In the last decade the youth work sector has been hit by severe cuts and we have seen a rise in poorer outcomes for young people and communities linked to this decline. This is despite the proven power of youth work to improve young lives and society as a whole.
Merseyside-based youth charity Vibe UK was on the verge of collapse and had to find a new way to attract investors so sought inspiration from outside the sector – the legendary turnaround of tech giant Apple.
We went on to develop a new way to explain the value of youth work that helped us secure investment and rapidly turn a corner.
Analysis by the YMCA suggests the amount spent by councils in England on youth work has reduced by 73% since 2010/11.
A 2019 report by union Unison found that falling spending since 2010 had resulted in the closure of nearly 800 youth centres. Meanwhile, the Local Government Association estimates the cuts have seen more than 4,500 youth workers lose their jobs.
This reduction in youth provision comes at a time when the transition from child to adult is more challenging than ever amid rising living costs, unstable employment, lack of housing, a rise in mental health issues and challenges posed by technology such as social media and AI.
A 2023 review by the National Youth Agency exploring the social cost of cuts to youth services found a clear association between reduced funding for youth provision and an increase in crime rates for some young people.
As a sector we have continued to make the argument for youth work as part of the solution and shown time and time again that it develops the social and emotional skills that help young people to meet challenges.
While there have been some positive signs from the new government including the promise of a National Youth Strategy and a commitment to invest £100mn in new youth services including youth hubs, this is one tenth of what was cut before inflation.
The message is still that money is tight so the chances of securing substantial investment in preventative, universal, open-access youth provision and life-changing youth work still seem slim.
So how do we convince people of our value? If there is no money then how can we encourage smart use of resources already in the system?
In 1996, Apple teetered on the edge of bankruptcy. Despite coming perilously close to extinction it went on to become the first trillion-dollar company.
A key factor in Apple’s turnaround was Steve Jobs’ return to the company and his mantra of “simple design and recognisable products”. What he understood is that if what you offer can’t be explained simply and in a way that catches people’s imagination, it will fail to attract support. Conversely, if you can get people to understand the point of something and where to get it, they will want it and pay for it.
Like Apple of 1996, youth work is brilliant on paper but fails to attract support in a competitive market. Vibe UK realised it too needed to work on the simplicity of design and recognition of our “product”. This led to the development of the Relationship Framework 4 (RF4).
Defining youth work has never been easy and there is perhaps not one definition. Instead there is broad agreement that youth work is about promoting and facilitating activities that enable and support young people’s social, emotional, and personal development.
While an all-encompassing approach is understandable, it lacks specificity so is open to wide interpretation and by its very nature confuses funders and the general public.
It is this confusion or lack of recognition that perhaps results in a lack of investment. It fails the “Family Fortunes test”. If you asked 100 members of the public what youth workers do you would not get close to a consistent answer.
To address this recognition challenge, Vibe decided to simplify the message of what youth work is by focusing on relationships as both the method or “how” of youth work and the purpose or “why” of youth work.
By focusing on relationships we have created an easy-to-understand and attractive brand that speaks to potential partners, funders, advocates and champions and helps us stand out.
This approach may be seen as reductionist by some in the sector but we are unapologetic about our choice to be pragmatic and are keen to share the lessons we’ve learned.
The framework shows how the ability to build and maintain relationships is the foundation for so many other aspects of young people’s lives including educational achievement, staying safe and making a positive contribution.
Relationship competency
The final part of the equation is to understand and acknowledge that relationship competency – just like any other skill – can be learned and taught by expert guides.
While other professionals could be these guides, building and supporting relationships is at the heart of what youth workers do. This means our sector is uniquely placed to empower young people to grow into thriving, resilient and capable adults.
The framework defines young people’s relationships across four zones: personal or the relationship with yourself, interpersonal or relationships with others, advocacy or supporting the relationships of others and finally, relationships with and within the community and wider society. These themes can be used to plan individual youth work sessions or shape youth work provision at a strategic level. The framework uses existing evaluation tools and complements many current youth work curricula.
The approach is working. Vibe UK has gone from near bankruptcy to achieving sustainable and growing investment and new strategic partnerships which in 2022/23 saw an income of £920,000. We’re on target for an income of around £1.6mn in 2023/24.
This is not about re-designing youth work but explaining youth work attractively in a way that resonates with stakeholders outside the sector and their targets such as reducing offending, increasing educational attainment and tackling poor health.
“By helping police and other services to better understand the contribution youth workers make, RF4 has enabled stronger partnerships and more effective deployment of resources,” says superintendent Philip Mullally of Merseyside Police.
We believe it is a model that could work for others in the youth sector. Grounding what we do in relationships and positioning youth workers as relationship experts clarifies the role of youth work in relatable terms so the whole of society understands its power and impact.
THE RF4 MODEL HAS CHANGED HOW I VIEW YOUTH WORK
By Tony Smith, trainer, Vibe UK
My passion is supporting people to work on themselves. It is not about pushing young people to be a certain way but helping them become better versions of themselves.
I love the simplicity of the RF4 approach. The idea is that no matter what’s going on – whether things are going well or not – you can identify the root cause in one of four levels of relationships.
It’s not that this is a brand-new way of working. But it is about recognising that at the heart of any successes are positive relationships, especially the relationship you have with yourself.
It has really changed how I view youth work. I used to think building confidence was about empowering young people to believe in themselves, which is still true. But RF4 has made me realise that the best way to measure impact is not just to ask the young people, but to ask the people around them – those who notice the changes in behaviour.
By considering the relationships young people have with themselves, others, and their communities, it becomes easier to plan and evaluate youth work. The feedback from the people around them is often the best indicator of lasting impact.
