Undergraduate

Leading work with young people in practice

On this page

• What you will study
• Entry
• If you have a disability or additional requirement
• Study materials
• Teaching and assessment
• Professional recognition
• Students also studied
• Future availability

This course develops the practical and analytical skills needed to lead and manage work with young people. It’s the second work-based learning module within the Foundation Degree and Diploma of Higher Education in Working with Young People and the BA (Hons) Youth Work. It draws on the knowledge developed in Leading work with young people (E132) and the practice developed in Introduction to working with young people in practice (E118). You must meet the minimum requirement of five hours face-to-face contact with young people per week in an appropriate setting; undertake work in an additional work-based learning setting; and obtain your organisation’s permission to do work-based learning.

Course facts

Register for the course

This course is available for study in the countries shown. Fees and financial support may vary by country.

What you will study

Through the printed Study Guide and supporting resources such as the Working With Young People (WWYP) and course websites, you’ll be developing the skills and understanding needed to lead work effectively with young people. The course explores how you can use your practical experiences and the knowledge you have gained from previous study to understand and analyse your current practice better and develop it further. You’ll be encouraged to take a critical reflective approach towards your work and your continuing professional development.

The course focuses on developing effective leadership and management practices in working with young people. It will:

• enable you to integrate concepts and ideas of leading work with young people into your own practice
• help you to develop your critical understanding of anti-oppressive practices into your work and take a pro-active approach to your work in this area
• assist you in developing and applying skills and approaches to lead work with young people in a range of contexts
• assist you in developing as a critical reflective practitioner
• support you in reflecting on and planning for your further professional development.

Day school

You’ll also attend a compulsory face-to-face Day School which provides an opportunity for experiential learning on aspects of leading and managing work with young people. There will be an alternative learning experience (ALE) if you are unable to attend, perhaps because of mobility problems, or geographical location. This alternative takes place online. If you are unable to attend either the Day School or take part in the ALE you will not be able to pass the course.

You will learn

You’ll use examples from your own practical work with leading and managing work with young people, plan and undertake a project and undertake an additional work-based learning experience in another setting from your regular work-place setting. You’ll be encouraged to become a more critical reflective practitioner. You’ll also learn how to compare and contrast different practices of leading work with young people and present evidence of your professional competence for assessment. You’ll develop your online communication skills to support your own learning.

Vocational relevance

This course is a compulsory module in our Foundation Degree and Diploma of Higher Education in Working with Young People and in our BA (Hons) Youth Work. This course is for you if you are a practitioner currently working with young people to support their informal learning. The course defines ‘work with young people’ as professional interventions where participation is voluntary and the aims are to do with informal education. Such work can be within a voluntary or a statutory setting, but students must be attached to a suitable organisation (see Entry below).

For example, you might be involved in:

• running a youth club or centre
• outreach or detached work with young people
• working in a community-based group that works with young people on social and personal development
• advising young people on health or careers
• supporting the informal learning of young people be that outside or within a formal education setting such as a school or college
• working with a group of Scouts or Guides.

Entry

Before starting this course you are strongly advised to study these courses in the following order:

• Introduction to working with young people (E131) (or the supported APEL version EZL131) 
• Introduction to working with young people in practice (E118)
• Leading work with young people (E132) (or the supported APEL version EZL132). 

The study materials from this course refer back to aspects of the study materials from Leading work with young people (E132).

As this is a course leading to a professional validation, you need to meet the requirements set out by the National Youth Agency and equivalent bodies in Wales, Scotland, Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland. These requirements state that you need to be in direct practice with young people for a total of 270 hours (paid or unpaid) over the foundation degree and for a total of 444 hours if you go on to complete the honours degree.

You will have completed 135 of these hours at Level 1 and you need to complete a further 135 hours on this course at Level 2. This means working at least 5 hours a week in direct work with young people and an additional 3 hours per week planning and evaluating your work with young people. Additionally, for the professional qualification, you will need to demonstrate that you have practised in two workplaces, with at least 90 hours at Level 2 being in the second setting. These 90 hours will be counted as part of your Level 2 total of 135. You can meet this requirement in a range of ways – either by moving work setting completely, by working in two settings simultaneously or by moving for a short period to an alternative setting.

