An Eden Project Field Guide to working with young people

Working with Young People

An Eden Project Field Guide to

Published by Eden Project Publications. 2015.

Designed by FlyingLizardEdited by Robert Lowe, Juliet Rose, and Mike Petty

About the author

Bran Howell has been working with young people for over 20 years, he is a trained teacher, experienced in youth and community work and personal development.

He helped develop Plymouth Young Persons Agenda 21, which specialised in consulting on regeneration projects, school based projects and working in nature with students, young offenders and families. The project was awarded best practice status by UNEP, LGMB and WWF and enabled Bran to work in places like Peru, Russia and Morocco.

He currently works at the Eden Project as a senior education officer devising and delivering environmental educational programmes on site, nationwide and abroad. He works with students, young people and adults of all ages and is also passionate about the power of play and introducing teachers to the joys of outdoor learning.

Images: Eden Project, Teenage Market, Steve Tanner, Sam Morgan Moore.

This book has been produced for the Big Lunch Extras programme the Eden Projects way of supporting and enabling people to become more active within their communities and deliver the social change they want to see.

Eden Project Publications

Working with Young People


Bran Howell

Contents

5

Introduction 06

Why involve young people? 10

Why should young people work with you? 14

The health and safety bit 20

Working with young people 36

Working with younger children 40

Working with schools 48

Working with teenagers and young adults 54

Working with youth groups 60

Finding out what young people want 64

Celebration 74

Evaluation 78

Getting help 82

Conclusion 86

Introduction

The official age limit for a young person is 25; thats a pretty arbitrary cut-off, but the important bit is the word person. A young person, broadly speaking, is no different from any other person. Nonetheless, working with young people is easy for some and more of a challenge to others; while theres no silver bullet or secret for success, this book offers advice that can make things easier.

Whether you are working with schools, youth groups or community projects, with children, teenagers or young adults, we hope this book will help you to think about things in a slightly different way, help dispel the myths that we (society) have created about young people and have a lot of fun.

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Young people are just as varied, individual and complicated as anyone else. What appeals to one may be the dullest thing in the universe to the next. Dont assume that because you are reaching some young people they represent all of them.

Know your place! If you are an adult, dont try to be down with the kids, it invites and deserves ridicule from all concerned.

Treat young people the way you would want to be treated and never ask them to do things you wouldnt do yourself.

Making mistakes is okay! You arent performing brain surgery or landing a plane full of royal babies so dont take yourself too seriously if it all goes horribly wrong. Apologise, laugh about it and do it differently next time.

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The golden rules for working with young people

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Why involve young people?

Young people are our future. How we treat them is an important indicator of the health and wellbeing of our society.

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Being a young person in Britain can be tough. A UNICEF study in 2011 looked at young people in rich countries across the world, measuring their wellbeing in terms of opportunities, education, quality of life, etc, and found that Britain was the worst place to grow up.

See www.ukyouth.org

Over the last ten years the number of young people admitted to hospital for self-harming has increased by 68% and the number aged 15-16 with depression nearly doubled between the 1980s and the 2000s. So we have a problem with the way we raise young people and therefore a problem with the very building blocks of our society.

There are too many lazy clichs and negative attitudes towards young people and not enough emphasis on the good stuff they do.

If you ignore the lazy clichs and actually go out there and meet them, it wont take long to see the positive side of our rich vibrant youth culture. It is something we should be proud of, not be scared of.

Young people have rights; the UN Rights of the Child, Article 12 says:

Parties shall assure to the child who is capable of forming his or her own views the right to express those views freely in all matters affecting the child, the views of the child being given due weight in accordance with the age and maturity of the child.

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In other words, children should be listened to and their opinions taken seriously, allowing for their age and attitude.

But it takes more than big sweeping statements to shift our societys attitudes; its about individuals like you making a difference in ways that might be small but are nevertheless significant.

By working with young people you are helping to bridge the yawning divide between the generations, promoting a positive, accurate and informed image of young people, and giving them more opportunities to show what they can do. They deserve the best services, support and opportunities they can get. Thats why many funders specialise in supporting projects that benefit young people.

Working with young people will give you new insights and fresh perspectives, new solutions to old problems. You will witness new ways of doing things with a passion that hasnt been bogged down by years of experience. Ignoring young peoples views is not only disrespectful but a huge waste of potential.

If you have any interest in our future, and want to help individuals who will be open and enthusiastic about their community later on in life, nurturing them now will pay dividends. It can require resources (time, money, chocolate.) but as an investment its priceless.

And finally Its also fun! Young people can be funny, idealistic, creative, brave and passionate, so who wouldnt want to work with them?

Children, after all, are not just adults-in-the-making. They are people whose current needs and rights and experiences must be taken seriously.

- Alfie Kohn

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Why should young people work with you?

There are lots of reasons why young people might want to work with you; they all have their own experiences and aspirations.

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Some just like this sort of stuff, its fun.

Curiosity is a great driver and they might want to find out whats going on, and see if they really will be listened to or merely to confirm their suspicion that adults never listen.

Some young people have political aspirations both locally and nationally and will want to get involved at a grass-roots level.

Some are passionate about youth rights and empowerment.

Others might get involved because activities like these can give them skills and the opportunity to do things they would never otherwise have done.

Some attend organised groups and events because they have trouble making friends in the open field of play. Great partnerships and alliances can be made in this arena.

Parents sometimes send their children along to broaden their minds, keep them out of trouble or just to get them out of the way.

Most if not all young people care about where they live, and if its a tight-knit community may be related to other people in the area.

