Somerset Youth and Community Service
Youth Work Youth Club
Securing Value
In order to ensure that your club is a good quality ‘youth work’ youth club, you need to be
clear about what you are trying to achieve and to what standard. Below is a list of quality
standards you might choose to use, along with some different ways of measuring them.
Quality Standard
Number of young people
attending (set a target)
The venue is warm, welllit and welcoming
How often the club is
open (set a target)
The young people enjoy
the club
Behaviour is of a good
standard
The club is safe
The programme is
varied and interesting
Staff have good
relationships with young
people
Good information and
advice is on offer
Young people learn and
achieve
Young people are
involved in decision
making
How to monitor and measure
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Signing-in sheet
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Observation
Young people’s views
Session sheets
Youth worker’s reports
Young people’s views
Observation
Signing in sheets (giving number attending)
Youth worker’s reports
Amount of damage / loss
Observation
Young people’s views
Number of accidents / incidents
Risk assessments in use
Observation
First aid / safeguarding / health and safety training
undertaken
Programme posters
Young people’s views
Discussion with staff member in charge
Young people’s views
Observation
Staff are trained
Observation that posters and leaflets are up to date
and easily accessible
Young people’s views
Session Sheets
Discussion with staff member in charge
Youth worker’s reports
Observation
Young people’s views
Number of local certificates given
Numbers of accredited certificates achieved
Number of young people who attend the
Management Committee
Discussion with staff member in charge
Young people’s views
Youth worker’s reports
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© Somerset Youth and Community Service 2014
Monitoring Visits
As you can see from the list of how to monitor your quality standards, it is good to
visit the club to see for yourself. Whilst you’re there, having an informal chat with
young people is often the best way to get their views and ideas about what the club
is like and how it can be improved.
At the end of this document is a visit monitoring sheet that you can use. Visiting once
a year is enough, but once a term is better, because the young people will get to
know you and you can show that you listen to their views by making any changes
needed.
Questionnaires
It is also good practice to ask young people’s views using questionnaires, as they
may not feel able to criticise their club in a conversation with someone they don’t
know well. Using an anonymous questionnaire can be a useful tool.
Also included at the end of this document is a ‘Your club, Your views’ questionnaire,
that can be given to young people to find out how they see their youth club. You can
use this questionnaire once a year to gauge young people’s views – twice a year is
better. Collating the responses into a short report for the Management Committee is
a good way of getting a large number of young people’s views across.
If you make changes as a result of the questionnaire, let the young people know. It
makes them feel listened to and so are more likely to tell you what you need to know.
Certificates
Also mentioned in the table above are local certificates – it’s good to give these to
young people at the completion of a project (such as training to be a senior member,
doing a chunk of fundraising, completing a dance project etc). It makes young people
feel they have really achieved something.
Also mentioned are accredited certificates. These are usually given out by awarding
bodies and involve an amount of paperwork and moderation.
Somerset Youth & Community Service provides ‘Endeavour Credits’, the simplest of
these accreditation methods. The Endeavour Credit has been redesigned to enable
local youth clubs to give the award simply and easily. Please contact Kirstie Brown at
Somerset Youth & Community Service on 01823 349853 for more information.
A year round quality assurance process
An important part of quality assurance is the meetings you have with your contracted
provider or staff member in charge where you find out what’s happening in their
view, but you also need to check it out for yourself!
© Somerset Youth and Community Service 2014
On top of these meetings, a good quality assurance process over a year may look
like this:
February
Monitoring visit to club and meeting with provider or staff to discuss
results
April
Management Committee Report (from staff member in charge) detailing:
 Number of young people attending and opening frequency
 Young people’s achievements (e.g. number of certificates)
 Programme update (including behaviour information)
 Information about damage
 Future plans
Also, feedback from monitoring visit.
June
Monitoring visit to club and meeting with provider or staff to discuss
results
August
Management Committee Report, written by the member of staff in
charge, as detailed in April. Also, feedback from monitoring visit.
October
‘Your Club, Your Views’ survey undertaken
November Supervision with staff member in charge
December AGM Management Committee Report, written by the member of staff in
charge, as detailed in April but with a year’s overview and the results of
the ‘Your Club, Your Views’ survey added.
Following the process outlined above will mean that you always know what is happening in
the youth club and, importantly, the quality of what is being delivered to young people.
© Somerset Youth and Community Service 2014
Youth Work Youth Club
Visit Monitoring Visit Sheet
Visit by:
Date & time visit made:
Length of visit:
Date report written:
1. Staffing – please enter the names of staff
2. Number of young people attending:
Male
Under 13
13-16
17-19
Over 19
Female
Under 13
13-19
17-19
Over 19
Black or Minority Ethnic young
people
Young people with a
disability
3. Quality of Environment
Tick a box and note the reasons for your judgement
Red
Questions to consider
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Does the club look
welcoming and friendly?
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Is it warm and well lit?
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Is it clean and tidy?
Amber
Notes
© Somerset Youth and Community Service 2014
Green
4. Accessibility and Health & Safety
Tick a box and note the reasons for your judgement
Red
Questions to consider
 Can young people with
disabilities use the club?
 Is there any damaged
equipment or fixtures
 Are risk assessments
being used?
 Has the club done a fire
drill in the last term?
 Do young people feel
safe?
Amber
Green
Notes
5. Equality and Diversity
Tick a box and note the reasons for your judgement
Red
Questions to consider
 Are all young people
treated fairly?
 Is there a bullying policy
and do young people
know about it?
 Are all different sorts of
young people encouraged
to use the club?
Amber
Green
Notes
6. Young People’s Participation
Tick a box and note the reasons for your judgement
Red
Questions to consider
 Do young people join in
the activities?
 Do young people help to
plan the programme?
 Do young people help
out? How?
 Are young people listened
to by staff?
 Is there a young people’s
management group?
Amber
Notes
© Somerset Youth and Community Service 2014
Green
7. Quality of advice and information available to young people
Tick a box and note the reasons for your judgement
Red
Amber
Green
Questions to consider
Notes
 Are posters and leaflets
up to date and well
displayed?
 Do young people know
what information and
advice is on offer?
 Do young people think the
staff are well informed and
easy to talk to?
 Do young people feel they
have learned anything
from attending youth club?
8. Quality of Delivery
Tick a box and note the reasons for your judgement
Red
Amber
Questions to consider
Notes
 Is the behaviour good?
 Are ground rules and
programmes clearly
displayed?
 What do young people
think of staff, the
programme and the youth
club overall?
 Do young people feel they
have achieved anything
from attending youth club?
Comments and suggestions for improvement:
© Somerset Youth and Community Service 2014
Green
1. What do you think of the activities on offer at youth club?
Why do you think this?
2. Circle three words that describe what you think of the staff…
3. What have you learnt at youth club?
4. Do your views get listened too?
How? Or why not?
© Somerset Youth and Community Service 2014
Yes
No
5. What do you think of the building?
How would you improve it?
6. Circle three words that say how you feel about youth club…
7. How safe do you feel at youth club? Circle the mark out of 10.
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
Not safe
8. What do you think of young people’s behaviour?
How can it be improved?
9. What ideas do you have for future things to do at Youth Club?
© Somerset Youth and Community Service 2014
Very Safe