Mark over at The Grove Is On Fire posted about this article on the Guardian website.

It’s a thoughtful post from a school physics teacher about religious students in his classroom struggling to reconcile science and faith – what they see as contradictory approaches to understanding the world. He concludes:

I can’t help but feel that a proper science education should equip young people to arrive at their own decisions about what to believe, and ensure that if they do conclude there is a god, it is a god who doesn’t stop them from fully appreciating the truth and beauty of scientific knowledge.

I find that I can’t help agreeing with him! It’s a great read so go take a look.

Image Credit: Advanced Theoretical Physics by Marvin (PA) on Flickr

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So the Positive Images Award winners have been announced. It seems a while ago now that I spent an intense day in London helping to sift through the masses of brilliant entries to pick winners for each category.

Now in their fifth year, the Positive Images Awards shine a spotlight on the great work youth groups and individuals do within their communities to promote young people in a fair and balanced way. They recognise the contributions of media organisations that look beyond the stereotype of young people as “yobs” and “louts” and report on the many positive things they do.

In many of the categories, it was a really hard job to pick a winner as the standard was excellent. The full list of winners can be found here (including examples of their work) and here, including some great quotes from the judges!

Talking of quotes, I got a very brief mention in the Guardian Society Daily news digest on Monday. From the article:

We’ve picked up a 2010 Positive Images gong for a special issue of Society Guardian in April 2009 which we handed over to a panel of teenagers to commission write and edit. You can see the excellent results of their work here.

The supplement covered issues ranged from teenage pregnancy, stereoptyping of young people as hoodies, gun crime and an interview with the then children’s secretary Ed Balls.

According to awards judge Jon Jolly, a youth worker at Arun Community Church in West Sussex:

“The youth special was an excellent example of how young people can provide insightful and engaging ideas when given the chance. It also helped to counter the image that young people are troublemakers and show they are a force for good.”

So there you go! Have a look at what others are doing to promote young people, get inspired, and enter next year!

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The following is a short article I wrote that was published in Youth Work Now Magazine (A supplement of Children & Young People Now) last week. In addition to the print copy, it can be found online here.

Good riddance to ContactPoint
The coalition government plans to scrap the controversial ContactPoint database that holds the personal details of all 11 million children and young people in England, and personally, I’m quite relieved.
ContactPoint had been stumbling forwards for the past few years despite numerous concerns. It was originally proposed as a way to improve safeguarding after the tragic murder of Victoria Climbie in 2000 and, in theory, makes a lot of sense as there are undoubtedly some great benefits from having one central system. Workers can quickly look up a young person’s contact details or find out what other services are working with them.

But there are also some inherent problems in storing this kind of personal data. The Daily Telegraph reported in January that there had been at least four serious security breaches of ContactPoint before it had even been nationally available to practitioners.

Last year, The Joseph Rowntree Reform Trust published a report on the state of UK databases. It found that a quarter of all major public sector databases are fundamentally flawed, including ContactPoint, which it issued with a “red warning” for its privacy concerns, inadequate security and the legal issues with maintaining sensitive data with no effective opt-out.

The report also found that this kind of data sharing across agencies can be a barrier to more socially responsible activities. For example, it can deter teenagers from accessing health advice for fear of the request being recorded and tracked.

This view of data sharing was also reinforced in a conversation I had with one youth work professional who admitted actively dissuading his own children from giving personal information to statutory youth workers. He felt that workers accessing information on a database was akin to “googling” the young person’s name – it gives them access to extra, perhaps invasive information. I believe he has a point.

Generic youth work is based on the voluntary principle: that a young person is free to choose to engage with a worker or activity. This empowers young people and they are able to provide as much information about themselves as they wish. A level of trust has to be built. However, if a worker is able to look up that young person’s address and see what other agencies have an involvement, it destroys that trust.

Of course, we all need to monitor our work and will often have to write up reports and record information, but there should be a balance between that necessity and the wishes of the young people on what information we hold on them. ContactPoint did not give them any choice.

Working together for the benefit of children and young people is vitally important and may well save lives. Perhaps now we can find better ways to do this that aren’t so invasive or that run counter to good youth work practice.

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On Tuesday I gave a short presentation at Link Up, an event organised by the YES team of Chichester Diocese for those churches working with young people.

My brief was to talk about engaging with young people outside of the church environment – something I’ve done quite a lot of in my work. As I had very limited time, I outlined some key points before taking a Q & A session – and they didn’t go easy on me! Below are the four things I mentioned:

What are the key things for churches to consider when looking to do youth work in their communities?