Sometimes young people have a need or aim that isnt being met and will engage to promote one specific agenda.

So, young people will have all sorts of motives for coming along and all of them are equally valid. Each brings something unique to the group.

Reasons why young people might want to work with you

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Steve Tanner

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Survive and Thrive

The Eden Project worked with the Bishops Forum in Cornwall to develop a 5-day programme for a group of young people from a Cornish secondary school. The theme was personal, local and global survival. Through a combination of physical, mental and team challenges including canoeing, rock climbing, orienteering, shelter building, camping, cooking, fire-making, the Dont forget your leech socks workshop at Eden, and continued activity back at school - the programme aimed to inspire a deep appreciation of the natural world, and to build strong bonds, mutual support and communication with the team.

It developed the young peoples self-esteem, confidence, social and thinking skills all essential to assist in their integration into mainstream schooling or the world of work.

Steve Tanner

The health and safety bit

The Health and Safety at Work Act hasnt changed since 1974, but think how different things are now. Its not Health and Safety thats changed; its our society and therefore its us.

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Society has become risk-averse and at times, there seems to be little room for a sensible and measured debate. However, many people recognise that we also need to consider the benefits of taking controlled and acceptable risks. The over-used because of health and safety excuse can be the death knell for many a good idea.

The poor old Health and Safety Executive is blamed by everyone for ruining everything for everyone; dont listen, just send them this link:

www.hse.gov.uk/myth/

Its heartening and quite funny; it proves that there are lots of people out there only too keen to tell you a lot of hysterical nonsense dressed up as fact.

Firstly, try to work with existing organisations who have already gone through the pain and use their policies and procedures.

However, if you have to start from scratch, talk to somebody who really knows their stuff, but be aware there are people out there who should know better but dont. Go through everything methodically, making sure that you gather together policies that are actually going to be practical and possible in the real world. Once youve gathered your tools for safe practice, they become your allies and everything you do should become easier and safer.

The benefits of risk Young people should be free-range not battery-reared. Learning to take reasonable risks is an essential life skill and a bit of risk helps children to stretch themselves, build resilience and develop their personal, social and physical

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Health and safety in practice

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skills. It shows them their limits and their strengths and teaches them about themselves in ways that nothing else can. A life lived without risk would be really boring and probably fairly non-productive.

Protecting young people from all risk is impossible because life itself is risky; young people will actively seek out risks with, or without, adults permission (look at adventure sports etc. risk-seekers are common to all societies). All the evidence suggests that young people who arent allowed to take risks when they are young will grow up to do really daft things as teenagers, so lets introduce it to young people in a sensible and (sometimes loosely) supervised way.

Trip to Dartmoor

A group of primary school pupils were going to Dartmoor. Although it was summer the weather was properly foul so the classes were going to stay at school and had taken off their outdoor clothes and were settling down for some maths.

Armed with risk assessments and certificates of competence we persuaded the teachers to relent and took everyone out for what turned out to be a magical day taking pictures in the rain. It wasnt as long as originally planned but the teachers never mind the pupils were still talking about it several years later.

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Writing risk assessments

If you are working with an organisation they will have their own format but dont let them do it for you. Its really important that you and all the young people are part of the process.

Writing a risk assessment can never be described as fun but it neednt take ages and should be as simple as possible.

Risk assessments are meant to be an enabler, not a barrier and they give permission to work within the law, doing some really fun and sometimes risky things.

Providing you have good procedures and you follow them, policies are there to protect you as well as the young people and should give you confidence.

Risk assessments are just a way of formally identifying the hazards that a person might encounter.

A hazard is something that can inflict harm to an individual.

So burning your hand on a naked flame isnt a hazard.

The flame is the hazard.

The risk is burning your hand.

A risk assessment is a tool to assess the severity of the risk (i.e. how badly I get burnt and how many people are affected) and is there to help you plan to minimize that risk.

You cant eliminate risk completely, so the risk assessment is a tool to help you weigh up the risks and decide whether the activity should go ahead or not.

Risk-benefit Analysis

If you thought that was complicated lets introduce the concept of a risk-benefit analysis.

Risk is actually a valuable thing; so a risk-benefit analysis asks you to look at a risk and decide whether exposing a young person to that risk is worth the benefits.

For instance completely risk-free climbing is going to be really dull and not teach anyone anything. (It probably involves crawling along a level floor watching out for splinters.) Dangling from a cliff on a rope is going to teach young person their potential and limits; promote teamwork, practical skills, have health benefits and be fun.

If you believe that the benefits outweigh the risks and you proceed by working out how you can reduce the hazards of falling off the rock face then you are managing the risk. (Its a licensed activity so make sure the instructors are fully covered.)

Keep it simple. If you are using the same space and doing the same activities repeatedly write a detailed general site risk assessment then date and annotate it if new risks youve not anticipated emerge.

If you are going outside, record any notable changes and weather considerations on the day.

The best way to get young people to take responsibility for their own safety is to involve them in writing the risk assessment and guidelines themselves. Young people are often aware of risk and are never too young to be involved in looking after themselves.

Play England has a lot of great things to say about risk

http://www.playengland.org.uk

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This bit is really important.

It should be noted that safeguarding is now the new term for child protection, which is a shame because everyone knew what child protection was.

Nobody should underestimate the damage that child abuse inflicts; its damage leaves a lasting legacy and ruins lives. We must do everything we can to stamp it out, but to do this we need to become cleverer in our approach.

