Youth work strategy implementation board meeting: 20 March 2025

• Sharon Lovell (SL) (Chair)
• Marco Gil-Cervantes (MG)
• Shahinoor Alom (SA)
• Deb Austin (DA)
• David Williams (DW)
• Sian Elen Tomos (ST)
• Lowri Jones (LJ)
• Joanne Sims (JS)
• Dyfan Evans, Head of Youth Engagement Branch, Welsh Government (DE)
• Dareth Edwards, Senior Youth Strategy Work Manager, Welsh Government (DaE)
• Kirsty Harrington, Youth Work Strategy Manager, Welsh Government (KH)
• Tom Kitschker, Youth Engagement Branch Team Support Officer, Welsh Government (TK)
• Victoria Allen, Senior Youth Work Strategy Manager, Welsh Government (VA)
• Jo Trott, Deputy Director of Learner Pathways, Welsh Government (JT)

Apologies

• Simon Stewart (SS)

Conflicts of interest

None declared.

The Board reviewed the minutes and action points from the last meeting held on 23 January 2025.

Previously the Board agreed five priority tasks to be taken forward by the IPGs from January 2025 onwards, working with representatives across the sector and beyond. These tasks are as follows:

Raising the profile of the impact of youth work

Contributing to the actions set out in the recently refreshed Anti-Racist Wales Action Plan, identify best practice in how youth work has helped young people proactively challenge discriminatory attitudes and behaviours within society. This is being taken forward via a newly established task and finish group.

Welsh language and workforce development

Working with the workforce development group, workforce development officer and Welsh Government, consider the findings of the recent Skills and Training Audit relating to Welsh language skills, capacity, aspirations within the existing youth work workforce.

Digital youth work

Develop a peer network to support innovative practice in relation to digital youth work.

Supporting vulnerable or marginalised young people

Develop resources for youth work practitioners aimed at strengthening specific support for vulnerable or marginalised young people, for example, those at risk of self-harm and(or) suicide, trans young people.

Refining a youth-led governance model

Using the evidence gathered via the residential forum with young people in summer 2024, and other relevant evidence, develop a summary of the key aspects of a successful youth led governance model for youth work.

Next steps

Officials invited comments from Board members on the suggested key milestones and next steps for each task, which were approved by Board members. Board members acting as chairs for each of the groups provided summaries of the progress to date on these workstreams. Board members agreed that progression at pace was needed to ensure tasks were completed before the end of the Board’s tenure in September 2025 as intended. SL also expressed a desire to communicate the achievements of each of these tasks at the culmination of this work. 

Action

Officials will consider options to communicate what has been achieved via each of these tasks, including a potential cross-sector online event.

The youth work conference took place in February and was attended by over 300 delegates. Officials thanked Board members for their attendance and support in facilitating the event, talks and workshops. The Board acknowledged the amount of work involved with organising the conference and thanked CWVYS for their role in leading the design and delivery of the event. 

Officials provided a summary of the feedback gathered from attendees via a post-conference questionnaire, including the following:

• Attendees found real life stories were inspiring and showed the benefit of youth work across many different policy areas.
• The opportunity for many to attend a youth work conference for the first time since joining the sector was welcomed.
• Many welcomed the opportunity to network face to face and hear from various speakers.
• Many delegates reported that the duration of the event was too long.
• The conference programme was considered by many to be potentially too heavily focused on speakers without sufficient time to network and visit the stalls in between each session.
• Many felt that there could have been a stronger link between the conference’s theme, collaboration and partnership, and the programme for the day.

Board members shared their own reflections from the day and identified some key learning which they recommended is taken into consideration for any future events. These included: 

• ensuring programmes provide plenty of scope for interaction, collaboration and networking
• the establishment of a steering group of stakeholders with representatives from across the sector to assist in planning of key events of this kind

Officials provided an update on work underway to strengthen the legislative basis for youth work. The analysis of the responses received to the consultation on draft proposals has been completed. A summary of responses will be published in the weeks ahead.

Officials are currently undertaking further engagement with stakeholders including via the legislation taskforce, to explore aspects of the framework which might require further refinement. 

The time taken for this further engagement will impact on the original timeline for introduction of the new framework, whereby April 2025 to March 2026 was planned to act as a transitional period prior to the commencement of the first Youth Work Strategic Plans from April 2026. Officials will keep the Board, and the sector more generally, appraised of progress.

Officials updated Board members on work in relation to the potential establishment of a national body for youth work. This included a meeting between the Cabinet Secretary for Education and representatives from Council for Wales of Voluntary Youth Services (CWVYS) trustees group. This follows a similar meeting held with the Principal Youth Officers Group on 2 December 2024. 

Regardless of the decision to proceed or not with establishing a national body, Board members were eager to understand arrangements to be put in place beyond the end of the Board’s term in September 2025 and for key milestones where the Board’s views will be sought, as well as related risks, to be identified. DE mentioned that officials are meeting in the coming weeks to review key milestones for the year ahead.

Action

The Board requested a meeting with the Cabinet Secretary for Education to discuss the potential establishment of a national body. Officials will liaise with the Cabinet Secretary’s office on this.

Update on Youth Work Excellence Awards

In response to the recent evaluation of the Youth Work Excellence Awards model undertaken in partnership with the Board in late 2024, officials set out a series of proposed short-, medium- and long-term actions to develop the model. The immediate priority will be to explore opportunities to make the nominations process more accessible and help capture as wide a range as possible of provision. The aim is to open the nomination process during Youth Work Week 2025. 

Budget overview

DE provided an update on key allocations within budgets for 2025 to 2026.

Date and suggested focus of the next Board meeting (15 May 2025)

• Workforce development plan.
• Key milestones to September 2025, topics requiring specific input from Board members during this period and consideration of risks.