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This Directory of Youth and Community Work Courses in Ireland and some in the UK, is compiled on an annual basis.

This year’s Directory features new courses in the Social Care area.

Available as a PDF only.

 Available as a PDF download only

Guide aims to make the process of applying for EU funds more straightforward, so that NGOs can benefit from the extensive opportunities offered by the European Commission’s budget. It is split into two parts – Funding opportunities within the EU and Funding opportunities outside the EU.

Concise and abbreviated version of the Act & NDP for easy reference for youth workers and students. There are four sections to this guide – Summarised versions of the Youth Work Act and NDP; Notes on establishing Voluntary Youth Councils and Notes on designation of Local Voluntary Youth Work Organisations.

Book of stories on teenage life in Ireland. The book is a result of a partnership between Kids Own Publishing Partnership and youth workers from the National Youth Federation. The aim of the project was to involve young people in the process of book publishing from an initial idea to a finished published product.

Practical book aimed at a broad spread of staff who work with young people, including those with little or no formal knowledge of the subject. It provides guidance and straightforward advice on how to assess a young person’s particular risk to drug misuse and how to engage effectively with young people who are at risk or who are already abusing drugs or alcohol.

Research report looking at youth club practice in Ireland. The Report paper is structured in three parts – The historical background to youth club development; The research findings and Recommendations.

Resource pack designed to help those who are caught up in the impact of family breakdown. It includes three sets of guidelines for professionals, parents and young people.

Book covering the theoretical overview to practical possibilities of anti-racist work with young people. It includes 23 activities, ranging in duration from 10 minutes to a whole day, which can be used independently or as part of a planned programme. They focus to different degrees on questions of identity, ’difference’ and exclusion and racism. It also outlines practical case studies of anti-racist work in European countries; all share one central characteristic – the need for young people to be facilitated in developing their own coping strategies and their own versions of identity.

Guidelines specifically designed for youth workers be they staff or volunteers who use social networking tools e.g. websites, email, mobile phones either in a personal or professional capacity and may use them in the course of their work with young people. The aim of these guidelines is to ensure good practice and safe use of social networking tools particularly the appropriate interaction between a worker and young person when using these tools or sites for the safety of the young person, the worker and the local youth service.

Available as a PDF download only

The Art of Youth Work has become a standard text for both youth work practitioners and students. In its first edition it argued that youth work is centrally concerned with making relationships with young people, which support them in creating themselves and the values and meanings that shape their lives and guide their actions in the world.

Comprehensive practical set of guidelines on best practice and procedures as implemented by the statutory and voluntary sectors. It includes sections on Definitions, Recognition of an disclosure of abuse, Confidentiality recording procedures and Dealing with an accusation of abuse.

The new edition of this handbook has been updated and is divided into three parts covering – Fundraising principles / strategies; Sources of funding and Fundraising techniques. Illustrated with case studies throughout this guide provides a wealth of practical advice on every aspect of fundraising for charity.

Training resource resulting from a three-year collaboration between the 3 named agencies. Sections in the handbook include the arts & young people and planning an arts project. It also includes a practical set of appendices on responsibilities of youth workers and artists.

Handbook for those working outdoors with young people, especially youth leaders, teachers and instructors. It contains 95 successfully tried and tested activities and games which cover: Finding the way; Orienteering; Camp activities; Problem solving; Studying the environment; Canoe games; Planning and safety; Choosing accommodation, and more. The activities are designed to ensure that participants have fun while making active use of the outdoors and have been successfully used with a range of young people between the ages of 11-18.

Guidelines presenting a definition of bullying and looking at the management of bullying within the Irish youth service, including recognition, reporting procedures and confidentiality.

Revised document which was originally produced in 2004, this updated report endeavours to provide a framework for developing good practice in dealing with drug related issues on the ground. The appendices included provide additional source materials, legal information and contacts required to respond when faced with dealing with issues of drug use by young people.

Available as a PDF download only.

