NYA and YEF Annual Conference - Leigh Middleton Message

Summary

This message from Leigh Middleton at the NYA and YEF Annual Conference emphasizes the crucial role of youth workers in tackling contemporary challenges such as youth violence and mental health issues. Despite previous funding cuts in youth services, there is a growing recognition of the need for investment in preventative services like youth work. Efforts are being made to address workforce challenges and improve conditions for youth workers, with optimism about a national strategy being developed for young people alongside increasing investments. Middleton remains hopeful about the future direction and impact of youth work in communities.

Highlights

• The conference's high attendance underscores the critical importance of youth work today. 🎤
• Youth workers are seen as vital in communities, providing trusted relationships for young people. 👫
• Funding cuts have severely impacted youth services, but change is on the horizon with local authorities re-engaging. 🔄
• The vital role of youth workers during non-school hours is increasingly recognized. 🌟
• Salary and job security challenges persist for youth workers, but efforts are being made to address them. 💼
• A national strategy for young people is in the works, aiming to consolidate and support youth services. 📘
• The renewed focus on investment in youth work suggests a promising direction for the future. 🌅

Key Takeaways

• Youth workers are essential in addressing contemporary issues such as youth violence and mental health. 🌟
• The event is heavily attended, highlighting the importance of the topic and debate. 📈
• Despite major funding cuts, there's a shift towards investing in preventative youth services. 💷
• Youth workers play a vital role outside traditional school hours, impacting young people's lives hugely. ⏰
• Efforts are underway to improve conditions for youth workers regarding salary and job security. 💪
• There is optimism about a forthcoming national strategy for young people. 🚀
• Overall, there’s a positive outlook on restoring and building the youth sector back stronger. 🤝

Overview

At the NYA and YEF Annual Conference, Leigh Middleton highlighted the indispensable role of youth workers in today's society. Faced with challenges like youth violence and mental health, youth workers stand as frontline heroes, offering trusted support to young people. The conference itself, despite an overwhelming number of attendees leading to some standing room only, highlighted the urgency and passion surrounding youth work topics, underscoring its vital place in today's societal framework.

Over recent years, youth services have been grappling with significant funding cuts that have stretched resources thin. However, Middleton expressed cautious optimism, noting that local authorities are starting to reinvest in youth work. The emphasis on preventative services, rather than purely reactive ones, hints at a strategic pivot towards fostering lasting positive impacts in communities. Middleton passionately detailed how youth workers make an impactful difference beyond school confines, often being a lifeline during weekends and holidays.

With a keen eye on future developments, Middleton discussed ongoing efforts to improve conditions for youth workers, including enhancing salaries and job security. He revealed that after years of advocacy, a national strategy for young people is finally taking shape, promising a coordinated approach to youth services. Despite previous setbacks, the current trajectory paints a hopeful picture for the youth sector, with increasing investments hinting at a brighter, more supportive future for young people and their communities.

