Diabetes Youth Work Team

Youth Work is a distinct educational process adapted across a variety of settings to support a young person's personal, social, emotional, and educational development. It begins with the development of a unique, challenging, and developmental relationship with young people, which is utilised to:

• explore their values, beliefs, ideas, and issues
• enable them to develop their voice, influence, and place in society
• facilitate learning practical and life skills that will help them to realise their full potential

The youth work relationship is underpinned by youth work values and principles. The values provide an ethical foundation that informs the way youth workers make decisions about their work.

These values underpin the key principles of youth work practice, which are:

• active participation and empowerment of young people
• voluntary engagement by young people
• non-formal education and informal learning
• equality, equity, diversity and inclusion

Youth work is underpinned by a clear set of values. These include:

• young people voluntarily participate
• utilise young peoples' view of the world
• treat young people with respect
• seek to develop skills and attitudes of young people rather than remedy "problem behaviours"
• help young people develop stronger relationships and collective identities
• respect and value differences
• promote the voice of young people

Youth workers predominantly work with children and young people between 11 and 19 years of age, but can support young adults up to the age of 25, depending on their need.

What makes youth work distinctive from other services is that youth workers have a voluntary relationship with young people which starts from where the young people are at, their interests, goals, and experiences:

• support young people to meet their educational, social and wellbeing needs as they navigate having a long-term health condition
• support young people and families to develop independent health care management skills
• empower young people to take responsibility for themselves and develop confidence
• signpost to / refer young people to external agencies for support
• be a point of support or contact, and be a keyworker through key transitions
• provide opportunities for peer support for patients to develop other skills
• provide emotional support and opportunities to grow in confidence, develop communication skills, be part of a team, and much more
• advocate for young people and always put young peoples' views forward

Youth workers are the positive link between home / society / hospital and are always there when support if needed.

• 1 to 1 support
• group activities
• consultation groups
• fun activities
• local, regional, and national activities
• a chance to make a difference to the lives of others and improve services