If you do not have the same contact time with young people each week, this figure can be treated as an average. However, the contact must be on a regular rather than a sporadic basis i.e. 135 hours over the duration of the course, but a minimum of 17 hours each month.

You will also need to:

• be working within an organisation in a suitable setting
• have support from your employer for your participation in the course (see ‘Support from your workplace’ below)
• have successfully passed through recruitment and induction processes within your organisation
• have successfully completed all appropriate vetting procedures for the country in which you are working (e.g. Criminal Records Bureau (CRB) check in England). It is the responsibility of you and your employer to ensure you meet these requirements, and not that of the OU. You should contact the relevant agency that deals with criminal records disclosure in your country for more information if you are in doubt about your eligibility, or to find out more
• have access to, or be able to obtain access to, the types of work required by the course. This work must enable you to develop leadership and management skills, undertake a new and innovative piece of  work, develop a project and work in an alternative setting from your regular practice
• for each of your regular work and alternative work-based learning experience you must secure a person, or persons to take on the roles of: confirming that your evidence is authentic; observing your practice on one occasion; and providing supportive professional supervision. Your observer/supervisor should be professionally qualified (Joint Negotiating Committee (JNC) or equivalent) and have at least two years’ post-qualifying experience.

Further details of the requirements for studying E218 are contained in the Work-based Learning (WBL) Handbook available in electronic format on the WWYP website for existing students, or alternatively from the Qualification team on (01908) 653275. You will receive a printed copy of the WBL Handbook in the first mailing of study materials.

If you are unsure whether your current practical work with young people meets the requirements, then please contact our Student Registration & Enquiry Service.

Outside the UK

The course is only available in England, Northern Ireland, Scotland, Wales, the Channel Islands, the Isle of Man, the Republic of Ireland and British Forces Post Office (BFPO) addresses outside the UK.

Preparatory work

This course will assume you have knowledge of working with young people that is equivalent to successful study of the three courses Introduction to working with young people (E131) (or the supported APEL version EZL131), Introduction to working with young people in practice (E118) and Leading work with young people (E132) (or the supported APEL version EZL132) or equivalent recognised study.

Before you start this course, you may find it helpful to collect together your E118 and E132 assignments and your work on significant activities which may be contained in your E118 learning journal and E132 notebook.

If you have not studied E132 for this qualification but have gained entry through showing equivalent learning, then you will need to familiarise yourself with the E132 materials. Specific extracts from the E132 materials are referred to throughout this course. If you have bypassed E132 and begin your studies with this course you will be required to purchase the E132 materials in pack format. Details of how to do this will be in the first mailing of materials for this course.

In addition, it would be helpful to ensure that you are confident using the internet and basic office applications such as word processing.

If you have a disability or additional requirement

You will need to make use of a personal computer and the internet. The study materials are available in Adobe Portable Document Format (PDF). This includes the Study Guide materials which will be available on the course website. The Study Guide is readable with screen readers and in a form such that where tables within text are produced they can be enlarged. Some of the other Adobe PDF components may not be available or fully accessible. The printed materials are available in a loose-leafed page format. Other alternative formats of the study materials may be available in the future. Our Services for disabled students website has the latest information about availability.

If you are a new student, or new to courses using a computer or the internet, you will need to inform us of your particular needs as soon as possible, as some of our support services may take several weeks to arrange. Details of how to do this and our range of support services are described in our publication Meeting Your Needs.

You can also find information about accessible study materials, financial support and the Disabled Students' Allowance, equipment and other services, on our Services for disabled students website. It also includes our contact details for advice and support both before you register and while you are studying.

Study materials

What's included

A printed study guide, printed supplementary materials, website and a set of electronic course resources.

You will need

This course makes extensive use of the study materials from Leading work with young people (E132). You will therefore also have to purchase or borrow the E132 course Study Guides and Reader.

Computing requirements

This course includes online computer activities – you can access these using a web browser that can play Flash and Shockwave.

