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This valuable textbook communicates the complexities and controversies at the heart of youth work management, exploring key issues in a critical fashion. Written by a team of experienced youth work lecturers, the chapters cover topics such as planning, evaluation and supervision, whilst acknowledging the changing structures of integrated services and the impact of public service reform. Divided into three sections, it covers: Historical and theoretical context Critical practice issues, including leadership, policy constraints, planning and accountability Managing in different settings, for ins.

'Levelling UP' has taken on considerable significance in the policy discourses of the Johnson conservative government, particularly regarding the English regions. However, what is meant by Levelling up has been far from clear, although if it is to mean anything it must at least in part mean addressing the needs of disadvantaged and left behind communities. Key premises of this paper are that young people must be considered valued members of those communities; and that, to meet their expressed needs, youth work can be the best placed service for (re)investment, not least because it has demonstrated that it consistently enables a wide variety of outcomes in their lives. The investment required must be seen in the context of the huge austerity cuts to youth services in England which disproportionately affected disadvantaged communities. To make the case for 'levelling up' to completely rebuild as well as further develop those services. This paper brings together an analysis of past and current youth policies with a range of relevant empirical data.

This research explores young people's attitudes toward adult involvement within "youth led" youth climate groups. Young people were acutely aware of their marginalization and overall, there was a consensus that adults played a useful role as a resource, as experienced adult activists possessed knowledge that they lacked, or in offering practical support on legal issues or liaising with the police. The attitudes of young people to adult involvement is at times paradoxical in that whilst they were aware of its necessity, adults altered the dynamics of the groups, as there was a "power gap" and that adults' views could take precedence. As a result, on some occasions the young people parted ways from the adults. A continual theme from the research was that young people's involvement in "youth climate groups" gave them a sense of empowerment and they were much more aware of how to effect change, and to some extent they did need the support of adults in this process, often due to their structural disempowerment. The findings suggest that adult involvement was most successful when adults were committed to empowering young people and the researchers suggest that Kirshner's model of "cycles of fading" is a useful framework for adult involvement.

This article discusses the findings of a small-scale study investigating the impact of food poverty on youth work in community based open access settings. It documents the growing impact of food poverty on the role of youth work in deprived communities and explores the role youth workers play in addressing it. Firstly this 'community response' addresses the issue of food poverty in localities where it arises. However, it not only meets basic needs, but it also helps build social capital by enacting important social relationships associated with food by 'eating together'. Such responses also have the potential to combat stigma and abjection through the creation of critical consciousness and political education. The research also highlights the need for greater coordination of this response and for youth centres to be less isolated from other services. Finally, the legacy of food policy within youth work is highlighted, previously dominated by a focus on healthy eating since Every Child Matters (2003). Post austerity, for many communities the concern is simply 'eating'!

This article discusses the findings of a small-scale study investigating the impact of food poverty on youth work in community based open access settings. It documents the growing impact of food poverty on the role of youth work in deprived communities and explores the role youth workers play in addressing it. Firstly this 'community response' addresses the issue of food poverty in localities where it arises. However, it not only meets basic needs, but it also helps build social capital by enacting important social relationships associated with food by 'eating together'. Such responses also have the potential to combat stigma and abjection through the creation of critical consciousness and political education. The research also highlights the need for greater coordination of this response and for youth centres to be less isolated from other services. Finally, the legacy of food policy within youth work is highlighted, previously dominated by a focus on healthy eating since Every Child Matters (2003). Post austerity, for many communities the concern is simply 'eating'!

This article examines young people's experiences of open access youth work in settings in the UK, Finland, Estonia, Italy and France. It analyses 844 individual narratives from young people which communicate the impact of youthwork on their lives. These accounts are then analysed in the light of the European youth work policy goals. It concludes that it is encouraging that what young people identify as the positive impact of youth work are broadly consistent with many of these goals. There are however some disparities which require attention. These include the importance young people place on the social context of youth work, such as friendship, which is largely absent in EU youth work policy; as well as the importance placed on experiential learning. The paper also highlights a tension between 'top down' policy formulation and the 'youth centric' practices of youth work. It concludes with a reminder to policy makers that for youth work to remain successful the spaces and places for young people must remain meaningful to them 'on their terms'.