Terms of reference

The Youth Work Strategy Implementation Board (‘Implementation Board’) was established in September 2022 and is set up to build on the work of the Interim Youth Work Board which published its final report ‘Achieving a sustainable delivery model for youth work services in Wales’, on 16 September 2021. The report contains 14 recommendations. These recommendations are wide-reaching and will require further consideration to identify appropriate actions and resources for delivery.

The Implementation Board will be expected to work with young people, the youth work sector and the Welsh Government to explore the recommendations further and start working towards implementation of those recommendations.

Read the Minister for Education and Welsh Language’s written statement on the recommendations.

Implementation Board members will work in accordance with the Nolan’s ‘Seven Principles of Public Life’ (GOV.UK).

The Implementation Board’s remit will include:

• Working with the Youth Work Young Persons Committee to identify how the young person’s voice can best be heard and acted on, through both the Board’s work and any potential new Body’s work.
• Consider and take action to ensure stakeholders can feed into the work of the Implementation Board, which should include all key strategic organisations within the youth work sector.
• Take into account the outcome of any review into the funding of youth work, including a consideration of what impact that may have on the recommendations made by the Interim Youth Work Board.
• Consider the impact of any proposed changes to legislation as a means of strengthening and sustaining youth work in Wales, particularly in terms of definitions of youth work, youth support worker and youth worker.
• Advise on further research or information needed to strengthen the evidence base for youth work and to steer the work of the Implementation Board and any potential future body.
• Taking into account the existing structures, consider development, recruitment and retention within the youth work workforce, a career structure for the workforce and promotion of the youth work profession.
• Consider the outcome of current Welsh language pilots and how this learning can be used to strengthen and increase youth work services delivered in Welsh. 
• Consider further the need for clear communications and marketing to ensure the value and impact of youth work is understood across the youth work sector and beyond.
• Support the work taking place to progress the Interim Youth Work Board’s other recommendations.

• To provide constructive challenge and scrutiny of the Welsh Government’s policies and proposals for the provision and delivery of youth work services, including across other portfolio areas.
• Support and strengthen partnership working and collaboration between the statutory and voluntary youth work sector to ensure the best possible outcomes for young people.

The Board has an independent Chair. Board members are appointed through open and fair competition to ensure a broad mix of skills and knowledge that includes, but is not limited to:

• evidence-based policy development and effective use of data to inform strategy development
• mental health and wellbeing issues and how they impact on young people
• digital youth work and/or digital inclusion
• finance, resourcing and commissioning
• equality, diversity and inclusion
• Welsh language
• UNCRC, the voice of young people and participation

Additional members may be co-opted onto the Implementation Board at a future date to address specific gaps in knowledge, expertise or experience that are identified.

The Young Persons Committee (YPC) has an important role to play alongside the implementation of the recommendations. The Implementation Board will invite representatives from the YPC to its meetings. The YPC will be given the option to attend in person or join remotely.

The Chair is the designated safeguarding lead for the Implementation Board. The Implementation Board will operate in accordance with the safeguarding principles set out by Safeguarding Wales (Wales Safeguarding Procedures).

The Implementation Board reports to the Minister for Education and Welsh Language. They will also be expected to represent the views of young people and the sector in informing delivery against the policy recommendations made by the Interim Board. This will include direct engagement with young people and the sector, including via the Young Persons Committee and the Implementation Participation Groups established to support and inform this work.

The Implementation Board recognises that in order to maximise opportunities and understand the true impacts of decisions they take they should consider the social, cultural, economic and environment well-being of young people in Wales. The Implementation Board will ensure the ‘sustainable development principle’, outlined in The Well-being of Future Generations (Wales) Act 2015, is embedded in their decision making and considerations.

The principle sets out five ways of working, which the Implementation Board will apply to their decision making, meaning they are considering long term needs, work to prevent problems occurring or getting worse, will ensure they integrate the needs of the youth work sector and that they collaborate with and involve young people, the youth worker sector and wider stakeholders.

The Implementation Board will meet collectively a minimum of quarterly. Implementation Board members will also participate in wider discussions with other groups. Members are expected to contribute a minimum of 12 days per year in total to the work of the Implementation Board.

The Welsh Government will provide the secretariat function for the meetings. Implementation Board papers will be circulated electronically five working days before the Implementation Board meeting, and minutes will be circulated to the members 10 working days following the meeting, along with the key action points. Both the meeting agenda and the action points from each meeting will be published on the Welsh Government website. 

The Implementation Board has a commitment to the Welsh language and will offer opportunities to enable members and others in attendance to contribute to meetings through the medium of Welsh.

Meetings will be held across Wales following a hybrid model (i.e. opportunities to join in person or remotely) as standard practice.