A PROMISE FROM THE NATION TO YOUNG PEOPLE, IN SUPPORT OF YOUTH WORK

In response to the Government’s announcement of a Youth Charter and review of youth work training, Chief Executive Leigh Middleton said:

“In a national survey carried out for the National Youth Agency 8 in 10 parents backed a call for Government to make a commitment to young people: ‘to be safe and secure in the modern world and treated fairly; supporting young people in the present, ambitious for their future.’ NYA will to work closely with Government, youth sector organisations and young people to bring this commitment to life in the planned Youth Charter.

If we are to do right by our young people they need access to youth work for professional advice and support. The Government’s pledge to renew youth work qualifications is a welcome first step in response to the new cross-party report on youth work, to secure and strengthen the vital role youth workers play for our young people.”

For media enquiries, contact: Jonathan Hopkins, mob. 07899 877210; jonathanh@nya.org.uk

Notes

  • The National Youth Agency (NYA) is the national body for youth work: www.nya.org.uk
  • The national survey of 2,004 UK adults was carried out by Opinium Research for NYA (January 2019)
  • NYA has published a Youth Covenant as a generational promise from the nation to young people as part of the government’s Civil Society Strategy (2018)
  • NYA is working together with youth sector organisations to secure investment in youth services to ensure all young people are given the opportunities they need to be able to thrive: NYA, UK Youth, The Scouts, Girlguiding, NCS Trust, Youth United Foundation, Step Up To Serve, The Prince’s Trust, British Youth Council

Leading Youth Organisations welcome a Youth Charter

Working together, UK Youth, The Scouts, Girlguiding, National Youth Agency, NCS Trust, Youth United Foundation, Step up to Serve, The Prince’s Trust, and the British Youth Council have been calling on the Government to develop a Youth Charter.

Today, we welcome the news that Mims Davies Minister for Sport and Civil Society has announced that a new Youth Charter will be developed following the Prime Minister’s Serious Youth Violence Summit.

The time has come for a new, bolder approach to youth strategy that acknowledges the specific opportunities and challenges facing this generation of young people. We are working collaboratively to unlock investment in youth services to ensure all young people are given the opportunities they need to be able to thrive.

Our shared vision is for a nation where all young people have access to appropriate, high quality resources and services and where they are:

  1. Skilled and equipped to learn and earn
  2. Experiencing positive health and well-being
  3. Active members of their communities and society
  4. Safe and confident in their future
  5. Treated fairly and equally

Together we are committed to empowering young people to become transformative leaders in our communities to deliver positive change. To achieve this, we must put young people at the front and centre of joined up service design and delivery.

A new Youth Charter will facilitate an integrated, youth centric, approach across the myriad services many young people interact with in their day to day lives, ranging from formal and non-formal education and social services, to criminal justice, health care, housing and benefits.

As part of this offer, we believe young people must have access to high quality and universally available non-formal education and development opportunities. These activities, including youth clubs, sports clubs, art and drama groups, social enterprises, after school clubs and uniformed youth groups, social action such as those driven through the #iwill campaign, and the NCS programme, all contribute to the richness of a young persons’ social development journey and should be accessible, affordable, open to all, and nationally coordinated to ensure parity of access.

We also welcome the Government’s desire to ensure youth workers have the skills they need to best support young people and their commitment to explore the renewal of vital youth work qualifications.

We are backing a new Youth Charter to put young people where they belong, at the top of the agenda. Through developing and delivering a cohesive approach to services for young people we can improve inequality and social mobility, generate positive outcomes that benefit wider society, and unlock cost savings in health, criminal justice, and social care

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