Talk directly to youth workers and they don't feel the optimism this picture should imply.

It is a hollow victory that their work appears valued nationally while local youth projects still struggle to provide basic services - and cuts will only increase in 2014. It feels to them like their work is still not well enough understood, and that we lack the connections and influence to affect where limited resources are spent.

So, the challenge in 2014 is to bridge the gap between the experience on the ground and these emerging opportunities. We need leadership around outcomes and quality, so that government and commissioners know what they can expect. The sooner we settle on a shared view, the sooner we can avoid an "arms race" of initiatives and get on to a real discussion about how we aggregate our impact across the sector.

With a stronger emphasis on learning, we then reduce the risk that we over-claim on distinctiveness or label our survival strategies as "innovation", and instead collectively articulate the consistent long-term value of good youth work.

For all the squeeze in resources locally, there are still billions of pounds of public spending on young people across education, employment services, health, justice and family support.

Youth policy sitting in the Cabinet Office must offer an opportunity for the government to rethink how these resources are allocated, embedded and joined up across departments. Times are still tough. But there are opportunities. We need to stay confident in our values and principles, and share a consistent message of the value of community youth work in developing rounded young people who achieve in school, stay healthy and make a difference.

By Rosie Ferguson, chief executive, London Youth

KEY RECOMMENDATIONS

• Clarity of purpose: a vision for young people with a shared set of outcomes to aspire to
• A fair deal: real investment in youth work locally - in return for recognised quality delivery
• Cross-departmental approaches: incentives to support very local level partnerships

Highs and lows of 2013

It's a great achievement that government and opposition ministers have talked about the importance of character, confidence and resilience, and the role of youth work in developing these. But at the same time, few resources have been found that go beyond NCS and deliver year-round, long-term youth work for those who would not put their hand up in school.