You will need internet access and a computer. If you have purchased a new computer since 2005 it should meet your course computing requirements. Check our Technical Requirements section if your computer is older than this or is otherwise unusual.

Teaching and assessment

Support from your tutor

You will be allocated to a tutor who will give you advice and guidance on the study materials and will mark and comment on your written work. Your tutor is particularly concerned with helping you with your study methods and providing feedback on your assignments. You will be expected to communicate with your tutor and may have the opportunity to meet him/her at a number of face-to-face tutorials that you are strongly recommended to attend where they are available. Where tutorials are held, and whether they are face to face or delivered over the phone or electronically, depends on the distribution of students taking each course. 

You will also be able to gain support from other students on the course through the moderated online forums. You will have a tutor-group forum, moderated by your own tutor and a national student forum. There will also be a forum on professional issues where you can seek professional advice and discuss general issues relevant to the sector. In addition, the WWYP website will give you the opportunity to benefit from updates about changes to relevant policy and/or the requirements for the different qualifications in working with young people and youth work.

Contact our Student Registration & Enquiry Service if you want to know more about study with The Open University before you register.

Support from your workplace

Since this course is a work-based learning course, you will need the support of your regular workplace and from the organisation where you intend to undertake your additional work-based learning experience. In particular you will need:

• permission to use your work activities as part of the course
• a JNC qualified (or equivalent) person to act as a supervisor to help you reflect on your work-based learning: one person for your regular and one person for your additional work based learning setting
• a JNC qualified (or equivalent) person who can undertake one observation of your face-to-face work in leading work with young people
• an appropriate person who can confirm that the evidence that you select from your workplace activities exists and relates to your work.

Details of just what these roles are and an explanation of appropriate qualifications and experience are contained in our Work-based Learning Handbook (WBL). You may find that one person within your regular workplace and another person within your additional work-based learning setting is able to take on all of these roles, simplifying your support network. Alternatively, if you are not able to find an appropriate person from within your own workplace to take on one or more of these roles, then you are encouraged to find an alternative from another organisation. Further guidance is available in the WBL Handbook and a list of employers who may be able to help you will be available on the WWYP website (contact the Qualifications team on (01908) 653275 for further information if required).

It is important to check with your employer that this support is available in principle before you register.

Assessment

The assessment details for this course can be found in the facts box above.

You must submit your tutor-marked assignments (TMAs) on paper.

It is also a requirement that you attend either a face-to-face day school or take part in the online alternative learning experience instead. You will not be able to pass the course without satisfying this requirement.

As part of your assignments, you will also be required to identify evidence from your practice to back up your reflections on your practice. You will be shown how to use evidence effectively and efficiently, avoiding excessive evidence gathering.

Professional recognition

It is important to note that, from September 2010, there have been national changes in the requirements for professional youth worker qualifications.  Students beginning their OU studies from September 2010 need to complete the BA (Honours) Youth Work (B55) degree to achieve a professional youth work qualification. This honours degree is validated and endorsed as a professional youth work qualification in England, Wales, Scotland, Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland.

For students beginning their foundation degree studies before September 2010 (for example, if you studied and completed E131 before September 2010) the Foundation Degree in Working with Young People (G03) is recognised as a professional youth work qualification in England, Wales and Northern Ireland i.e. students beginning their studies before August 2010 can achieve professional qualification at foundation degree level. 

The Foundation Degree in Working with Young People has been sector-endorsed by the Children’s Workforce Development Council.

Students also studied

Students who studied this course also studied at some time:

• Leading work with young people (E132)
• Introduction to working with young people in practice (E118)
• Introduction to working with young people (E131)
• Youth: perspectives and practice (KE308)
• Leading work with young people: supported APEL route (EZL132)

Future availability

The details given here are for the course that starts in October 2012. We expect it to be available once a year.

Fees 2012

See fees and funding options for study from September 2012.

Study explained

Financial support

- find out if you qualify for support with your fees with our eligibility checker.

Study explained

- all you need to know about distance learning with the OU.

Student Reviews

This was the first presentation of this course and one of the last courses in my Foundation Degree in Working ...
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This is a really useful review because as a student it is sometimes difficult to keep going but this shows ...
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