1. Have a clear rationale
   It is really important to understand why you are doing youth work and what its purpose is. “Because we thought it was a good idea” isn’t a good enough reason! There are two main reasons that Christians run youth activities, and they often blur into each other; to tell young people about Jesus (Evangelism), or to do something of benefit for the wider community (Social Action).
   Both of these reasons are perfectly valid and rooted in scripture, but will probably require a different approach. For more detail on rationale for Christian youth work, check out this article. Once you are clear on why you’re doing it, it’s important to communicate this to your church, volunteers and the young people so that everyone is aware of what they are coming to. If it’s evangelistic then be up front about that. There are too many examples of churches putting on a free social event for young people, then once they’re in making them sit through a gospel presentation! Is that really an honest approach?
2. Research
   Find out what else is going on in your area and then do something different! Be unique, creative and distinctive. If there are two youth clubs that play pool and table tennis, then offer movie nights or badminton! Also, run on a different night to the other activities. Rather than set yourself up in competition with other youth clubs, allow young people to attend more than one! That way you can promote and endorse other activities that run on different nights and give them more choice.
3. Build relationships with young people
   Putting on events and activities may initially attract young people, but if you want to keep them coming along then you need to get to know their names! Youth work is built on the idea that young people can choose to attend (or not). They are far more likely to continue coming if they have a good relationship with the workers, so spend time chatting and getting to know then as individuals.
4. Build partnerships with other agencies
   Go to all the boring meetings, they are often the best places to find useful information and network with others and they often bring opportunities for funding too. Go to the council meetings, youth service events, local strategic partnerships, etc. In addition, get to know the shop keepers, local councillors, youth workers and key people in your community. Find out what others think and what they are doing. I find many professionals are naturally suspicious of a church’s agenda, so be willing to listen and learn rather than promote your own activity.

There were plenty more things that I could have talked about. What would you add to this list?

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Lars Rood has been writing some very honest topics about on his blog recently.

Has latest is ‘Why working at a church can be lame‘. As someone who is currently employed by a church, I found it pretty interesting! I must point out at this stage that I do love my job. It is good to be critically reflective though and stay aware of the potential issues.

There are some cultural differences between the States and the UK in how churches operate, but some things are universal. He calls out the fact that often people aren’t qualified for the roles they hold, that churches always need money, and that we are always expected to be “nice” even when people are way out of order:

The unfortunate thing here is that when we do stand up for ourselves or say what we think we often get criticized for that because that’s not the “christian” way. It’s a really fine line and many haven’t learned to walk it very well.

Click through to read the full article and be sure to check out the comments too!

Image Credit: Church Sign – Nanoose, British Columbia from alannavanisle’s photostream

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Following on from my previous post about the Tinkering School and how creating meaningful experiences for children allows better learning, is this article about the Kolle 37 playpark in Berlin, Germany.

Here at the playground the children have the opportunity to build their own huts, make fire, work in the garden, watch and work with animals or just play. There are different projects in which the children can develop their creativity. They also learn about the work with different materials and tools, for this purpose the playground provides a pottery, a workshop for wood and felt, a smith and a rehearsal room to play music.

The tower in the picture above (and about 10 others) was built solely by children aged from six through to sixteen!

Parents technically aren’t allowed in the building area and the staff only checks in on the kids intermittently. So how is it so safe? Well, there are numerous studies that point to the tendency for children to adjust their actions given the relative danger of a situation. If the perceived risk is high, children will naturally be more careful or wary of their actions and movements.

The rationale for this type of free play is documented here, here and here (thanks again to the Public Workshop article).

This amazing approach to play brings into stark contrast a letter written to our local paper this week, complaining about the recent extension to the children’s play park on the beach:

From around 6pm each day, groups of youths aged between 16 and 20 muck about, deliberately attempting to break the equipment. This is the sole object of their play…
In London, where such items of play equipment have been installed, proper management of the site, with high fences, a man patrolling, careful division of age groups, etc., ensures no one is hurt or intimidated or vandalises the equipment.

This kind of attitude really frustrates me. We use that park regularly, and while there are a number of teens there in the evenings, they’re generally pretty respectful. But then, there’s no other play provision for them nearby so I’m not surprised they want to go on the zip wire.

I would love to see more spaces like Kolle 37 developed here in the UK. The only similar idea I know of is Somerford Grove adventure Playground, Haringley, London, which was featured in Channel 4′s Secret Millionaire in 2009. Let me know if you’re aware of any more.

