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Listen
7. Listening to what young people want
7.1 A key purpose of this consultation was to find out what was important to young people, so that all of us who provide information, youth work or participation opportunities can understand better what they want and need.
7.2 Close to 20% of young people who responded see youth work as predominately a way to socialise, make new friends and learn new skills. They also recognised the role that youth work has in increasing their confidence and self-esteem. They stressed the importance of their youth worker being friendly, approachable and easy to talk to. What they want more of, to ensure that all young people can take part and benefit, is for all young people to be treated equally, that they should be encouraged to work together and importantly that they should be asked what they want.
7.3 They commented that they want to know more about what is going on - whether through websites, posters, leaflets or emails and that they want more young people to be involved in planning and running projects. Almost one in every five young people that responded said they wanted adults to listen to them. They want to be asked their opinions whether through meetings or discussion groups, questionnaires or surveys but most of all they want to know that their opinion counts.
7.4 Young people who responded also expressed that they want the Government, local authorities and other organisations who make decisions that involve them to have youth representatives so that they are consulted, included and can have a say on what matters to them.
Information for young people
7.5 The importance of relevant, user-friendly information delivered in formats that young people want was clearly demonstrated in consultation responses. Young people focused on the means of communication with more calls for leaflets and flyers as well as websites, and on the importance of involving them in developing information. The work of Young Scot was referred to, particularly in responses from adults and organisations.
The Outcome we want:
For all young people to be able to access high quality, up-to-date information on issues of interest to them and opportunities open to them, in a variety of formats.
The Action we propose:
- We will work with Young Scot to agree a workplan for 2007-2008 and business plan for 2007-2010 which reflects priorities identified in the consultation.In particular:
- roll-out of the Youth Opportunities Database currently under development which will provide young people with information on youth work opportunities and other things to do in their local area;
- developing information in different formats including leaflets and posters which young people asked for in the consultation;
- including information particularly needed by vulnerable young people including young offenders or those from minority groups, and involving them in its preparation; and
- developing more information for young people who have left school.
Influencing national policy
7.6 Consultation responses, particularly from young people, showed a disappointingly low level of awareness of the role of the Scottish Youth Parliament in representing the views of young people in Scotland. This is particularly concerning in view of the intensive Government funding directed at the SYP in particular over the past 2 years for the organisation to become more representative and to reach young people through schools and other means. It is essential that, to have credibility, the SYP must be able to reach young people and demonstrate that it engages with and speaks for large numbers of young people in Scotland. It is receiving funding from the Big Lottery for the Roars not Whispers project and we propose that for the foreseeable future, the funding it receives from Government is directed at achieving significant improvements in engaging with, empowering and representing young people in Scotland.
The Outcome we want:
For all young people to be more empowered in influencing decisions affecting their own lives and those of their schools and communities. For them to be aware of the SYP's role in supporting them in this and to have their views taken account of when the SYP makes representations on behalf of young people.
The Action we propose:
- We will agree a workplan with the SYP which commits them to focusing their efforts and their funding from Government on delivering the key priority areas identified in the strategy consultation. Funding will be tied to the organisation's ability to demonstrate evidence of improvement in these key areas:
- engaging with young people through schools, teachers and youth workers;
- empowering young people by helping build their capacity to influence their school or local community, and generally on matters of concern to them;
- ensuring that all MSYPs are aware of their responsibilities in representing other young people and engage actively to ensure the views they put forward are genuinely representative; and
- increasing significantly the numbers of young people consulted when determining their policy direction and making the case for policy changes to Government and other decision-makers.
Influencing decisions locally
7.7 Young people must also be able to influence and shape policy locally as well as nationally, and contribute to decision-making on services and facilities in their own communities. Consultation responses called for young people to be asked their opinion and be valued, for youth friendly structures such as youth forums to be supported and for communications to be made more young people friendly.
7.8 We would urge all those involved in community planning to seek the views and involvement of young people and youth work providers in taking forward local decisions and to reflect these in Regeneration Outcome Agreements ( ROAs). As part of their work in building a picture of the views and concerns of communities, Community Planning Partnerships should be developing an awareness of the diverse needs of children and young people in their area. This responsibility is shared by all members and all services, not just those traditionally recognised as having a role in working with children and young people. The Executive has been working for some time with partners to develop an advice note on consulting young people through the Community Planning process, including good practice and a list of contacts and resources. The note has now been published and can be downloaded at: http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Publications/2006/11/09140609/0.
The Dialogue Youth Initiative, supported by Young Scot and local authorities has already developed examples of good practice in enabling community planning partners to consult young people.
Recognising achievement
7.9 Over a third of consultees recommended the use of some form of award to ensure young people receive recognition for their informal learning. Most notably, national awards schemes were mentioned as the most successful way to value and acknowledge the importance of informal learning.
7.10 We know that awards such as Youth Achievement Awards, ASDAN and The Duke of Edinburgh's Award are valued by young people and others. There is an increasing interest in exploring how these learning programmes can be described in the same way as more formal learning, such as SQA courses. This would enable increased understanding of these programmes and allow them to be understood and accepted in the wider learning context. The Scottish Executive is currently exploring the suitability of the Scottish Credit and Qualifications Framework to accredit some of these more informal learning programmes.
The Outcome we want:
For young people who achieve awards through participation in youth work to know that the value and nature of their awards are recognised by employers and others. We want to see employers' understanding of the benefits of youth work increase generally with more support through their corporate social responsibility programmes, e.g. for employees who volunteer or in allowing youth groups to use suitable premises.
The Action we propose:
- We will support ongoing work to ensure benchmarking of appropriate informal learning qualifications against the Scottish Credit and Qualifications Framework.
- During the Year of Action on youth work we will work with employers' representatives to increase employers' understanding of skills young people are acquiring through involvement in youth work and encourage their support for youth work as part of their corporate social responsibility programmes. We will hold an event for employers by the end of 2007 which showcases youth work opportunities and skills to employers.
- Through Learning Connections we will work with youth workers and others in the CLD sector to develop awareness and understanding of learning and use of SCQF.
Involving young people in taking forward the youth work strategy
7.11 Comments from young people suggested that they found the full version of the consultation paper difficult to follow and some of the questions hard to answer.We want young people to understand that this strategy is designed ultimately to ensure that they have more and better opportunities and achieve better outcomes through youth work and to realise that their involvement in this consultation has led to specific actions and improvements.
The Outcome we want:
For young people to understand that this strategy is designed to provide better opportunities for them and that their involvement in the consultation process has helped shape the proposals.
The Action we propose:
- We will involve some of the young people who responded to the consultation with helping to shape and take forward the Action Plan outlined in the Youth Work Strategy.
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