MonLife’s award-winning Youth Service is gearing up for another successful year after recently securing a Bronze Quality Mark for Youth Work in Wales.
The Youth Service received the Welsh Government accolade following a week-long assessment of its services in October 2022, with the award officially given on the 17th of November 2022.
The Quality Mark is awarded to organisations and service providers who meet a range of criteria as set out by gold, silver and bronze standards and supports the aims and objectives of the ‘Youth Work Strategy for Wales.’ The Quality Mark is regarded as being the only system available in Wales that can meet a profession-specific set of standards.
Assessment for the award focuses on:
- Performance management
- Quality of youth work practice
- Young people’s learning and development
- Legal requirements
Following the assessment, MonLife’s Youth Service was recognised for its work in developing positive relationships with young people, helping promote learning and achievement, and for providing opportunities which are educative, empowering, participative, inclusive and expressive, and extends their knowledge, skills and understanding.
The team and its services were also regarded as having a clear vision and strategy for young people, having a plan to measure the impact and effectiveness of its services and ensuring all work with young people is linked with local and national policies.
The accolade comes as the Youth Service gears up for an ambitious 2023, with the key focus on ensuring young people from 11 to 25 years old can develop holistically through a range of activities and opportunities. This work includes the delivery of youth clubs, youth centres, school holiday provision, the Shift project which supports young people’s mental health and emotional wellbeing, participation work including Engage 2 Change (Monmouthshire’s youth council) and LGBTQ+ support including ‘Equality Street’ – an award-winning service.
Cabinet Member for Inclusive and Active Communities, Cllr Sara Burch said: “Our youth services are a fundamental part of ensuring young people are given opportunities to help them learn new things, form new relationships, expand their minds and in turn thrive as members of our community. I am delighted the excellent work carried out by MonLife’s Youth Service has been recognised and I look forward to seeing these excellent programmes welcome more young people over the coming year.”
Cllr Martyn Groucutt, Cabinet Member for Education added: “Education and learning opportunities for our young people certainly do not stop at the classroom door, and youth services play a key role in giving our younger generations a well-rounded experience within our communities. This award further demonstrates our commitment to providing young people with every possible chance at being the best version of themselves. Well done to all involved.”
