Recording and accreditation in youth work

Posted November 4, 2014

By Sam Long:

Recording and evidencing some of the work undertaken with young people can be difficult or very Straight forward. Often I have been asked by volunteers/trainee youth workers who have difficulty in understanding recorded outcomes and what they should be evidencing and looking out for. I end up telling them that it is a way of evidencing movement made by a young person. Can be a valuable process of reflection for the young person that is facilitated by a youth worker. Or could be a way of understanding a process that a young person has traveled. I also inform them that it is way recognition of a young persons development that could be a positive way of noticing a young person’s achievement.

According to NYA definition “Credit Where It’s Due” ‘Recorded outcomes’ must have the following features:

Provide evidence to show actions undertaken by the young person, their progression, and distance traveled – to show distance traveled the record must identify starting points, describe the process/identify what happened, and be clear about the achievement, learning gain or
End product. This may include, for instance, a decision made as a result of counseling or a detached work encounter.
Provide evidence of the benefit derived by the young person as a result of a youth work intervention.
Be evidenced (though not accredited) by a youth worker or an external awarding body.
Be meaningful (not just a narrative of events) – it must confirm the achievement of a declared-objective that is significant for that individual young person. Some subjective judgments will need to be made in assessing what constitutes a ‘significant’ objective for each young person, given their backgrounds and skill levels.
Be recognizable within Ofsted frameworks for inspection – the record should be able to provide evidence to inspectors seeking to report within the section ‘Standards of young people’s achievement and the quality of youth work practice’. A ‘recorded outcome’ does not:  
Have to subscribe to a specific format;
Necessarily lead to an accredited outcome – a recorded outcome may be sufficient alone for some young people. For others it may form part of the learning journey towards an accredited outcome; or
Have to be measured against a declared curriculum, but it can be good practice to do so.’ Accredited outcomes’ must have the following features:
Be undertaken by young people supported within the youth work process.
Have currency/credibility outside youth work including enhancing life and social skills and, where possible, a link to employment, education and training.
Be subject to either independent internal verification by the organization making the award or be externally assessed by an awarding body.