Youth clubs: More fun please

After a hard day at school or college, the last thing many young people like Katie feel like doing is learning new skills or being set targets. But pressure from the Government and grantmakers is creating a climate where activities are increasingly required to be structured and outcomes have to be recorded (see box out). Where once young people could just attend youth clubs to meet friends and have a laugh, they now have to be seen as constructive places offering more than simply a game of pool or place to chat.

Too rigid

So could current policies actually be driving the fun out of youth work? Sue Roberston, youth work lecturer at the University of Chichester and author of Youth clubs: association, participation, friendship and fun!, believes there is a danger they could be. Many youth workers, she believes, are fed up with the strict focus on performance and feel that more emphasis needs to be placed on making clubs enjoyable places where young people want to go.