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Youthreach is a Department of Education and Skills official education, training and work experience programme for early school leavers aged 15-20, providing them with opportunities to acquire certification through QQI accredited courses or to complete Junior or Leaving and Leaving Certificate Applied programmes. Youthreach focuses on the holistic development of the individual within a learning environment which is safe, structured, challenging, studentcentred and participant-led. The curriculum is varied,( academic and non-academic subjects), and integrated across modules enabling the individual to develop their personal, social and civic skills in a supportive and caring environment, increasing their self-esteem while achieving certification allowing progression into work, college and / or apprenticeships. It promotes independence, personal autonomy, active citizenship and helps create a pattern of lifelong learning.
Josephine 2015 –‘ What it means to be in Youthreach to me is that I am able to express myself through the work that I do and I’ m able to live up to my true potential.’
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Rhys 2015 –‘ Youthreach is a place where you feel safe, enjoy your time and can be confident the teachers will help you leave with qualifications that will help you get further in life.’
Although all centres are alike, no two are the same and flexibility at all levels is essential to achieve the goal of helping young people return to learning, prepare for employment and adult life.
Youthreach adopts a credit approach, as opposed to a therapeutic approach. Young people are not approached on the basis of perceived deficits; rather, they are regarded as equals. The essential question is- ' what do you think are your strengths and how can we help you to maximise them, and what do you think are your weaknesses and how can we help you to address them?'
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Niall 2017 –‘ Youthreach is a place where you can come out of your shell and grow as a person.’ |
Ryan 2014 –‘ Youthreach meant getting my QQI Level 4, having fun and being myself. They gave me the skills to help me complete assignments in college.’
Abdifatah 2018 –‘ Youthreach helped me get a place in college and supported me with language classes’.
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Interactions with staff are less formal and many observers argue that this is an important component in the programme ' s success. The young people perceive themselves to be listened to and respected. Groups are relatively small- the teacher-learner ratio is about 12:1.
Youthreach is an integrated experience- personal, communications and vocational skills are integrated in a curricular and experiential matrix. There is a growing focus on developing individualised action plans, building self-agency and encouraging the learner to take responsibility for learning and evaluating their own learning.
Kassidy 2015-‘ Youthreach to me is like a second home. Youthreach makes me feel confident and secure in an educational environment. It’ s turned my life around and made me realise that I CAN do well in education and get my qualifications allowing me to have a career.’
All Youthreach staff are multidisciplinarians, highly qualified in their particular field and come from a variety of backgrounds including teaching, vocational education and training, youth-work and welfare. Evaluations of the programme have found that this mix has been critical to the success of the programme, resulting in a cross fertilisation of expertise from the different disciplines. For more informaion check out our social media pages DDLETBYOUTHREACH
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www. youthreach. ie or www. ddletb. ie |
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