The National Youth Agency: Comment - History lessons for youthwork

The extended schools project will probably end up as something of a dog's dinner. There will be lots of bluster about excellence at selected "beacons" camouflaging an awful lot of mediocre provision. What-ever the outcome, extended schools will have a profound impact on youth work.

The number of school and college-based youth workers is already growing rapidly. Extended schooling will accelerate that growth. Especially as funding predominately follows the young "customers".

School and college-based youth work goes back almost a century. The idea, like that of extending schooling, is an old one, although some people would like us to think otherwise. But overall the history of this work has been an unhappy one. Most schools have expected youth work to be a cheap option, and the youth workers to manage disengaged and "low ability" pupils, provide "approved" activities and generally behave like a hybrid of a security guard and redcoat. The unpleasant truth is that few teachers and school leaders either grasp what youth work is about or hold those who practice it in high regard.