I'll tell you what youth workers really do

After all, there is plenty of literature on what youth workers say they do, and plenty of documentation about what others think they should do, but there is little in detail from the street, club or project about what is actually taking place.

Youth workers in fact do a lot of things. The defining aspect of their professionalism is that they do it within a particular framework of principles and values. Debate about the precise nature of that framework has been sharply resurrected through Tony Taylor's open letter In Defence of Youth Work. Luminaries of the profession expressed their views on matters such as voluntary engagement, confidentiality and targeting in a recent edition of CYP Now (21-27 May). There is also contention around the rigid planning of youth work, rather than the perceived messy spontaneity that allegedly prevailed in the past. And some youth workers seem to get a great kick out of defining themselves at the expense of others: we are not social workers, counsellors, careers advisers or teachers.