Looking back, what was required then was nothing compared with the changes needed today in some youth services. But they were significant nonetheless, and caused me some challenging thinking and sleepless nights.
It got me thinking - what would have been useful to me then? Perhaps a community to talk to and share ideas and solutions, to learn from other people's stories and gain support from those in a similar position. Maybe some space to get together with peers and talk about the issues with facilitators capable of getting the best from the time and experience. Possibly some tailored support to help untangle the local issues and needs of your service.
We have a long-standing relationship with the Local Government Association and together we decided that we needed to offer local authorities something different this year - something to support them on their journey of change.
So we worked with five youth services: Croydon, Gateshead, Leeds, Sheffield and Shropshire to put together our offer - Routes to Success: Supporting the Change Journey for Young People's Services (see the article opposite for full details).
A window to this opportunity is provided through our new Community of Practice. Launched in April, it is already providing opportunities to share and learn from senior young people's service managers.
So join our Community to take part in our seminars and events, debate with some of our celebrities, take up our offer of support, tell us when we are doing something useful and tell us when we are not doing enough. We will only be as good as those taking part.
To sign up to the community visit: www.communities.idea.gov.uk/c/9626639/home.do
Susan Quinn, national programme manager, NYA. Contact her on susanq@nya.org.uk.
