Working with children and young people

Barnardos

Barnardo's, the UK's biggest children's charity, have a useful resources section for those working with children and young people. Many of the resources are downloadable.
http://barnardos.org.uk/resources

Can You Plan it?

'Can you Plan It' is a fun, accessible resource to assist Voluntary, Community and Social Enterprise (VCSE) organisations, and specifically those working with children and young people, to involve service users, stakeholders and a range of staff members in the business planning process. Visit the website to find out more:
http://www.communitymatters.org.uk/content.aspx?CategoryID=553

Social justice: transforming lives

This Government's strategy for Social Justice is about giving individuals and families facing multiple disadvantages the support and tools they need to turn their lives around. The strategy sets out Government's strong commitment to this agenda. It focuses on exploring how we can tackle the root causes of problems to promote real and sustained changes in peoples' lives. Download from the Department for work and pensions website
http://www.dwp.gov.uk/policy/social-justice/

 

UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC)

The Rights! Cameras! Action! Project brought together Photo Voice and Action for Children to engage and inform children about their rights under the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC). They do this using a range of media. They held workshops for young people from a variety of backgrounds throughout the UK and asked what they thought about their rights and how important they were to their lives. The young people expressed their views through video and photography. The project launched an online multimedia resource for use in schools, youth groups and families to explore what the CRC is and what the articles mean in practice for young people in the UK. Visit the website to download this free resource:
http://www.rightscamerasaction.org.uk/

Youth Work Resources

CYP Now has brought together virtual youth work activity resource packs under different topics, such as sexual health and alcohol. Each pack contains activities from the pages of CYP Now and Youth Work Now, and links to external quizzes, games, worksheets and other activities. Our youth club sessions offer ideas on how to engage young people in a range of key topics. Visit the website to find out more:
http://www.cypnow.co.uk/go/youth_work_resources/ 

You are not on your own (for children affected by parental alcohol abuse)

I think this will be really useful for those working with children. The colourful booklet from The Children's Commissioner for England is aimed at children aged 8-12 to help children affected by parental or carer alcohol abuse. It aims to help the worker have a conversation with the child about the issues they face and could be adapted to suit a child of any age. It has lots of useful information, such as how to deal with an emergency, and sections for the child to work through.
http://system.newzapp.co.uk/EditSite/Customers/10272/nz-docs/Youarenotonyourown.pdf 

Out of school groups - Leaders road safety activities

The THINK! Education road safety activities for out-of-school groups have been developed for leaders of groups of 5-11 year olds, such as Rainbows, Beavers, Brownies, Cub Scouts, Girls' Brigades and Boys' Brigades. These leaders' notes have been written to complement road safety materials available for teachers and parents. Leaders can download free resources accompanying this booklet from the THINK! Education site.
http://shop.dft.gov.uk/education/Product.aspx?ProductID=44c13c6f-a209-41f1-96f3-0a8ce7902f1b

Governance Guides for Children and Young People

BYC launch four governance guides for children and young people The British Youth Council (BYC) has recently revised and updated four guide booklets as part of their Youth at the Table training programme, which aims to support young people's involvement in governance. The guide booklets are designed to help develop the skills of young people in order for them to become effective members of a committee or a charity trustee board.
• What is governance?
• The essential information you need to know about governance
• What skills do I need to be great at governance?
• How do I get involved in governance?
You can download the booklets from Participation Works by clicking on the title.
http://www.participationworks.org.uk/news/byc-launch-four-governance-guides-for-children-and-young-people

The Family Information Directory - relaese of software

The Dfe has released the software behind the Family Information Directory. This allows other organisations to develop their own version of the Directory. The Family Information Directory was introduced in 2009 to provide a unique, comprehensive source of registered childcare and family services information. The key software component of the Directory collects information from local authorities and national organisations in England, then publishes the information on a range of websites to enable parents, families and those who work with them to search for childcare and family services. http://www.education.gov.uk/inthenews/inthenews/a0075067/the-familyinformation-directory-release-of-software

Make Space

Make Space is a campaign with a clear mission: to transform opportunities for young people aged 11-19 across England via a network of contemporary out of school centres that provide exciting places to go and things to do. They work with young people and youth workers, schools, local authorities and national organisations. By building on existing good practice and through lobbying, campaigning and development, Make Space seeks to revolutionise the youth offer in this country. Visit the website to find out more:
http://www.makespace.org.uk/home

Make Space for Health

Make Space for Health provides lively, interactive and challenging programmes for young people, delivered in youth centres and other settings, to support them to manage their lifestyles in an enjoyable way.  Make Space for Health is running an ongoing programme of practical health and wellness support for youth workers and young people aged 11-19 in Make Space clubs and settings outside of school.  Fun, innovative and interactive resources to support young people to manage their lifestyles have been developed and tested - with excellent feedback and real evidence of change in attitudes and behaviour.  The Make Space for Health resource packs cover three themes:
http://www.makespace.org.uk/activities/make-space-for-health/activity_packs

NSPCC releases guide to help social workers avoid common mistakes 
The NSPCC has launched a guide for social workers to address the most common mistakes made when dealing with child protection cases. Ten Pitfalls and How to Avoid Them is primarily aimed at social work professionals and students, but is also targeting anyone involved in child protection referrals and plans, such as those working in education, health and the police. Some of the common problems highlighted in the guide are early information not being properly recorded or checked; information from family members and friends not being given sufficient weight; and not enough attention paid to what children say. Dr Karen Broadhurst, lead author of the booklet, said: "A number of recent serious case reviews, such as that of Khyra Ishaq, have highlighted problems both in deciding which children's cases get an initial investigation, and with the quality of initial assessments. Download direct from the NSPCC website: 
http://www.nspcc.org.uk/Inform/publications/downloads/tenpitfalls_wdf48122.pdf
Plings

Plings is a national programme that standardises how councils gather and share information about activities for children and young people. It is a discovery engine to help you find out information and things to do for young people. You can browse by keyword, postcode and date to find out what is going on. It is really easy for young people to share details with friends and other young people via Facebook, digital TV, mobile phones and websites. The key to Plings success will be the engagement of the voluntary and community sector, so visit the website, tell young people about it and use it:
http://www.plings.net/

New campaigning guide for young people

The Every Disabled Child Matters (EDCM) has produced an easy-read campaigning guide for young people. The guide includes information about why young people should get involved in campaigning, how to get publicity for your chosen issue and factsheets explaining campaign jargon!  Download the guide from EDCM website.  
http://www.ncb.org.uk/edcm/Young%20Campaigners%20campaigning%20guide.pdf