Inspiring Young People - frequently asked questions

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What is the Development Service for Young People?

The Development Service for Young People is Wiltshire County Council's Youth Service. All Local Authorities have one. Here in Wiltshire, it is a part of the County Council's Children & Education Department.

What does the Development Service for Young People do?

The Development Service for Young People specialises in Youth Work. This means we help young people to deal with life out in the community. We run and manage Youth Centres and youth clubs - so that young people have safe places to chill out; meet up with their friends and learn about life. We provide opportunities for young people to become involved in all sorts of credible activities and projects – so they can develop the skills knowledge and confidence they will need as adults. We work with other organisations to provide young people with high quality information, guidance and support – especially when things go wrong for them and times get tough. We help young people to become more involved in their communities - and to have a bigger say in what goes on. We even sometimes work with young people out on the streets - so that groups who may not want to use youth centres still get the chance to benefit from all that's on offer.

Where are your youth centres and youth clubs?

We currently have 22 youth centres across the County in the following locations Amesbury; Bradford-on-Avon; Calne; Cricklade; Chippenham; Corsham; Devizes; Downton; Durrington; Ludgershall; Marlborough; Malmesbury; Melksham; Mere; Pewsey; Purton; Studley Green; Tidworth; Tisbury; Trowbridge; Warminster; Westbury; Wilton; and Wootten Bassett. We also run a mobile provision called the Romp bus that takes our service out to some of the more rural settings.

Here are details of how to get in touch

When are they open?

Most of our centres are open at least 4 evenings per week Monday to Friday during term time for 2.5 hours between 6.30pm and 10.30pm - although this will vary from time to time according to the programme and/or staffing levels. Some centres are also in use during the day and on weekends, for specialist project work (often in partnership with schools) and/or by various local community groups.

During holiday periods, opening times may be varied to accommodate different day time programmes and/or summer activity schemes.

For exact times of opening, please contact the centre in question.

What are Youth Development Centres like inside?

All our centres are different. Some are purpose built, whilst others are in older buildings that have been converted. Some are small and stand on their own with very few rooms and spaces, whilst others are quite spacious and linked to other larger facilities such as schools or sports centres. Most have some kind of coffee bar area where young people can meet and chill out in addition to a number of smaller rooms that can be used for a range of different purposes and activities. One of the good things about these centres is that the interior décor is often designed by young people themselves, so that the place looks and feels like young people want it to.

What sort of activities can young people get involved in?

Youth work is about young people getting the chance to take part in all sorts of activities - from things like arts, sports, music and drama to discussions and debates about important real-life issues such as education, sex, health, work, money, religion and the environment. Because not all these things can happen at the same time, youth workers and young people work together to decide on a programme for their centre. The programme is basically a plan of which activities will be on offer - when, where and how long for. For example, in one centre, the youth workers and young people may decide that for the next 3 months, Tuesdays will be a 'drop-in night' (open to all young people) where as Wednesdays will be a project night (open only to those who are interested in specific activities). They may then decide that these activities will be: MCing; Football; Computers and Dance. The programme will usually only last a couple of months before it is changed, so that over time, all local groups get a chance to take part in activities that interest them. The list of activities that young people can potentially get involved in is endless, especially if they are prepared to share responsibility with workers for planning and organising them. it can include day trips, over-night residentials and even, international visits!

Who decides what goes on?

Because youth work is about helping young people develop skills and confidence for life - and about respecting their views and opinions - the Development Service for Young People strives hard to involve young people in decision-making at all levels. This starts with young people being supported to make informed choices about the things that matter to them in their own lives. It then leads on to them being consulted on how things should be run in their youth centres; and then eventually on to them helping the Service and local communities decide how best to improve things for everybody else. Throughout this process, young people are learning to communicate their views, negotiate with others and weigh up the consequences of their actions.

How old do young people have to be to go?

Over recent years, all local authority youth services have been told by Government to prioritise working with teenagers. This means anyone who is 13 to 19 is welcome to use our Service and Centres (unless of course, the particular session they are looking to take part in has been designed to meet the needs of a specific group within this broader age range e.g. 13-15yr olds)

How do young people get involved?

Most young people get involved by simply turning up to their local youth centre on their own or with their friends. Some times, young people get involved through school or other services such as Connexions. The youth workers at the centre are trained to make all young people feel welcomed. The environment should feel quite relaxed and young people are free to come and go as they please. For health and safety reasons all youth centres ask young people to sign in on entry and provide basic personal information (e.g. name, address and date of birth) so that they know who is in the building and who else to contact in case of illness or emergency. Some centres collect a token fee on the door (that goes back into maintaining and replacing the equipment) but many don’t. If young people wish to take part in any trips, visits or other off-site activities, they will be given a form to obtain parental consent. Young people who would like to visit their local youth centre but who may feel too nervous to simply turn up are more than welcome to phone and arrange to visit at another time when the centre is not so busy.

What are the youth workers like who work there?

Most young people tell us that our youth workers are really good and that they find them very easy to talk to. They tell us that they are good listeners; and that they seem to understand what life is like from a young person’s point of view. When we are interviewing youth workers we look for all these qualities and more. We are particularly keen to ensure that youth workers have a positive attitude towards young people...that they respect young people and are prepared to treat them as equals. It is also important that youth workers are able to work well as team to keep the centres safe and user-friendly. Wherever possible the youth workers will involve young people in agreeing codes of conduct, but when difficult situations arise, they will be experienced enough to deal with them effectively and fairly. For example, aggressive or discriminatory behaviour will always be challenged and young people who persist to the point of putting others at risk may be banned for a period of time in order to protect the rights of others.

