Kathryn Walsh (née Reilly)’s Post

Recent research in collaboration with National Youth Council of Ireland highlights the widespread belief that young people today have it harder than previous decades and that politicians are unaware of the crucial role youth work services play in supporting young people. Check out the article below: #SeeMoreClearly #MarketResearch

What are our members and young people seeking from the new Government?   Ahead of the #GeneralElection2024, we asked youth professionals from our membership for their unique perspectives on the needs of the youth sector in the capital, and their thoughts on what’s needed to support young Londoners to thrive. Hear from Delrita from CAIUS HOUSE on why the new Government should look at young people as a whole.     We know that youth work transforms lives, and believe that every young person, regardless of their postcode, deserves to benefit from life-changing opportunities. Together, we’re urging the new Government to: ✔️ Provide long-term investment in community spaces and places where great youth work happens.  ✔️ Elevate the youth sector workforce by recognising, rewarding and developing their career pathways.  ✔️ Commit to providing a consistent and equitable national youth offer for all young people.  ✔️ Centre young people in all political decision making that shapes their futures.  ✔️ Appoint a secretary of state for youth whose remit is to join up all relevant policies for children and young people. Go to our blog to read the latest articles on the upcoming General Election: https://lnkd.in/dx-wN7yu National Youth Agency Partnership for Young London #GeneralElection #youthwork #youthsector #foryoungpeople

What are our members and young people seeking from the new Government?   Ahead of the #GeneralElection2024, we asked youth professionals from our membership for their unique perspectives on the needs of the youth sector in the capital, and their thoughts on what’s needed to support young Londoners to thrive. Hear from Alastair from ZEST OF MIND LTD on why the new Government should put youth first and invest in them. We know that youth work transforms lives, and believe that every young person, regardless of their postcode, deserves to benefit from life-changing opportunities. Together, we’re urging the new Government to: ✔️ Provide long-term investment in community spaces and places where great youth work happens.  ✔️ Elevate the youth sector workforce by recognising, rewarding and developing their career pathways.  ✔️ Commit to providing a consistent and equitable national youth offer for all young people.  ✔️ Centre young people in all political decision making that shapes their futures.  ✔️ Appoint a secretary of state for youth whose remit is to join up all relevant policies for children and young people. Go to our blog to read the latest articles on the upcoming General Election: https://lnkd.in/dx-wN7yu National Youth Agency Partnership for Young London #GeneralElection #youthwork #youthsector #foryoungpeople

What are our members and young people seeking from the new Government?   Ahead of the #GeneralElection2024, we asked youth professionals from our membership for their unique perspectives on the needs of the youth sector in the capital, and their thoughts on what’s needed to support young Londoners to thrive. Hear from Irfan from Frenford Clubs on why the new Government needs to help sustain the youth sector.      We know that youth work transforms lives, and believe that every young person, regardless of their postcode, deserves to benefit from life-changing opportunities. Together, we’re urging the new Government to: ✔️ Provide long-term investment in community spaces and places where great youth work happens.  ✔️ Elevate the youth sector workforce by recognising, rewarding and developing their career pathways.  ✔️ Commit to providing a consistent and equitable national youth offer for all young people.  ✔️ Centre young people in all political decision making that shapes their futures.  ✔️ Appoint a secretary of state for youth whose remit is to join up all relevant policies for children and young people. Go to our blog to read the latest articles on the upcoming General Election: https://lnkd.in/dx-wN7yu National Youth Agency Partnership for Young London #GeneralElection #youthwork #youthsector #foryoungpeople  

Rapid Review into Youth Work. MPs are currently engaged in a rapid review into youth work and are seeking the views of professionals in regards to three key questions: We know youth work is fragmented in the type of provision, levels of funding, across the regions and between local areas. What funding is needed to secure universal youth services to deliver a local youth offer? Starting from where we are now, with youth work delivered predominantly by the voluntary sector, what are the delivery models for effective work with wider children’s services? As part of a children’s workforce and range of services, where and how are youth workers best employed to address the key issues and challenges faced by young people? More info can be found by clicking the link below: #youthwork #youngpeople #provision

Mobilise youth #youthvoice to have a say on 'Social Media and Youth Violence" which is the subject of inquiry by the new Youth Select Committee inquiry and will examine.. 1. The extent to which social media platforms promote violent content   2. How social media companies enforce age restrictions    3. The effectiveness of UK Government policy in protecting young people from harmful online content  See article for details on how, and links to free tickets to watch oral evidence in Parliament this Thursday and Friday (12th &13th) Sorry its short notice but I only just found out the public could attend. I'm not sure who is giving oral evidence but will be disappointed if a Minister doesn't turn up! The Youth Select Committee was something I was involved in designing and developing when I was with the British Youth Council, with the support of the Parliamentary outreach team and clerks. I hope the original model it will endure as an exemplar of good practice when the national youth council is restored, because it not only brought together a range of inclusive and diverse young representatives from different structures, but they gathered the evidence into a report that was taken seriously by Govt departments. Ministers and officials frequently gave evidence and their departments produced a formal report in response. The model was developed in partnership with Parliament as part of the BYC "Youth Voice" initiative which was a blend of UK Youth Parliament/Local Youth Council/Mayors representation to Government from every part of the UK. The new model (now that BYC has closed) is exclusively MYPs of the Youth Parliament coordinated by the National Youth Agency 👏 and still supported by Parliament/Clerks 👏 . It will be interesting to see how a Labour Government engages and responds. I expect relevant departments to subsequently produce a formal report that match the standards of feedback that young people have been calling for: You Said - We Did. National Youth Agency Youth Endowment Fund My Life My Say Shout Out UK