What is your experience of play areas for children? Do they learn more through higher risk experiences? Leave me a comment below!

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We recently received confirmation that we have been successful in our funding application to Children In Need. The high-profile charity has agreed to support our Launch Pad breakfast club with around £8,000 a-year for three years, to help us continue to provide this vital service.

Launch Pad is a FREE Breakfast Club that runs before school every day during term-time. Children who attend get a healthy nutritious breakfast that includes cereals, toast, yoghurts and fresh fruit, plus opportunities for games or craft sessions before cleaning their teeth and joining the Walking Bus to school.

The service takes up to 30 children on a referral basis from schools, social services and other professional agencies, but also from parents, families and friends. There are many reasons why children are invited to attend Launch Pad. These can range from problems with getting to school, to challenging family circumstances.

In addition to the Children In Need grant, a private donation from within the church has committed to providing the remaining money for the next academic year – for which we are extremely grateful!

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These are my youth work, youth ministry, childrens ministry and schools work links for 5th June to 29th June. For more related links, check out my links page

• Youth & Policy Journal – Youth and Policy Journal was founded in 1982 to offer a critical space for the discussion of youth policy and youth work theory and practice.
• Family Ministry – If you are involved in the evangelism, discipleship or teaching of parents, children, teens or all ages together in church then we invite you to join our community to share experiences, discover resources and become better equipped to grow the Kingdom.
• Outcomes Star – The Outcomes Star™ is a unique tool for supporting and measuring change when working with vulnerable people.
• Welcome to Slant33 – .slant33 is designed to help challenge, inspire and equip youth workers through thoughtful dialogue and varied expression from youth ministry’s leading thinkers and doers.
• ‘Best of the Best’ Roundtable: Experts Pick the Top Methods and Resources for Youth Ministry | YouthWorker.com – There are zillions of activities, games, curricula, resources and methods youth workers can use; but which are really the best? To find out, we asked nine youth ministry veterans to pick their "Best of the Best."

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A number of interesting events have hit the radar recently for Christian youth and schools workers in the UK. Click the links for more info on each one and maybe I’ll see you at one of them?

Schoolswork.co.uk Imagine Event

For Christians who visit and work in schools, this will be a unique opportunity to meet with others involved in schools work around the UK, resourced with new ideas and commissioned to go out and make a difference in the lives of thousands of children and young people throughout 2010 – 2011

When: Friday 10th September 2010, 10am-4pm
Where: Oasis Academy, Enfield
Click here for more info and to book.

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Youth Work Summit

A new 1-day event for this year hosted by Youthwork Magazine. Not many other details available yet.

When: Saturday 23rd October 2010
Where: St Mary’s, Bryanston Square, London
Click here to sign up for more info.

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Youthwork The Conference

The annual 3-day Youthwork conference, now run by Spring Harvest

When: Friday 19th – Sunday 21st November 2010
Where: Congress Theatre, Eastbourne
Click here for more info.

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SWAP Conference

SWAP is the annual National Schools Work Conference hosted by the Pais Project.

When: Tuesday 22nd – Thursday 24th February 2011.
Where: Life Church, Burnley
Click here for more info.

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Part of my role for the church here is to develop our partnerships with local schools and I often go in to primary and secondary schools to take assemblies or lessons around particular themes. We have also recently been running a Youth Alpha course at the local Academy (where our church meets on Sunday mornings).

Yesterday, I attended a symposium on the future of Christian schools work at the House of Commons. There were about 60 people there from various schools, churches, and christian agencies, and it was supported by a number of MP’s.

The morning was hosted by schoolswork.co.uk and Chapel St, a change and regeneration agency working with communities. The purpose of the meeting was to look at the wider role of spirituality in education and discuss the opportunities for Christians in engaging with this.

There were keynotes from Chris Curtis (of LCET), Jessica Lee MP for Erewash, and Geraldine Davies (Head of the School of Education at St Mary’s University College, Twickenham). All of these prompted many questions and much dialogue was generated. It is hoped the discussions will start to form some sort of national agenda for spirituality.

Personally, I found it a really interesting event and I picked up on a couple of key points; the need to start a debate with government on a definition and context for spirituality in schools, and the idea of building a strong rationale or framework for Christians working in schools to strengthen what they offer the curriculum.

I could say a lot more on the subject, but I’m keen to see what develops from the event.

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