Chapters

• 00:00 - 00:30: Introduction and Partnership Acknowledgment The chapter highlights a partnership with the Youth Endowment Fund, emphasizing the essential role of youth workers. It acknowledges their consistent efforts in various settings such as streets, youth centers, communities, and schools, addressing contemporary challenges. Additionally, the event discussed is significantly oversubscribed, indicating high interest or demand.
• 00:30 - 01:00: Event Significance and Attendee Acknowledgment The chapter highlights the overwhelming attendance at an event, indicating the significance of the topic being discussed. With over 270 attendees when just 250 seats were available, the turnout surpassed expectations, emphasizing the importance of the debate and the role of the attendees in addressing the issue at hand. The event gathered a diverse group of individuals, including members from violence reduction units, schools, funders, youth workers, local authorities, and the voluntary community sector, showcasing a wide array of stakeholders invested in the topic.
• 01:00 - 01:30: Current Relevance of Youth Work In this chapter titled 'Current Relevance of Youth Work,' the transcript highlights the critical importance and increasing need for youth work in contemporary times. The speaker expresses optimism about the current state and future potential of youth work, suggesting that the field is approaching a pivotal moment. This positive outlook is supported by numerous reports that emphasize the growing significance of youth-centered initiatives. The chapter underscores the value of collaboration among regional colleagues, which aids in exploring and addressing ongoing debates within the sector.
• 01:30 - 02:00: Importance of Relationships and Trusted Adults The chapter discusses the importance of having relationships and trusted adults in contexts such as youth work and education. This need is repeatedly highlighted in various reports and recognized as crucial in addressing contemporary issues such as violence against women and girls. The overwhelming recommendation from national and educational curricula is to emphasize the role of youth workers and trusted relationships to mitigate these societal crises.
• 02:00 - 02:30: Challenges of Youth Violence and Knife Crime The chapter discusses the critical issue of youth violence and knife crime, highlighting the need for mental health support for young people. It emphasizes the role of youth workers in providing consistent support and building relationships with young people. By being accessible and involved, youth workers can serve as a relief valve, potentially preventing further trauma and harm. The chapter also acknowledges the persistent issue of knife crime, framing it as a significant challenge that needs to be addressed.
• 02:30 - 03:00: Role of Youth Workers The chapter 'Role of Youth Workers' discusses the impact of fear and anxiety on young people's behavior, highlighting how one in two are altering their actions due to concerns about safety and consequences. It mentions that many young people believe carrying a blade might protect them, although statistically, it increases the risk of harm. Youth workers across the country have observed these patterns and are presumably involved in addressing these issues.
• 03:00 - 03:30: Funding Challenges and Changes The chapter discusses the importance of supporting young people outside of school environments where they spend most of their time. It highlights the role of youth workers who engage with the youth during weekends, evenings, and holidays in community spaces like youth centers. The chapter emphasizes the need to not only rely on schools but also involve community-based approaches to effectively reach and support the young population.
• 03:30 - 04:00: Need for Prevention Services The chapter discusses the critical need for prevention services and addresses the significant funding challenges faced by the youth sector. It highlights the drastic reduction in spending on youth workers, amounting to 1.22 billion pounds per year. This financial strain affects the sustainability of services and employment conditions, as the average funding length is only nine months, preventing permanent contracts and undermining service stability.
• 04:00 - 04:30: Youth Worker Salaries and Sector Challenges The chapter discusses the challenges faced by youth workers, particularly in maintaining employment and retention within the sector. There is a positive shift underway, as local authorities are beginning to re-engage with youth work, largely due to statutory duties that emphasize the importance of investment in prevention services over acute services. The narrative stresses the growing recognition of the need to support preventive measures in youth work to drive better long-term outcomes.
• 04:30 - 05:00: Optimism for Youth Work Sector The chapter titled 'Optimism for Youth Work Sector' emphasizes the current enthusiasm and collective efforts within the youth work sector. The discussion focuses on the evidence-based work and collaborative efforts that have been central to advancing the sector, as well as the importance of continued progress in these areas. A significant challenge highlighted is workforce retention, especially the low average salary of youth workers in England, which is £21,000 and falls below the living wage. The narrative is both a call to action and a hopeful reminder of the ongoing commitment to improvements in the field.
• 05:00 - 05:30: Conclusion and Future Outlook The chapter "Conclusion and Future Outlook" highlights the challenges faced in attracting individuals to work in the youth sector despite its lower average salary of £36,000 compared to other professions like teaching or social work. The motivation to join this sector stems from a genuine care for young people and the community, and a passion for the impactful process of working with youth. The chapter calls for resolving several issues, including the need for better funding, improved salaries, and the establishment of long-term contracts to make the sector more appealing.

