UK Youth
UK Youth is a national youth work charity[1] supporting over 750,000 young people, 40,000 volunteers and 7,000 youth projects, groups and clubs in the United Kingdom.
UK Youth
This charity specialises in working for and with young people all over the UK, to enable them to raise their aspirations, realise their potential and recognise their achievements through innovative youth work programmes. UK Youth operates a number of programmes to enable young people to build their skills and confidence and gain accreditation - such as the Youth Challenges and Youth Achievement Awards, Edexcel BTEC Level 2 Award/Certificate in Peer Education and Peer Mentoring (QCF), Junior Achievement Awards, Award in Personal Achievement (QCF) and many other non-formal education programmes. It provides accredited learning opportunities to youth groups, projects, schools, Local Education Authorities (LEAs) and many other groups working with young people. UK Youth also provides training, resources network support and advocacy for quality youth work. It has a Youth Steering Group - UK Youth Voice (Their blog -[1]) run entirely by young people who promote youth participation and active citizenship by actively engaging with the governance of the charity.
UK Youth is the largest non-uniformed National Voluntary Youth Organisation in the UK with a national network comprising approximately 40 local member groups in England representing the major county and metropolitan areas and National Members including Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales. Its headquarters are based at Avon Tyrrell Activity Centre in the New Forest Hampshire where around 20,000 young people stay each year for holidays, training and activities. It also has a London office.
Who's Who
The Patron of the charity is Her Royal Highness, Princess Anne, The Princess Royal. The current President is Nigel Mansell OBE. The Chief Executive is Charlotte Hill, who is supported by a board consisting of:
- Director of Fundraising: Louis Bonney
- Director of Communications: Dominic Cotton
- Director of Finance: Norma Murray
- Director of Youth Work: Pauline Taylor
History
The charity was founded in 1911 as the National Organisation of Girls Clubs. It became the National Association of Girls Clubs and Mixed Clubs in 1944 and the National Association of Youth Clubs in 1961. In 1987, it became known as Youth Clubs UK and adopted its current title UK Youth in 2001. In 2010-11 it celebrated it's centenary year.
Missions and Objectives
UK Youth has three key Charitable Objectives:
Youth Work Development
The charity’s special contribution to the development of youth work will continue to be the focus on the personal and social development of young people in the UK whose potential can be better realised through non-formal education routes. UK Youth seeks to apply the principles of effective youth work to the contemporary interests and needs of young people via programmes that offer accredited learning outcomes.
UK Youth works with a wide range of organisations including Government departments and agencies in the UK and Europe as well as other voluntary bodies and corporates to promote coherent opportunities for and with young people.
Networking
The ability of UK Youth to achieve its Mission is dependent on its relationships with a wide variety of similarly minded organisations. The charity aims to provide support to its networks by:
• Promoting UK Youth's programmes and resouces to those that work with young people
• Establishing and supporting the development of high standards and common best practise in the delivery of youth work
• Supporting UK Youth members in the delivery of youth work programmes around the UK
• Co-ordinating UK Youth members at a regional level to respond to political, legislative and financial challenges
Advocacy for Youth Work
Directly, and with key partner organisations, UK Youth works to create an environment in which youth work is valued by advocating the social and economic benefits of high quality youth work, both to young people and their wider communities and publicising the distinct contribution that youth workers can make to the lives of young people.
The charity particularly focuses on:
• Programmes developed by UK Youth
• Advocacy for youth work
• Policy development
• Participation of young people in the design and delivery of programmes
Current Programmes
Youth Achievement Foundations
UK Youth has been expanding the Youth Achievement Foundations model for over five years. Youth Achievement Foundations are a motivating vocational and activity based curriculum of personal and social development for students excluded from secondary school at Key Stage 4 or at risk of exclusion. The Foundations are independent schools which are usually run by local not for profit 3rd sector organisations experienced in alternative curricular delivery. The Foundations are specifically designed to meet the needs of young people for whom mainstream education is no longer working. While maintaining a core delivery of basic literacy and numeracy, pupils will be offered a curriculum that is more appropriate to their personal & social development and accredit their learning from a variety of vocational areas.
