4a.

The last few sessions at the youth centre have been very busy, with only two members of staff to 20+ young people. Typically there would be at least 3 staff members however one youth work was on annual leave; this then meant for two weeks we would be short of one youth worker.  It’s very hard to predict beforehand how many young people will turn up to a session;  the ratio between a young person and adult has to be adhered at all times.  As we were almost at the legal required ratio we had to then call two members of staff from one of the other centres; the reason this was done was so that we would not be forced to turn away any more young people. 

Additional help was not called upon beforehand as we were not sure how many young people would be attending the session. As I have mentioned in previous bloggs and reflecting back at 2D it is often hard to keep the girls engaged, the boys normally participate in the activities whereas the girls end up being to ‘bothered’ about what their peers would think of them. This is a regular issue which occurs in the Friday sessions this day tends to be the busiest.  

 

• How can this be preventing?

• Should the youth session offer more female based activities?

• How can the girlies be drawn in without leaving out the boys? 

These are common questions that my colleagues and I find ourselves asking.

With that in mind I have begun to think of inquiry questions that can relate to my current practise and a current issue that I feel requires more exploring.  I want my inquiry to be based on a topic that I can benefit from; the inquiry should possibly be a topic that can help me grow as a youth worker. I know that I would like the inquiry to relate to the issues I am faced with a at the youth centre, I need to find a suitable way of wording the question.

Thinkable inquiry questions: 

Listed below are a set of questions that I have put together in relation to my inquiry question, these questions are so that I can gather more information. The questions I have asked are aimed towards those who have worked and/ or work with young people.

·         - Should there be more sessions that do not require mix group activities?

·         -Would the girls engage more if they were given more chances to choose what activities took place?

·         -Should the girls have the chance to choose who is in there groups when it comes to group work?

• What are the key factors that may prevent young people from engaging in activities?

• How important is it that sessions are planed beforehand?

• How can the challenges of working with a young person who is not willing to take part be overcome?

• How can the sessions be more successful?

• How can the current dynamic of the sessions be improved?

• Will separating the girls from the boys draw more interest in the sessions?

• Does peer pressure prevent young people from cooperating more in activities?

• Is it acceptable for young people to refuse to take part in activities?

Trying to get a large majority of the young people to take part in the activities has been an on-going issue; the young people cannot be forced to take part in the activities as they are not mandatory. Trying to plan activities that will ‘please’ all the young people is quite hard as are various factors that can affect the ‘need’ to take part. How can this tackled?

Any suggestion and comments will be great appreciated.