NYA Update: Comment -- Helping young people succeed
Adam Williams
Friday, February 17, 2012
Following the publication of Positive for Youth back in December 2011, the sector has been able to stop and think about what the future might hold. With every new initiative, there are so many pledges and working groups set up. However, it is key to ensure that they all align themselves to a joint purpose - something like a "shared value" in Hear by Right language.
Having a set of measures to track positive outcomes achieved by local authorities, published annually, will provide a good visual indication of how things are being achieved. With more voluntary sector organisations and businesses taking responsibility for young people, I almost wonder if these measures should also be applied to them too.
I am keen to find out what the framework of outcomes for young people, being developed by the Catalyst consortium, will bring. Hopefully, more consistency. There are now so many groups of people involved in shaping Positive for Youth. It is significant that the NYA’s Quality Mark has a section that focuses on partnership and the quality of joint venture working.
This strikes me as being so much more important now, ensuring that organisations actively promote and engage in partnership working to meet the needs of young people.
The National Citizen Service is bringing about some fantastic partnerships and innovative ideas. I hope this year heralds the erosion of the divide between statutory, voluntary, charities, businesses and young people so we can ensure this new venture develops strongly.
Last month, we published our business mapping study (www.nya.org.uk/policy), which has already shown that businesses are playing a vital role in supporting young people’s services in two-thirds of local authorities – so, with Positive for Youth being a shared vision across a number of providers, I wonder whether this is something that is actually not new at all, but just something that’s not actively shared or talked about.
Adam Williams, assistant development officer, National Youth Agency. adamw@nya.org.uk
