I noticed a brief article on the Youth Work Now website about the National Council for Voluntary Youth Services (NCVYS) looking to develop an accreditation system for voluntary youth workers.
Under the system volunteer youth workers would take part in training to develop skills, with successful candidates getting a certificate or card to show they are a recognised volunteer youth worker.
Although the details are pretty sketchy at this point, I ...
Well I have kissed a girl, but that's not what I'm talking about! Jonathan over at thesource4ym has flagged up a new song by female singer Katy Perry called "I Kissed A Girl".
This song isn't so much about homosexual activity as it is just "doing what feels good at the moment." Just like current hit songs "Lollipop" or "Love in the Club," this song preaches, "follow your gut in the moment." Another misleading message for our kids.
The tune is ...
Last weekend I was at a church youth camp where I was running a seminar. During the worship service, the tech guys were putting up video clips on the screen behind the words as a visual aid to worship.
If you've ever been to events like Soul Survivor then you'll have seen this kind of thing before. As we sung together, we saw random images of skateboarders, rasied hands, breakdancing, etc. Then suddenly during one quiet, reflective song, Mr Bean ...
My friends over at Pure Creative Arts have got themselves a great article in the Times Educational Supplement.
I met Tamsin and her team when working at Spring Harvest a few years ago and was really impressed with their creative approach to tackling issues of worth and self-esteem in young people through schools work in the Liverpool ...
As a part-time Mobile DJ, tagging and organising my music library is very important to me. I've previously spent hours changing incorrect track information and I currently have around 12,000 songs in my iTunes library. Playlists are essential to manage all the songs and I rely on Smart Playlists to filter genre, new songs, decades, etc. In the same way, giving a rating to each song is also vital so I can easily filter your Arcade Fire from your ...
Recently I've been getting a few opportunities to write about my experience of working with young people. After writing an opinion piece for Youth Work Now back in January, I've been asked to write another one for the June edition. I'm focusing on the Government MyPlace investment into youth facilities.
In addition, as part of my involvement with The Rank Foundation I will be writing a chapter for an upcoming publication on the Foundation's approach ...
Last week at our 11-14's group Ignite, we had an Arty Evening where we did a number of creative activities for the 50 young people who came. One of those activities was doing chalk drawings outside which the kids thoroughly enjoyed. By using a huge stack of playground chalks, we managed to cover the car park in colourful pictures and slogans (without any swearing). Some of the girls even drew chalk outlines like dead bodies around my car with the ...
I'm loving the satirical news posted over at NewsBiscuit and this particular article caught my eye!
‘Supply vicars’ unable to control unruly congregation
Rural parishes unable to find permanent members of the clergy have been forced to bring in supply vicars whose inexperience and lack of authority has made them vulnerable to ...
I found this great cartoon on someecards.com that sums up my part-time business: puredisco. ;)
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This is quite a physical game that requires some contact but is a lot of fun.
Numbers: groups of around 6 or over. Works best with around 20
Suitable for: older children and teens (8-18's) although many adults enjoy this too!
Preparation time: none
Venue: suitable for a small hall or area
Safety First: this game involves people knocking into each other, so has a slight risk of injury (although we've never had a problem). If you have ...
