Curriculum for Excellence
Curriculum for Excellence sets out a framework for all young people to become confident individuals, successful learners, effective contributors and responsible citizens and in any context for learning, the experiences and outcomes from the learning embody these four capacities.
Responsibility for these changes extends beyond schools and involves all those working with children and young people in Scotland. Curriculum for Excellence: building the curriculum 3 recognises that the curriculum is all the experiences planned for children and young people throughout their education, 'wherever they are being educated' and requires learning partnerships.
Youth workers have a broad range of skills and are able to engage with young people in ways that build their confidence and enable them to develop as effective contributors, responsible citizens and successful lifelong learners. Youth workers build positive relationships with young people and offer personal support. They help young people to develop skills such as teamwork, leadership and problem solving, and promote young people’s achievements.
This can have a positive impact on young people's learning across the curriculum and in other areas of their lives. Schools engaged in partnerships value the knowledge of communities that youth workers bring and their ability to connect to the home and to other partner agencies.
The national development work on youth work and schools’ partnerships looked closely at collaborative work among schools, youth work and other partners. The publication in 2009 of Bridging the Gap: improving outcomes for Scotland's young people through school and youth work partnerships, highlighted the critical role of strong and effective school and youth work partnerships in supporting learning within and outwith schools and ensuring the delivery of positive outcomes for young people in Scotland.
Effective school and youth work partnerships
These can lead to benefits for young people, schools, the wider community and employers. For example:
Bridging the Gap is for school staff and youth workers who, together, can deliver better opportunities and outcomes for young people in Scotland. The publication sets the policy context and offers examples of practice to encourage youth work and school partnerships across Scotland to deliver more opportunities to engage and inspire young people.
Youth work provides opportunities for young people to develop personally through community-based activities, and recognises, celebrates and builds on the achievements of young people through their participation in these activities.
The Youth Work and Schools Group, supported by YouthLink Scotland, has been instrumental in supporting the national development programme to build and strengthen effective partnerships between schools and youth work.
Through a series of regional roadshows and other initiatives, the programme has identified and supported improvements in:
- partnership working between schools, community learning and development/youth work services, voluntary youth work organisations and other agencies and services
- engagement by community learning and development/youth work in the implementation of Curriculum for Excellence and other connected policy developments
- demonstrating positive outcomes for young people.
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