If you are working under the umbrella of another organisation, find out what their safeguarding policies are and familiarise yourself with them. And if they havent got any, start to ask questions.

It should be noted that if you are working with young people unearthing a child protection issue isnt inevitable by any means. But if you do, its important to follow some simple and basic steps:

Any concerns about something you see or hear need to be passed on to the right people: its the law. Quietly talk to the group leader or teacher; it is likely that if you have noticed something they will have done so too. If you are still concerned or not happy with their response call social services.

If you plan to work with young people its up to you to make sure you set a good example for them and other people you work with. We should always be vigilant and aware of the issues but not let it stop good practice, born from common sense and respect for each other.

Be ready to challenge things you dont like the look of.

Child protection and safeguarding

Big Lunch ExtrasFull Character Set There are a few general rules that apply to working with all young people regardless of age that are really just

common sense and general best practice.

Never ever find yourself alone with a young person either in your car, the store cupboard or the toilet (this can happen with tiny ones). At the very least there should be two adults and or more than one young person present.

In school its against the law to be left alone with a class (even if you have a Disclosure and Barring Service check) unless you are a trained teacher or member of staff.

Never make fun of a child or single him or her out.

Avoid physical contact with young people.

Dont make lewd jokes or take part in discussions of a personal nature.

Dont meet up with young people outside the official setting or encourage them to contact you on your personal number, your Facebook page etc. Most organisations have recognised ways to get in contact with their groups, so follow their guidelines or let them do it.

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Some useful tips if you are starting your own group or running a trip

At least one adult in the group leads on child protection, raising awareness amongst other staff, the children and visiting adults and parents. Talk to your local social services about the level and style of training you need.

A designated leader is responsible for the supervision, welfare, safety and behaviour of the group at all times.

Make sure your organisation carries the right insurance to run events with young people.

Ensure that the staff are qualified and experienced to run events with young people.

Ensure that all activities are risk assessed and checked by the designated leader of the group.

Leaders are responsible for briefing other members of the team, carrying a confidential list of the children in their group with any relevant details, including health issues, emergency contact numbers, etc. If older children (12+) are being allowed to explore an area in small groups they should have regular rendezvous established and have your contact number; its best to have a work phone for this situation.

It may seem daunting but it really isnt. However, check and check again, stay on top of any changes in the law and keep things up-to-date. Talking to other people who work with young people is a great way of doing this but remember, sometimes those who have the loudest voices know the least.

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Steve Tanner

Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS)

Once again it should be noted that a Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check is the same as the old Criminal Records Bureau (CRB) check which is a shame because everyone knew what a CRB check was.

Almost every organisation insists that you have a check done before you can get within a mile of a young person in its care, even though its not legally necessary; there is a lot of confusion about who actually needs one. Disclosure and Barring Service checks are good practice but care should be taken that they arent the only, or even the main way that we protect young people in our care.

Its pretty complicated and Scotland and Wales have their own websites, so its not surprising that people often get it wrong.

According to the Government DBS checks are only required for:

(1) Unsupervised activities: teaching, training, instructing, caring for or supervising children, or providing advice/guidance on well-being, or driving a vehicle only for children.

(2) Work for a limited range of establishments (specified places), with opportunity for contact. For example schools, childrens homes, childcare premises (but not work by supervised volunteers).

Work under (1) or (2) is Regulated Activity only if done regularly carried out by the same person frequently (once a week or more often), or on 4 or more days in a 30-day period, or overnight.

For more information including a definition of a regulated activities:

https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/316179/Regulated_Activity_in_relation_to_Children__DfE_.pdf

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There is nothing wrong with getting as many people checked as possible. Its relatively cheap and easy. However, never assume that once somebody has a DBS certificate you can relax and not worry about all the other safeguarding policies.

Only 10% of all convicted paedophiles have a previous criminal record which means that only a tiny percentage of potential offenders actually get picked up by the DBS system, so dont let anyone assume a DBS check is all that is needed to do to protect young people.

England and Northern Ireland https://www.gov.uk/disclosure-barring-service-check/ overview

Scotland http://www.disclosurescotland.co.uk

Wales http://business.wales.gov.uk/govuk/disclosure-barring-service-check

Further reading and resources

Big Lunch ExtrasFull Character Set

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Looking after other peoples children

If you ever find yourself looking after anyone under 18 for any period of time, in an official or professional capacity, you take on a higher level of legal responsibility and are acting in loco parentis: literally in place of the parent. This means that leaders should exercise the same care and skill in terms of caring for that child as if for their own children.

This, unfortunately means more forms, more responsibility and more stress; the best thing to do is always make sure parents are around or work with a group thats already taken on that responsibility. Otherwise you will need to make sure all your other policies and procedures are in place before you take on this hot potato. The Safe Network website is utterly brilliant at cutting through the jargon and making it a bit clearer

www.safenetwork.org.uk

On the right is a sample Edens in loco parentis form for reference.

Taking pictures

Get written permission from the parent or the young person (honestly; they can give permission too) and dont publish pictures with anyones names or addresses attached, ever.

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Sample Parent Consent Form

During this event XXX is acting in loco parentis, acting in place of a parent for minors under 18 years old or those considered vulnerable adults.

Type of event

Date .

Participant details:

Parent/guardian details:

Does the young person have any medical conditions, or take any medication?

Name & age

Contact number

Address

Name

Emergency contact number[s]

Relationship to young person

Address if different from above

Signature

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Working with young people

Working with young people can take many forms and happen in lots of different places and spaces.

