youth support worker

Level: 3

Duration: 15 months (Excluding EPA)

If you’re an individual interested in this programme please email: recruitment@b-skill.com

If you’re an employer interested in this programme please email: business@b-skill.com

Apprenticeship Overview

Youth work is a wonderful, challenging and rewarding career, bringing you into contact with some of the most vulnerable young people in your local area. B-Skill works in partnership with many organisations supporting children and young people from a diverse range of backgrounds.

 Apprentices will be required to have or achieve level 2 English and maths, prior to taking their end point assessment.

What does a Youth Support Worker do?
Working under the guidance of the JNC qualified Youth Workers, the Youth Support Workers will support young people in their personal, social and educational development, helping them reach their full potential in society.

Mandatory Qualification:
As part of this apprenticeship you will achieve a Level 3 Diploma in Youth Work Practice, this is regulated by Ofqual.

DEVELOPING CORE KNOWLEDGE:

  • Methods to build trust and rapport, with diverse groups of young people.
  • Communication techniques including verbal, written and electronic.
  •  Methods for evaluating and recording youth work sessions and how these are applied in
    practice.
  • Different contexts including cultural, social and political perspectives operating within young
    people’s communities and wider society.
  • Methods for encouraging and enabling young people to participate in an inclusive manner.
  • Article 12 of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child in youth work settings.
  • Approaches for increasing active participation and creating opportunities for youth voice and
    leadership.
  • Professional obligations regarding administration, recording and management of data i.e.
    GDPR.
  • Current national and local policies for safeguarding young people and vulnerable adults, and
    the application of these to own practice.
  • Health and safety policies relating to the care and wellbeing of young people and
    implementation of these in the youth support worker role.
  •  Positive risk benefit assessment to ensure there are safe working practices for youth support
    work.
  • Limits of professional behaviour boundaries in line with organisational policies and procedures.
  • Group work theory and its application in work with young people.
  •  Local and national factors that impact on young people, i.e. social, environmental, economic,
    political.
  • Local community networks and ways in which young people might become involved.
  •  Partnership and multi-agency working.
  • Places and spaces that professional youth support work might happen and how approaches
    might differ dependent on context, environment and/or young person.
  •  Key reflective practice models that can be used in youth support work practice and their impact.
  • Critical reflection, and how to use it in practice to enhance continuous professional development
    for youth support work.
  • Professional approaches to informal education with individual and groups in different settings.
  • Youth support work planning, monitoring and evaluation methods and how these are applied in
    practice.
  • What is meant by values and beliefs and why it is important to encourage young people to
    explore these.
  • Indicators for abuse and exploitation and how to recognise these and take action within the
    context and setting.
  • How to collect and use sources of information in order to demonstrate the impact and benefits
    of youth support work.
  • Systems and procedures relevant to the role and setting.
  •  First line management styles that are supportive and developmental for volunteers and
    assistant youth support workers.

DEVELOPING CORE SKILLS:

  •  Communicate with stakeholders – internal and /or external.
  • Facilitate the learning and development of young people.
  • Encourage the participation of young people in developing their own learning.
  • Facilitate activities and techniques to use with young people that promotes self-confidence and
    builds self-esteem and resilience.
  • Appropriately manage behaviour boundaries in line with organisational policies.
  • Plan youth support work programmes and sessions.
  • Lead youth support work programmes and sessions.
  • Evaluate youth support work programmes and sessions.
  • Enable young people to express their views, aspirations, needs and concerns appropriately in
    line with youth support work principles
  • Embeds in own practice a commitment to the rights of young people.
  • Apply safeguarding procedures and protocols.
  • Work within the parameters of organisational, local, and national health and safety, child
    protection, data protection and equalities policies and procedures.
  • Record all health and safety risks and take the correct actions to ensure the safety of all young
    people.
  • Complete administrative responsibilities signing in young people, risk assessments, and
    recording activities.
  •  Work with and maintain professional behaviour boundaries when working with young people.:
  • Recognise, manage and reflect upon relational boundaries in professional youth support work.
  • Reflect on practice in line with daily tasks to enhance the support young people receive.
  • Monitor and record the outcomes of own practice to identify areas for development and
    improvement.
  • Identify, appropriately challenge, and act upon oppressive or discriminatory attitudes,
    behaviours and situations.
  •  Support young people to participate in planning, organising, delivering, and evaluating youth
    work activities and programmes, and engaging on issues of importance to them.
  • Participate in risk assessments and manage risk and risk benefits within the workplace.
  • Manage budgets and resources.
  • Manage individuals in line with organisational procedures. 

DEVELOPING CORE BEHAVIOURS:

  •  Promote acceptance and understanding of others.
  • Support positive engagement in activities.
  • Uphold principles and values of youth work practice
  • Celebrate success and the journey of young people individually and collectively.
  • Promote the values of justice, fairness and equality.
  • Take a positive interest in young people’s concerns, ideas and interests.
  • Promote the development of political and social education for and with young people.
  • Work in an anti-oppressive, anti-discriminatory manner.
  • Respect young people’s rights to make their own decision about involvement with youth work.
  • Compliance with relevant policies and procedures.

Progression Routes From This Apprenticeship

  • Level 4 Children, Young People And Families Practitioner
  •  Level 5 Children, Young People And Families Manager
  • Level 6 Youth Support Worker

*The End Point Assessment duration for this Apprenticeship is 3 months