NYA and YEF Annual Conference - Leigh Middleton Message Transcription

• 00:00 - 00:30 We uh real proud to be partnering with the Youth Endowment Fund on today's event. It's really important to shine a light on the role of youth workers and the difference that youth workers are making day in day out on our streets, in our youth centers, in our communities, in our schools, tackling the real challenges of our era. Um, and so this event is whoppingly over subscri
• 00:30 - 01:00 I'm so sorry there are people cute like standing in the corridor. 270 signed up and we knew if more than 250 turned up we didn't have enough seats. You've all turned up. So but I think that that says everything you need to know about the importance of this debate, the topic um and the role of of of all of us coming together to focus on these things. Um, I wanted to just thank that in the room today we've got a real blend of people from people from violence reduction units, from schools, from funders, hundreds of youth workers, uh, local authorities, voluntary community sector,
• 01:00 - 01:30 regional colleagues, and it's amazing to have that sort of network of colleagues coming together to to explore all the debates that we've got going through the day. Youth work has never been more important or needed and and I'm really optimistic at the moment. I think I think our time is coming. I think the moment to res you know look positively and see uh the ambition for the future is is coming our way. You only have to read every report that anybody publishes
• 01:30 - 02:00 and it says you need relationships. He says you need trusted adults, you need youth workers. Um I mean every report you kind of read says the same thing. um and whether it's throughout the school national curriculum um or or or other areas of youth violence or workforce, youth work, youth work, youth work and and that's so important. And the reason it's really important is because the kind of topic of crisis of our moment is things like violence against women and girls. I mean, way I think we've had four inquiries this week alone to go on various national radio media to talk
• 02:00 - 02:30 about that topic. Um one in five young people need mental health support and not all of that needs to come from CAMS or a psychologist. actually a youth worker who's there every week they can touch base with, have that relationship with, go and text, go and talk to on a Wednesday night when it's raining, but actually life is just too much. Um, can just be that relief valve that is needed to prevent further trauma, further harm, and to support those young people. Um and then we can't avoid you know the the scourge of knife crime which is you know I think as John has brilliantly just put
• 02:30 - 03:00 sadly had to put so eloquently that is scaring and worrying so many young people that one in two are changing the way they act and they behave you know they won't walk down that street they won't go to that location they won't do that thing um because they are nervous or worried about the consequences um and we know talking to youth workers around the country you know young people who feel they need to carry a blade because that's their sort They think that will keep them safe. Even all the evidence says you're more likely to be hurt by your own blade than anything else. Um and so, you know, youth workers have a
• 03:00 - 03:30 role to play by being that trusted adult in communities. Um I say this all the time, young people spend 85% of their waking hours outside of schools. So whilst our schools are an absolutely essential part of the fabric of the response and engagement of young people, we completely miss a trick when we don't support those young people in the rest of the when they spend the majority of their time, their weekends, their evenings, their school holidays, etc. And that is where youth workers are on the streets are in youth centers are
• 03:30 - 04:00 making a difference. Um it'd be wrong of me to sort of address a national audience and and not to sort of put the context to some extent. We have lost what 1.2 2 billion pounds per year of spending on youth workers. There are colleagues in this room who I know have felt the pain of that who have wrestled day and night to keep services alive have juggled various pots of funding. You know we know the average length of funding in the youth sector today is nine months long which means you can't employ people on permanent contracts which is undermining the ability to
• 04:00 - 04:30 employ good youth workers and keep them in post. However, I think we are starting to see that change. Um we had an event last week with local authority leads and overwhelmingly uh we walked away from that with a sense that local authorities are starting to re-engage with youth work. I think the statute duty is making a difference and the need to invest in that is being understood. You can't for you can't continually put more and more money into acute services. You've got to put money into prevention services. I know I'm just preaching to the converted in this room but the real world is listening to that. Why? Because
• 04:30 - 05:00 all those reports are saying youth work, youth work, youth work. And why is it saying that? It's because the evidence that you guys are working on, it's the collaboration that you guys have been working on, it's the business cases you've been putting forwards, it's the data, and and we've just got to keep going more and more of that. Um, our biggest focus at the moment is around workforce and the challenge of keeping youth workers in our sector. And just to put that into the starkkest terms, and because I've got the minister in front of me, I'm going to I'm going to take the opportunity. Um, but the average salary of a youth worker in England today is £21,000. That is below the living wage.
• 05:00 - 05:30 The average salary of anybody in the country is £36,000. So why would you come into our sector? Why would you become a youth worker and not become a teacher or social worker? Um you come into our sector because you really care about young people. You care about your community and you love the process that we work with young people and that makes a difference. Um and so we've got to fix a number of things and some of that does need to be funding because we've got to fix the salaries. We've got to create long-term contracts that pay enough. But
• 05:30 - 06:00 I am really optimistic. Why? because um I've been in this job nearly 8 years and for the all that eight years we've been banging the drum saying we need a national strategy for young people. We need a plan. We're the only country in Europe that doesn't have a plan for young people. Um and we're getting one and this is absolutely amazing. Um and and I'm part of the expert advisory group and I'm seeing the the determination of ministers of officials of the whole system trying to work together to come up with a really strong plan and that's ambitious for young
• 06:00 - 06:30 people. Now whether the Treasury can come up with a cash, we don't know, but you know, let's hope. Um and but actually building it took 15 years to really harm the youth sector and dismantle it to the level it's now. It'll take that long to restore it under no illusion, but the decline has stopped and and the investment is starting to creep in. You know, we've got young futures hubs and pro partnerships. We've got investment uh that's coming through in and spaces and capital investment, you know. So this is really exciting stuff that I think is is going to make a
• 06:30 - 07:00 real difference. So um I'm looking forward to today's conversation and the workshops we've got on all the different topics and I thank all our speakers and guests and uh yeah I'm going to hand back to Ben and just say thank you for your time and sorry I haven't gone off seats. We'll try and sort that out for later on. Thank you.