Whether the sole purpose of your project is to engage with young people, introduce new ideas and information or involve them as a part of a community-wide endeavour, there are certain things than need to be thought about.

Passion and inspiration

If you arent inspired by what you are doing then you cant expect anyone else to be inspired by it.

Having introduced young people to climate scientists, community wardens, and artists amongst others, I have found its always the ones with a passion for their subject who get the best results. Working with young people is all about passion and enthusiasm, being inquisitive, playful and awestruck about your thing. Young people love enthusiasm and it will encourage them to follow you. Faking it will work for about 10 seconds.

Confidence

However nervous you feel about a session, putting a brave face on it will repay you in spades. If you ask young people to join in with something (however silly) and look like you havent even considered that they wont do it, then they are million times more likely to join in. If you look nervous and apologetic they are going to question what you are afraid of and ultimately challenge your ability to support them through your time together, and thats where the trouble starts.

Be on time, finish on time, have everything you need to hand and smile a lot; this instils confidence and suggests that you are a competent and organised person and therefore worth listening to.

Ask lots of questions and get them to do most of the work; an endless monologue from you wont be interesting. See later for more on asking questions.

Find ways to include and involve everyone not just those with the loudest voices. If a small group takes over the rest will just turn off.

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Throw praise and encouragement around liberally when people make an effort. We live in a world that rewards achievement over effort, buck the trend!

Be constructive with criticism and concerns.

Being playful and creative

Try to approach old ideas from a different angle; it will surprise both you and the participants and result in a different set of outcomes. Be colourful, bold ,and proud. Almost anything will benefit from a carnival atmosphere.

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Working with younger children

Working with younger children can require a different approach. Play is a really important way for younger children to learn about the world and a great way to get them engaged.

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Assumed knowledge

The term assumed knowledge refers to people like us assuming that others know what we are talking about. Think about what you want to get across and unpick it bit by bit, to make sure everyone can follow whats happening. Its essential with small and larger people alike.

Time

If you think about it; six months for a six-year-old is proportionately a massive length of time compared with six months to a forty-five-year-old. Make sure you factor this in when making promises, planning projects and talking about outcomes.

Make sure you have divided the sessions into small units to keep an eye on progress and get everything done. Young children generally have shorter attention spans than adults. So dont bang on about something for too long, plan a varied diet of activities, styles and focus and you will be able to throw some longer activities in along the way.

Achieving easy things is a lot more rewarding than failing at hard things, so dont set the bar too high. (But unhelpfully, patronising them with stuff thats too easy for them wont help much either.)

Think about your language, especially if you are introducing specialist topics. Acronyms and jargon alienate and annoy!

Every child has the right to rest and leisure, to engage in play and recreational activities appropriate to the age of the child and to participate freely in cultural life and the arts.

- UN Rights of the child

Play

Play is such a hugely important part of our lives. It shapes our emotional and physical development and it bonds people together like superglue. A childhood without proper and varied play is not only really sad but very damaging.

Apparently the more intelligent an animal is the more their young play; its clearly an important way of learning. The more traditional view of learning: something that is done to you, indoors and behind a desk, isnt fit for purpose anymore; our understanding of childrens development is now very different.

Play is also a short cut to peoples hearts and encourages them to say what they really mean without ruining it all by thinking too much.

Introducing play into any session goes down well with all ages as long as you are confident about the reasons for including it and therefore introduce and deliver it without a hint of nervousness or embarrassment.

And on a purely practical note: play is a great way of engaging with children. Once you have their attention you can find out what you need to know, teach them something interesting or stop them doing something stupid.

Everyone plays. We dont really grow up we just change shape, but as we grow up we seem to need more of an excuse to play.

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Free play

Play is about the only time in small persons lives when they make their own rules. It teaches children to cooperate, be imaginative and develop motor skills and it allows them to explore the world of risk on their terms (the only way theyll really learn).

Loose parts

Loose parts is the term given natural and found objects, bits of material, rope, boat fenders, pine cones, in fact anything that isnt inherently dangerous. They will get lost, become scruffy and have a limited shelf-life but they are cheaper than lots of conventional play equipment. Playing with loose parts empowers young people, lets them create their own scenarios and encourages them to use their imagination and experience a deeper level of play.

Den-making is a great example of playing with loose parts. Building dens is surprisingly good fun and it will keep the child in all of us happy for a very long time.

There are a lot of brilliant organisations around that can offer help and advice on incorporating play into your project.

Play England is great; they are brimming with technical information, great ideas and are really helpful - http://www.playengland.org.uk

The National Childrens Bureau website will help you get in touch with your local Play Association where youll find people who are expert and enthusiastic practitioners - http://www.ncb.org.uk/cpis/play-associations

And can I introduce you to a lady whose expertise enthusiasm and dedication are astounding? Sign up to Juliet Robertsons blog and she will send you regular packages of ideas, contacts and lovely stories about outdoor play. The whole Creative Star website has loads of useful stuff in fact www.creativestarlearning.co.uk

Nature Detectives from the Woodland Trust. Great ideas, all packaged up in lovely clear and colourful way - www.woodlandtrust.org.uk/naturedetectives

Further reading and resources

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Kickstarting Kingsbridge

The Eden Project was asked by Kingsbridge Community Action Group to help parents and children in Kingsbridge look at their recreation ground in a new light. Prone to flash floods and dominated by the tennis courts, the recreation ground wasnt regarded by children as somewhere they would want to spend time. Kingsbridge Community Action Group asked Eden to provide a wow factor that would draw people in and help them find out the kind of play area that children wanted.

