Issue Based Youth Work
Training Topics
*NEW* Youth Work and Social Networking
Boys Have Feelings Too!
Sex & Relationships Work with Young Men
Young People, Youth Culture & The Media
Exploring Prejudice and Discriminatory Attitudes
Working with Young Women, Developing positive relationships
Working with Young Women, Exploring career, education & future aspirations
Exploring Positive Relationships with Young People
Based on Vanessa’s highly acclaimed resource books, these courses offer ideas for activities and projects across the youth work curriculum.
Youth Work & Social Networking
This two day workshop on social media and youth work, is designed specifically for anyone working with young people aged 13-19 including youth workers, community development officers, social care professionals and teachers. It is also appropriate for voluntary sector workers and those supporting faith based groups.
This course is run in conjunction with social media expert Justine Perry of Cariad Marketing Ltd, an internet marketing consultancy that specialises in social media marketing campaigns and social media training. An experienced marketing professional with over 20 years experience Justine has trained a wide variety of individuals on the practical use of social media, including Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, YouTube and Blogging.
Supporting Youth Work Resource Book: Cyberbullying
Boys Have Feelings Too!
Sex & Relationships Work with Young Men
Recent research has revealed that many young men say that SRE leaves them bored, disinterested and without the support that they need. As the ability to develop positive and safe relationships is fundamental to emotional wellbeing it is important that new approaches are developed that move away from the purely biological to include feelings, aspirations and values, with a focus on the importance of relationships.
This interactive one-day course explores different ways to engage young men with sex and relationship education, and considers issues including peer pressure around sex, expectations about relationships and self-esteem as well as keeping safe and emotionally secure.
Learning outcomes
This training day will:
- Equip participants with a wide range of resources to use with young men to explore sex, love and positive relationships
- Develop skills and approaches to meet the needs of young men
- Explore the messages that young men receive about being a man, sex, sexuality and relationships
- Consider barriers to young men engaging in sex and relationships work
- Consider ways to deliver sessions around safer sex, building relationships, express feelings and build self-esteem.
Supporting Youth Work Resource Book: Working with Young Men
Young People, Youth Culture & The Media
We live in a digital age bombarded daily with images and words that impact on the way we socially interact and live our lives. Perhaps the greatest media trick of all is that people don't realise the amount of influence, positive and negative, the media has on them, and how readily they accept this influence. One of the biggest targets for advertisers is the ‘youth market’.
This training day introduces activities to explore the influence of the media on young people and youth culture, from music videos and soaps to reality TV. Interactive and full of ideas, games and quizzes to engage young people in, this workshop offers creative ways for youth workers, teachers and other professionals to engage with young people on a range of topics from smoking to sexual relationships.
Learning outcomes
Through the workshop participants will:
- Equip participants with a range of activities to use with young people to explore the impact of the media on youth culture
- Explore celebrity culture and notions of ‘fame’
- Consider the media and the impact it has on sex and relationship expectations
- Explore at advertising and marketing techniques
- Look at ways to challenge media stereotypes and support realistic goals and aspirations
Supporting youth work resources: Media and Popular Culture
Exploring Prejudice and Discriminatory Attitudes
This training tasks youth workers, Connexions PA's and other professionals to consider effective ways to bring diversity issues into the youth work curriculum in a way that is meaningful, challenging but still fun for young people.
The training offers a toolkit of creative practical activities to use with young people that explore attitudes and values, promote inclusion and challenge stereotypes within a framework of the legislation that governs anti-discriminatory practice.
Learning outcomes
Participants will:
- Explore relevant legislation & consider implications for practice
- Consider effective ways to challenge discriminatory attitudes
- Introduce practitioners to a range of activities that look at issues including racism in sport & sexism
- Share good practice examples
Working with Young Women
Developing positive relationships
Engaging, motivating and exploring friendship and relationship issues with young women is an important part of the youth work curriculum. Based around Vanessa’s book ‘Working with Young Women – activities for exploring personal, social and emotional issues’ published by Jessica Kingsley Publishers, this interactive day is specifically for youth workers, and other professionals, planning to work with young women within a single gender environment.