Can I be sure that all your youth workers have been cleared to work with young people?

Yes. All our youth workers have been checked through the Criminal Records Bureau. This is the national agency that screens people’s past police records to ensure they are not a risk to children and young people.

Are they all trained and qualified?

The service currently has 3 levels of youth worker. The most senior and experienced are our Youth Development Coordinators, all of whom are professionally qualified in youth and community work to graduate level. Then we have Youth Development Coordinators in Training. These are people who have all been experienced and qualified part-time youth workers and who are now working as full time workers whilst undertaking their professional qualification. Then there are Assistant Youth Workers who work part time in youth work settings to support the full time team leaders. Some of these staff are what is referred to as 'Locally Qualified' – meaning they have undertaken training designed for part-time youth workers. Essentially, this means that all youth development centres are run and supervised by qualified staff, even though there may be 1 or 2 unqualified colleagues within the team who will be working towards their initial qualification.

Can young people talk to youth workers in confidence?

Yes – in nearly all cases. The only exception is if workers have reason to believe a situation is so serious that either the young person themselves or another is at significant risk of being harmed, then they are required by law to inform other agencies who may decide to intervene. In such cases, the youth worker will advise the young person that this may happen.

Why do youth workers sometimes work out on the streets?

Youth work is not just about working in youth clubs and youth centres – it is about working with young people in a range of community settings - including on the streets. In some instances there may not be a youth centre in the area, and so working with young people on the streets is the only way for youth workers to link up with them. However, even in areas where there is a youth centre, there are still likely to be some groups who don’t want to use it. These groups usually still need information, support and other types of opportunities. There are different types of Street-based youth work. Mobile youth work is when youth workers visit an area with a bus, lorry or trailer that has been converted into a mini rolling youth centre. In Wiltshire, we have one called the Romp Bus. This goes around to some of the more isolated villages that don’t have their own youth centres. Outreach youth work is when youth workers who normally work in a youth centre also spend some time on the streets - either inviting new groups of young people to use it, or talking to groups they already know about how they would like to see the centre changed or improved. Detached youth work is when youth workers regularly work on the streets with young people whether or not they use a youth centre. Detached work is often used to link up with groups who are harder to reach or who are at greater risk of getting into difficulties. All these types of street-based youth work means the youth service can work with many more young people than if workers just stayed in youth centres.

What is the Development Service for Young People Budget?

The Development Service for Young People runs on a budget of approximately £3m. This is used to pay the salaries of all the staff; run and maintain our centres; equip and resource our programmes and activities throughout the whole of the County. Although the Service has a County Wide remit and would like to be able to offer all young people the benefits of its programmes, this budget only equates to the spending on one secondary school.

How is the Development Service for Young People managed?

The Development Service for Young People is managed by a Senior Management Team based in Devizes. This team is led and managed by Mr David Whewell - the Head of Development Service for Young People - who is based within the Children & Education Department at County Hall. As part of the Service’s management structure, every youth worker has a line manager. This is a more senior professional within the Service who supervises and guides their work.

How do I become a youth worker?

Many people who have never done youth work before start out by volunteering in their local youth centre. This provides an opportunity to gain the experience necessary to secure paid work. Once you have some experience, you can apply to be an Assistant Youth Worker. There are usually always some Assistant Youth Worker vacancies within the Service. For this initial level post, you do not need to be qualified, but you will need to commit to undertaking a programme of training to achieve a qualification within your first year of employment. This training is made up of some classroom based time and some supported learning in the work place. It is designed to enable you to gain a national vocational qualification (NVQ) or vocationally related qualification (VRQ) in Youth Work.

Further information about current vacancies or training opportunities.

How do I set up a youth club in my village?

Essentially all you need is a leader, young people and a venue. There is no government regulation in place, which states that any policy, or registration of groups or leaders is needed. However, in practice to set up a successful youth club, which is safe for young people and offers quality there are recommended processes, policies and practices that should be in place. These include:

Setting up a constitution and possible charitable status or ensuring your club is limited by guarantee to prevent legal action being taken against trustees or leaders.

Having a clear method of recruiting leaders and volunteers which includes ensuring anyone with access to children and young people holds a recent (less than 2 years) CRB (Criminal Records Bureau) disclosure statement evidencing they have no background in serious offences. Interviews and references should also be part of this process.

Ensuring that the club has insurance to cover itself for the activities it undertakes with young people.

Drafting policies that cover child protection, health and safety and risk assessment (this is a requirement of most insurers anyway) The Development Service for Young People is supportive of local youth clubs and help and support can be offered to people wishing to develop a club through their local youth centre (see youth centre contact details). There is also a voluntary sector development officer within the Youth Service who offers advice, training and small grant funding to help cover the costs of venues, heat & electricity or equipment. The contact details for this officer are:

Damian Haasjes
Development Service for Young People Operational Management Team
Estcourt Crescent, Devizes
Wilts SN10 1LR
Tel Office : 01380 735782
Mobile : 07979488346

The Development Service for Young People also supports Youth Action Wiltshire, which is an organisation that offers developmental support, training and insurance cover for youth clubs throughout Wiltshire. Their development officer is called Maggie Giddings and she can be contacted at:

Youth Action Wiltshire
Unit 3, Bath Road Business Centre
Bath Road
Devizes, SN10 1BR

Tel: 01380 729813

Contact Details

By Post

Development Service for Young People
Operational Office
Estcourt Crescent
Devizes
SN10 1LR

By Email

youthdevelopmentservice@wiltshire.gov.uk

By Telephone

01380 735780

By Fax

01380 729634

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