The team decided to make use of some of the less obvious places on the site and set up nets, ropes, walkways and swings in the trees on a slope at the edge of the recreation ground, creating an adventurous area for children to explore and play in. Although initial plans had been to put in a play area in front of the tennis courts, it became very clear that children preferred to play in and around the trees, and this is where the play features were installed.

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Working with schools

Working with schools can be really rewarding and its a great way to reach a lot of young people at once in a safe and structured setting, but remember: schools have their own agenda and its a big one! They arent just sitting around waiting for you to pop in with a great idea.

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If you are planning a project and the thought process starts with, We need some young people, I know, schools are full of themstop and change your plan. Schools are used to people approaching them on a rent-a-mob mission and you wont be doing anyone any favours. Be clear in your own mind why you want to work with schools and consider your proposal from their point of view: what educational value does it have? Below are some tips to help you engage with your local school.

Identify a lead teacher to communicate with.

Be realistic about the demands on teachers time and remember their job is to teach, so they are hard to get hold of.

Clearly lay out what youre offering and define the commitment required from the school.

Keep it simple and ask the school to help you plan - they know all about running stuff in their school.

Get buy-in from the head teacher if you can.

Offer to follow-up later on.

Discuss your position in school regarding child safeguarding, managing behaviour and permission for taking photos or video before you start.

The rules to working in schools

Pupils respect teachers who are consistent and fair. They might not like them or their rules but thats not the point.

Respect is more important than friendship in the schooliverse - gaining respect makes your life a lot easier. Allowing young people to push the boundaries but not cross them is a vital part of the game. However, its vital that you earn respect rather than expect it.

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Once you have mastered the dark art they call respect, making a fool of yourself, idle banter and self-depreciation will be fine as everyone knows where they stand.

If you come up against behaviour you dont like, refer it to the teacher; dont try to be the enforcer. You dont have the authority and you wont have anywhere to go with threats and sanctions. Bear in mind that sometimes there are real reasons for an individuals behaviour that arent immediately apparent.

Planning

Plan your session or lesson carefully. Having a framework means those random curve balls will be a joy. But always know where you are heading. Winging it is sometimes brilliant but can often turn into a nightmare.

Visualise how its actually going to work in practical terms. If youre doing a photography or video project for example, will there be people hanging around because there is only one camera? Could you stagger the process somehow? Will they all need your help at the same time? Could they help each other? The more you can plan out the wobbly bits and think about what might go wrong the more chance you have of staying one step ahead.

Divide presentations up into sections

Talking about what you are about to do.

Doing it.

Talking about what you have done.

Your introduction to a lesson might be shorter and simpler than you think; pupils will want to get on with it and stop listening fairly quickly.

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Delivering a session or activity

If you want young people to do something or achieve a particular task then throwing out too many instructions at once wont work. Nobody listens! They may be doing things for the first time so help them along with confidence boosting steps and goals by breaking the activity into small chunks so that people dont forget what they are supposed to do and dont have time to go off subject.

Remember to allow time for breaks and a change of scene, stretching of legs etc.

Active learning

Listening to somebody talk can be a bit dull and theyll forget a lot of it.

Talking to each other is better and theyll remember some of it.

Doing things is fun and theyll probably remember most of it.

Timing

Being in control of the timing tells a group that you are competent and in charge of the situation. Lessons (and meetings) that overrun are dull, and leaving late is the last thing that people remember and leaves a sour taste in their mouths.

Using technology

The rules state that technology always breaks down when you are standing in front of a group and the bigger the group the more likely it will break. Whole school assemblies are the worst.

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However, the more enlightened amongst you can use technology to bring things to life, encourage interactive learning and offer opportunities that were unthinkable just a few years ago.

Young people are digital natives so if you dont know, get them to show you how to do it.

However, dont rely entirely on technology. Remember that everyone loves a good story and dont forget to allow space and time for people to talk.

Extension activities

There are always those who finish ages before everyone else. They tend to fall into two categories:

Those that have genuinely done the activity because they got down to it straight away and are good at concentrating on the task in hand.

Those that cant really be bothered, get bored quickly or dont get it and want to move on.

In the case of the latter, its worth suggesting a bit more rigour is required and maybe a bit of one-to-one coaching will help engage them better.

However, an activity that can absorb these types whilst everyone else catches up is really useful. It can be designing a logo if youre planning an event or getting quotes from the rest of the class for a press release.

Avoid tidying up or photocopying activities, they will see through this immediately.

Working with teenagers and young adults

Funnily enough, adults are often scared of teenagers and I suspect that teenagers are often scared of adults, it can cause misunderstandings and a worrying lack of dialogue.

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A recent study by the Institute for Public Policy Research revealed that the British are less likely to berate badly-behaved teenagers than any other European race for fear of violent consequences.

This makes offering teenagers a chance to engage in positive actions and community issues even more important.

Once again, its worth remembering that all teenagers are different. Some are more approachable than others but all are capable of every emotion and behaviour under the sun and therefore very definitely worth working with.

Doing things seems to work better than just talking, so make sure that there are chances for the group to use their hands and hearts as well as their heads.

Generally teenagers would chew their own arms off rather than stand out in front of their peers. Asking for their ideas in front of a group of mates is only going to work with some so make time and space for the group to work quietly in smaller groups as well.

Teenagers have a great capacity to play and be silly, just like everyone else, but being cool in front of your peers can be one of the most important things in the world, so make sure theres no hint of being patronising. However, image and identity are very important so playing with these themes can produce great results.

