Children And Youth Work Act 2001: Mission Statement Of Youth Reach

According to the department of Children and Youth Affairs youth work is defined as follows under the Youth Work Act 2001:
“A planned programme of education designed for the purpose of aiding and enhancing the personal and social development of young persons through their voluntary participation, and which is complementary to their formal, academic or vocational education and training; and provided primarily by voluntary youth work organisations.” (Youth Work Act, 2001)
Youth Reach has a mission statement which is clearly underpinned by the definition of youth work and strives to achieve similar goals. Their mission statement is as follows:
“To provide an educational programme that develops young people academically, personally and socially
‘Social mobility refers to the movement of people between different levels of the class structure from one occupational group to another’ (IPA, 1992 cited in McDonald, 2014, p107) Youth Reach is giving young people the opportunity and the power to change their lives. By enabling them to increase their educational attainment Youth Reach is giving the young people a chance to better their future. The young people are then in a position to complete any qualifications they may have missed, such as junior or leaving certificate, go on to further education such as Post-Leaving cert. courses, apprenticeships and eventually apply for jobs. ‘Our achievements or otherwise in the formal education system play a key role in determining our life chances thereafter. This is why equality or, more precisely, equality of opportunity is highly valued in education policy.’ (Considine and Dukelow, 2009, p287) ‘Conflict theorists argue that schools routinely tailor education according to students’ social background, thereby perpetuating social inequality.’ (Macionis and Plummer, 1998, p539) ‘Educational disadvantage is strongly related to poverty, as students from lower social class groups are more likely to be at a disadvantage in terms of participation and achievement in the education system.’(Kelleghan et al. 1995; NESF, 2002b, CPA, 2003 as cited in Considine et al, 2009,
Paul spoke with enthusiasm and passion. He strongly believed in the programme he was providing and the benefits it would have on the young people’s lives. The aim was clear, to enable the young people to develop academically, personally and socially (Curtis, 2015) and go into the world with skills needed to be a functioning member of society. The talk entirely changed my opinion of working with young people. I had ruled out working with youths as an area of interest in my career however now I can see the positive change youth work makes and the significance it has on a young person’s life. Youth reach is helping younger generations have a brighter and better future within our society rather than being pushed out to the