There are currently 12 Youth Achievement Foundations around the UK with the intention that there will be 17 by the end of 2013. The successful outcomes these Foundations have had with young people previously excluded or at risk of exclusion from mainstream education have been demonstrated by Teesside University. You can find out more about the Foundations, including their locations around the UK and case studies from individual young people who have benefitted from their innovative approach by visiting. Accredited Learning
UK Youth's Qualifications & Awards
The Youth Achievement Awards and other awards and qualifications that UK Youth offers were developed with two key purposes: to help youth workers develop more effective participative youth work, and to recognise and accredit young people’s achievements and learning.
The Youth Achievement Awards started as a pilot project run from 1994 to 1997 funded by the National Lottery Board. The project successfully developed the first national award to utilise a youth work models in order to accredit young people’s achievements and learning from youth work. Following on from their success UK Youth now operates two qualifications on the Qualifications & Credit Framework as well as awards for young children.
UK Youth's Qualifications & Awards Offer:
• A flexible, person centred approach to non-formal learning which particularly benefits young people who do less well in a conventional school setting whose capabilities and motivation are affected by different situational, personal and relational factors
• They also help young people who do well at school by providing additional activities outside the classroom
• Are flexible which allows for delivery in many contexts and to students with different levels of confidence and ability
• Set individual challenges which promote a young person’s ‘achievement’ level and offers rewards for this.
UK Youth's Current Programmes
• 02 Think Big - £300 - £2000 grants given direct to young people to do something in their community.
• Starbucks Youth Action - A project that supports young people to improve their communities in partnership with Starbucks.
• UPS Road Code - A Programme promoting road safety amoung young people delivered in Partnership with UPS.
• Barclay's Money Skills is currently being developed with a consortium of four charities.
• Bike Club - Uses cycling as a way to engage young people in learning beyond the school day.
• Hearing Unheard Voices (HUV) - is led by a group of 11-18 year-olds who support others to speak out about the services that affect them and campaign for change.
• Healthy Young Adult Transitions (HYAT)enables 16-25 year olds to identify stregths and weaknesses in key services that affect them.
Fundraising Activities
Art for Youth
Art for Youth is UK Youth's flagship fundraising event which enables promising artists to show their work and raises funds for UK Youth. With over 24 years of successful exhibitions in London, Art for Youth has given art enthusiasts the chance to buy works from contemporary artists at the beginning of their careers whilst donating to charity.
Now entering its 24th year, Art for Youth in London has so far raised over £900,000 for UK Youth. Over 1,000 pieces of art (valued from £100- £3,500) by new and established artists go on display at Art for Youth London. Works usually include: oils, watercolours, sculpture ceramics, photographs & jewellery. Artists donate 35% of sales and all proceeds from the Raffle, Auction, "Mystery Pictures" and Silent Auction are 100% donations to the charity.
New artists are chosen by a selection panel which seeks out fresh, innovative and affordable work. Art for Youth London enables new and upcoming artists to exhibit in a prestigious London gallery (The Royal College of Art) alongside more established talent. The Diana Brooks Prize is awarded annually to an artist aged 35 or under. Many former prize winners, some of whom have gone on to very successful artistic careers, offer a piece of their work for sale as a 100% donation to UK Youth.
The Nigel Mansell UK Youth Golf Classic
A yearly golf tournament that raises money for UK Youth as teams compete against the Charities' President Nigel Mansell OBE.
UK Youth's HQ is at Avon Tyrrell in the New Forest.[2]
References
- ^ "UK Youth". Extract from the Central Register of Charities maintained by the Charity Commission for England and Wales. Retrieved 2007-11-11.
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(help) - ^ "Avon Tyrrell Activity Centre".
Teesside University Report on Youth Achievement Foundations [1]
Youth Achievement Awards Portal [2]