Ofsted school inspections should measure the quality of youth work support provided to pupils, according to a new report published today.
The Better together: Youth work with schools report, commissioned by the National Youth Agency, suggests that Ofsted’s inspection framework should be updated to assess the quality, consistency and longevity of youth work and other partnerships that support the mental health and wellbeing of young people.
It claims that a revised Ofsted framework would increase the quality of youth worker provision in schools and ensure that it is delivered over the long-term to create “meaningful, trusting relationships with young people”,
While headteachers’ leaders agree with the report’s conclusions about improving young people’s wellbeing, they have rejected the idea of more metrics for Ofsted.
Supporting youth workers in schools
Geoff Barton, general secretary of the Association of School and College Leaders, said: “We agree with the report’s conclusion that putting on activity programmes for young people can help to improve young people’s mental health and confidence, with benefits for engagement in learning and attendance. Sufficiency of funding - both for schools and youth organisations - is obviously a key component of delivering this support to pupils.”
But he added: “However, we do need to be careful not to create a raft of new expectations upon schools on top of everything else they already have to do. In particular, we would not support further measures and metrics in the Ofsted inspection framework, as the last thing the education system needs is yet more accountability pressures.”
The new report concludes that youth work significantly improves engagement with learning and attendance, as well as boosting young people’s mental wellbeing and confidence.
It calls for the creation of a dedicated minister for young people role at the Department for Education to drive forward a National Youth Strategy joining up education and youth services.
And it calls for “dedicated, stable and joined-up funding”, supported by greater accountability from strengthened statutory guidance, to put youth work on a surer footing with schools and assist cross-sector working.
Initial teacher training and CPD should include knowledge of youth work values and approaches, the report says. It also calls for a pathway from teaching to youth work for recently qualified teachers who leave the profession.
The researchers behind the report took evidence from 150 organisations, surveying schools and youth work organisations. And it was supported by an expert panel drawn from education and youth services and co-chaired by former children’s minister Tim Loughton MP and former shadow education secretary Kate Green, who is deputy mayor of Manchester.
The report highlights that where youth work is taking place with schools, teachers are welcoming the benefit it makes to learning - “not just by reducing poor attendance but by bridging the gap between families with other support services and promoting pupil’s wellbeing, and personal and social development”.
Protecting children’s mental health
It identifies a number of policies to address the challenges that young people face, including the risk of online harm, exploitation and the cost-of-living crisis. The report adds that many young people are struggling with their mental health as a result of missing out on regular schooling and social opportunities during the two lockdowns.
And it proposes a model for shaping high-quality youth work provision with schools, including open access; creating safe spaces; the introduction of an elective premium; and a whole-child approach to policy development and support, youth participation and community engagement.
However, it also calls for the development of a strong evidence base for youth work with schools, including common metrics for measuring impact and longitudinal research that demonstrates how youth work helps to deliver against key policy areas such as attendance, skills and employability.
Launching the report, Mr Loughton said: “Poor mental health, wellbeing and anxiety, poverty and hunger are affecting behaviour and attendance. What the review reveals is that skilled youth work practitioners working with schools can make a profound difference to children’s lives and wellbeing, which positively impacts on engagement with school and learning.”
And Ms Green said the report highlights the potential for youth work, hand in hand with formal schooling, to provide young people with the holistic support and interventions needed to enable them to thrive at school.
“It also demonstrates that we are far from achieving the full potential of youth work with schools. Systemic change will require leadership from government, school leaders and communities to break down the siloes between government departments and different agencies, so that the needs of all young people can be fully met,” she added.
Sarah Hannafin, head of policy at the NAHT school leaders’ union, said: “Youth work has been decimated over the years, but there is an important role for youth work within all of our communities. Government must invest much more in the full range of services to support children and young people.”