Its worth remembering that young people have lives outside of your project, session or lesson and they will bring the rest of their day into the session with them. So, if they have had a bad day, are going through a tough time or generally being a downright miseryguts then it will affect how they interact with you, however utterly brilliant and fun you are. Whilst its important to try, you havent failed if you cant engage with everyone.

Remember, you arent trying to be their best mate.

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The Teenage Market

The Teenage Market

The brainwave of brothers Joe and Tom, the Teenage Market started life in Stockport in 2012 and is now a regular feature in many towns across the UK. After the first successful Teenage Market, the brothers were given help and support from Stockports market manager, the council and local businesses to develop the idea further. They created a Teenage Market licence and have invited towns all over the country to become part of the national network, sharing branding, marketing templates and advice to make each event a success.

Teenage markets link up with schools, colleges and universities, enabling vocational students in particular to gain valuable hands-on experience through showing their talents in hairdressing, art, music and fashion. Offering young people a platform to perform, and the opportunity to trade at a local market has helped towns in need of regeneration to come back to life through attracting and connecting with different generations of shoppers and visitors.

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The Teenage Market

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YOUTH CLUB

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Working with youth groups

Working with youth groups is very different to working with schools and it can vary from place to place depending on who is running the group and where.

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Generally speaking, older youth come and go when they feel like it so its good to plan a session that can cope with this. Devise drop in activities, which need to be simple to explain, short and provide instant gratification.

These groups can be chaotic but rewarding. Spend some time with a trained youth worker and youll admire the way that they work; its an unrecognised art.

Scouts and Guides

Both movements have a really positive and interesting outlook. They are generally keen to get involved with local issues and are often a great source of knowledge and skills.

They are usually pretty organised but remember they are run by volunteers so dont demand too much of their time.

The group hanging around in your neighbourhood

These young people are generally the hardest to engage with. They are hanging out because they want to spend time with each other, not you, and they will have their own rules and protocols so a sensitive approach is necessary.

But they can also be a brilliant source of local knowledge and offer a real mix of young people.

Care needs to be taken when working with such an unstructured group. Think about your own safety, never work alone and make sure you are aware of child safeguarding protocols.

Youth-led community projects

This is probably the hardest part of community work with young people, but can be really exciting. Empowering them to assess, address and campaign about issues that matter to them is a vital part of growing up to be active citizens, and in the long term an exercise in creating a society that works for the people who live in it.

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In its purest form young people identify an opportunity and just get on with it. However, they often will ask for and maybe require help, support, contacts and knowledge on how to get things done.

As with any community project, people can get carried away with aspirations that can outstrip all reasonable expectations. Making sure that young people set off on an achievable journey without taking over is a balancing act that needs careful consideration.

If you are talking to a new and less experienced group of young people suggest that everyone (including you) will learn valuable lessons if they pick a small-scale short term win to start with (and celebrate it furiously). There is nothing worse than trying and failing the first time around; it just proves everything the cynic in us all wants to believe.

There are heaps of organisations that support this sort of action and millions of great examples of successful projects out there.

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Finding out what young people want

If we want young people to care about the future then they should have a say in how it is shaped.

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Consulting with young people

Good consultation really does treat young peoples views with respect and it will empower, enthuse and engage young people; it will inform the process and improve the quality of the end result. Good consultation is an investment in the product.

Consultation could be part of a community-wide process or it could be just for young people. It could be in response to needs identified by young people or part of a strategic planning process with more top-down drivers. There is no right or wrong way as long as the process is open and transparent and the young people involved are an integral part of the process, throughout the process.

Consultation usually means changes, and if you are the one standing up in front of a group of young people, to them you will be the face of those changes. You also need to be totally happy with the process and the subsequent changes it creates. If you are happy with that role you need to accept two things:

You may upset some people, partly because not everyone will agree on what improving things actually means, and partly because some wont want change at all. This is why consultation is important.

You are doing something that will have a positive affect on young people. Making change happen is hard, which is why you dont see everyone doing it, but it is genuinely rewarding in ways that you will never expect.

The golden rules of consultation

Whatever the scenario its important that you remember that raising expectations is a high-risk activity and should be approached carefully. These rules will hopefully help.

Think about the space you are using; holding a youth consultation in the Council Chambers isnt going to work because young people will be out of their comfort zone, whilst doing it in a local pub excludes a large chunk of youth (unless you want to get into trouble). Choose somewhere where they will feel safe and confident and set out the space so that it encourages chatting and interaction.

Its almost impossible to ask for something you dont know about. Dont forget that young people have only had to time to fit a certain amount of experiences into their lives, so its important to devise ways to inspire and broaden horizons and raise aspirations.

Young peoples self-esteem and general life experiences will affect what they ask for. Young people should be encouraged to aim high, but remember there is a thin line between raising aspirations and being unrealistic.

Asking anyone to think about the future is a big step, keep it real and break it down into small easily manageable chunks with a well-thought-out process.

Dont take prior knowledge for granted. Theres a lot of stuff young people dont know yet because theyre young. Young people are often very fuzzy about who they are, and how stuff gets done.

Set up a variety of scenarios where young people can talk to each other, talk to you, or record their thoughts alone. A varied approach will result in richer and more interesting results.

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Everyone is different so plan a number of different ways to present and record information so everyone can play to their strengths, draw, write, model, talk, work in groups, work alone, leave time and space for reflection etc. etc.

Set parameters. Lay out the options clearly to make sure young people understand what is on offer and what they can realistically suggest or ask for. Realistic parameters will lead to a more thoughtful and realistic discussion.