In the French elections at the weekend, the youth decisively rejected centrism, exploring alternatives on both the right and the left. Similarly, the Reform Party is gaining traction among male teenagers aged 16-17 in the UK, according to a recent survey by JL Partners. We need to really understand this sense of disaffection among young people. We must recognise that today's youth, with their future votes and economic influence, will soon shape our society. A recent Guardian article revealed that 75% of teenagers desire youth clubs, institutions that have been decimated since 2010. Yet, we're constantly taking away more and more from young people. Difficulties in leaving their childhood homes, getting on the housing ladder (rent or otherwise) or having a stable, well-paid job. If history tells us anything about the slide to the Right, it's the sense of instability and powerlessness that feeds it. As part of my reading and listening to other sources outside of my "circle", I listened to James O'Brien's LBC show yesterday. He had an insightful discussion on youth clubs with some really powerful contributors. This is not just a local issue; it's a global challenge. That's precisely why I find brands avoiding difficult conversations or superficially addressing complex issues so annoying. The rise of greenwashing, pinkwashing, and all the other "-washing" is a real part of this disaffection. We have a responsibility. A real responsibility. We need to take action. FT // French Election Stats: https://lnkd.in/eXrg8M7c Guardian // Youth Club: https://lnkd.in/evRTMNJG JL Partners // 16-17yo Reform: https://lnkd.in/eyFPdX36

Great to see the findings of our survey of young people published in the Guardian today. https://lnkd.in/ehKgqWUB Some key findings of the survey, carried out by Savanta, include: - Over half of young people want more youth work that offers fun activities in their local area - 10% said that there are ‘no options at all’ in their area whilst 66% say that there are ‘very few’ or ‘some, but not enough’ - Greater wellbeing impact for those who regularly attend youth work activities, with 72% of those who attend at least once a week reporting that it supported their mental and physical wellbeing ‘a great deal’ or ‘quite a bit’ Read more about the findings here: https://lnkd.in/eHSCDcG5 Young people are at the heart of what we do at NYA and we’re listening to them. Youth services urgently need increased investment to ensure a sufficient level of high quality, open access, youth provision to meet the needs of young people across England. A failure to invest will result in much more costly targeted inventions later on, with many more young people missing out on the opportunity to evolve and flourish into confident young adults.

Here’s some unsurprising news for those in the youth sector and many young people and families across the country. Albeit in a surprising publication. By my calculations this means the level of cuts to youth clubs has resulted in roughly one council funded youth club for every 20,000 young people! Not an ideal scenario! 10,000 aside anyone? Plus with the lack of staff imagine the staff ratios!!! It's also frustrating that despite this occasional coverage and these efforts by Unison, NYA and others… still no political party is committing in this election to address the issue. At best choosing to refer only to an ill defined focus on targeted youth work at best. The question remains. How to emphasize the value of open access youth work to ensure its prioritised with sustainable investment? 🌟 #YouthSector #InvestInYouth #YouthDevelopment [Read more about the issue here: link]

It’s election season in NB and the province’s politicos are posting signs and knocking on doors. The PCs and Liberals are neck and neck. Pundits are watching closely, wondering what colours will paint NB’s political landscape when the dust settles on Oct 21. 🗳 With the race officially on, we wanted to offer some insight into the biggest issues facing NB. 🏥 Health care: The struggle to manage the healthcare needs of an aging population have spread from Atlantic Canada to the rest of the country. Canada’s 13 beleaguered healthcare systems are still recovering from the pandemic and health professionals are burning out or retiring early. Health workforce recruitment is the new crisis. Healthcare workers are demanding investment and strategies to improve their quality of life. Under the scope: Voters want better access to care and reduced wait times -- both symptoms of the HR shortage. We’ll be watching to see how NB’s political parties respond. 💰 Affordability: The cost of living is climbing in NB. Rising fuel costs are driving up prices for food, clothing, electricity and gasoline throughout North America. Voters are crying out for relief. It’s up to Ottawa to curb inflation, but the province can directly impact out-of-pocket costs. Under the scope: Big policy moves can have wide-ranging implications in a small province, but a failure to act could be fatal. We’ll be listening closely to solutions offered by each party. 🏠 Housing: Housing prices are up in NB but are still lower than in other provinces. The work-from-home movement gave big city dwellers a chance to realize their home ownership dreams by heading east. This, plus high levels of international immigration, has meant record-setting population growth in NB and a significant housing supply and demand problem. Prices, both for single family homes and rental units, are up dramatically and affordable housing is a concern. Under the scope: Each day brings a story about housing shortages, renovictions and rising homelessness. Voters are expecting their political leaders to offer solutions that will make housing more affordable for everyone. 👩🎓 Education: Headlines have focused on French immersion and gender identity policies, but NB’s real education challenge is the 360-degree turn the system is making due to the population boom. For decades, school districts managed a decline in student populations. Now, NB schools are bursting at the seams and teachers say they are being spread too thinly to address the challenges facing students. Under the scope: The sector is calling for greater collaboration and NB is nearing the end of its 10-year education plan. The timing is right for a future-focused conversation. Based on comments during the French immersion debate, we know parents will want to be part of the conversation. What do you think the core issues of the election will be? Let us know in the comments.