The reasons people commit suicide are extremely complex with roots in sociological, psychological, and mental and biochemical factors. As such all suicides are not preventable. This handbook looks at providing a greater understanding of the nature of suicide amongst young people

This book is about coping, surviving and thriving in order to work more effectively with young people. It is about dealing with the issues in youth work by using a range of techniques including planning and delivering high quality youth work, the management of yourself and others and working with other agencies. This book is based on workers’ experiences and their feelings about them. It aims to provide an insight to help the youth worker analysis any situation they are working in.

Handbook provides direct training materials for use either individually or with group training. It provides hints and tips in addition to individual and group exercises written around a whole range of themes and topics.

Handbook provides direct training materials for use either individually of with groups. The exercises are practical and are staged in difficulty from new entrants in the service to those who have been around for several years. Topics covered include Communications, Curriculum development training and Auditing youth work.

Handbook looks at ways of ensuring that youth work training for part-time and volunteer workers is appropriate and relevant and examines methods of designing courses, training opportunities and theme projects around the needs of the participant.

Unlike other valued books on detached youth work, this one has the important distinction of being written by a detached youth worker together with his partner. It is illustrated with case studies, photographs and posters involving young people with whom he has worked in the North East of England since 1989, this book brings to life the fun and enjoyment, challenges and difficulties that are involved in detached youth work everywhere.

Guide for anyone working with young people who wants to introduce some drama into their work! As a tool to engender discussion amongst groups, particularly young people, drama is great. It is the most dynamic and passionate means of teaching any subject to young people. Drama gives people help, training, self-confidence and self-belief and when combined with youth work it can lead to the full empowerment of groups through self-expression, self-confidence and self-belief.

Final research report arising from a seminar hosted by the IYWC, the first to provide an overview on ecstasy in an Irish context. It contains detailed background information on the development of ecstasy as a recreational drug an its onset into Ireland.

Book aimed at managers and workers – in statutory and voluntary sectors – in youth work, community work and play work. This comprehensive and practical guide to issues of employment has now been thoroughly updated to take account of: Changes in the delivery and organisation of youth, Community and play work; New ideas about best practice; The completely new trade union and individual employment rights legislation introduced since 1997.

Resource pack developed primarily for providers of learning programmes within the youth and community sector. This pack includes sections on Setting the scene; Getting to grips with the process and An assessment handbook.

Practical handbook about fundraising from the 375million individuals and thousands of companies, trusts and foundations in Europe. Packed with case studies, contact details and fiscal / legal information, this book will show how to successfully access these funds.

Comprehensive resource pack which offers practical ways to save time by including Fast Forward’s own training activities, policies, guidelines and procedures, developed over the years, for adaptation and use. It is aimed at anyone seeking to employ peer education for young people, peer research, peer support, peer counselling or peer mentoring & focuses on the practical steps involved in starting, developing, completing and reviewing peer education initiatives.

Book looks at drug taking from the perspective of young drug users. It is based on interviews with young people who have offended, been excluded from school or in public care. It makes connections between drug use and the experiences of social and emotional deprivation and shows how these life experiences can affect young people’s consumption of drugs, alcohol, and other substances.

Book uses stories to illustrate the roles of management committee members and covers issues such as conflict of interest, liability, being an employer, running meetings and complaints procedures. It also includes material such as a model agenda, data protection and equal opportunities policies. It is a really useful guide both for those setting up a management committee or those running or working with them. It includes useful policies and advice on areas of management.

Collection of 50 tried & tested exercises for group leaders, teachers and club workers.  It offers a selection of icebreakers, warm-up games and fun activities designed for groups of all ages.  Most of the activities require no special equipment and can be played with little preparation.

Resource outlines the development of Irish youth work from 1850 to 1985. Chapters include Social Education of Adolescents; Irish Youth Work – Early British Influences – Modern Developments and Irish Youth Work Policy Developments.

Series of 3 packs – The Healthy Me; The Fit Me and The Creative Me, each is designed to assist leaders generate programme discussion with groups of young people. Each pack includes background information to put the topic into context and has a number of sessions to generate discussion.

Policy drawn together by an ad hoc committee convened to formulate a policy on juvenile justice for the NYF. Report outlines key elements that should form part of juvenile justice legislation and offers suggestions on a focused strategic approach to youth crime prevention.

