As part of a discussion called Rethinking the Role of Youth Work and Evaluation During the Pandemic, Bethia McNeil, chief executive at the Centre for Youth Impact highlighted the importance of quality youth work for millions of children affected by the pandemic.
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“Covid does not devalue evaluation it reframes it,” she said, “it should lead us to focussing more on quality and less on outcomes
“Quality needs to be more dominant - the conversations we have about quality are not as closely connected to impact as they should be.
“Outcomes will be achieved when we focus on the quality of relationships.”
McNeil also called on youth workers to support young people to build strong relationships with youth workers and with each other.
She said: “Relationships between young people and young workers, young people and their environment, young people and other young people and even those between youth workers and their colleagues are very important.”
McNeil described the pandemic as a “dynamic time” for youth work in which “young people’s voices should be at the heart of decision making”.
She encouraged professionals to “focus on our sphere of control” consisting of relationships with young people and their engagement with services both in person and online.
“It is incredibly challenging to focus on our impact,” she said.
“Covid does not devalue evaluation it reframes it,” she said, “it should lead us to focussing more on quality and less on outcomes
“Quality needs to be more dominant - the conversations we have about quality are not as closely connected to impact as they should be.”
Youth Work in the 2020s is taking place until Thursday 5th November between 1pm and 3pm each day.
Tickets to the online conference are still available. You can view the remaining sessions live, while all the sessions (including those you may have missed) will be available to view on-demand in your own time for up to three months.
