Pears Youth Social Action Programme - phase three

What is Youth Social Action?

Youth social action is a youth led activity that positively impacts an individual, a group of people or a particular environment.

We want to ensure that high quality youth social action is being delivered, therefore we ensure that each project meets the following principles:

• Youth-Led: projects should be led, owned, and shaped by young people, with them making decisions about the community benefit, activities, and engagement length.
• Socially Impactful: activities should create positive social change that benefits the wider community and the young people involved.
• Challenging and Engaging: activities should be stretching, engaging, exciting, and enjoyable for young people.
• Progressive: projects should allow for progression to other opportunities and activities.
• Embedded: social action should become a norm in a young person's journey towards adulthood and a habit for life. It should also become embedded within the college environment, developing a culture of social change.
• Reflective: activities should value reflection, recognition, and reward, allowing young people to learn from their experiences.

For more information on the youth social action principles, head over to the #iwill website.

What are the benefits to the students?

According to #iwill, youth social action can support young people to develop character, confidence and mental resilience. It supports students to develop skills and network and connect with others. You can find our impact reports from phase two here.

What is phase three of the programme?

The Pears Foundation have funded a phase three of the Youth Social Action Programme. The two-year programme will build on the success of phases one and two. Phase three will pilot a regional model that will support the upscaling of the programme in the future. The regional model will include:

Regional Enrichment Coordinator - a pilot role aimed to support colleges connect with local and national organisations to develop and enhance their enrichment offers to students. The Regional Enrichment Coordinator will also facilitate termly networks across the region and deliver best practice webinars across the sector.

Youth Social Action Apprentices - five Youth Social Action Apprentices working across two colleges each. The apprentices will complete their Level 3 Youth Work qualification alongside delivering youth social action activities.

Youth Social Action Mentor - an apprentice from phase one or two of the programme who has remained in their college as a permanent employee and returned to phase three as a mentor. They will provide 1:1 mentoring support to the apprentices throughout the programme.

What are the aims of the programme?

1. Raise awareness of and widen the reach of youth social action in FE, supporting students through enrichment pathways and developing their skills for the future.
2. Empower students to take action to address local, regional and national issues.
3. Enable apprentices, mentors and coordinators to create opportunities to undertake meaningful work experience around social action.
4. Upskill apprentices, mentors and coordinators by delivering a training programme that will further develop their skills to fulfil all requirements of their roles.
5. Embed youth social action into colleges and support them to create a sustainable model for delivery.
6. Raise the positive profile of colleges through youth social action in the local community.
7. Link to national youth social action programmes and other relevant partners.
8. Sustain activities through engagement with local employers.
9. Develop a network of partners leading on youth social action and other youth initiatives to strengthen strategies for student development and support across multiple sectors.
10. Develop regional networks of colleges to share best practice examples on strategies to embed youth social action and enrichment opportunities throughout colleges.
11. Develop and design resources for colleges who would like to deliver youth social action.
12. Develop progression pathways for apprentices to continue their journey in youth led activism and youth work.
    

How can my college get involved?

If you'd like to find out more about the Youth Social Action Programme phase three, please contact projects@aoc.co.uk

Case studies and impact reports from phases one and two of the programme