This book is aimed at all those volunteers and professionals who work with young people and need to understand the effective use of personal leadership. It introduces some of the more relevant leadership theories in a readable manner and provides ideas on putting them into use. It is factual, concise and easy to read, giving directions to areas or further study. The use of real commentary from young people enhances the read and draws attention to individual needs in a group environment.

Young people love magic, tricks and puzzles and this book contains a volume of information on how to use magic, tricks and puzzles as a means of working with young people in a developmental way. It is full of expert guidance on how youth leaders can successfully deliver exciting magic workshops. It is flexible, engaging material that can be used with any youth group to introduce a new and stimulating experience. No skill is required and all the activities are easy to do.

Good recruitment and selection skills are vital for any voluntary sector organisation seeking the support of a quality workforce and wishing to address equal opportunity needs. The book covers key management topics including – Drawing up job descriptions; Using consultants; Advertising posts; The interview process; Selection test and Dealing with unsuccessful candidates.

Resource manual that examines many of the key areas of management and looks at how these can be adapted and utilised within a youth work setting. It focuses on the issues, which are of major concern to those taking up a managing role for the first time and outlines the stages of progression in implementing a model.

Research paper argues that youth work, similar to other educational interventions, is not value free. The values which inform the work in any given situation influence the types of outcomes which are likely to be the result of the specific interventions. Topics covered include – A summary of the assumptions about society and An examination of the application of the theory to youth work.

Report is the outcome of the Moving On Project, based on the experiences of three training programmes with forty-four young mothers and it outlines the training elements of the programme.

Packed with a wide and diverse range of practical arts and crafts activities to use with young people, this book represents the best of the old and new. Most are activities that can be run without specialist training. It includes – Simple crafts alongside; Cooking and baking as a cultural activity; Eco-activities; Story telling; Carnival; Circus skills and much more. Each entry includes: How to do it, Advice on materials, Suppliers, and Commentary on important aspects such as space, time, safety, staffing, problems and pitfalls and how to avoid them.

A classic resource for training with young and old with over 200 practical activities and guidance on how to use them. The book encourages interaction between people to: have fun; develop positive relationships; learn literacy and numeracy skills; increase creativity and imagination; cope with tension and stressful situations; break down barriers and ease the getting-to-know new people process; identify problems and help find solutions and build trust.

Policy document which is the culmination of work done over a period of time by the NYF and its member youth services. The policy sets out strategically how to promote health lifestyles for young people by recognising the broad responsibilities of many people in society in dealing with the alcohol issue.

Following on from the NYF Equality Policy, this document represents the next phase in a continual process that the NYF has undertaken with its member youth services to demonstrate the active commitment to tackling racism and injustice in society.

Policy aims to promote equality of opportunity for staff, volunteers and young people within the NYF structure by ensuring that all employment, service provisions and other practices operate on the basis of the appropriate merits, qualifications, abilities and potential of individuals.

Policy framework developed to inform and guide NYF member youth services – although much of it is adaptable to the whole youth work sector. Chapters include – Youth Service Policy in Context; Quality Assurance; Essential Elements of Developmental Youth Work and Management.

Policy document which aims to define the rights of volunteers and the supports they can expect to receive during their time as volunteers with the NYF, and to promote the highest possible standards of practice in volunteer management.

Manual designed as a follow up to accompany Youth Work Ireland’s Volunteer Development Policy that was launched in 2003. The aim of the manual is to provide more in depth information regarding the development of volunteers and volunteering in youth organisations. Sections include Benefits of volunteering; Roles and responsibilities for volunteers; Involving young volunteers; Recruitment and selection; Volunteer management and development; Support and supervision; Training; Volunteer rights and responsibilities and Volunteer recognition.

Comprehensive policy document from the NYF that provides a thorough overview of the context of early school leavers and includes key policy statements on the issue; the marginalisation of early school leavers in the labour force and the impact of early school leaving in terms of their life chances.

