Why use Dynamic Youth Awards?
Find out what one Awards provider thinks
Like many of those registered to offer Dynamic Youth Awards, Glasgow Life put them to use for a great variety of purposes. We asked John Gilfillan, Community Learning Worker at Glasgow Life, what it is that attracts them to the Award.
Why did you decide to accredit the work of young people with Dynamic Youth Awards?We decided to accredit the youth work that takes place in our youth groups to demonstrate the value of the work to managers, funders and the participants themselves. The Dynamic Youth Awards are a flexible way to demonstrate this and the templates that are available on the Youth Scotland website allowed us to do this easily and gave structure to the programme. The portfolios will also allow us to demonstrate individual learning planning to HMiE.
What did the young people think about doing the Award?The young people loved completing their awards and got quite addicted to collecting hours. They were proud of their portfolios and took ownership over the process. We encouraged them to reflect on their progress using a set of targets that we had printed onto cards.
Did doing the Award change the activities in any way?No – we met with the young people separately in their youth groups to complete the portfolios. If anything, the activities benefited from the young peoples’ increased enthusiasm.
What did the young people get out of doing a Dynamic Youth Award?The young people gained in confidence and their communication skills also increased. They are now better at working with others in their group and have moved on from participating in activities organised by others to assisting the workers to organise a party for P6-S1s to introduce them to their club.
What advice do you have for other workers considering using Dynamic Youth Awards?I would advise youth workers to talk to other people involved in the award, come along to the training and network. The best way to see the benefit of the awards is to talk to others and also to see completed portfolios. The Youth Scotland staff are very helpful in answering questions about the awards.
I would also advise you to start with a general programme such as ‘taking part in youth club activities’ to start where the young people are, but this can be changed if you are running a specific programme – a residential or schools-based programme for example.