The training introduces a range of activities that encourage young women to celebrate growing up as a female, promote healthy lifestyles and build positive relationships. Issues explored include relationship and sexual bullying, as well as ways to build confidence and assertiveness to raise self-esteem.
Learning outcomes
Through the workshop participants will:
- Look at ways to build emotional resilience and raise self esteem
- Offer ideas to explore motivation, build confidence and develop assertiveness skills
- Consider the media and the impact it has on young women’s relationship expectations
- Try out activities that define and promote positive friendships as well as personal relationships
- Share good practice examples
Supporting Youth Work Resource Book: Working with Young Women
Working with Young Women
Exploring career, education & future aspirations
For many young women their hopes and dreams are shaped by the celebrity culture around them, and this impacts on their life choices. This training day offers ideas to motivate and inspire young women by exploring gender stereotypes, raising self-esteem and building confidence to enable them to fulfill their potential and reach achievable goals.
Based on Vanessa’s book ‘Working with Young Women – activities for exploring personal, social and emotional issues’ published by Jessica Kingsley Publishers, the day provides a framework for small groupwork with young women aged 13-19.
Learning outcomes
Participants will:
- Explore family and cultural expectations for young women
- Consider the impact that the media has on aspiration and expectations
- Explore gender stereotypes in the workplace and ways to challenge them
- Try out a range of activities to use within a groupwork context
- Promote good practice examples of gender empowerment
Supporting Youth Work Resource Book: Working with Young Women
Cyberbullying
Helping young people to stay safe in a digital age
As the use of cyber technology has increased, so has the misuse of technology both in and outside of schools. One recent study by the Anti-Bullying Alliance reported that 22% of young people have been the target of cyber bullying, and concerns are that as technology develops this figure will continue to rise.
This training has been developed as a response to these concerns and is based on ‘Cyberbullying - Activities to Help Children and Teens to Stay Safe in a Texting, Twittering, Social Networking World’ by Vanessa Rogers and published by Jessica Kingsley Publishers.
Learning outcomes
This training day will:
- Raise awareness about cyber-bullying
- Offer practical activities to use with young people to explore the issue and stay safe online
- Set out the legal context
- Look at ways that professionals working with young people can support victims
Supporting Youth Work Resource Book: Cyberbullying
Young People & Alcohol
The issue of young people's alcohol consumption is one that has attracted wide publicity and is a major concern for anyone working with young people. In particular the risks related to 'binge' drinking. Interactive and based on the NYA publication, 'The Little Book of Alcohol', this workshop is packed with activities to use with young people that raise awareness, give knowledge, build resilience skills & promote discussion.
Learning outcomes
Participants will have the opportunity to:
- Explore attitudes and values around alcohol
- Try out a range of activities to use with young people in a range of social education environments
- Consider binge drinking and risky behaviours
- Look at gender issues
- Share good practice
Exploring Positive Relationships with Young People
Encouraging young people to talk about sensitive issues and open up about their emotional hopes fears and dreams for successful relationships can be challenging.
This training day, based on Vanessa’s book, ‘Let’s Talk Relationships’ published by Jessica Kingsley Publishers, focuses on building positive personal relationships. It offers participants the opportunity to explore relationships bullying, aspirations, staying safe and boundary setting through a wide range of activities and ideas that can be used in with young people in an informal education setting. Additionally it includes ideas to promote discussion and self-reflection in young people aiming to equip them to feel more confident, develop respect for themselves and others and hopefully make healthy relationship choices.
Learning outcomes
This training day will:
- Equip participants with a wide range of resources to use with young people to explore love and relationships
- Consider what a positive relationship is
- Share good practice examples of successful projects
Supporting Youth Work Resource Book: Let's Talk Relationships