Imaginative and practical guidebook, which provides positive safe and enriching outdoors experiences to young people of all ages. It provides a simple framework and numerous practical ideas and activities that will help to introduce environmental issues in ways that both satisfy young people’s curiosity and provide low risk alternatives in adventure-based programmes that can ease funding and staff requirement.

Manual provides practical guidance, information and a model for peer education sessions for those working with young people. It is divided into three sections – An Introduction to Peer Education; General Training of Peer Educators and Training around the issue of HIV/Aids

Informative manual which details the issues involved in setting up a performance appraisal system, and lists examples, tips and checklists to get started. The handbook format emphasises the key points about each topic and offers diagrams, self-addressed questions, checklists and examples. The material is simple and easy to apply to any situation

Resource deals with techniques, styles and background work involved in introducing training courses and sessions. Topics include training methodologies, organising of training events, presentation skills, learning resources and assessing effectiveness of a trainer.

Report considers how youth work is defined and explores the programmes and activities that contribute to youth work practice.

Book provides practical suggestions for youth workers and other professionals in developing one-to-one helping relationships with young people aged between 12 and 19. It focuses on the relationships, issues and problem areas of personal development. It emphasises values, responsible practice, beginnings and endings, and the active discouragement of dependency. It does not aim at the clinic or the couch but at staff and mentors who work with young people in cafes and clubs, showing how to arrest problems through early intervention.

This comprehensive text about outdoor education aimed at students, lecturers and practitioners, succeeds in providing a broad introduction to the field of outdoor education as well as providing in depth discussion around some of the current issues and themes. It will help clarify aims and encourage the pursuit of good practice as well as provide a detailed overview for those trainers, commissioners and funders with whom outdoor educators work in partnership.

Handbook brings together in one comprehensive volume the diversity, challenges and accomplishments of the youth work profession. It looks at three core areas – The Context of Practice, The Practice of Youth Work and Work with Young People. It breaks each section into thematic areas by bringing together contributions from a variety of youth and community workers.

In 2003 Youth Work Ireland developed a set of on Safe Internet Use for those working with young people entitled Safe Surfing. These guidelines focused on general safe use of the Internet and pre-dated the explosion in the use of social networking sites such as Bebo and Facebook. These updated Guidelines aim to provide an overview of social networking and how to respond to safety concerns, to outline what the primary social networking sites are and their own safety measures and tips and to look at responding to cyber-bullying.

Available as a PDF download only.

One of the roles of a youth worker is to ensure, to the best of their ability, that young people are using and enjoying the Internet in a safe and responsible manner. These guidelines represent in a small way an attempt to assist this process. The document attempts to document a range of successful and practical measures and advice which can be used by those working with young people in helping them to use the Internet in as safe a manner as is possible.

Report contains the results of research undertaken in late 1994 into assessing the specific needs of young people in Waterford. The report should be of use to anyone planning to undertake similar research into the needs of young people in Ireland.

Resource pack designed to encourage older youth club members to become more involved in the running of their own clubs. It is specifically designed to assist young people, youth workers and trainers to focus on the elements of participation and involvement.

Report looks at the practice of mentoring, advocacy, guidance, information and counselling for young people experiencing exclusion. It looks at the experience of seven YouthStart projects and the importance of linkages between the approaches that seek to either keep young people within the education system or enable their transition into employment.

Evaluation of the Suicide Prevention Pilot Project developed in a collaborative effort between the NYF, the National Suicide Review Group and the Suicide Resource Office of the SEHB. The report contains significant recommendations for the future delivery of suicide awareness and preventative training.

Manual developed as a result of a training programme aimed at supporting workers and young people to become key agents of change by supporting peer-led approaches to drug issues in local communities. It is designed to provide support to those interested in developing peer-led drug education initiatives with young people.

Comprehensive and user-friendly manual on supervision in the youth work / community development field. The first of its kind, it was developed by the National Youth Federation as the lead partner in the EU Leonardo Da Vinci New Models Project that explored the value of supervision for practitioners.

Research based resource, which addresses the important questions of why some young women become pregnant and why some are more likely to become pregnant than others.