In practice, RF4 has made it easier to plan and evaluate the work we do. For example, when planning sessions, it’s important to focus on how young people interact with others. Afterwards, instead of just asking participants how they feel, we also ask the people around them—teachers, family—what changes they’ve noticed. This 360-degree approach helps us understand the real impact of our work.
One of the main challenges is that people often struggle with change. Introducing a new approach can be difficult because it requires a shift in mindset. Some staff have been in the organisation for decades while others are relatively new so the challenge is changing the culture at a pace that everyone can manage.
The key message is that everyone can benefit from better relationships. People often overlook the relationship they have with themselves, but it’s the most important one. Once you start working on that, everything else – whether that’s building relationships with others or achieving personal goals – becomes easier. This approach is relevant to every walk of life, and that is why it resonates with so many people.
NEW APPROACH CAN HELP SECURE LONG-TERM FUNDING
By Amber Reilly, lead youth worker, Vibe UK
I have been a youth worker for seven years and now lead on a number of specialist programmes delivered across the Liverpool City region, based at Vibe’s Outdoor Education Centre.
Much of what we deliver at Vibe is based around the building of healthy relationships: how young people approach relationships with themselves, their friends, family and in their community.
When people think about youth work they tend to think about traditional-style youth clubs that are open for a few hours a week or about adults providing a good role model. But RF4 highlights the importance of relationships in a young person’s development.
It helps summarise to young people and other key stakeholders how relationships can impact their lives in a positive and negative way. It captures what youth work can do and the approach can be adapted to various programmes and youth work provision.
At Vibe, the framework is integrated into every programme, guiding our practice and engagement with young people.
When initiating work with any young person, my focus is not only on building a rapport but also on taking time to explore their relationships. This involves identifying both positive and negative influences in their lives and understanding the impact of these relationships on their decision-making. We support them in recognising who contributes positively to their development and who may hinder their progress with an initial focus on cultivating a strong and healthy relationship with themselves.
RF4 reinforces the professional nature of youth work and positions youth workers as experts in making and sustaining relationships. I feel it can help tackle the challenge of securing long-term funding in youth work. By providing a clear framework to measure and demonstrate the impact of youth work programmes, it becomes easier to justify investment and attract support.
Collaborating with partners including local authorities, police, and public health through pooled funding can make the approach even more sustainable and supports efforts to develop a comprehensive local youth offer.
The framework enables youth work providers to better understand the broader landscape of services available to young people. This can help identify gaps and opportunities, ensuring youth services are more strategic and effective across a local area.
ST HELENS BETTER RELATIONSHIPS HAVE HELPED CUT YOUTH CRIME
By Charlotte Brookes, impact manager, Vibe UK
Like many local authority areas, St Helens in Merseyside was facing a raft of challenges including concerns around increasing youth involvement in antisocial behaviour and persistent absenteeism in schools.
Police data highlighted three areas of the borough where intervention was needed but with minimal funding available and partners focused on delivering their own targets, it was proving difficult to agree a long-term approach.
The RF4 framework enabled partners, led by the local authority and Merseyside Police, to understand how youth work could help everyone achieve their goals including reducing antisocial behaviour, boosting young people’s educational attainment and employment, and improving emotional wellbeing.
This led to the formation of the St Helens Adolescent Service, including programmes designed by Vibe UK and delivered in partnership with local organisation Maximum Edge.
Since July 2023, the service has delivered a range of activities for 10- to 19-year-olds focused on the three priority areas – St Helens town centre, Haydock and Parr. The activities include outreach and detached youth work, open-access youth clubs and school-based workshops, co-produced with young people and covering topics such as mental health, substance abuse, relationships and aspirations.
Over the course of the programme, more than 2,000 young people have been engaged with, 72% signposted to youth activities and 25% accessing support services. More than 100 young people have become active members of the newly-opened Parr Youth Club, which was launched as a direct result of outreach work in that area.
There has been a measurable impact on young people and communities as demonstrated by collection of both quantitative and qualitative evaluation data and use of evaluation tools developed by the Centre for Youth Impact (CfYI).
Police data shows a marked reduction in youth-associated antisocial behaviour within the target areas. The CfYI tools, which measure social and emotional impact over a 12- to 24-week period, show participants have enhanced empathy, emotional management and teamwork skills and increased problem-solving abilities. They also show young people have a greater sense of responsibility and understanding of the consequences of their actions, and improved relationships between young people, peers, family, and educators.
There is evidence to show the RF4 approach has made a real difference to individual young people including one 13-year-old girl who regularly attended the Friday night youth club in Parr.
She was exhibiting risk-taking behaviours, including substance misuse, which made it difficult for her to attend school or the youth club.
She had a positive relationship with youth workers who encouraged her to take part in the targeted Positive Vibe Programme, which focused on addressing her risk-taking behaviour and boosting her aspirations.
Her family, youth workers and teachers have seen her confidence and self-esteem grow. She says she now understands the impact of risk-taking behaviour on her wellbeing and family life and that taking part in youth activities has helped her avoid negative influences and improve relationships at home.
It is now 18 months since the RF4 framework was introduced in St Helens and all partners agree it was the catalyst that helped stakeholders understand and fund this youth work approach. They feel it has not only improved young people’s lives and helped reduce youth-related antisocial behaviour but has also led to strengthened partnerships and relationships.
St Helens Borough Council and Merseyside Police are set to continue funding Vibe’s youth provision for another 12 months from January 2025. Vibe UK has secured additional funding from the National Lottery to extend the RF4 Positive Vibe Programme and have gained support from the local violence reduction unit for further detached youth work.
