The Treasury has initiated a spring review of programmes to support youth services. This ‘rapid review’ will take place in the final two weeks of February with a deadline of responses by Tuesday 2nd March 2021.

This post provides an update on ETS England Guidance for HE Institutions and Key Worker Status. Links are provided to a statement from the NYA and DCMS.

This post provides a New Year Update with links to further information to support colleagues in responding to the announcements of Tier 5 restrictions (aka Lockdown); with an invitation to an online discussion to share responses and questions with colleagues on Monday 5th January 2021.

The Association extends our very best wishes to members and colleagues across the sector as we take a short break to refocus our bodies, hearts and minds! See you in 2021…

The European Youth Work Convention (EYWC) took place from 7th-10th December 2020 and a ‘Declaration’ from the vent is available as part of this brief roundup from the event.

The NYA have released version 4.0 of their guidance for Managing youth sector activities and spaces during COVID-19 in England with effect from 2nd December 2020.

The Back Youth Alliance is a collaboration of senior leaders and youth representatives from some of the UK’s leading youth charities, working together to present a coherent voice to decision-makers with and for young people. An open letter has been written to the Chancellor and Government asking them to uphold promises made to the youth sector.

We held our eighth ‘members connect’ online conversation on 13th November as colleagues were adjusting to teaching under lockdown in England and to variances across the UK. Colleagues convened to discuss the ‘Creative Collaborations’ between members, sector associates and the wider sector.

A gathering of members took place via Zoom on 23rd October to reflect on the return to teaching under the continuing shadow of Covid-19 restrictions. This post summarises some of the views and experiences of colleagues across institutions throughout the UK on an academic year that is far from normal!

In April a group of Association colleagues, Janet Batsleer, Tania de St Croix, Kevin Jones and Christine Smith invited people to join them in contributing diary entries as youth workers to the ‘Mass Observation Archive’ at Sussex University. Articles are now available on an evaluation of the diary entries…

Earlier this year, before coronavirus had fully taken hold in the UK and prior to lockdown, the Association was invited to an event at Manchester Metropolitan University to mark the end of a local project that was ‘hijacked’ as an opportunity for colleagues to thank Janet Batsleer for her influential career as she approached retirement from the University. This blog is a record of our contribution and gift to Janet as she enters the next phase of her journey:

'Educating Informal Educators' will draw on the range of expertise in Higher Education courses across the UK and seeks to emphasise the value of informal education, its values and practices not only for students of education or informal education, but for society as a whole. This special issue will focus on how informal education pedagogies, practices and principles are engaged with, modelled, taught or shared in Higher Education.

We held our sixth ‘members connect’ online conversation on 26th June and convened to discuss collaborations in 2020-2021 as we look towards the new academic year. The discussion focussed on areas where members have found collaboration with their peers to be impactful and areas where further collaborations would help strengthen individual confidence, the standing of courses within their institutions and the role of academics in our subject discipline.

The Association is looking to curate stories from staff and students in HE that continue to highlight the contribution of staff and students across youth and community work courses throughout the UK.