One of the most comprehensive and detailed studies undertaken on Irish young people and their experiences and responses to violence and abuse. It reveals surprising and shocking data and looks at unsafe / safe sex, the issue of consent, pornography and rape.

This book offers group work approaches to work with young people who are at risk, for any reason, of being in contact with the juvenile justice system, coming before the courts, or being received into care. It strives, above all, to encourage the development of a supportive and questioning atmosphere – one in which workers as much as young people can be challenged and both worker and young people can challenge themselves too.

Resource developed in response to requests from staff and volunteers of Youth Work Ireland who wanted to do more art-based activities with young people. Resource draws together a range of arts and craft activities that anyone can attempt with a group without necessarily requiring any prior experience.

Book begins from the premise that young people give up offending and other anti-social behaviour when they become aware of the consequences of their behaviour, commit themselves to a better future and receive support and guidance to act on that commitment. The process of change for young people is a process of maturity. This handbook covers topics from policy and management level, through to individual interactions with young people. There are some basic methods and tools suggested, exercises that could be used and questions that can be helpful.

Resource manual aimed at encouraging users to think about the role of the trainer and to extend awareness in the importance of identifying future training needs. It focuses on the function of training and assisting youth work trainers to examine their responses to a variety of training issues.

Newly revised and update this is an essential practical guide for anyone wishing to organise a local fundraising event. It offers a wealth of information on all aspects of putting on a successful event including choosing the event; deciding where and when it should take place; attracting the right audience; safety issues and detailed plans for 26 money-spinning ideas that really work.

Comprehensive training handbook aimed at youth workers and trainers to provide them with the resources to deliver a FETAC level 2 Understanding Youth Work module of training. The handbook provides all the materials required to run training sessions based on the module descriptor.

This book sets out practical examples of work from around the UK and provides best practice models for working with men who display difficult or aggressive behaviour. In particular, the projects focus on why it is at least as important to deal with these offenders as men, as it is to deal with these men as offenders. Includes descriptions of work with male spouse abusers; sex offenders; motor projects; violent men; developing parenting skills, and intensive probation work.

This collection of over 200 games and activities explains equipment, aims and rules of the games; and offers advice on how successful each activity is likely to be with different ages and ability groups, and potential pitfalls. It includes table games, board games, outdoor sequences and relationship games. It is delightfully illustrated and contains easy-to-follow instructions.

Research based publication, which looks at the increasingly prevalent problem of bullying. Topics covered include the theoretical background to bullying; the practical background; responding to bullying behaviour and models of good practice.

Research based publication, which looks at the dramatic increase in suicide and attempted suicide by young people, particularly young men. Chapters cover trends in youth suicide; Para suicide in adolescence; causes of suicide and the role of the youth worker.

Thoughtful and well-illustrated book with original and diverse activities that young people can be directly involved in. It incorporates a unique and highly diverse range of examples and case studies including – conservation, reclamation projects, games and activities, art, drama and animation work.

Youth work can include buildings-based generic work in communities and short-term projects targeted on disaffected young people. Sometimes both operate together. Sometimes one is promoted at the expense of the other. This book documents the history of club work and explains why it is so valuable. It sets out a powerful case for preserving and developing it and offers guidance on managing and working in clubs to help achieve such objectives, especially those expressed by young people.

Training manual aimed at youth information workers to provide them with the resources to deliver a FETAC Level 2 Youth Information Skills Module. The handbook is divided into three sections – Introduction; All the materials needed to run training sessions and Information on the FETAC Level 2 Award.

Unique step-by-step guide containing seven modules designed for volunteers and staff who wish to use multi media approaches with socially excluded young people in developing skills around communication, teamwork, social skills, self-esteem, enterprise and I.T. It incorporates traditional youth work methods with computers to create a learning and fun environment for young people.

The context for this book is the ever-widening gap between youth work theory and youth work practice, in which practice continues to be ever more informed and delivered according to a curriculum, and yet the dominant philosophy of informal education continues to claim curriculum is anathema to it. This book sets out to solve this dilemma by formulating a viable theoretical base for curriculum in youth work. It analyses curriculum theory from the formal educational sector, and assesses its suitability for a youth work curriculum.