Ask young people to imagine they are other groups in society, e.g. older people; it usually invites different thinking and results in some really touching and thoughtful suggestions.

Be very clear about the process, your role in it, and how much young peoples views will be taken into account.

Be clear about timeframes, things often take ages to happen and a few months for young people is a large chunk of their life so far.

If your consultation with young people is part of a larger consultation make sure your questions (and therefore the likely answers you get) are comparable so they carry the same weight and influence as everyone elses.

Report back on the results of the consultation so that young people feel that they are part of the process and have been listened to.

Beware of consultation fatigue. Young people can get blas and disillusioned if they are asked too many things too often, especially if its done badly.

If you have already made your mind up about the outcomes then dont pretend to consult.

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To find out more about Edens approach to creative consultation see:

www.edenproject.com/eden-story/our-ethos/creative-community-engagement

Asking questions

Whether you are in a class running a consultation or project managing, asking the right kind of question is the secret key to unlocking ideas and imagination.

A closed question is one that can be answered with a single word (yes, no, maybe) or a short phrase. They can be a useful way to start a conversation or ask people for facts about themselves, but they can stifle and change the way a conversation goes by giving people the chance to take the easy way out. It can also make young people feel like there is a right or wrong answer to something when there isnt and that can really put them off. Open and closed questions can be used together to great effect and the right combination of both will provide you with a lot more information. For example:

Closed question:

Adult: Do you like skateboarding ? Young Person: Yes Adult: Oh

Open questions to encourage dialogue:

Adult: What do you like doing with your free time? Young Person: Well, on Mondays I like to skateboard but on Tuesday, etc

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ClayFutures School Consultation

The Eden Project was asked by the local council to run a series of community engagement events across Cornwalls Clay Country to capture local peoples views about a possible Eco-Town development. To ensure young peoples voices were heard too, the Eden Project approached eight schools in the area. A small group of around 10-15 pupils from each school were selected to take the role of Time Travellers so they could explore the past, present and future of their villages. Older residents were invited to help guide the children on a walk around their village, and a film was made and played back to the whole school and the wider community at the main engagement event held in each parish. The whole school participated by creating models which represented the childrens idea of the future for their village and they wrote postcards to themselves in the future, all of which were put on display at the engagement events.

Sam Morgan Moore

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This is a very common form of consultation and probably one of the most controversial yet important processes.

If you want to create or improve a space in your community there are a number of things to remember:

It can be some of the most rewarding community-based work going.

It can make a massive difference to young people in your community.

It is often what young people remember.

Its really satisfying when it happens.

Involving everyone leads to a sense of community ownership and the space will probably be better cared for.

However.

Changing physical things is hard.

It takes a lot of time.

It takes a lot of resources.

Its going to be around for a while so its important to get it right.

Find out what young people want to do, not what they want to have. Dont just assume that making something new is going to solve the problem.

When consulting about a play area, for example, asking young people what they want to have tends to result in shoehorning as much equipment into the space as possible with very little thought about what they actually want to do with it.

Consulting with young people about physical spaces

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You may remember those Christmases when the cardboard box gets more attention than the toy inside it; well its the same with most things. Give young people a slide and its a slide; give young people a box and it can be a castle, a den, a spaceship etc.

Models

Models are great; (nearly) everyone likes making models.

Making models with a community is a great way to understand how young people interact with their physical spaces.

They help young people understand the spaces they live in.

Its a good way to start conversations about different spaces.

It adds a physical dimension to conversations.

It helps people who struggle to create pictures from words.

Models are a quick and accessible way to present ideas and information back to a group.

A sense of place

Going for a wander around your community will bring out all sorts of hidden gems. Look out for stories - tales of derring-do, romance and naughtiness; young people can be surprisingly open about the juicy gossip in their neighbourhood.

This is what we call a sense of place, a common bond between the people and the place they live; their lives and stories are often woven into the landscape giving people a sense of belonging. In practical terms, it promotes community spirit. Never underestimate how important this is. Studies have linked a lack of a sense of place to unhappiness, alienation, crime and even racism.

Celebration

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If its not worth celebrating its not worth doing.

Some countries seem to have festivals and national holidays every week. We are typically backward in coming forward on this matter in the UK and we should celebrate stuff a lot more. The end of a community project is a great opportunity to have a celebration.

Plan your celebration before you start. Its as vital as any of the form-filling that funders insist on. A celebration is how you say thanks; you reinforce the great and positive things about the young people who have worked together, for themselves as well as others. Its a chance to chat about what everyone has done, repeat the stories that have been discovered or created.

A good party encourages young people to come out of their houses and chat and ultimately this will encourage more young people to get involved next time.

It doesnt have to be a big celebration or about anything momentous; it could be just getting some nice biscuits for getting to the end of a session without having to have a fag break.

It doesnt matter what it is as long as it means something to those involved. It can be an ancient tradition lost in the mists of time or something youve made up, who cares, all traditions had to start somewhere. After all, nobody really knows how old maypole dancing is, and in Cornwall the Crantock Bale push which is a slightly crazy (and brilliant) night, began at the turn of the 21st century.

DIY celebrations are definitely the best; making decorations, cooking food, creating a beautiful space and tidying up afterwards (of course) all help to make the event as memorable and magical as possible. It will take longer but its empowering for young people who may not have done anything like this before.

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Even if you have a giant party designed to show off the projects achievements to local communities, dignitaries and the press, its always worth having a quieter version with the ones who did all the work. Its a valuable part of the process and gives everyone a chance to bond and say good bye as that particular chapter closes. This can be especially important if there has been some friction in the team, so dont chicken out of doing it.


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Evaluation

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Evaluation is an essential part of any project with young people, it will help you understand what worked (and what didnt) and improve your next project.

Its essential that you get some sort of feedback on the things you are doing to:

Find out if the aims and objectives have been achieved.

Know what people enjoyed and what they didnt.

Be better next time.

And its always nice to get positive feedback though everyone is different so expect a range of opinions.

There are many ways to evaluate your work; just chatting to people involved will give you a feel, but remember anonymous responses are usually more honest though not always possible to get.

Here are a couple of ideas just to get you started; there are literally hundreds of ways to do this.

Evaluation forms

These are frowned on for being dull and boring, which they can be. But theyre good for getting a lot of empirical data. Keep them short and remember, not everyone is confident when it comes to reading and writing so use clear language and offer other ways of feeding back.

Evaluation continuum

Have two points at each end of the room Agree at one end and Disagree at the other.

Ask lots of different questions and get the young people to choose where to stand along the line depending on how they feel. (Handy hint: prepare the questions beforehand, its not as easy as you might think). Remember, peer pressure may distort results.

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Word Pool

Ask each person to come up with a word that they feel sums up their experience.

Video booth

Young people often feel able to confide things and provide a thoughtful commentary on their experiences in the privacy of a video booth.

Remember, this footage must remain private.

Passion rocks

Get everyone to write down the best bits about the project on a big piece of paper. Then ask them to place their rocks in piles on their favourite elements of the project.

The bean of happiness

Place a number of pots and label them from unhappy to ultimate happiness. Give everyone a bean and ask him or her to put it in the pot that sums up their mood.

Personal meaning maps

Ask those involved to draw a picture of their experience. Record what they draw and assign values to how big the objects are and where they are on the picture.

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Getting help

Youre not alone. There are lots of great projects and organisations out there that can help.

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There are a million brilliant projects out there with an almost overwhelming array of great examples of good practice. Its always worth having a look around and seeing if other people have approached similar issues before.

This is by no means an exhaustive list (obviously) but here are some that we like and have been lucky enough to work with. Their websites are full of useful and inspirational stuff.

Creative Minds aims to get young people involved in their community and take part in exciting activities; it promotes and raises awareness of mental health problems within the wider community to reduce stigma and discrimination. www.creativemindsproject.org.uk

Community Matters supports community organisations to provide safe and engaging activities, services and support that meets the needs of young people.www.communitymatters.org.uk

DIY Toolkit: Improving your community get children and young people involved. This is a comprehensive guide with lots of ideas, examples and information well worth a read.www.savethechildren.org.uk

UK YouthA huge and brilliant organization that has a must-see website and lots of contacts initiatives and supportive material.www.ukyouth.org

Catch22 Is a social business providing services that help people in tough situations to turn their lives around. This great organisation is right at the coalface working with serious issues in a compassionate and practical way. www.catch-22.org.uk

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Teenage marketIs all about how a simple idea can be turned into a rich, diverse and inspirational movement.http://theteenagemarket.co.uk

Artworks Young Peoples Programme listens to young people and develops projects that allow them to have a powerful voice. Working with musicians, rappers, dancers and artists, their performance and mentoring programmes specialise in engaging disaffected young people and motivating them to succeed in life.www.artworkscreative.org.uk/community/children-young-people-and-families/projects-with-young-people

The British Youth Council is a great place to start looking for ideas and support. www.byc.org.uk

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Conclusion

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Ive been working with young people longer than I care to admit and people often ask me how Im able to stay enthusiastic and positive about environmental issues when everyone seems to want to talk about bad news, destruction and suffering.

I firmly believe that young people are the thing thats kept me sane (most of the time). When I see young peoples enthusiasm, their idealism and their energy, when I am surprised by their compassion and empathy, and when I am bowled over by their passion, it rubs off.

I see them and I see a future that doesnt look so bad. I know that as long as we keep producing great young people we will always have the capacity to make things better.

I hope that one message comes from all this:

Just give it a go.

Have fun.

(So thats two, but hey, whos counting?)

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Eden Field Guide series

We have created a series of Field Guides to help you plan and create your projects and make the most of the potential in your community. They are free to participants on our community projects and are available to download. To find out more please email [email protected]

Community Food Projects


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Projects

Food is a basic human need. Local food can help to strengthen our communities and reduce our impact on the environment. Inside are a host of ideas to get you thinking, bite-sized explanations and signposts where you can follow them up in more detail.

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Working withOlder People


Inclusive Communities


Inclusive communities are better communities. An inclusive community which welcomes diversity and encourages and enables participation is better placed to withstand the challenges of the future.

This book explains what it means to be inclusive and the methods we can use to make sure everyone gets a chance to join in.

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Eden Field Guide to Community Food Projects

Maria DevereauxClare Horrell

Eden Field Guide to Working with Older People

Wendy Brewin

Eden Field Guide to Inclusive Communities

Stuart SpurringJane Stoneham

Eden Field Guide to Community Places and Spaces

Dave Chapman

Young people are our future. How we treat them is an important indicator of the health and wellbeing of oursociety. The Eden Field Guide to Working With Young People explains why working with young people is so important and provides advice on how to go about it.

Date post:	11-Feb-2017
Category:	Government & Nonprofit
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An Eden Project Field Guide to working with young people

Government & Nonprofit